Muzzle brake or not?

Hugger-4641 said:

Never heard of it. But I'll check into it.

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They do work I've got one sitting in a draw one day I'll use it. I do wonder if there a pain to get, all things with mercury are and I think it's over $30 a oz I think there's a few in the one I've got.

I've read about Mercury reducers has suggested that the additional weight is what actually absorbs recoil, as opposed to the energy stored in the moving mass.....

Having never actually gotten my hands on one to try I would be curious to see if they actually work as advertised, or if an equal amount of solid Mass added to the stock would reduce felt recoil the same amount.

LoonWulf said:

I've read about Mercury reducers has suggested that the additional weight is what actually absorbs recoil, as opposed to the energy stored in the moving mass.....

Having never actually gotten my hands on one to try I would be curious to see if they actually work as advertised, or if an equal amount of solid Mass added to the stock would reduce felt recoil the same amount.

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May have to make one of those sleds that slide to test it, would be nice to compare muzzle breaks to.

Ive got all the random parts to build a recoil sled I think Id have to go look at my parts pile out back.

I had a Ruger Mi II 7Mag. It shot sub moa groups with MAX (or very near) loads.

I had 2 Mercury reducers put in the butt stock and a muzzle break mounted.

I was careful at the range, the side blast was brutal.

My 15yo son would never shoot it. He had a 7x57 '96 Mauser. One morning, deer hunting, old stock gave way at the pistol grip.

A nice buck had been seen around his stand. That afternoon, he took my rifle.

His words, "it wasn't long after I got into stand, I saw the buck stick his head out of the woods, about 250 yards. I took aim, but thought about it kicking me. The buck pulled back into woods.
I am mad at not shooting. I stare down the woods and he pops out by the power pole, exactly 100 yards. He stops and looks away, down the right-of-way. I pulled the trigger and he hit the ground. IT'S NOT FAIR! My Mauser kicks harder."

My hunting buddy had an identical, bone stock Ruger. He hated my rifle because of the "blast".
One day at the range, he was "done getting pounded". He finally decided to try it, shot mine. "WOW, It isn't loud from the back end and it don't kick the $**t out of ya."

They are a trade off. The decision is yours.

I have brakes on some competition rifles, my 50 BMG and pretty sure I still have a 300 WM with a BOSS on it. I am not a fan of the concussion but they do work. I prefer the custom molded plugs my ENT dr. made for me and amplified muffs, so I can hear range commands.

You asked for opinions, mine would be to put a suppressor on it. Less sound and recoil but the price is added length and weight.

Hugger-4641 said:

Boy you got me thinking now. All I would need to do is rob the top off my lead sled and mount it on a linear bearing assembly. Or put a load cell in the lead sled.

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I’d bet you could just get two sheets of plastic and set your sled on top of them on the bench and just measure how far the rifle slides back.

Front Sight magazine had an article once where they took every brake made at the time and had a laser on the target, an open aperture on the camera traced the movement of the laser during firing. Was a neat way to see what brakes kept the rifle on target (arguably more important than recoil reduction) vs just reducing recoil.

I couldn’t find it with a quick search but you might find this to be an interesting read.

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/08/21/muzzle-brake-summary-of-field-test-results/

Sjc titan extreme is a good brake. $$$.

That might limit your choices. I have done some 5/8-32 threads before but that was because of the large bore more than small diameter of barrel.

First, see my post #2

Over the past 10 years or so, I have gotten away from muzzle breaks and flash hiders. But most of my rifle builds are 30 caliber or less and I now do not feel a muzzle break is necessary.

But, the largest bottleneck cartridge rifle I own is a 30-06 Garand and I do not feel it needs a muzzle break.

I have a couple 300 Blackouts with a muzzle break but it really is not necessary. It would require a change of barrel to get rid of the muzzle break. Similar with with one or two 223 Remington AR-15's.

In any case, for a "standard" level AR-15, I'd get a plain end barrel and not worry about a muzzle break or flash hider.

But this is one opinion. Research the situation and make your own decision.

cfullgraf said:

With a muzzle brake, you will not make friends with shooters next to you on the firing line.

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I don’t go to make friends but often do make small talk. Usually asking others about caliber or what brake they’re running.

cfullgraf said:

the need for reduced recoil does not offset the incesse in noise for the firing line.

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My comfort level has zero to do with anyone else there. I go to shoot my rifles not to ponder noise attenuation. If other guys on the line don’t like the noise they can find a quiet donut shop to sit in.

cfullgraf said:

As you go up in caliber and power, the reduction in recoil may off set the additive noise discomfort for the firing line.

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Well that seems counterintuitive if your previous concern was for your fellow shooters comfort.

Maybe I just shoot at a club populated with blasty rifles wearing brakes and flash hiders but it doesn’t bother me enough to stop going and it seems, by sheer numbers there that others won’t be turned out by noise at the rifle range either.

Wonder if sending your rifle off to Mag-na-port would be worth it.
https://magnaport.com/rifle.html

A good brakes is nice but a good suppressor is even better. Suppressors reduce recoil caused by the propellent gasses almost as much as a good brake but the suppressor also attenuates that muzzle blast and the added weight of the suppressor also spreads out the recoil impulse making in more pleasant.

When I was shooting a lot of 300 Norma Mag the difference between the rifle braked and the rifle suppressed was dramatic. I could shoot significantly more before fatigue started effecting my groups when suppressed. The concussion, bare muzzle or braked, is a notice factor in fatigue with these big cartridges.

All that said only one of my deer guns currently wears a small brake. My 450 Bushmaster has a small brake, my other deer rifles are bare muzzles. I have not hunted deer yet with my suppressed guns yet.

A muzzle break hurts my ears more than recoil hurts my shoulder. I have no use for them.

Well, got it back from the smith today. He had to thread 1/2 28 and then an adapter to 5/8 for the brake

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Glad you got a brake for the 06.

Varminterror said:

Brake them.

Area419 Hellfire or APA Fat Bastard for a sporter weight 30-06 or 308. Scrub off as much recoil as you can.

Any .30-06 or .308win has muzzle blast beyond any hearing-safe threshold, both to the extent of requiring dual solution hearing protection, and braking the rifle does not change any of that. Neither of the above brakes increase “concussion” to the shooter, but both significantly reduce recoil.

The fact “nobody on the firing line likes a guy with a brake,” comes up so often in this kind of thread is indicative of how narrow the scope of shooting is for so many unfortunate folks. Most of the literally hundreds of rifles I have owned and fired in my life have never been on a public or shared firing line. There are contexts in the shooting world which don’t involve snuggling with a 60yr old Luddite with fragile sensibilities who might think less of me for shooting a rifle with mitigated recoil...

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Came in to suggest Area 419. You can pair their suppressor mount with a Kaw Valley Mach linear comp too, if that's more your style.

brake when you want it, sound deflector or naked if you don't.

I use kinetec brakes that have a sleeve to go over the brake if you don't want the sideways blast.

OP: "So, I've done quite a bit of load development ..... I've finally found a good sub MOA load for my Howa 30-06 but it is on the heavy side and I've realized that it has much more recoil than the 308, my 700CDL 30-06 or my 300wm's. I may let my daughter hunt with it this year, so I'm considering having the barrel threaded and adding a muzzle break."

I would be afraid that adding a muzzle brake could change the harmonics of the barrel and undo all the effort toward developing a sub MOA load.

I don't want them on hunting rifles because of noise and I don't like to wear ear plugs or muffs when hunting so I can hear. Tried the walker game ears and electronic muffs and can tell a sense of direction with them.