Muzzle brake questions

[deadI]

I have a couple of questions for you gun guys. I have a rifle with a ported barel, bought it used and I believe the guy that had it before took and had a gun smith drill it out to port it. There is not much kick to it (its a weatherby vangard 300 mag) but it has quite the bark to it. I shot my buddys 300 wsm today while shooting my mag and hte short mag has a muzzle brake on it as well but it is one that was put on. There is a considerbly less bark to the short mag.

My question is this. Is the less bark due to the caliber or the different type of brake on it?

Also what could you excpect to pay for a brake to be put on a rifle?

And last question. If your were going to put a brake on a rifle what kind would it be?

Thanks guys.

DeadI/Jared

 

[lip_curl]

http://www.magnaport.com/rifle.html

ive had a coule of brakes installed on ultra mags by magnaport. no complaints and they look nicer than a lot of the other ones...

 

[REDDOG]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-18-10 AT 09:35PM (MST)[p]They are kinda hard to turn up, but I'm a fan of the Weatherby accubrake..I tried buying them from Weatherby by saying I lost mine, but they wanted the gun back to get the brake, so I passed.

Vias makes my next favorite. And yes in my experience ported rifles are louder than braked rifles..Thats not a rule because it depends on the angle of the holes in the brake/barrel.

IIRC, it will be 120-150 to have the barrel threaded and brake installed.

 

[440sixpack]

They say a faster burning powder will quiet them down a bit, I can't tell the difference.

My advice is to ditch the brake on a 300 you don't need it. brakes work great I won't argue that, but they're like STD's there is no good one.

 

[RELH]

It depends what is more important to you. A little discomfort from recoil or gradual loss of hearing everytime you shoot without good hearing protection.

RELH

 

[Thunderclapper]

I agree with RELH and 440sixpack, ditch the brake and save everyones hearing.

 

[trophyhunter]

It's been a while since I played with rifles so I'll throw this out there to you guys for some additional responces.

We have muzzel brakes on our 300WBY Mag's. They are load to the guy next to you when one shoots at the range. They even move away but I don't really notice a negetive noise to the actual shooter. Do you? I would say the less bark might be a combination of the style of the porting/less powder charge in a short mag?

My experience with the porting of rifle barrels is once you do it...you were stuck with it....due to the actual cutting into the original barrel. If you wanted to eliminate the ported barrel and install a muzzel brake. To do this you would need to cut out the ported part loosing barrel lenght, thread the modified area and then install the new muzzel brake. This would make one loose about two inches off the rifle barrel. Anything you could do to modify that current rifle now that it has been ported would cost you barrel lenght?

Give me some feed back because I am not up up speed on what is out there anymore regarding this issue as we mave been archery hunting for quite awhile.

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[trophyhunter]

Also a another question:

It was my understanding that any type of recoil reduction tool ported barrel or muzzle brake work by diplaceing the energy sideways? As the powder charge is ignited and the pressure of the charge goes forward with the bullet exiting the barrel the pressure causes the recoil from all the force/energy. The recoil reduction is accomplished by the designed energy force being sent sideways reducing the pressure as the charge is exiting the barrel. That is where all the noise comes from...The sideways blast of energy instead of forward correct?

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[hntbambi]

You are correct TH. A good brake can enhance accuracy. If a bullet is pushed by the cloud of gas after it exits the bore, it can induce some yaw and lead to inaccuracy. A good muzzlebrake will send the gasses perpendicular to the bullet to it will not be impacted.

It reduces felt recoil which always increases accuracy. Not in the gun but the shooter. Some guys claim to be able to shoot their magnum all day with no impact to accuracy...bull.

A good brake will also let the shooter see the impact of the bullet. I have a brake on my 338 Lapua and when I shoot it I can see the bullet hit the steel at long range.

I am getting ready to build a new deer gun in 6.5-284. It will have a brake on it. I use electronic ear plugs while hunting, so the blast is not an issue. Being able to spot my own shots, well worth it.

 

[trophyhunter]

Thanks for the information hntbambi. Yes the barrels get hot and affect accuracy. I was always taught to shot three shot groups and take plenty of time inbetween shots to let the barrel cool when sighting in a rifle or working up a load.

I have found that most of the complaining about muzzel brakes come from those who don't have them on their rifles. Most are unhappy to listen to the bark on the range if they are shooting in close proximity. A quality brake always reduces recoil and I never ever heard of any shooter of a brake being affected by the noise. When one is in the field hunting and you pull the trigger the last thing a shooter is concentrating on is the noise of the shot.

Back in the day...mid-90's we installed KDF muzzel brakes on our WBY's. That was before muzzel brakes started comming on rifles from the factory. WBY then started providing the Accubrake in their rifles. Do you know if KDF is still in business?

Thanks,

TrophyHunter

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[RELH]

" I never ever heard of any shooter of a brake being effected by the noise"

That statement is full of fallacy. Unless you wear very good hearing protection, everytime you pull the trigger you are going to suffer a very small amount of hearing lost that will acumulate over time. If you do not believe me, use a decimal meter to test the noise level at the shooters ear and talk to a hearing doctor about the level of noise you will suffer some hearing lost.

I have installed about 15 brakes on rifles for other persons and I will not have one on any of my rifles. It has been about 10 years since I have installed the brakes and at that time the Vais was the best one for noise and recoil reduction. Mag-N-Porting of the barrel is one of the worse for noise level.

Most guys resort to a brake because they can not take the recoil generated by their rifle. They should just downsize the caliber instead of resorting to using a brake UNLESS they are prepared to use hearing protection on every shot.

I can see a guy putting on a brake on his favorite rifle due to having shoulder problems that will not let him shoot his gun anymore, but even he should be prepared to use hearing protection at all times.

The guys who claim that a few shots in the field will not effect their hearing is only fooling themselfs due to the accumulative effect of small amounts of hearing lost over time.

The KDF brakes are still being made and they were inferior to the Vais on the amount of noise level they generated back to the shooter. I remember one customer returning his rifle after requesting a KDF brake due to the brake ringing his ear in the field. It was replaced with a Vais and he was satisfied with the Vais brake.

RELH

 

[sageadvice]

TH said, "I never ever heard of any shooter of a brake being effected by the noise"

+1 RELH

With the big boomers, unless they wear protection, there's no doubt going to be damage done! Some may live with it as i have but my new Sony TV is always turned almost all the way up and i still have trouble hearing it.

Other than that TrophyH, some good info, thanks!!

Joey

 

[trophyhunter]

RELH, Sageadvise, I am sure you are both correct on the noise issue of the muzzel brakes as well as any non muzzel brake noise from shooting. If it makes a noise when one shoots. There will be hearing loss. You get that with shooting, listening to load music and just getting old

I guess when it comes down to it I choose to ignore the noise. Other than that everyone that I have been around hasn't complained about the muzzel brake noise when they have been the shooters.

I guess when you put it that way. We all choose to ignore the noise We have a small group that stays together both archery or rifle. We don't shoot much at the range.. Only to re-sight/check zero prior to a hunting season. Usually a three shot group and were done. Over the last 15 years we don't avarage 5 shots per year so I guess we can still hear pretty good


All though that's not what my wife tells me.....

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[mtmuley]

For me, if I need a brake to handle a rifle, I don't need the rifle. As far as noise affecting shooting, I've found I even shoot my .22 rifles better with protection. mtmuley

 

[trophyhunter]

Not ALL people put a muzzle brake on a rifle because they can not handle the rifle or recoil. It all boils down to personal choice regarding the brakes. We calculate the wind and range, shoot 1000yds and chose muzzle brakes to reduce the recoil to keep the rifle in place as much as possible after the shot in case we need a follow up shot. The reduced recoil keeps the game in the scope at X12 power so we can see the impact hit area on the game.

I have never heard anyone while on the mountain say "wow". When you shot your muzzle brake it hurt my ears. The complaining is all about the bench shooters...and I never see any of those out in the mountain's away from the roads where we hunt.

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[RELH]

Trophyhunter;

Your above statement is full of contradictions. The vast majority of hunters does go to using a brake for the sole purpose of reducing the recoil of their 300 whoop a$$ magnum. Yes a few might use one for another reason, but they are a very small percentage.

You claim to shoot our to 1000 yards, then turn around and state that the only ones that complain about the noise are the bench shooters that never get out in the woods, far away from the roads as you and your group does.

Do we take that you never shoot from the bench to test the accuracy of your 1000 yard rifle. If that is true, you should never be shooting at game animals at that distance with a rifle that you do not know what it's accuracy capabilities are.

RELH

 

[mtmuley]

Besides, I bet I can recover enough from my RUM to see a hit at 1000 yards. Never shot that far yet, but I can see milk jugs explode at 600 after smacking them with a 200 grain Accubond. mtmuley

 

[440sixpack]

I've been thinking of putting one on so my hunting partners know where to find me when I need the horses. I hate it when they don't hear my shots.

 

[RELH]

Dude, I am sure your hunting partners hear your shot. They are just to damn lazy to come over and help you pack the animal out.

Maybe you should get hard of hearing when they shoot!!!

RELH

 

[440sixpack]

I already do, I think I need some energizers in my radio too I can never hear it either. it does always seem to transmit with low batteries for some reason.

 

[rackchaser]

don't know how you would do it with a magna ported barrel, but the VAAS muzzle brake is fantastic i have one on a 300 win mag and it reduced the recoil down to level similar to my 257 improved. cost about $200 to install got it from brownells

 

[Elkhunter96]

A lot of people knock muzzle breaks. I personally love them on Magnum Rifles. I have one on my mark v 338 win and it is really nice to shoot, about the same as a 270 win. Anyone who says they did not put the brake on a magnum rifle to reduce the recoil is a fool. Also, there is nothing wrong with taking measures to reduce recoil on a magnum rifle, it does not make a person a less of a man. I can guarantee a lighter recoil will equal better shooting, no matter who you are...why do you think the 6.5-284 is becoming so popular...

I honestly can say, I have never noticed the extra noise when I am in the field shooting at an animal, it does not even register. At that point, I am in auto mode and shoot on instinct. I also would second the post that the sound is worse for someone standing to the side than a shooter of a braked rifle. Most of the time I carry ear plugs to use in the field anyways, even if I am shooting a 270 or 243.

At the range, if it is a covered tin roofed range, it is loud. The sound bounces off the tin roof and comes straight back down. I wear a set of ear plugs and ear muffs at the range. Personally, I could care less if some people don't like the sound at the range and move away.