Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Have any of you writers tested the bolt on muzzle brakes?

I was wondering if there have been any tests regarding bolt on muzzle brakes? Specifically how they may affect accuracy.

I have seen a few youtube clips where the recoil reduction of the clamp on muzzle brake is addressed, and it appears that they work well in that regard. Although some videos mention that accuracy did not degrade, I would like to know if any of you have tried a bolt on muzzle brake, such as Kahntrol, and if so - how did it affect the accuracy of your rifle?

Thanks.

gundog

Better not forget it's on there. I grabbed a 300 Win mag to shoot at a pig we drove up on. My ears rang for 2 days. A 300 Win mag doesn't need a break. I had it taken off. I like it a lot better now.

Quite some time back I had a screw-on brake installed on a barrel. The gun was super accurate. After putting on the brake I took it out and while the accuracy was the same, the POI changed quite significantly. By about 2-3" @ 100 yards. I figured the gases escaping around the projectile while passing through the brake were deflecting the bullet slightly. Always had to insure if shooting with the brake you kept it on there tightly as the clearance in the threads when loose affected both accuracy and POI.

Thanks Bob338. It sounds like accuracy was still ok, just had to adjust to a new point of impact for scope adjustments.

I'm thinking your most important concern should be hearing protection.

Reloader28, agreed. For me, hearing protection is a given.

The main reason for my question is concerning how a bolt on muzzle brake has affected accuracy. I am hoping to get some first hand experience as to how a bolt on muzzle brake has affected accuracy (better, worse or stayed the same).

I am not sure if any of our gun writers have researched this specific aspect of bolt on muzzle brakes - hence my initial question. I realize, of course, regardless how one may have performed in one rifle it does not mean it will be the same for mine. But I would like to gather the data just the same.

Thanks.

gundog

I haven't tested a bolt on muzzle brake, but anytime you hang a weight off the end of a barrel you're going to change it's vibration node. That could make it more accurate, less accurate, no change in group sizes and you can certainly expect a change in POI.

On top of that with a bolt on brake if the bore of you barrel isn't concentric with the od you could have an accuracy issue. On the flip side it's easy to remove it if you don't like the results.

by no stretch a gun-writer, but a guy at the range regularly has a SS T3 lite in 300 mag. He's got a big square muzzle brake "bolted" onto that skinny barrel. Looks horrible IMO, and its LOUD, but the rifle is accurate and he's happy with the reduced recoil.

This fall I took 3 out of town friends hunting that had late whitetail tags. These guys had never hunted whitetail before, nor open country. They all had bolt on brakes. They had them installed earlier in the fall and had bench tested them with hearing protection on. So we are hunting and jumped a nice whitetail and it drops down in a draw and as it is coming up the opposite side of the draw on a whitetail run these guys start shooting. I have my ears plugged and it is still hurting my ears. They end up missing the deer much to my laughter, but their first comment when the shooting was over was how dang loud those brakes were. So I had to break out the tools and remove their brakes. We ended up getting all their tags filled that day, but I don't think they are in a hurry to put those brakes back on. As far as accuracy, like I said they all ended up getting their bucks at ranges from about 200 yards to about 400 yards, So I don't think it hurt it to bad. One of the funniest hunting days I have had in a long time.

Extensive technical and scientific info here:

http://precisionrifleblog.com/category/reviews/

A good brake makes a difference. I like them when I want to spot my hits or misses at high magnification - ie prairie dogs.....

Thanks to all for the feedback thus far.

Blackbrush, thanks for the link. Some very good info there.

gundog

I tried a clamp on muzzle brake once. After a certain number of shots it would loosen up and get launched downrange about 20 yards when I pulled the trigger.

Maybe if I had attached a jug of Tannerite to it, I could have played "rifle grenades".

wildhobbybobby, That wouldn't have occurred to me at all. It makes sense though, the vibration of the barrel vs. the screws. Lock tight would help, but unless "red" was used it may come loose again.
Thanks.

gundog.