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Snotwad Offline OP
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I'd like opinions on some of the different muzzle brakes. Which is the the most effective one? I need to reduce the kick, and want to buy right the first time. Since I won't be at a public range with it, and my hearing is already shot, the blast effect dosen't matter.


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None..Step down a cal.

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Originally Posted by 7 STW
None..Step down a cal.



Big time +1.

Muzzle brakes on a hunting rifle just suck period. You may have lost your hearing but why ruin the hearing of anyone else hunting with you.

Get a good recoil pad, wear a past pad or add a mercury recoil reducer but don't use a muzzle brake on a hunting rifle............................DJ


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Vais. But I hate them all.......

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+ 1 on the mercury recoil reducer. Heck put one in the forearm and the buttstock

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Like others, I dispise brakes. You may be deaf, but there is still the issue of the muzzle blast dislodging dirt or tree bark or other junk in the field. There are so many good alternatives that I couldn't see resorting to a brake. And yes, nothing wrong with dropping calibers, I've been going through I don't need to get the snot kicked out of me anymore phase and hence getting smaller chamberings.

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The best muzzle brakes are the ones that are never installed on a rifle ... (grin)


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Suppressors are the best brakes smile .

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"Best" and "Muzzle Brake" don't belong in the same sentence... ever.



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Ray Offline
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I have heard that Vais brakes are slightly more quiet than other brakes. The KDF (with 30 holes) is extremely loud, but reduces recoil quite a lot, too.

It does not matter if your hearing is shot. I always wear ear defenders or plugs when shooting rifles regardless of brake or not. In fact, I have a .22-caliber pistol that is quite noisy, as well as a Ruger 10/22 with a short target barrel. Both are noisy enough for me to wear plugs or ear muffs.

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Oh man this makes me feal good as I HATE brakes..
Had to shoot one on a 416 rem the other day SUCKED !!! I thought the guy 4 benches down was going to shoot me...


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Originally Posted by prdator
Oh man this makes me feal good as I HATE brakes..
Had to shoot one on a 416 rem the other day SUCKED !!! I thought the guy 4 benches down was going to shoot me...



Yes, they are loud. I never shoot mine under a roof, canopy, and such. Always in the open, and away from other shooters. But in reality all shots from guns, fire crackers, etc. damage one's hearing. A .30-378, or .338-378 can render you deaf in a short period of time, too. One can take the brake off and replace it with a thread protector for hunting, but even so I wear ear plugs or muffs. No worst noise than working with military jet aircraft engines indoors (hangar) such as the F-16. I did that for years, and had to wear ear plugs plus these huge ear muffs (we used to call them Mickey Mouse muffs). Even so I could still hear a crackling sound from the engine running at high RPM. Now, that's real noise smile

Last edited by Ray; 10/19/07.
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Snotwad,
Since you're in FL and I'm in WA, I feel pretty safe telling you to go ahead with the break. I've had really good luck with David Gentry's version. They're at least LESS obnoxious than some others and reduce recoil quite efectively.


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Well.... If ya-gotta-do-it.....

Hollands are the best by far. Had 3 at one time Ultra-lite 284 Win and two light weight Mags, 338 Win and 300 Win. mag.

Darrel Holland makes the best no doubt.. But after ringing my bell a couple of times w/o ear plugs hunting.. I hafta admit, I sent all them guns back to Darrel and had him cut them off and re-crown my barrels..

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Will never brake another rifle, ever...


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Snotwad,

Of the three types I have used, Holland, Vais and Wby Accubrake (KDF style)the Wby Accubrake is the most effective. I would not worry about noise as they are all to loud to shoot without ear protection.

I have used them on 338/378, 378, 416 Wby and 460 Wby. For some reason shooters in Australia don't jump up and down at the mention of muzzle brakes. Actually, I reckon my hearing would be much better today if I had always used muzzle brakes because they force you to use hearing protection all of the time.I know my neck would be much better grin

They do vary with calibre. But taking the 378 as example, with the brake on the recoil is far less than a 375 H&H and the rifle just "sits there". The 338/378 is a real pussy cat with the brake on and is about like shooting a heavy barrel 7mm Remington.

You might like to post your question on

www.longrangehunting.com as that forum is full of shooters using muzzle brakes.

Mike


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Give me a BRAKE (pun intended).

The question was, what the best muzzle brake was and not how ya'll don't like brakes. I say, it's my gun and I'll brake (another pun there) it if I want to.

1. Brakes work because they they direct some of the gases to the side, upwards, and or rearwards that would otherwise go straight out the barrel. Anything with mass (this would include the bullet and the gases) that goes straight out the barrel with cause a force to be exerted straight back toward the shooter. They therefore can decrease recoil caused by the ejected gases but do nothing for the recoil caused by bullet weight and velocity. Since the noise will follow the direction of the ejected gases, depending on how they're made, the brake will direct noise to the sides and toward the shooter. They don't make the gun more noisy.

2. Brakes that direct the blast only to the sides will reduce recoil. Brakes that direct more gases up than to the sides will reduce recoil and muzzle jump. Brakes like the shark gill brake that direct the gases rearward, will decrease recoil even more.

So which brake is best? That would depend on the application. If I were to shoot a 458 Lott in a handgun, I would probably want a shark gill brake. If I were a real wimp and wanted to tone down the recoil of a 22-250, any kind of brake would be fine.

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A heavier rifle will reduce felt recoil for you as well. Using lighter, more solidly constructed bullets (like the Barnes X) will also reduce the felt recoil. The other thing is to use the fastest burning powder that will safely give you the velocity you are looking for.

The three main things that affect recoil are rifle weight, bullet weight, and powder charge weight -- velocity is the fourth, but assuming you want to keep the velocity the same, those three will be a help to you.

I loaded my wife's 30-06 with a starting load of IMR3031 and some 150 partitions for about 2800 fps. It's a real joy for her to shoot, and it kills real well.


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Snotwad,

I have had 4 rifles with brakes. I really don't care much for them, but they do reduce recoil. My 1st was a KDF on a .338 Win. It was effective, but I traded it for a M-700 Classic in .350 Mag and never looked back. My 2nd was integral brake made by an obscure gunsmith on a 458 Win. Mag. The last two were made by Answer . The Answer brake has three chambers whereas the others have only one. And believe me, IT WORKED! It made a 7.5 lb .375 H&H recoil like a .30-06. I am not particularly sensitive to recoil, so I abondoned the concept of a brake. But at least I'm openminded enough to give a fair assessment. smile

But in answer to your question, I believe that the ANSWER system is the best and most effective.

Grasshopper


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Originally Posted by Grasshopper
The last two were made by Answer . The Answer brake has three chambers whereas the others have only one. And believe me, IT WORKED! It made a 7.5 lb .375 H&H recoil like a .30-06. I am not particularly sensitive to recoil, so I abondoned the concept of a brake. But at least I'm openminded enough to give a fair assessment. smile

But in answer to your question, I believe that the ANSWER system is the best and most effective.

Grasshopper


I agree the Answer is/was a very good brake, but I think they are now out of business. At least the last time I stopped by the shop it was locked up. The brake offered by Williams Gun Sight a mile down the road looks very familiar though.

A smith by the name of Bruce McCarthy (sp?) in Waterford Mi is also claimed by some of the shooters I know to make one of the best (FLINT & FRIZZEN). I don`t know, never fired a rifle with one of his brakes on it.

Last edited by Ol` Joe; 10/20/07.

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