Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Muzzle brake?

I'd like to tame down my 375 H&H. Who makes and installs one that works? Thanks

There are very likely dozens that work, many of those might be installed by the brake manufacturer.

One that I know of that makes a good brake (if there is such a good thing) would be Gentry Brakes out of Montana. Advertised as the “Quiet Brake”, and they are much quieter than conventional brakes …..but do not give the same degree of recoil reduction as a more conventional brake!

That said, I will not have a brake on any of my hunting rifles, refuse to wear ear protection when hunting…..and I’d like to retain the hearing that I have left! memtb

They're usually sold in the female hygiene section.

🤣

So far negative comments that are not helpful; I'll be more positive. I despised brakes until I got hit with severe arthritis in my early seventies - I'll be 88 in four days. I'm a BIG BORE guy with a sprinkling of mediums. Now I have brakes on most of 'em. And I've reduced some loads and also mostly use mid-weight bullets. And I'm on medication for the arthritis.

I also shoot a .375 H&H, but with a 250gr Sierra or TTSX. Those are high-end loads, and without a brake. Recoil 38 - 40 ft-lbs which I've set as a current limit (Yeah, Iknow about all the factors of "felt recoil" - but ft-lbs is the number one factor). I also shoot a Ruger No.1H in .458 Win Mag - but it came with the Mag-na-ports, that's why I bought it. My Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT (long throat) that mimicked a .458, only weighed 8.25 lbs with recoil up to 75 ft-lbs, so it got traded for the .458 that weighs 2 lbs more, and with the Mag-na-ports reduces recoil to around 40 ft-lbs - depending on how it's loaded.

I'm not a small-bore guy, and have no interest in .24s and .26s. Have owned - in past years - .223s, .25s, 6.5s, a .270 and lots of 7 mm in both standard and magnums. A couple of .30-06s and eight .300 magnums. But for me, and where and what I've mostly hunted, I prefer mediums starting at .338 Win Mag, .35 Whelen, 9.3 x 62, .375 H&H and .458 Win Mag. When I can no longer handle their recoil or weight, I'll retire all of 'em. I still enjoy developing handloads, testing bullets, and getting a good load in each for hunting purposes.

In case anyone is wondering: Out of the shower, I'm 160 lbs and 5'-8". In my prime I was 5'-9" in bare feet and 186 lbs before dressed. So size isn't a factor in managing recoil, but style, attitude and conditioning are! All that apart from fit of the rifle and its weight.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Once more Bob, we tend to be traveling the same path…..you’re just a bit ahead of me! And, as I’m a bit eccentric, I have only one rifle as my primary go to rifle. It would be a pretty specialized situation for me to use something else…… and they both are 45 bores! 😉


And an Amen on this comment……….
In case anyone is wondering: Out of the shower, I'm 160 lbs and 5'-8". In my prime I was 5'-9" in bare feet and 186 lbs before dressed. So size isn't a factor in managing recoil, but style, attitude and conditioning are! All that apart from fit of the rifle and its weight.

I’m of belief that a smaller stature shooter should handle felt-recoil better than a much larger/heavier shooter! memtb

I think that "to brake or not to brake" is a very individual situation. As noted here physique, physiology and infirmities are the "Human Factors" side of the proposition. On the rifle side are everything from aesthetics to barrel length extension or 'bobbing it' as part of installation. I'm not a brake fan and I've generally avoided rifles with such. The irony that the only one I have is a BSA Sporter of the fifties era in .243 Win !!! Such and a Marlin Guide Gun in .450 that kicks like a mule! Both it and the BSA are factory barrel-integral. Go figure! I think perhaps I achieve some measure of such with my 20" barrel Sako Model V, full stock in .375 H&H. It was new in box, cheap and 'there' on a gun show table. I bought it and my problem isn't recoil. It's damned noise! I'm 83 years & 230 lbs. Was 6'2", now less due to old back injury catching up. Haven't been to the range since before the Pandemic so sharing here but the matter nowadays academic.
Just to add, I also have a 416 Rem Mag Winchester 70 Classic CRF and a couple of .458 Win Mags. Before infirmities, recoil never bothered me too much. I do believe strongly that the ergonomics such as stock configuration really make a large difference. Also the "after action" of back home, Lazy Boy and beer, definitely "of influence"!

Just now returned from Mass this morning, again LB deployed & "Fire" brief agenda.

Happy Holidays to all!
John

Firing from my LB here too, waiting on the Christmas Feast in the oven, heh-heh-heh.

Some folks do get their panties in a wad at the mention of a muzzle brake.
And usually they are the ones who are most recoil intolerant.
Oh the irony of the jackanapes !

They do not see the importance of using one for load development at the bench.
They are usually the duffers who shoot factory ammo,
and prefer the rat calibers mostly.

Remove the brake for field shooting, check zero, recoil is not felt on the hunt.

The threaded muzzle is a wonderful thing.
Brake on, brake off.
Use same threads for the silencer adapter.
Very handy.
I am just catching on late in life myself.
So many rifles, so few muzzle threads.

I think my next one will be a 20"-barreled .458 WinMag on a Ruger M77 Hawkeye.
The only barrel hardware will be a front sight and a thread protector.

Buhmiññer was the man!

At lot of assumptions there partner! 😉 memtb

He was a man of great stature, though not in body habitus.
John Buhmiller wore work boots of huge size, never to be filled by any subsequent mortal.
The diminutive Elmer Keith was jokingly said to wear a size-2 cowboy boot.
Both men were made of stout stuff.

Keith wrote of Buhmiller in his 1946 book KEITH'S RIFLES for LARGE GAME.
He spoke glowingly of Buhmiller's match shooting, his barrels, and a finest quality single-shot action
which Buhmiller got a patent for in 1942. WWII was no help in getting that one commercialized.

That article, "Muzzling the WILDCATS" by John Buhmiller came from the Classic Issues of GUNS magazine, May 1957.
The gunsmith in South Africa was ordering barrels in .505 Gibbs caliber from Buhmiller the barrel maker.
He was making integral brakes from a full-diameter "dognut" left on the muzzle end in the contouring.
The unnamed RSA gunsmith thus lit a fire under John to make his own brakes and experiment with effective designs on detachable brakes.
Buhmiller developed a recoil-o-meter of some sort which measured the distance of rearward travel in inches
of some set weight or spring force that the rear of the rifle pressed against in recoil.
The table of braked versus unbraked recoil is interesting in comparing the various chamberings,
even the ".458 WCF" supposed to be a .458 Winchester Magnum, less than a year on the market.
Some say the .458 WinMag started shipping out of the factory in May 1956.
Buhmiller was shooting and writing about it less than a year later, to get in print for the May 1957 issue.

Buhmiller made his barrels from the steel that FORD used for their automobile axles.
The brakes he used sort of resemble the screw-on mounts used on many suppressors nowadays.
The 5/8" x 24 tpi is a common size that will allow many brakes and suppressors to be mounted,
from my first ever in 1992, a KDF "Slimline" brake on a .458 converted regretfully to Lott,
to the .46 Bushwhacker Suppressor from Griffin Armament, both use 5/8" x 24 tpi.
1/2" x 28 tpi is a common pistol muzzle thread adapter for use with same suppressor and 45 ACP.
Of course Ruger had to be a little different on their Marlin 1895 .45-70: 11/16" x 24 tpi
All of those are readily available as adapters for the 46 Bushwacker,
and they are themselves excellent brakes.

There are too many good brakes to shake a stick at, hardly any difference in effectiveness, no matter the hype.
Pick one and get your barrel threaded to fit it.
You can also buy unthreaded brakes and have your gunsmith thread them to fit your muzzle,
or custom make one from scratch.

If I was on the fence about a particular brake,
and had 0.650" or more of muzzle diameter (most .375s do), I would
get it threaded for 5/8" x 24 tpi to fit a matching steel thread protector cap.

The bullet-exit hole of the brake should be about 0.025" greater in diameter than the bullet,
and hopefully the brake is installed concentric to the barrel !
Those are the two most important things about a brake for effective function.
Buhmiller also added a third: Expansion chamber inside the brake of about twice the bullet diameter.
That would be for a short and bulbous brake. Longer and thinner and holier also works.

he definitely was a pioneer in large bore rifles.

I am recoil agnostic, but I've seen quite a few folks $hitscared of it. I suppose as we age, recoil becomes more of an issue, but I'm not there yet. My daily driver in Africa is a Bruno in .416 Rigby.

Do what you have to do, but if you do decide to add a brake, just let everyone within a mile of you know that you are getting ready to shoot.

I only had the privilege of shooting a 416 Rigby once, shot from a scoped #1 Ruger, and fired from a standing position. I thought it to be rather tame. However, shooting a bunch from the bench…..may alter my perspective! 😁 memtb

I apologize for my post. Sometimes my urge to troll gets the better of me.

Some advice.

1. if you need a brake by all means get one, but get one with a thread protector so it's optional for you to use or not.

2 Next make sure you have a good recoil pad (Pachmayer Decelerator is my choice).

3. Measure your LOP, if the rifle's LOP is short recoil will be accentuated. Easy fix is to put on a slip on Limbsaver recoil pad. You can always take it off when you're not shooting it. The extra recoil pad will help too

4. Get a long eye relief scope, minimum 4" of eye relief

5. Only shoot from the bench to sight in, not for practice. Shoot offhand or sitting (prone not advised)

6. Lastly dry fire a lot. Your shooting the big bore will improve.

Hope I've somewhat redeemed myself. Best of luck with your new rilfe

He sure was.
He ran with the .378 Weatherby case soon as it was available.
Besides turning the belt off as a make-do for .416 Rigby brass,
he was the first to do about every other wildcat on the belted .378 case
before the me-too 460 Weatherby Magnum
as well as the .510 Weatherby Magnum that never got released, etc.

I have a muzzle break on my 375 H&H AI. I also have a suppressor for it. The suppressor does as good a job of taming recoil as the brake. They both make the rifle tame to shoot.
I don’t think I’ll ever put the brake on again though, and I’ll be shooting it only with the suppressor except to measure velocity, as I have one of those strap on the barrel chronographs, I wish I would have coughed up the $’s for the Labradar.
The brake is not pleasant for the shooter’s ears or the people in the same geographical location.