Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Muzzle breaks on rifles, are they all harsh to the person on the side?

Would a guide rather have a guy show up in camp with:

a braked rifle in a good caliber for game at hand, he is well practiced with and can shoot very well....

a rifle without a brake of questionable caliber he can shoot well....

a rifle in a good caliber, without brake, that he is scared of and has only shot 10 times....

It's not just about ear protection. Often times I double up with ear plugs and over the ear muffs. While my eardrums are OK, the incoming pressure wave slap from a bench over is still an annoyance.

It is also interesting how brakes vary in obnoxiousness. I've shared the range with a 338 Lapua shooter, and his braked rig didn't seem too bad at all. A typical bad offender is a short barreled 223. The worst I've been around was a 30-378 Wby. with a Swiss cheese brake.

None of the above.

Then they won't be a guide very long.....

Had a similar situation about 15 years ago. Savage 7RM with the adjustable on/off brake. Shooting off the hood of my truck. Walked back from checking the target. Forgot to put the muffs back on. Blast from the first round "bounced" off the windshield into my left ear. HURT for several days. Now have 10% additional hearing deficit in my left ear versus right. Attributable to one pull of the trigger, with a brake, without hearing protection.

My fault ? Of course, I screwed up... But vowed never again. Rifle went down the road. No future plans for anything that requires a brake. Not knocking the guys that do. But, won't risk another incident on my part...
.

Hardly. The guide would rather see a guy with an un-braked rifle, in a good chambering, that he's practised with and can shoot. You left that out.

It's not rocket science.

I suppose this guide is smart enough to put his dam fingers in his ears one time.....maybe not

I suppose none of this has anything to do with the OP's question.

smokepole;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope this finds you and yours doing well.

Since we've wandered off the road and into the weeds a wee bit on the thread, I thought I'd offer the perspective of most if not all of the guides I know here in BC/Yukon.

If they are guiding a client for a non-dangerous animal such as sheep, then it's possible to work around a rifle with a brake a bit easier. The exception is that some brakes will toss up a fair bit of debris on prone shots and as some have suggested the guide will need to take precautions - ear plugs usually - before the client shoots.

Sheep usually give the hunter/guide some leeway with time - whitetails, elk and moose less so and then there is bears.

IF the hunter is after bears then the guides tend to be less than thrilled with braked rifles because bear hunting/bear shooting often needs to happen in a timely fashion - or a great big hurry.....

We have a good friend who had hearing damage inflicted by a braked .340 Weatherby. While I can't recall all the details right now, I have waded into the shin tangle a time or three to root out a bear and can't recall having the time to plug my ears.

Truly if it was my hunter I'd do everything I could to handcuff him to a tree or the boat and extricate the bear solo - seems like the safe approach to me - but I also am cognizant that some hunters/clients can't be easily swayed.....

Anyway sir, just a few random thoughts that were shared with me over many years and cups of coffee. For what it's worth and all that.

All the best to you folks and good luck on your hunts this fall.

Dwayne

The guide works for the shooter..... he doesn't tell the shooter how or what to shoot.

I'd far rather hunt with a set of banded plugs on my hat, and throw them on prior to a shot (about .5 seconds worth of work).... then watch a 'client' pound a critter with a well placed shot..... than not worry about muzzle blast, but have to track a gut-shot critter through 2 miles of schitt.

Clients pay guides, so they don't get to make those decisions. I don't own a braked rifle.... and I don't ever see paying a guide.... but if I were so inclined, I'd not book with any guide who told me what I could or couldn't shoot. Find me a critter.... I'll handle the gun work.

This is hilarious, come full circle often? You're the one who brought up what a guide would prefer, not me.

Now you're saying the guide has no say in the decision.

Do you think you can win this argument with yourself?

Same to you Dwayne. Hoping to see some photos of your deer hunt this year.

You answered with 'none of the above'.... which means you have a reading comprehension problem..... so I stated it on another way.

The guide doesn't have a choice..... hence the use of the word PREFER.

I agree with you.... any guide would PREFER a dude with a un-braked rifle that sounded like a mouse fart.... with the shooting ability of Pat or Burns... but alas, both are incredibly unlikely. So.... if they don't get an excellent shooter running a 'quiet' rifle.... there are only the above other 3 options.... which of those three.... do you think they PREFER?

So, a competent shooter with a good cartridge and a rifle with no brake is rare in your world?

But to answer your question, I think you were right: "Clients pay guides, so they don't get to make those decisions."

The more I see people shoot.... the more I'm convinced a competent shooter with a big game rifle is rare.

A guide can do something to protect their hearing.... they can't do anything about schitty shooting. I tend to lean toward making sure bullets go the right place.... the rest of it can be worked out.

For the record.... I hate brakes.... it's not my ears they hurt, it's my face. Shooting big braked rifles will give me gnarly sinus headaches.... due to the pressure wave impacting the mastoid cavity. This can also damage hearing.... even with plugs and muffs on.

Odd I have shot thousands of shots from rifles wearing a break

From simple magna port to the complex brake I build and use

I have yet to feel anything on my face from behind the trigger

Not popular in the US but the moderator is a tool I will be using more and more in the future

Ever tried to sit at the next bench in a normal shooting position and let someone fire your rifle?

Ever shoot a rifle someplace other than a 'bench'?

I use brakes on some of my rifles.

I've also sat beside braked rifles on the commercial covered range (in a previous life). Yes they are loud in that situation.

I've never bitched about it though. To me it's just part of the sport. Rifles are loud.

Been know to happen.
Now tell me how that applies to this discussion.