I got to shoot a CZ chambered in 416 Rigby the other day at the range. The owner was there getting it sighted in for deer season.... .....but that' another story.

He asked if I wanted to shoot it and I thought sure,..when am I ever going to get another chance.

He had the rifle scoped and was shooting factory Hornady ammo with the 400gr. solid, and he had a muzzlebrake installed.

I was shooting at a 4"x4" target at 50 yards standing offhand. Years ago, I used to shoot competition muzzleloading, so I was trying real hard to keep my form. I used the set trigger, settled the crosshairs best I could and squeezed.

The rifle recoiled and I hit inside the black at 11:00. I was surprised I hit the target since it was my first shot shooting something so intimidating.

The thing that I was so impressed with was how well the muzzlebrake tamed the recoil. IMO, it didn't kick any harder than one of the 300 WhizBang calibers. I think I could shoot his rifle for a long while before calling it quits.

So that got me wondering,..what is the general feeling for muzzlebrakes on "Big Bore" rilfes and rifles that will be used in Africa?

I know they increase the muzzle blast but would that be a decent trade off for an increase in accuracy? Are they generally frowned upon.

It seems like I NEVER see muzzlebrakes on rifles during a filmed African hunt, so I guess there must be a reason.

Thought some of you fellas might have an answer.

When my shoulder quits being stronger than my ears I'll drop down in power.

Here tell PH's, guides, trackers, and other party members hate brakes. may be ok for the range, but re-zero and use thread protectors for huntin' JMHO

Gunner

I haven't put a brake on my 500 Jeffery. I've thought about it, but offhand recoil's really not an issue. I've got the lead sled for the bench.

I've got one on my CZ 550 375 H&H. Most will say its not needed, but it brings the recoil down to 30-06 levels.

The brakes are loud on the range, but that's easily fixed by wearing both ear plugs and ear muffs. When shooting at something dangerous I barely hear my 375 H&H so I would have no issue hunting with one as long as my hunting partner or guide were cool with it. Otherwise for hunting you can always take it off and put on the thread protector. I've thought about it, just haven't had one installed.

The increase in muzzle blast and resulting hearing damage is the reason they aren't seen more.

Yep, they are doing damage, and lots of it, whith each firing. Have had a couple, will not again. Heavier gun or lighter loads for me.

Thanks guys, I guess I'll stick with my lead sled for the bench. Offhand the 500 Jeffery is a breeze.

Bingo. And why, why, why set triggers on a DG Big Bore???

Because all CZ 550's come with a single-set trigger.

I've found, however, that if you adjust the primary (unset) pull to around three pounds, the set feature goes away. This is how the trigger is set in both my 9.3x62 and .416 Rigby CZ's.

I only have one rifle at the moment with a muzzle brake. It is a Mk V in .460 with the older pendleton. Yes, it is needed

I want to take it to Africa, so PH beware! lol

I shoot a 338/378 Weatherby. Not exactly a big bore but the hammer of Thor for sure. It is braked and I can tell you it is loud. If are not wearing hearing protection you will sustain permant neuro sensory damage to your hearing. I use electronic ear muff attenuators. They cut out sudden loud noises above 85db while still allowing you to hear normal converation.
Most GOes in Africa do not allow muzzle breaks when hunting dangerous game. When you touch off the rifle you go deaf for a while and you are unable to hear instructions and take directions. Not a good thing if you have wounded Mbogo (Black Death) You could get yourself stomped into a red mud puddle if you are unable to follow vital directions because you are deaf.
Oh one last comment, it shoots a five shot group at .435MOA at 100 meters. Ya gotta like that.

When I shoot my .458Lott off the bench I sit more square on with it (if that makes sense)in my shoulder also I shoot from a high bench so I am not leaning too far forward, so when I do fire it just pushes me back. I also have a recoil reducer (The Max) in the butt which does take the edge off the recoil. I was sat up a tree with it in August on a skinny little plank (skinny for my fat @rse!) and shot a Kudu. I never felt the recoil and also stayed up the tree!
When you are using a rifle in the field you are unaware of recoil and hear very little of the bang! Never been a fan of muzzel breakes, but some folks like them.
Maybe worth trying shooting off sticks without the muzzel break fitted and just let the rifle push you back, rather than leaning too far into it like on a low bench.
Also got a recoil rducer in my ..375 wby. I used to have it on a synthetic stock, but after I was in a car crash and messed my neck from going through the window head first, I found it rattled me when I fired it. I made a laminate stock with a slightly wider butt to disperse the recoil as well as the reducer, which seems to work well (same with the Lott) for me any way.
May be worth looking at these options instead of a muzzel break.

My 7 1/2 lb (with scope) 375 Weatherby comes back a bit too sharply with Weatherby factory rounds (I found one box for $45). With 375 H&H rounds the recoil is much more mild. I am going to work up a 300g Swift A-Frame load at 2700 fps though. Perhaps with a slower powder the recoil may be a bit slower.

Been using 250gr Barns X with 71r of H4895 giving 2729fps which seems to work very well out of Weatherby with a 24"brl.
The recoil reducer just takes the edge of the kick out and also a bit of weight in the butt help ballance the rifle nicley.
Varget is another powder that works well. I have some load data for .375wby using Varget and also other powders, will try and dig it out when I can and PM you with it.
Cheers,
Paul.

Thanks Paul! I have two mercury recoil reducers in my CZ 500 Jeffery and the balance is perfect. My Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby has a 22" barrel and the balance is just right now, so I can't add a reducer. I'll try slower powders and just shoot the 500 Jeffery a few times before I shoot the 375 Weatherby. That usually does the trick ...

The above is so true. I have no recoil reducer on my Lott, neither do I have a muzzle break. The only shot(s) you hear is the one the hunter usually sneaks in as a last reminder. That's the shot that rattles your ear lobes and makes your nose bleed when a muzzle break is involved. I really do not like them when I am at the receiving end of too much decibels.

Most certainly I am a sissy boy when it comes to shooting at game. The last time I remember shooting at a game animal without electronic hearing protection and a muzzle brake I notice both how loud the rifle was and how hard it kicked.

Now everything I have except the .22 rimfires have brakes. Even my Freedom Arms .454. And of course I aways use the electronic hearing protection when hunting.

I don't see how anyone can fire a big revolver (.44 Mag and up) without hearing protection and not suffer hearing damage.

I like to practice with my guns and not flinch so both my 300 Weatherby Vanguard and now my CZ 416 Rigby have muzzle control modifications.

If someone you hunt with does not like them, hunt with someone more intelligent.

You just need a rifle that kicks the crap out of you harder than the ones you typically hunt with. My 500 Jeffery does that for me. After shooting my 500 Jeffery, my 7 1/2 lb 375 Weatherby feels like a 300 Weatherby (oh never mind ... )

What does intelligence level have to do with permanent hearing loss? It would stand to reason that the person NOT wanting to be around your brake would be the MORE intelligent one.

Muzzle brakes are a curse on the range and worse in a field where others are near. They all can be scraped as far as I care! IMHO Clint

I have my own range and dont hunt in groups - if you need guides that is just sad. No offense intended Phil.

Sad to never shoot on a range and hunt with friends!!!! my friends hearing are more important to me that any rifle not recoiling is. Clint

I hunt with friends, but we dont stand close enough, or is that sit in the truck close enough, for a muzzle brake to make us hurt.

I tend to agree with Pieter here in that when I'm on a stalk and pull the trigger or am helping a partner get on something I don't feel recoil or hear the rifle as loud - except one time this fellah's muzzlebraked 300 Weatherby. My ears rang for the rest of the day.

He still comes out with us but only if he leaves the muzzlebraked rifle at home.

I may be oversimplifying this but if I can't shoot it without a muzzlebrake then I'll just go smaller till I can.

So far my 338wm and my 416 Rigby don't bother me in the least and I don't make those around me deaf. On the bench, in addition to the pachmeir decelerator pads I use an additional slip on recoil pad.

I recognize one can wear those ear muffs that allow you to hear but will cut out loud noise - probably great at the range. I just can't picture myself wearing those on an 8 mile walk.

At 55yrs old have never shot from a truck! must be a CA thing. If you hunt with me don't bring a gun with a muzzle break as you will be ask to leave it in the Car or truck! My hunt My rules! Hunting for me and my friends is a time to get to gather and see one and another. We meet at a time and place to eat lunch and catch up! Many deer have been shot from the lunch spot! Must be there hunger too! Clint

I don't understand the position of folks who don't use electronic hearing protection. They block sharp sounds and enhance other sounds. It is more intelegent to protect your hearing whether a firearm has a brake or not. All un supressed firearms are loud. All the hunters I know use them. To me it is like saying I am more macho than you. I don't use binoculars or even eye glasses 'cause that's what sissys use.

Christ, between Ringman and the douche from CA that I've had on ignore forever, there is a pile of 'knowledge' here.

Some of us don't wear electronic ear protection when hunting, have laser range finders, hell I'm thinking of taking my scope off and going back to irons. I like to still hunt and jump shoot my elk in the black timber

IT'S NOT ABOUT MUZZLE BRAKES...IT'S ABOUT CHOICE.

EVERYONE has a CHOICE to hunt or not, shoot or not, stand near or not...get their heads out of their backsides or NOT...when a braked weapon is close by...DOESN'T MATTER WHERE IT IS...on the range or in the field.

DON'T blame the muzzle braked weapon if you're too damned stupid to get out of the way, wear ear protection...maybe you're even to dumb to stop whizzing into the wind.

These infantile, ignorant responses are so totally mindless I can't hardly believe an adult is making them.

I make sure anyone I hunt with KNOWS my shooter is braked...I point it out BEFORE ANY plans are made....and I make sure the other wouldbe hunters have enough brainpower to have ear protection AND USE IT...WHILE we hunt...if they are too ignorant not to use hearing protection...then I DON'T WANT TO BE ANYWHERE AROUND THAT PERSON...WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY WILL DO.

The first hint of an excuse for not wearing ear AND eye protection from ANY hunter in the group and either they don't go or I DON'T GO...SIMPLE CHOICE FOR ALL PARTIES.

The first mention of "I GOT A SOUND SHOT"....or any inclination to do so and we part company no matter WHERE we happen to be, ALSO.

IT'S ALL ABOUT CHOICE...ANY kind of excuses don't get it done...and the final CHOICE IS YOURS TO MAKE...IF YOU CAN'T...QUIT WHINING...go somewhere else, I don't need or want you around

[bleep] a bunch of whining, sniveling, ignorant, mindless, fatherless, new age maggots that blame everything and everyone except themselves and won't carry their own water.

Whining? Don't those muzzle brakes come with pleated pink skirts?

You may not be aware of this priceless little tidbit, but if you switch to iron sites your rifle will still be loud with or without a brake. Just sayin'.

every one also has the choice to [bleep] themselves (or not) in while the truck with all their pards on the way to hunt. maybe warning the others would make it their fault when it stinks?

Taking this WAY too seriously ... Liberty is about choice and consideration ...

Good hunting and shooting all ...

You want to piss off a bunch of people in a hurry just shoot that unit without everyone wearing ear muffs. Their ears will ring for 3 hours and you may suffer permanent damage.

You never heard of putting your fingers in your ears with someone fires near you. Before I purchased my electronic ear muffs I would cover my ears if someone was going to fire a rifle. Guns with and without brakes are loud and can damage hearing.

You can kill anything--anything--with one shot DRT with a 300 grain bullet at 2500 fps from a .375 H&H. So why fool with muzzle brakes? Use a rifle you can shoot instead. If you can shoot a .458, that's fine. If not, don't sweat it. Anyone who can shoot a 30-06 can shoot a .375 with a little practice.

Hard to but your fingers in your ears when you have a drink in your hands (LOL)or a rifle or binos.

378,



I am guilty of the binos. I stand corrected. Enjoy your season.

Gotta agree with the hearing conservationists here. The db levels of a braked big bore exceeds hearing protection. The range is the worst place ever for those things. It's just Godawful to try to shoot next to a braked rifle at the range. I even had a goober with a braked .338 Lapua next to me. The muzzle blast was knocking stuff off of MY shooting bench!

If you have your own range and shoot alone, here's to you and your freedom. The very second that your choice intrudes on the the health, welfare and comfort of others, you're being thoughtless, careless and giving people grief.

Reminds me of the guy with straight pipes on his harley this summer. Jumps on it with a lady and her toddler right next to him. He fires the thing up right next to the kid's head, brap braps the hell out of it and takes off leaving a crying trembling baby boy and his mom. Care to wonder what her opinions of bikers are? Same thing. That's why I disdain muzzle brakes.

If I never got whopped on the side of the head by someone elses muzzle blast, I just wouldn't give a rat's patootie, but unfortunately, it's not that way. It's not about the noise. It's a physical irritant and hazard. On the really big hitters like the Lapua, it's like getting thumped in the side of the head while you're trying to work up a load. Hell, you can see the mist get knocked off the overhead and hear the steel drum thirty feet away ring.

I'm a solid disdainer of the wretched things. The excused for them are thin and unsupportable. After seeing a guy at the range practicing quick fire with an unbraked .416 Rigby hitting his target nicely while preparing for a bear hunt, I believe it's all about conditioning, clothing selection, practice and perhaps a better stock with recoil dampers on it.

I'd rather have a recoil damper than a blaster any day.

Some people better keep their fingers away from their ears, they might get sucked in and stuck! (attempt at humor)

All this from a guy who is loosing his hearing badly.

Well put AKHuck Clint

Some guns simply need sissy slots. Like a 600 Overkill firing 900gr bullets between 2200 and 2400fps (depending on the load)
He is my 110 pound daughter firing one



With a brake it is barely managable but LOUD. It is a lot quieter without one, as the 200 + pounds of recoil causes some folks to black out.

You hunting Brontosaurs out there, now?

Good form there by your daughter - as to no surprise.

Yet - to paraphrase you first paragraph -

"Some guns simply need no shooting."

As to Brakes - I am very much in the camp of the dislikers.

Sure - its your own choice and welcome to it.

Same as I to my opinion.

All does not always go as planned - in the heat of the hunt.

Breaked boomers shoot (pun intended) your hearing right quick - and there is a vast difference between 160 db at the muzzle and up to 175 db with a break.

The 160 db goes for most standard cartridges in 22 to 24 " barrels.

Couple that with the 25 - 30 db sound reduction capability of most plugs you get down under the 137 db threashold for impulse noise.

With the brake - that is not possible. Even with protection, it will damage your hearing. W/O, its murder.

Like most guides I dispise brakes on hunting rifles, but was making a point that they do work and on large ego toys like the 0verkill and 50 bmg they are needed if folks want to use them

Gotcha.

So was there a Brown Bear "overkilled" with that .600 later?

I find the higher velocity rounds like the 300 Weatherby's and RUMs as well as their 338 counter parts have a higher pitched report that seems to be more painful than my 375 H&H or my 500 Jeffery (both unbraked, though the 500 Jeffery is my recoil threshold). Or maybe I just can't hear them anymore ...