I have one rifle with more than one hole in the barrel a Marlin Guide Gun, nasty horrible noise far worse than the recoil. If I fired the rifle more than once or twice a year I’d saw the end off the barrel to get rid of the holes.
I had a 7mm REM Mag in a A-Bolt with the BOSS, went to the non-ported BOSS ASAP. That rifle has since been sold.
Like Jordan (probably only a year or two apart in time and a few miles in space) I had a magna-ported .300 WSM fired by a hunter I was guiding before I could plug my ear and after they had shifted a bit. The ear rung for days and I’m sure there was hearing loss incurred.
Had another hunter I was guiding with a braked rifle shooting prone on a big slab of granite even with my ears plugged (I developed the skill of plugging both ears with my little fingers whilst holding my binoculars) the noise and concussion were nasty.
I will not put a brake on a rifle and like Tinman stated above would saw it off if a braked rifle came to me.
In my opinion If a person “needs” a brake on a hunting rifle go down the recoil scale or spend more time in the gym. Target rifles could be a different situation.
Just my opinion.
