A buddy of mine has a muzzle brake on his 300 WinMag and he shot it once while I was about 25 yards behind him, walking away from the bench and it felt like someone had slapped me on both ears. OUCH.
Another time while elk hunting he had to shoot three times at a cow that was about to go over an edge into a steep ravine. When he got back to camp he said he couldn't hear a thing. It took a day or so for the ringing to go away and for his hearing to come back.
Same deal - i have a buddy with a brake'd 300 jarret. He shot 5 does on a cull hunt one afternoon without hearing protection. Pretty sure he did serious permanent damage.
Oulufinn has a .300 Jarrett with a brake and it is absolutely the loudest thing I have ever had the displeasure of being around. I have to grit my teeth if he's blasting away with it or the fillings in my head will liquify. No thanks.
Not to be the "one up" guy, but a hunter at our deer camp has a .30-378 Wby with a brake. Shot off a bench under a tin roof shed, even with ear protection, it's an unforgetible experience for bystanders. And he loves that thing.
DF
