Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game David Gentry Quiet muzzle brake?

It's funy to read all of these posts about the brakes and the pros and cons.

I have no automatic hatred of them but I don't like when I have hunters shooting them for several weeks in a row with me. I can plug my ears from time to time but the truth is quite often I have to look through my glasses to watch the shot. I need to see impact and reaction to improve my locating the game.

I have known two fellas percsonally with braked rifles that had the thread protector. On paper it sounded good but in practice the POI was over an inch different at 100 meters. that was ofcourse carried out the further the shot was. Even with earplugs in and head phones on those rifles were by a large margin much louder then an unbraked rifle. I got to the point of moving a long way off and behind when he would shoot. It was very unpleasant to be around, even in the desert much less a somewhat enclosed rifle range.

I remember one instance from last season very clearly We were squated down looking over game for the best animal. We were about 80 yards from the herd but with the thick bush it was hard to see all the animals to be sure of the best trophy. There were about 40 animals but we could only ever see 10 or so at one time.

We finally settled on the one we wanted and watched for the right chance to shoot. I was squatted down sitting on my heels with both hands holding my leica's to be sure of a good hit. I was about 12 feet from the hunter and even with him.

When the bull turned sideways, broadside at under 75 yards the hunter took the shot. I never saw what happened even with my solid hold and good position. The sand and dust that blew into the air, and the blast from that brake actully pushed my balance point backward and I fell back breaking my fall with one arm. There was dust and sand in my shirt, mouth, ears, hair, and my hat blew off!

The hunter was just fine aside from not seeing any part of the impact with the blown up dust. The crap that blew into the air was to his sides and not back towards him. My ears were ringing for days after that, and I was beginning to worry it was permanent. It was especially bad when I was trying to fall asleep at night. That constant buzz was driving me crazy in the still of the night. It's events like this that form my opinions on these muzzle blast enhancers.

They have a place on a gun used by a fella with bursitis or tendonities of the shoulder. Maybe some other injury or problem. Better to have a braked rifle then to never be able to hunt again. Its like a disability feature for hunters like close parking at the store, or ramps built into the cross walk curbs.

I guess I don't see the brake as a needed item for a healthy guy that can still use a rifle without one. Not any more then using the handicapped parking or using a wheel chair when I could walk.

I have no problems taking hunter with a brake. I now know to prepare for the shot a bit better. When ever possible I will stand right behind him. Although not always possible in the heat of the moment. I also don't use my glasses but plug my ears which is a risk in mot seeing the reaction to the shot as well. The price you pay for reduced recoil!