Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Magnaporting VS Muzzle Brake?

I am thinking about Magnaporting my Weatherby.
The only thing that appeals to me is not having to forget or lose the brake and even more importantly not having to add an additional 2" to the end of the already long 26" tube.

Can someone describe the advantages and disadvantages of either ?

Is recoil reduction better with either?

Mag-na-port is better in my opinion. The muzzle brakes are more effective in reducing recoil but not by much. Plus Mag-na-port isn't as loud plus the ports don't really change the looks of your rifle.

That's a bonus in my eyes as well.

I don't have anything braked, for a few reasons... never felt a need on anything that I shoot, don't want the extra noise (from the shooters and buddies perspectives), and REALLY don't like the looks of them.

If I had to have one, I think I could live with something like Magna-Porting the easiest.

HOw does recoil redux compare though?

the barrel is 26" for a reason. magnaporting will reduce the effective barrel legnth and ballistic performance.
a muzzel break can be removed and a cap placed on the threads.
the extra legnth really wont make much difference in the carrying ability.
plus the value would be diminished more with magnaporting.

I am not an expert but from what I have read you lose zero FPS by magnaporting. Can not find a single reference to support your statement, though I may be wrong.

Get the brake. You can remove it or use it.. If you decide later to ditch it, you only lose about .4" of barrel length to cut off threads and re-crown.

Magna-port is there, permanently, and it WILL decrease the value of the rifle. Only way to remove it is to cut off a LOT of barrel or install a new one.. I've also noted that accuracy can be affected by it..

It's fine for shotguns.. It's horrible for rifles..

Here's an example of a very fine rifle that was magna-ported. The price is high enough anyway, but I guarantee you that it will never sell unless the owner wishes to take a loss of about 60% or more - simply due to that barrel:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=217706894

He's asking $2995.00.. It's real market value is about $700 in this configuration... Unless he trolls long enough to find a very large fish..

This is what I found.........

Mag-Na-Port is best , because it works , without shattering eardrums . I can't think of any accessory that detracts more from the looks of a rifle more than a Brake out on the end of the barrel !

I have only ever had one gun Magna Ported, a Rem. 700 Mountain Rifle in 7-08. At the time I was having medical problems with my neck and the light MR barrel was recoiling off the front rest enough to hurt my neck. The Magna Porting eliminated this problem. Recoil reduction was minimal. The gunsmith doing the work here in Canada (authorized by the company) caused real problems for me. I won't go into details.

Presently I have a Rem. 700 in .338 Win. Mag. with a factory muzzle brake that works really well. I have only fired 2 shots with the brake off and then gave up on that idea. With the brake in place the barrel is 25.5 inches long. I am short but find the gun to balance well. Due to the way I hunt the extra noise from the brake is a non-issue.

Jim

I would think that any gunsmith in his right mind would not magna port a MR barrel. It's a soda straw barrel as is. Just my opinion though

The problem was not in the diameter of the barrel. The magna porting worked well. It was the gunsmith's disregard for my shipping instructions which caused the trouble. My gun ended up being lost for about one month and the trouble I had in trying to track it without the co-operation of the gunsmith. I had to get really ugly with the shipping company in order to get any help from them to locate the gun.

Jim

I have 2 magnaported rifles..a 300WM and a 338WM. Both rifles shoot and look great, unlike the ugly, disfiguring brakes. It controls muzzle flip to about zero. Although I haven't tried it, it might be just the thing to control those jumpy ultralight rifles. How many of you out there have seen your deer or whatever drop to the shot through your scope? I have, and it's pretty cool.

There is some recoil reduction. How much I really can't tell you. I would suspect a brake is much better at that, as my 300 sure doesn't feel like a 243!

I had a pre 64 FW in 30-06 magnaported and shot side by side with another one not ported, I could tell little difference between the 2. I own 2 rifles with muzzlebrakes and there is a big difference with the break on or off.

Hummm what whould happen if you did both?? Kick like a 22lr and sound like 50cal!

I also prefer Magna-Porting and own three rifles so equipped. A brake will give a little better recoil reduction, no doubt, but the M-P is significantly quieter than the brake. Also, when shooting from prone, the brake kicks up a fearful dust storm; the M-P, lacking ventral vents, does not.

If you hunt much from horseback and use a scabbard, you'll find a brake makes the gun really awkward to fish out, especially if the hunter must do so quickly.

Someone mentioned a certain loss of velocity and accuracy with the M-P process. My 3 rifles are only a small sample, but that claim is factually untrue. My .338 ACTUALLY GAINED 25 fps, on average.

Lastly, it comes down to aesthetics for me......a dreadful brake hanging off the end of your barrel ruins the clean lines of the rifle and makes it ugly as a mud fence.

I usually ask a customer if they may ever use the rifle prone. If so, I just install a brake w/o holes in the bottom. Does the same job sans dust clouds.. Piece of cake.

Why? Just due to the extra length? The brakes I usually use are machined to the same diameter as the muzzle. Therefore, one is just going from a 24" to a 26" barrel or 26" to 28". Besides, most do not keep them on during a hunt - using them for benchwork/load development or similar but are removed when hunting..

I'll take that over the ugly holes in a nice barrel that can't be removed, anytime...

But whatever.. It's up to the individual owner.. As long as they intend to keep that rifle forever, doing a MP might not matter.. But if they ever want to sell it - be prepared for a potentially significant loss..

Redneck knows what he's talking about,listen to him.
I own 14 rifles all have brakes on them due to shoulder problems.All of my brakes have forward drilled holes,some 11 degree,now mostly 17 degree and all of them match the end barrel diameter.Most of the blast is pushed forward away from the hunter.I've shot deer,hogs and varmints under feeders and the other animals just look around they can't tell where the shot came from,due to the angle of the holes of the brake.They do reduce recoil about 50%-60%.Skeeter

Skeeter, is the muzzle blast louder to you than unbraked or about the same?

Can you shoot without ear protection?

Curious.

There is less recoil with either. Depending on what muzzle brake is chosen, muzzle jump can be reduced quite a bit--especially with magnaport based on my experience, but there's whole lot of muzzle brakes that I haven't tried either......

Muzzle blast is ferocious--I'm convinced magnaporting a rifle back in the 80's hurt my hearing--I will never use magnaporting or a muzzle brake again. If the rifle needs a brake, I ain't shooting it.

The best recoil reducing system out there is a Decelerator pad by Pachmayr, second best is a thick flip flop, either one fitted to stock with minimal drop at the heel.........