Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Rem 798 .458 muzzlebreak?

i got a customers Zastava-Serbia made rifle marketed by Remington a few years ago. It seems to be a well made rifle. The 26 in. barrel seems to be very lightweight, however, as is the gun- 8 lbs total. The customer wants me to install a muzzle brake on the gun. At the point of installation the barrel outside diemeter is .675 and if my math is correct the barrel wall thickness at this point is about .109 if the bore is centered and when i thread the barrel for a 5/8 x 18 gunners choice brake i will be left with .084 barrel tube thickness at the threads, again if the bore is centered - thats about 1/16 of an inch for full loads of 458 win mag ammo going thru the barrel on a regular basis. At the most this is marginal strength, at the least it is just too dangrously thin. Malm, Redneck and others, what do you think? Mel Chung

Mel,

I have a M798 in 458, too.
Its a joy to carry and a BEAST to shoot!

I suspect your right, the barrel is very thin at the muzzle. I won't put a brake on any rifle I own - So that was not an option for me. I solved the recoil problem with by wearing PAST recoil shield, putting a 1/8" thick pad on the stock and moving the front sling swivel to the front of the stock:

i see the 1/8 pad on the top of the cheekpiece. Moving the swivel stud to the front of the stock is easier than putting a band on the barrel- that solves the cut on the web of the hand problem! Thanks, Mel

I would suggest to the customer that he let you add about a pound and a half weight to that stock. 8lbs. is just too light for a .458 IMHO.