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

Does any one know anything about these muzzle brakes? Has any one ever used one of these "quiet muzzle brakes" and is there a noise reduction?

www.gentrycustom.com/

Bill

There is no such thing as a quiet muzzle brake.......I don't care who makes it.

I had one installed on one of my 7mags back in '96 IIRC. I was crossing a snow covered clearcut in Idaho when a nice whitetail buck broke out across at about 300yds, spooked by a passing hunting rig going down a logging road. I pulled off a hail mary shot and was greeted with one of the loudest ear piercing ka-booms I've ever heard. Grabbed my ears in disgust and was even more disgusted when I learned I missed the buck. My ears rang for a couple days after that. I sold that rifle a year later, it sold quickly at a gunshow cause it looked kinda cool with that Gentry brake I guess.

MtnHtr

Bill,

Welcome to the Fire! I think you will find most folks here very friendly and helpful!

I sure would love it if this brake was indeed quiet, but I am not sure how that is possible. Of course, I am not sure how the internet is possible, but I am on it writing to you, so maybe muzzle brake technology has made a jump I don't understand. I hope so - maybe someone more savvy will jump in.

DJ

Or maybe not, in light of Mtn Hunter's experience. Guess he and I were posting at the same time.

David is just outside of Bozeman Montana, If you are any where near there go over and talk to him ask him for a demonstration. I haven't tried that but I do know he is a hell of a custom gun smith. He has 3 CMC machines and produces a lot of stuff that Brownells sells. But I have never heard of a quiet muzzle brake and sure have'nt seen one

the only truely quiet muzzle brake (other than silencers/suppressors which also act as brakes) I have ever even hear of was manufactured by an outfit called american safe arms. The way they did it was fitted an oversized sleeve about the size of a 10 gauge barrel around a lightweight barrel and vented the gasses into the sleeve. they ended up in trouble with the atf for a little while cause the atf decided they were building silencers not muzzle brakes. As the story goes browning was interested in the technology and loaned them their legal staff. They reached an agreement with the atf that they would tune their brakes to lower the overall noise no more than 4 or 5 decibles and the atf would classify them as brakes. It wasn't too long after this that they seem to have dissapeared. i have often thought that would have been the brake to have. All this is just going on memory so take it with a grain of salt.

Thanks DJ. I have never heard of a quiet muzzle brake either that's why I was asking. I would be curious to what dB level he is calling quiet compared to the other muzzle brakes.

Bill

I would view any claim of a quiet brake with a raised eyebrow. Unless the company will stand behind it and state how much lower the decibel rating is with the brake they are most likely blowing smoke.

I have quite a few rifles with brakes, Gentry brake, like the Vais brake directs the blast away from the face of the shooter. I have a Dalsk (sp) that does the same thing. I have a couple of other brands that will replaced with one of brakes that direct the blast away for me, as the shooter. All of them are loud if you stand beside them. I also remember a brake that lowered the muzzle blast by 30 to 35 db, but it went the way of the ATF, because it was classified as a silencer.
Take care!
Marcus.

I cannot speak for the Gentry brake but I have noticed that some brakes are quieter than others. All are louder than an unbraked rifle. IMO the Vais, is quieter than a KDF.

I don't know about Gentry's unit, but I have seen some measured Sound Pressure Level data for the BP Tec that showed it was not louder. They have some theory of operation on their website.

http://www.bp-tec.com/

They can also tune their unit in that you can choose how the recoil moves your rifle (straight in line with bore, etc.).

I have not tried one of these, but I would like to hear if anyone does. I know that theory and practrice are different, experience tells you how much. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

jim

I heard a story about a similar or perhaps identical system. The developer had worked on a solution to allow his young daughter to shoot a regular hunting bullet and load. Sure enough he got into a conflict with the ATF...

I do not know what happened to them after that.

By the way I think that forbidding a degree of silencing on hunting guns is a shamelful administrative idiocy which is driving many hunters to deafness. A similar attitude at the workplace would lead the business owner to pay compensations to his workers and fines to the authorities.

Why do we hunters accept such stupid laws and regulations when they hurt our health ???

I know these aren't after-market, but maybe one of the after market manufacturers has something similiar....

Savage has designed a Muzzlebrake that can be rotated open and closed. Shoot it open when running a lot of rounds through it at the range....when hunting, close it.

The Browning BOSS system now has a CR attachment. CR stands for convention recoil and the muzzle blast/sound is also conventional.

That's very interesting. I wonder how long it will take for others gun makers who offer muzzle brakes to follow? Or an aftermarket muzzle brake to come along that will fit other guns besides Browning?

I have a .338 WM in a M700 Remington with a factory muzzle brake. Tried removing the brake for a couple of shots and found a) the recoil was more than I wanted to contend with, and b) the bullets didn't have the same impact point.
I believe Remington has an attachment for the barrel intended to protect the threads when the brake is removed. My gun did not have this attachment so I don't know if the point of impact would have been unchanged if there had been an attachment i.e. the weight of the attachment would have been similar to the weight of the brake.
What has been the experience of others with changing points of impact when a muzzle brake is either removed or covered?

You have a great question Jim and for those who have a gun with a MB....I would love to hear your responses.

If a MB is twisted off or covered up....does it change the ballistic performance?

The BP bunch came onto Accurate Reloading touting their muzzle brake and how it doesn't increase the sound (or sound pressure). They started getting real evasive when they were pinned down on how their brake didn't increase the "level of sound" to the shooter. They finally drifted back into the shadows not to be heard from again.

To each his own, but I don't see why anyone uses a muzzle brake while hunting. I've never felt the recoil while shooting at the animal. This is from my 458 Lott on down. I most certainly have felt the recoil at the range. There I'll use a sissy pad and plenty of hearing protection.

The range where I shoot has a metal cover over the benches as do many ranges. The raport of the rifle is a darn sight louder to the shooter than shooting from an uncovered bench. None of my rifles are wearing muzzle brakes. It was my understanding from the BP bunch that the sound pressure wasn't increased, but why the heck was it louder to the shooter? This was when their story started to unravel.

Don't tell me that in this big audience no one has experimented with guns having muzzle brakes i.e. determining the effect of removing or covering up the vent holes? Personally when there is rainy or snowy weather I wrap the muzzle brake and end of the muzzle with electricians tape to prevent water from getting into the barrel. The tape blows clear when the rifle is fired but it has no effect on the point of impact, at least on my rifle.

If you live in a state where they are not restricted why not put a suppressor on it. They reduce both recoil and noise. I have no idea what they would do to accuracy.

DT