Muzzle breaks- muzzle flip- hunting- Thoughts?

[Cactus kid]

I have never really considered using a muzzle brake because of the extra length/weight/ increased noise and like most of you guys can handle a decent amount of recoil. After talking with a shooter far better than myself, I was told the main benefit of a brake is that it reduces muzzle flip so dramatically that you can actually spot your shots at closer range with the magnum calibers.

Does anyone have imput on this? I shoot a magnum caliber and find I cannot stay on target because of muzzle flip.

 

[2five7]

Yep, that is a major advantage especially if you are hunting solo with no spotter.

 

[wind gypsy]

I was told the main benefit of a brake is that it reduces muzzle flip so dramatically that you can actually spot your shots at closer range with the magnum calibers.

[video=youtube;hLDnPiXyME0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLDnPiXyME0[/video]

 

[Stid2677]

My experience is brakes help with, muzzle flip and also find my rifles are more accurate with the brakes on.

 

[AK Troutbum]

My experience is brakes help with, muzzle flip and also find my rifles are more accurate with the brakes on.

That’s been my experience as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jon Boy]

That's what first got me looking at muzzle brakes. My tikka 7mag actual recoil to my shoulder wasn't bad but damn was the muzzle flip ridiculous. I now don't own a rifle with out a brake. Too handy and ive always had time in the field to put ear protection in.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

[danmayland]

Yes, yes, yes!!

Absolutely one of the main reasons I own a muzzle brake on every rifle I own. Being able to spot my shots either hunting or competing is the difference between meat on the table or going home empty handed.

Here’s a great write up on several of the best brakes on the market:

I use the JEC on my hunting rifles and the Alamo Four Star cowl induction brake on my comp rifles.

Muzzle Brakes: Ability To Stay On Target - PrecisionRifleBlog.com

Muzzle Brakes: Recoil Results for 6mm & 6.5mm - PrecisionRifleBlog.com


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scoony]

I just started shooting with a brake. I put one on a AR-15 and while the 223 does not have much of a recoil, the brake keeps the sight on target throughout the shot so I can see the impact much like you can with a 22 rimfire. I also have a 338 Win mag that came with a brake. I still get a little flip, but that 338 is actually very comfortable to shoot. My 30-06 Ruger American has more recoil and a lot more flip. I was planning on removing the brake while hunting, but it is small so I will probably keep it on.

 

[Cactus kid]

Lots of great info here. How bad is the noise difference?

 

[Jon Boy]

Lots of great info here. How bad is the noise difference?

I think its a pretty substantial noise difference. I don't suggest shooting a braked rifle with out ear pro

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

[Stid2677]

Lots of great info here. How bad is the noise difference?

Get in front of one and by that I mean being forward of the fired braked rifle and it will ring your bell. Unless you shoot a can, any rifle is loud enough to need hearing protection. A rifle with a brake is louder, not that much from behind the trigger but much louder to those exposed to the muzzle blast. All sorts of brakes and loads, so lots of variation.

 

[Cactus kid]

[video=youtube;hldnpixyme0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hldnpixyme0[/video]

this made my day

 

[Cactus kid]

any brake you would recommend for a 300 win mag?

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Lots of great info here. How bad is the noise difference?

I shot mine once w/o ears and hope to never again. It was ear popping painful followed by intense ringing for quite a while, WAY worse than an unbraked rifle (I normally hunt w/o ear pro with a regular gun). I was baffled by the folks that said they hunt a brake w/o ear pro (maybe the different types have different decibel levels at the shooter position?). I like the brake but will make damn sure to have ear pro along at all times.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I shot mine once w/o ears and hope to never again. It was ear popping painful followed by intense ringing for quite a while, WAY worse than an unbraked rifle (I normally hunt w/o ear pro with a regular gun). I was baffled by the folks that said they hunt a brake w/o ear pro (maybe the different types have different decibel levels at the shooter position?). I like the brake but will make damn sure to have ear pro along at all times.

I gotta say, I’m baffled by the folks that don’t use ear protection when firing any firearm regardless of at the range or in the field. I’m guilty of not using ear protection in the field for most of my life and I am definitely paying the price now. It may be a little too late for me now but, I always use ear protection regardless of where I’m shooting. I’ve also been instilling this in my kids from day one. Hopefully this will become second nature for them, like wearing a seatbelt, as they grow older.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I don't disagree, I've been drifting towards ear pro all the time as my ears bother me more and more (esp. after hunting season) but I haven't drilled in the habit yet, I've picked a few options to try out for field use going forward though and it'll be a stronger focus for me regardless. My general point was a standard rifle or shotgun is loud and causes my ears to ring but its not painful (perhaps due to the abuse already, dunno). The braked rifle was a sharp contrast, my ear popped painfully and was intensely ringing after which died down as the day progressed. I hope to never fire that w/o ear pro again.

 

[541hunter]

I have been contemplating adding a brake to a couple of my rifles. That being said what are you guys using in the field for fast deploying ear pro?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jon Boy]

I have been contemplating adding a brake to a couple of my rifles. That being said what are you guys using in the field for fast deploying ear pro?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The ones in this picture. Take half a second to put on. I had a very brief moment to get a shot off on this buck. Put the ear pro on, through the bipod down and touched a shot off as he was taking a step to crest the ridge. Shot 4 animals with a braked rifle this year and had time to put them in each and every shot.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Others with more experience can pipe up but my intention is to have a pair of those orange behind the neck banded ear plugs I can wear around my neck to quickly plug up. Amazon.com: Howard Leight by Honeywell Quiet Band Shooting Earplugs, 1-Pair (R-01538): Home Improvement

For walking shotgun hunting I think I'll try sonic defenders ep3 SureFire Black EP3-Large EarPro Sonic Defenders Hearing Protection Earpieces 1 Pair Large EP3-BK-LPR - - Amazon.com

I need to add a cheek riser to my rifle due to the optic height so I'll likely put on a stock pack and keep a spare set of foam plugs in there also.

 

[ramont]

It's refreshing to find so many people that have actually tried a brake and are willing to talk about the real advantages of them. I've recommended and defended using a brake for decades and most of that time I've been told about the severe noise that the shooter experiences, noise increases that I've never experienced. To be fair I think I finally understand where these opinions come from, the guys that don't wear any hearing protection.

My hearing was ruined by the time I was in my early 20's and in order to save what little hearing I had left I started to wear hearing protection in any noisy environment. In the field I've taken to using my hearing aids which have a high frequency cutoff point so they help reduce the damage to my hearing, you can buy something similar with the Walker Game Ear products. You get the advantage of amplified hearing along with sound suppression when you fire your rifle. The only problem is that the batteries can quit without notice and you can over-amplify everything to the point of distraction and you can lose the ability to locate where the noise came from.

I've found some tests that show that there is a slight increase in db levels for the shooter and others that claim that there is none, either way everyone agrees that the sound intensity is far worse for the people to either side of the shooter. I've had some people tell me that even with ear protection they can't handle being next to a brake at the range, I'm not sure how much of that is imagined rather than real but it doesn't matter for the person that is being disturbed by the brake.

I've made a few brakes for people so I am familiar with the basic design concepts and I understand how and why the problem with increased sound intensity exists. But I also understand that some people are so uninformed about those basics that some of them make negative remarks about brakes that aren't actually due to the brake's characteristics. In those cases the firing situation was more to blame than the brake. A good example is that when you fire at a range with overhead cover (a roof of any kind) the sound intensity is always worse than firing in an open field. If there is a wall on either side of your brake the sound intensity is going to be worse, that includes a large rock or even heavy brush. Caliber is another factor. A brake works by gasses creating force on the surface of the cuts, as the calibers become larger it becomes more difficult to make cuts that provide enough surface area to create the required forces, it can be done but the brakes become physically larger to a point of being too heavy and cumbersome for a hunting rifle.

Then there is the reality that some people just have extremely sensitive hearing and their complaints are absolutely legitimate, I wish my hearing were still good enough to be bothered by my brakes when I wear hearing protection.