Perceived noise levels from a radial brake vs a side port?

[Elite]

I am curious if anyone has experience with the perceived noise level difference in a radial brake vs a side ported brake that directs the gas back to the shooter? I have a side ported brake on a 30-06 and I shot it once with out wearing hearing protection I saw a wolf close to my house and didn’t have time to grab the ear protection. The noise level was very high and my ears hurt for the day.

I see a lot of guys shooting the radial brakes on hunting shows and not wearing any hearing protection? I am curious if these brakes aren’t as loud due to the gas direction?

I am also wondering how much difference the Caliber makes for DB level? Say a 300 win mag vs a 7mm-08 with a brake


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[rayporter]

my 300 wm with a radial brake will hurt you.

 

[H80Hunter]

I’m curious about this too. I took the tikka radial brake off a 6.5 PRC because it’s for hunting but I tried desperately to find validation that the radial brake would be ok to shoot occasionally at a deer without immediate harm. Never found it though.

 

[Elite]

I’m curious about this too. I took the tikka radial brake off a 6.5 PRC because it’s for hunting but I tried desperately to find validation that the radial brake would be ok to shoot occasionally at a deer without immediate harm. Never found it though.

I have also been looking for a comparison. That side ported brake left me dead for half the day but yet I see a lot of people shooting radials while hunting and not wearing hearing protection. Not saying it’s the proper way but can’t be as dramatic as the side ports


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[Remington92]

I made the mistake of tapping off a few rounds of 223 at a coyote with a Miculek brake with no ear pro once, I cant imagine what that would be like from a larger cartridge. Not to mention the splitting headaches I used to get from a braked 300rum because of the blast concussion. I refuse to hunt with brakes now not only because of that but I usually hunt with someone else and don't want to worry about them not packing ear pro because of my rifle.

Suppressor is the real answer to this question.

 

[Axlrod]

I am curious if anyone has experience with the perceived noise level difference in a radial brake vs a side ported brake that directs the gas back to the shooter? I have a side ported brake on a 30-06 and I shot it once with out wearing hearing protection I saw a wolf close to my house and didn’t have time to grab the ear protection. The noise level was very high and my ears hurt for the day.

I see a lot of guys shooting the radial brakes on hunting shows and not wearing any hearing protection? I am curious if these brakes aren’t as loud due to the gas direction?

I am also wondering how much difference the Caliber makes for DB level? Say a 300 win mag vs a 7mm-08 with a brake


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You are looking for different levels in noise. ALL are many thousands of times past permanent hearing damage. Loud noises above 120 decibels causes immediate harm. An unbraked 30/06 is 160 decibels. The Decibel scale is algorithmic- 20 decibels is 10 times more intense than 10db.
100db is one billion times more intense than 10db. So an unbraked 30/06 is 10,000 times more intense than 120db- the beginning level of hearing damage.

The smaller caliber will have a lower db, but it will still be WAY beyond 120db.

The risk of damaging your hearing from noise increases with the sound intensity, not the loudness of the sound.

 

[rayporter]

once my bud built a 221 fireball with a brake. without thinking i fired it with no protection. it hurt --- a lot.

 

[WormSportsman]

I’ve shot a few radial brakes taking deer for the first few years I had them before I wised up. My left ear constantly rings and I do not shoot brakes without ear pro now. I’d rather miss an opportunity at a buck or bull now than lose any more hearing. Cartridges shot were 6.5 Wby RPM, 6.5 creedmoor and .280AI. All were uncomfortable to shoot and made me look into suppressor options and or go un braked. The guys on tv either don’t care about their hearing loss or are too dumb to realize it’s causing permanent damage.

 

[nidahobrushswimmer]

Put it this way, I remember the shot in particular from my radial braked 300 that seemed to be the onset of tinnitus in my left ear.

 

[hereinaz]

Both are gnarly, but side ports are worse with the way they direct a lot more gas rearward.

 

[jimh406]

I haven't shot a 30'06 with a brake, but shot plenty without while hunting. For "one" shot, I'd would have put on a thread protector years ago. Well, years ago, I didn't have any hunting barrels that were threaded. I always used hearing protection sighting in.

However, I've lost as much hearing as I want to lose, so I'd keep hearing protection with the gun just in case no matter if you go with a thread protector or not. I find the neckband type pretty convenient since it is easy to put in quickly and relatively inexpensive. It might seem marginal for a side ported brake.

Better would be start the process for a suppressor if it's allowed where you are.

 

[5811]

Here is an article with different brakes measured for sound:


https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/08/07/muzzle-brakes-sound-test/