Suppressor and integral brakes - Recoil Reduction

[TheCougar]

I’m going to bite the bullet and get a suppressor. It’s for a hunting rifle and will be used for range practice and out in the field, so weight is a factor. Otherwise, recoil reduction (not sound) is my highest priority. I’m shooting a modified Tikka 7RM with a brake on it. As it stands, my son can shoot it with the brake - and it’s tame enough he can practice with it. I’ve got three kids after him, and I want the rifle to be tame enough for them to handle as well.

I understand that a brake reduces recoil by about 50% and suppressors reduce the felt recoil by about 30%. I also know that suppressors slow the recoil impulse down, as well. @Formidilosus however, for a kid I think the total recoil matters as well, not just the loud noise and how fast the recoil impulse hits. A couple of dB matters less to me than a couple of ft-lbs of force.

I’m trying to find the suppressor that gives the greatest “true” recoil reduction, while doing a good job with sound reduction and weight. I’ve seen some suppressors with brake attachments (inside the suppressor) and some with brakes that go on the end of the suppressor (external). I’ve also seen folks saying that these don’t really do much, but it’s hard to find anything definitive.

Now to the question:
1. Do integral brakes make a difference? For example, the Banish Backcountry is supposedly compatible with their Banish muzzle brake attachment.
2. Do the external brakes on the end of the suppressor make a difference? (Omega makes one. Omega isn’t on the list, as it’s way too heavy, but just as an example).
3. Is there a direct correlation between sound reduction and recoil reduction? Meaning, does the suppressor with the most sound reduction also have the most recoil reduction?
4. Is there any one suppressor that stands out for our purposes?

 

[TheCougar]

I think this might be a duplicate thread. I found a similar one, but it didn’t seem to be a final answer there either…

 

[tlsmith22]

I shoot 1000s of rounds a year in PRS and the gold standard for a suppressed brake has been the Area 419 Maverick. Just this past week, Boss Suppressors released a suppressed brake called the top shot. I had an opportunity to test it on a heavy dasher(25 lbs) this past weekend and it done a great job. It has more of a brake feel than the Maverick which has more of a suppressor push to it. I think the sounds suppression was similar between the 2. I am going to do some testing with a 6.5cm next week shooting the 156 bergers to see how it handles a caliber with more recoil.

 

[Weldor]

I have been using a Harvestor 30 with intigrated brake, works well for me.

 

[littlebigtine]

For what it’s worth you can look at the new rr(external brake) suppressors tbac just released side by side with the non-brake magnus versions and compare recoil and suppression. Interesting stuff. I preordered the magnus s rr cb because it has the best recoil reduction and should be just a little louder than my ultra 5( which is definitely tolerable without ear pro in hunting scenarios). I’ll gain some weight on my setup but hopefully some accuracy and the ability to spot more shots in weird positions. It sounds like the hunting crowd is sleeping on these suppressors, but if what tbac states is true( which I trust those guys) it might be the best of both worlds between suppression and recoil management. I also wonder if the brake at the end of the suppressor might be quieter down range because it directs noise horizontally across the position. So maybe in theory it is just as quiet to the animal being shot at as the suppressor without a brake? Big maybe but sounds logical?

 

[Lawnboi]

For what it’s worth you can look at the new rr(external brake) suppressors tbac just released side by side with the non-brake magnus versions and compare recoil and suppression. Interesting stuff. I preordered the magnus s rr cb because it has the best recoil reduction and should be just a little louder than my ultra 5( which is definitely tolerable without ear pro in hunting scenarios). I’ll gain some weight on my setup but hopefully some accuracy and the ability to spot more shots in weird positions. It sounds like the hunting crowd is sleeping on these suppressors, but if what tbac states is true( which I trust those guys) it might be the best of both worlds between suppression and recoil management. I also wonder if the brake at the end of the suppressor might be quieter down range because it directs noise horizontally across the position. So maybe in theory it is just as quiet to the animal being shot at as the suppressor without a brake? Big maybe but sounds logical?

Their recoil data is pretty interesting, even with the non braked suppressors. Looks like there might be something to larger suppressor depending on cartridge.

For guys shooting large magnums with brakes now I see the brakes version being awesome.

I’m hoping they cut recoil as much as they say, sure would be nice to not have to deal with brakes on the firing line.

 

[mtlivin]

I finally got to shoot my Nomad TI on a couple rifles and play with the E-brake as well. First, recoil reduction is very good on 6.5s and my 7mag, both with and without the ebrake. My rifles are all in the 8.5-9lb range so pretty light setups that have recoil. On my 6.5x284 I can watch my bullet impact at 500 yards no problem suppressed, the 7mag is a lot trickier and I really have to preload the bipod and turn the scope down to 10x, and then I still struggle to spot impacts, but it’s a lighter gun shooting 180gr bullets at 2900fps, to be expected.

The e-brake does not make a huge difference IMO. The gas leaving the ebrake has already slowed down inside the supressor and doesn’t have the same recoil reduction effect as high speed gas leaving a muzzle brake. The long recoil impulse suppressed also make it hard to stay on target w larger calibers, but doubtful I will be hunting w my super loud, but super effective, APA muzzle breaks ever again.

 

[justin davis]

The new Thunderbeast cans with the recoil reducers on the end sound exactly like what your wanting

 

[TheCougar]

The new Thunderbeast cans with the recoil reducers on the end sound exactly like what your wanting

I don’t have the source data laying around, but I remember looking at those cans and they were HEAVY. Something like 13+oz. Are those the cans your are referring to?

 

[justin davis]

I don’t have the source data laying around, but I remember looking at those cans and they were HEAVY. Something like 13+oz. Are those the cans your are referring to?

Yea im Sure the recoil reduction brakes on the suppressor add a little weight. I just suggested that as you said you wanted recoil reduction. Those stand out compared to anything else. I don’t think there are any suppressors out there that reduce recoil like those.

 

[wind gypsy]

No free lunch. Effective brake on an end of suppressor does increase noise.

For a brake on suppressor, it seems like the remaining pressure of gases when they get to the brake impact how much it reduces recoil. That also likely impacts how much louder a can with a brake on the end of it is vs a flat end cap. Also kind of indicates that a larger volume can might not get as much benefit from a brake on the end but the larger volume can likely reduces more recoil on it's own than a smaller volume can.. Lots of factors at play.

The new TBAC cans look cool but for light and short option, i think the Scythe with a 3 port anchor brake is pretty attractive. I do wonder if the TBAC port design wouldn't be more effective at reducing recoil though?

The dead air ebrake doens't look like something that would be as effective at reducing recoil but also seems like it wouldn't increase noise as much as the sico or tbac brakes.

 

[TheCougar]

No free lunch. Effective brake on an end of suppressor does increase noise.

For a brake on suppressor, it seems like the remaining pressure of gases when they get to the brake impact how much it reduces recoil. That also likely impacts how much louder a can with a brake on the end of it is vs a flat end cap. Also kind of indicates that a larger volume can might not get as much benefit from a brake on the end but the larger volume can likely reduces more recoil on it's own than a smaller volume can.. Lots of factors at play.

The new TBAC cans look cool but for light and short option, i think the Scythe with a 3 port anchor brake is pretty attractive. I do wonder if the TBAC port design wouldn't be more effective at reducing recoil though?

The dead air ebrake doens't look like something that would be as effective at reducing recoil but also seems like it wouldn't increase noise as much as the sico or tbac brakes.

I’ve got two scythes in jail. I’ll be trying the one and three port brakes.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

No free lunch. Effective brake on an end of suppressor does increase noise.

For a brake on suppressor, it seems like the remaining pressure of gases when they get to the brake impact how much it reduces recoil. That also likely impacts how much louder a can with a brake on the end of it is vs a flat end cap. Also kind of indicates that a larger volume can might not get as much benefit from a brake on the end but the larger volume can likely reduces more recoil on it's own than a smaller volume can.. Lots of factors at play.

The new TBAC cans look cool but for light and short option, i think the Scythe with a 3 port anchor brake is pretty attractive. I do wonder if the TBAC port design wouldn't be more effective at reducing recoil though?

The dead air ebrake doens't look like something that would be as effective at reducing recoil but also seems like it wouldn't increase noise as much as the sico or tbac brakes.

I've been using an ebrake on my Nomad LT on a lighter 300NMI, shooting a bunch with and without it I can say it's maybe slightly easier to spot impacts with the brake. What surprised me though is it's noticeably quieter to the shooters ear with the brake attached, I'm guessing it's due to the extra length.
Still not really enough difference to matter though, the real difference was when I put a CGS Hyperion on there, night and day with recoil and sound reduction over the LT.

I think the whole suppressor brake thing is pretty gimmicky for the most part, it'll be interesting to see how the tbacs actually perform in non biased reviews.

 

[wind gypsy]

The ebrake seems like just another baffle with some little holes to let some of the pressure escape. Doesn't seem like it really has any port surface area to function like a normal brake.

 

[Lawnboi]

I’m still waiting on my Magnus k rr, but I may try it on a few hunting rifles to see how it goes.

I’d deal with another half pound if I could get decent suppression and no recoil on larger guns.

Im not sure I would buy one for my first but the options out there now are getting interesting.

Makes me wonder what it would be like shooting a 12lb 300 Norma with the Magnus S RR on the end.

 

[Cameron.25]

I hardly noticed a difference personally with the e-brakes. Small difference felt with the scythe but not enough to use it for me. I will be leaving them off, even at the range. They probably do something for recoil, otherwise I would hope they wouldn't be wasting time/money making them