I have limited experience with muzzle brakes, but I am looking for opinions and recommendation concerning brakes on hunting rifles.

Years ago I used my late father's sporterized Soviet Tokarev SVT-40 with its military muzzle brake for deer hunting; I have owned and used a Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70 with a ported barrel; and I have fired my nephew's Barrett 50MG with its brake. The Barrett needed all the help possible for recoil and I did not like the ported barrel on the GG.

I understand that brakes are controversial. I am not a big fan of the sometimes stout recoil of big magnum rounds and would like opinions of using muzzle brakes on hunting rifles.

Anyone recommend a particular "brand" of muzzle brake?

I have seen brakes by rifle manufacturers (i.e., Weatherby, Browning, etc.), but there appears to be a number of other suppliers. Some advertise themselves as "low noise' brakes. Some are adjustable (brake / no brake). Any advantages (or disadvantages) between porting and brakes?

Any opinions / recommendations welcome.

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Anyone recommend a particular "brand" of muzzle brake?

Any opinions / recommendations welcome.[/QUOTE]



I purchased a Rem in 300RUM over a year ago. I'm not shy on recoil, but I like to spend alot of bench time working different loads. I found the 300RUM can get unpleasent in short order at a bench. I sent my rifle to http://www.muzzlebrake.com/prd_mzb.html
and had a slim line brake installed. The work was outstanding. The recoil reduction was worth every penny. It now feels like a 30.06. Did get some louder tho, but the 300 is loud to begin with. It came with a thread protector that can be installed instead of the brake while hunting, which is what I do so you don't have the noise issue and who feels recoil when shooting at an elk? Again, Kevin does beautiful work and the price is terrific.

Paulinus,
I'm not a fan of muzzle brakes, except in the case of something like the 50 BMG, or for a competitive benchrest rifle. For normal hunting rifles, I believe recoil can be handled by using proper shooting form, a properly fit stock, and practice. Even though my 500 Jeffery gets a bit rough to handle, I'm not considering a brake for it.

If you must get a brake, I've heard very good things about the Vais "Quiet Brake" brand and Homer Strickland in Anchorage, Ak makes one that competitive benchrest shooters absolutely swear by.

I've had good luck with Magnaport on several rifles and a couple of 44 mag revolvers. They do an excellent job of recoil reduction, but they are louder. One thing I do like is they do not add extra stuff to the barrel and the ports eject the gasses upward so your not spraying other shooters on either side of you.

Got a Que brake/bbl tuner installed on a Swede Mauser - haven't seen them advertised for a while, don't know if they're still in business, or not.

You won't make any friends at the gun range with a loud blasting brake. Definetly not a good idea to hunt with one. Shot my .35 Rem 14" bbl'd T/C Contender with brake at a deer once while propped up against the bole of a very large yellow pine tree. Couldn't hear a thing for the next several hours! Think the deer died of concussion as well as the slug! :p

I bought a used custom 223 in a rem 788, the guy who had it customized decided that brake was a good idea, its loud as all get out with out muffs, but if I get it it set in the benchrest and get settled over the rifle well, it will not move after the shot.

There are many muzzle breaks out there and most do the job intended of them. Some are more effective than others,Accubrake from Weatherby (KDF 's muzzle break) does reduce actual recoil in my .300,.378,and460 by as much as 54%. I have arthritus and the benefit of the reduction makes shooting heavys fun not an ordeal. Magna Port does a good job in reducing actual recoil but not as much as the Accubrake. I have seen other breaks on heavy rifles that seem to have the neccecary holes for that caliber, and they do there job well. Hard Cast

Paulinas.......I don't hunt with a MUZZLE BRAKE!!!

None of my hunting rifles have such a gaget installed on them. It is to dangerous for others around you (guide or PH) not to mention a strong possibility of losing your own hearing or perhaps not hearing that big bad dangerous game animal coming in on you, as I don't use ear plugs or muffs when hunting either.

I once had a brake installed on a big (.475 caliber) bore rifle. However, that to soon came off and barrel was cut down from 29.5 inches including brake, to a handier to move about with, 24 inches total length. NO MUZZLE BRAKE on rifle now!

[QUOTE=2Bits]..I don't hunt with a MUZZLE BRAKE!!!

OK, I hear you. I have been looking at something in 375 H&H and was unsure if a brake was a good idea. My local FL is recommending a brake, but then he is a small bore guy. From the comments here, it appears a brake is not a good idea. I may use a recoil reducer on it, depends upon the weight and fit of the actual rifle purchased.

Also, I ended up with a second hand Winchester model 70 chambered for 300 WM manufactured in 1982 - control push feed bolt - that came with a muzzle brake (not that I wanted or would have added one). Other than the Marlin Guide Gun I have not owned a gun with a brake or porting (did not like it on the Marlin). I have not fired this rifle, so I have no idea who loud it might be.

I thought I would check out the opinions on brakes. Now I need to decide what to do with the brake on the Winnie - cut it off and re-crown, let it be? I do not know the brand of brake, but it is not a threaded removable one. Another option would be to trade it.


Thanks, guys.

Paulinus,
One of my friends has an 8mm Rem mag. He's deadly with it, but the recoil was getting to him as he uses it a lot in turkey shoots, etc. He had one put on it that had the removable brake so that when he's out hunting, he just screws on the blank so there are no casualties around him from the noise. As far as brakes go, that's about as nice as you can get. I've shot the rifle with and without the brake. With, it's like a 30-06 with 165 gr bullets, but I don't think you'd want to shoot it over the hood of a vehicle as I've heard of some brakes busting windshields out. He had it put on in N. Central Idaho. I'll try to find out who did it for him.

Muzzle brakes??!! What the 4377 are those :eek: I've lost 60% of the hearing in my left ear and I attribute part of that to having been blasted by a nincompoop shooting an "06 about 3 feet away from me that was equipped with one of them thar contraptions. :mad: I was watching an elk thru binocs and wasn't even aware that Nimrod was going to shoot :mad: :mad:

I suppose they have their place but none of my big rifles have them. My new 300 RUM doesn't have one and it will get your attention if your not paying any :D

Gunthers AR 30 338 Lapua has one that looks like something off an Abrams tank and it is not reccomended that you stand beside it when he touches it off. Feels like somebody hit you in the chest with a shovel :o

Walt Moore put one on his 700 vls in 22-250 so he could accually see prarrie dogs vaporize. :cool: That's a good application for one :D

Leave them off. I once had a Rem BDL in 7STW it came frome the factory that way . Shot my 4 deer that year it shot well but coudn't hear right for four days. Put a new barrel on and threw that thing away.

I have been hunting with them for about 15 years and will not go to the field without mine!!!
The best in the busniess is the High-Tech Brake from Hi-Tech Customs in Co Springs, Co. There is no increase of sound pressure at the SHOOTERS EAR with this brake. The others in the area will feel an increase however. This was verified by a test by a certified noise tech many years ago. These brakes are built to such close tolerance (unlike the KDF,s and others shipped by the box full to installers), and for each individual weapon.
One of the pluses of the brake is the animals have no idea where the shot came from. I have seen this many times in the field. The noise is non directional.
But to each his own!!! ;)

Paulinas, there are several ways in which one can tame felt recoil from their rifle. One is to use a "decelorator pad" on the butt stock of the rifle......this helps to around 20%. Another option is to purchase one of the recoil pads such as PAST RECOIL PAD for around $35.oo US money. These will tame recoil to the tune of -50% in many cases.

If you have a heavy kicker like the .375H&H, you just might want to have both those above items to cut down on heavy recoil, especially if your under say 175 lbs. OK. I have a PAST RECOIL PAD sewn into my hunting vest on both shoulders. I shoot with either hand, so this is a very big help in reducing recoil period and is much cheaper than a muzzle brake and safer to boot.

The gun club I belong to, does no longer allow shooters to come in and use a rifle with a muzzle brake on the barrel. It tears up the carpet on the benches and most importantly it is very dangerous to other peoples hearing.

As I suspected the majority do not favor muzzle brakes. In a new rifle (375H&H) I would use other metheods to control recoil (good recoil pad, recoil reduceer, shoulder recoil pad, etc.). That still leaves the problem with my "inherited" rifle at 300Win. mag. with a brake already installed. If I cut the brake off and re-crown it will leave a 23 inch. barrel. I could rebarrel, but that may be more expense than I wish to put into a 1982 model 70 XTR. The rifle has had good care and has about 120 rounds through it. I could just leave it has it is. Any recommendations?

As I suspected the majority do not favor muzzle brakes. In a new rifle (375H&H) I would use other metheods to control recoil (good recoil pad, recoil reduceer, shoulder recoil pad, etc.). That still leaves the problem with my "inherited" rifle at 300Win. mag. with a brake already installed. If I cut the brake off and re-crown it will leave a 23 inch. barrel. I could rebarrel, but that may be more expense than I wish to put into a 1982 model 70 XTR. The rifle has had good care and has about 120 rounds through it. I could just leave it has it is. Any recommendations?

I suggest using the rifle as is until you decide for yourself whether or not YOU like it. I have rifles both with and without muzzle brakes. In my opimion the hard shove of a .375 H&H belonging to a friend doesn't need a muzzle brake, but my .340 and .300 Weatherbys greatly benefit from them reducing the sharp recoil jabs. In addition to design differences, the effectiveness of muzzle brakes also seems to also be related to the relationship of powder charge to bullet weight.

Expect negative comments at ranges from people who are biased against muzzle brakes. This is similar to the bias against release triggers on trap guns even though the guns are never loaded except when the shooter is on the line and the shotgun is pointed downrange. Some trap guns (such as my BT99) are even manufactured without a safety because they are never loaded except when when one is on the line ready to fire.

Some of my shotguns are ported. I nonetheless find the muzzle blast from the shotguns of other skeet shooters with ported barrels to be as disturbing as that from rifles with muzzle brakes at a rifle range. Both may be less disturbing than the cloud of smoke from the blackpowder muzzleloader at the next table on the range. Range design can help minimize these adverse sensations, but if one wants to avoid all noise, muzzle blast, and stench of burnt powder - and still practice in preparation for hunting - perhaps archery is beckoning (Is it heresy to say that in a shooting forum? :D :rolleyes: ).

One further comment relative to recoil reduction. This summer I replaced a trap shooting vest after the recoil pad of my old vest wore through. A vender at the Keystone Open in Pennsylvania suggested I try one that had a gel pad. Not sure I would like it, I bought a Browning vest with a removable gel pad insert. It turned out that the gel pad was thick enough to hamper my shotgun shooting with the vest. But, I decided to try the vest with the gel pad inserted when resighting some medium rifles and found that it is very effective in reducing felt recoil from heavy loads.

1) Unless the rifle had some personal value to you, might be a dandy for trade bait on something you really want.

2) In the case of wanting to keep it - learn to handle it "as is".

3) If not wanting to get rid of it and still not wanting the brake, go ahead and have it whacked off. A 23" bbl on the 375 will still give you all the ooomph you need - just be a tad louder than a 24 or 26 incher! :D

My .02 on the matter.

I have a muzzle brake on my Rem 700 delux 300 RUM as well as a kickeez pad, and wouldn't think of being without either. I would see first if you begin to develop a flinch with your big boomers. If you can handle them without a muzzle brake , more power to ya. I wear ear plugs in the field.

Just duct tape over it :D

Paulinas you would be better served in having that barrel cut down and recrowned. A 300 Win mag with a 23 inch barrel would be very handy in the thick stuff and you would only lose about 25 ft per second velocity wise for every inch of barrel loss. Most factory barrel in a 300 Win mag are only 24 inches to begin with, so you aren't hurting that rifle any as far as resale goes.

If your thinking about trading it in down the road perhaps, then leave the brake on the barrel as you will not loose money on the trade in that respect.

I have two 8mm Rem mags, one with a four port Magna-port one without. The difference is tha Magna-ported gun feels like an 06 while the 8 mag feels like an 8 mag. I'm not recoil sensitive so I don't mind, but my 12 year old grandbaby can shoot the magna-ported one.

Lots of folks don't like ported guns, but they do work well and make a real difference.

My best advice is try to find a ported big boomer and shoot it, then make a decision rather than from "good advice".

And magna porting does not reduce recoil that much either, a good brake will do a much better job!!!

Is a 300 Win Mag really a "thick stuff" caliber, I always thought of it more as a reach out and touch 'em caliber

Is a 300 Win Mag really a "thick stuff" caliber, I always thought of it more as a reach out and touch 'em caliber

I guess it depends on what your hunting and where you hunting at! However, I was referring to the length of the barrel, being it would be easyier to get around in the "THICK STUFF" OK.

If you hunt with 220 grain bullets for moose and bear, it makes a great short to mid-range caliber that will bring down anything on this planet.......then again so will a 30-06 with premium 220 grain bullets.

The .375 H&H is not THAT bad to shoot from field positions. A good recoil pad teamed with a PAST shoulder pad should help you manage the recoil. I wouldn't expect to go burn 50 shells a day at the range with it, unless you are a glutton for punishment. When I shoot larger rifles I stop when it ceases to become fun. If you are concerned about load development/bench shooting your money would probably be better spent on a "lead sled" type of contraption for the bench shooting. That works with all your rifles and won't damage your hearing in the field. I have a .340 Weatherby that has a removable KDF muzzle brake on it, there is a threaded collar that screws on when you take the brake off. I don't own a .375 as yet, but I've shot a few of them and the .340 without the brake has more/equal recoil in my opinion, depending on the load choice. I also shoot a .35 Whelen AI which I feel approaches .375 power, with the exception of the 300gr H&H loads, and it is not all that bad from field positions.

I typically wear ear plugs and muffs whenever I'm shooting, unless it's a match where I need to hear the range commands with no room for error. On a hot day I always take my muffs off in between strings. I forgot to put the muffs back on before I lit off the .340, this is with ear plugs in and the brake on the barrel, and my ears rang for 2 hours. That should give you some kind of idea of the noise level that is produced. I know there are different types of brakes that claim to be more quiet and so on, but even a .223 with a brake in place of the "evil" flash hider that was prohibited for many years will give you a headache in short order with just ear plugs, let alone in a field situation. Some shooters, myself included, are more likely to flinch from the noise than the recoil, you should see if you fall into that group before you install a brake.

If you find you can't shoot the rifle without a brake, by all means get one, but I'd persue other avenues of recoil reduction before I did it. You can make practice more pleasant with any number of things that you don't need to use in the field. If you where after a .375 super wonder mag you would probably have to have one, but the H&H isn't beyond most shooters tolerance from what I've seen.

As far as the .300 goes, you shouldn't loose much barrel length at all from removing the brake. A inch of barrel length, if you even lose that, isn't going to produce enough velocity loss to have any discernable effect as to how it kills

I agree that the 375 H&H is not that bad. A light 300 mag kicks 'faster' and thus hurts worse than the 375. The speed of the recoil is what makes alot of differance in the 'felt' recoil.

I must be weird, I find that I don't mind a quick recoil as much as a slower recoil, in fact, I was just shooting a friend's Ruger Red Label, which doesn't have a outstanding reputation for handling recoil, I shot 3 shells after shooting 2 rounds of trap, and I didn't mind the recoil near as bad with the ruger as I did with my rem 870