Of the differing methods for reducing recoil (ie: 10" t/c bull barrel in .41 mag) is there one available that works equally well, but with less increase in noise, especially for hunting situations? Or if we muzzle-brake do we bring the ear muffs a-field?

I also noticed the thread-on option, which while more costly would give one the option to take off the brake for hunting and screw it back on for less painful range practice.
Thanks for your input!

I can't really answer your question but when I shoot at the range I wear hearing protection. You are shooting many times and noise from other guns also. When I hunt, I have nothing on my ears. I belive someone makes a device that fits like a hearing aid, and shuts off the noise from muzzle blast. Less mass to wear than that of the muffs. They are expensive I believe. I have never wore them hunting because it is usually one or two shots then I'm done. Not like shooting for a couple of hours of non-stop BANG.

The cost of the brake, any way you do it, is going to exceed the value of the barrel by quite a bit. Depending on what you intend to hunt with the 10" 41 Mag, and how far away, you could simply back the loads down to revolver speed and the recoil will be reduced by quite a bit. That 10" unvented barrel will give you an easy 200fps additional velocity over your typical 6" revolver when using the magnum loads with slow burning powder. Just another thing to consider.

Which grip are you using on your TC? It can make a big difference in how the recoil feels...the finger groove wood is the worst of the lot for heavy kickers.

Had a T/C Contender 14" bbl in .35 Remington. It was a handful for me to shoot, so went to my local gunsmith and had him install a 2 1/2" muzzle brake on it to help with the shooting and also, make it legal as a carbine.

When folks moved in on the sides of me at the local range with their 75mm recoiless rifles to show how macho they were, I'd uncase the .35 and let fly with a few rounds. I'll guarantee, it cleared those benches faster than they filled up!

Shot a mulie buck with it while propped against a very large yellow pine for shooting support. That was about 10 years ago and my ears are still ringing!

Short answer - a brake will assist in gun control, but at the sacrifice of muzzle blast/noise.

I can't really answer your question but when I shoot at the range I wear hearing protection. You are shooting many times and noise from other guns also. When I hunt, I have nothing on my ears. I belive someone makes a device that fits like a hearing aid, and shuts off the noise from muzzle blast. Less mass to wear than that of the muffs. They are expensive I believe. I have never wore them hunting because it is usually one or two shots then I'm done. Not like shooting for a couple of hours of non-stop BANG.

They aren't that pricey - there may be ones that shut off the sound, but the majority are basically standard plugs with a cheapo hearing aid that pipes in the ambient sound into the ear canal and shuts off when it reaches a set level.
The muff style ones are even cheaper, less than $100 for a set for the cheapo ones.

Aa couple years ago, a company made a little radio sized device that you hung around your neck, I forget the name, but one of those with a couple good sound isolating earplugs would do the trick if you want to make your own for $40 or so.

Years ago I shot a Contender in 44 mag with 10" barrel. I hade it Magnaported. I could not tell that it was any louder. Of course, with that sealed breach instead of that blast comming right out of a revolver cylinder, it was quite a bit quieter than a revolver.

Still though, I think the best advice is what KciH said. Just load down to revolver velocities and you'll have a much quieter load. All things being equal, at least to my ears, heavier bullet with less powder will give you less blast/noise than lighter bullets and more powder.

If you are shooting H-110 and a 250-265 gr bullet, consider switching to AA-9 or 2400 as they are easier to ignite at lower pressures, they use less powder and should give a quieter report.

If you must have a brake or porting, I far prefer porting. Still, I think if you took a 250gr Beartooth 41 bullet, drove it out of the 10" Barrel at 1300 fps with AA-9, you'd have the best of all worlds.

Just my 2 cents..... Bill

Welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy this place as much as I have. Lots of hunters, shooters and folks whom just enjoy talking about guns and sharing some of the things they have learned.

Magna-porting seems to work well and is not that expensive. I have a factory ported Taurus 41 mag at present and you need to wear ear protection. Most folks that hunt with a ported gun wear the new electronic earplugs that cut the blast yet still allow you to hear normally.

I did end up going with the Magna Porting and really like the results! I also switched to T/C's ambi 'competition' style grip and it's very comfortable to shoot. Outstanding accuracy with iron sights offhand at 50 yards, and it's so fun to shoot now!

As an aside... I acquired another .41 mag bbl and I'm sending it off to be re-chambered to the 41 GNR since the recoil issue is moot now. That should be all sorts of fun to shoot too.