Muzzlebrake a good idea?

[SuperMagnum]

A friend recommended putting a muzzlebrake on my rem 700 BDL 300 win mag because it can kick quite a bit, especially when target shooting. He even said that with a muzzlebrake it would kick like a 223, not sure about that. What do you guys think?

[Mike Moss]

Don't do it. You will damage your ears and those around you.

Instead have a softer recoil pad installed. The new ones like the Decelrator and Limbsaver really work.

Another thing you can do is handload lighter bullets for the off season.

Finally shoot it "hand held". Hold the forend with your left hand and rest your wrist against the bag when at a bench. This is good aiming practice as well.

Finally most of us really don't need a 300 mag!

[Catfish]

My first centerfire rifle, a .270, had a muzle brake and I`ve had a couple since. Most of them reduce recoil a fair amount, some better than others, but all make the guns alot louder, especially off to the sides. If you don`t with a brake you should wear hearing protection. If you do you may need better with a brake. Now that it`s about to late, I usually wear hearing protection when deer hunting, which you would have to do if you put on a brake.

[royinidaho]

Here's my experience.. FWIW

Bought a 338 Win. Weighted just a titch over 9# with scope. By third shot off the bench it was

PAIN!! and that's shouting....... Oh, and was shooting in a tee shirt.

It already had a decelerator pad on it but the surface area of the butt stock is very small and the angle is all wrong.

Put a total of 1.5 lbs in the butt and fore arm. That definitly brought it into more than manageable comfort zone.

I've shot plenty of 300 mags, Win/Wby off the bench usually with a 180 grn bullet moving pretty good. None of them came close to the 338 w/225 @ 2800+.

Long story short - I'd try a pound or so before I went to a brake.

Catfish, I may put a brake on my 270 so I can see bullet impact with heavier bulllets. But that would give me an unwieldy 29 1/2" bbl waving around.

[srab]

The subject has come up before, and it seems that quite
a few folks here at HC are anti-muzzle brake. I understand
that, and I believe that they have valid reasons for the
way that they feel. Muzzle brakes do dramatically increase
noise levels and can do permanent damage to your
hearing.

That said, I happen to be a huge fan of muzzle brakes.
I've been using them on rifles since the early 80s on
calibers as mild as 7mm08 and 280 Rem and up to a
300 Dakota, which is the heaviest hitter that I own.
They work great! With the lighter-recoiling cartridges,
they almost eliminate muzzle jump, so you can see
the animal flinch through the scope when you've made
a hit. And, they make range work downright fun! I can
sit down and run through 50-100 rounds in a session,
if need be, and never think twice about recoil (I usually
take several different rifles each trip so that I can be
shooting one while the other's barrels cool, so 50-
100 rounds is not unusual).

With respect to the 300 WinMag, your friends claim of a
223 level of recoil is a bit of an exaggeration. My 300
Dakota, which is comparable in energy to the WinMag,
if not a touch heavier, is easier on recoil using 180 grain
bullets than just about any 270 Win rifle I've ever shot
with 130s, and pretty similar to my 7x57 with 140s
(and, yes, I've had 'em all out at the range at the same
time, alternating shots, and that's the basis of what I
think is a fair comparison).

But, I am very careful about wearing quality hearing
protection. At the range, especially those with roofs
over the shooting benches, the noise generated from
braked rifles is considerably greater than those without
brakes. On the other hand, at a busy range, it's a good
bet that somebody on line is gonna have a muzzle
brake on their rifle, at least where I shoot, so it's
imperative that everyone has good hearing protection
anyway. I also wear hearing protection in the field.

It's actually not uncommon for the brake to be removeable,
replaced with a thread-protector cap. So, if you don't
want the brake on while hunting, you don't have to keep
it on. You'd need to be sure that your rifle shoots to
the same POI and groups similarly with and without the
brake, though, and that's not a given.

IMHO, a brake is worth considering. I have no doubt that
it would tame that WinMag's recoil, but, as usual, there is
a trade-off.

[SuperMagnum]

Thanks guys
I plan on putting on a limbsaver recoil pad and see how that works. If I did decide to put on a brake, what is a good one to put on and how much does it usually cost to have put on.

[M.T. Pockets]

I had a .300 Win with a brake. With hearing protection it was quite pleasant from the bench - I'd say almost down to a .270.

One trouble I had was when practicing from field positions. The brake would throw back dust & debris all over and sometimes it would sting my face. I went on an outfitted hunt with it once and the guide noticed it - bystanders take the brunt of the extra noise and he had his ears rung by the jet blast before.

Also, once at the range I forgot to put on the hearing protection and it actually hurt, not just a little, it was painful. I actually developed a flinch from that rifle because of the noise. After that it bothered me when hunting too. It's the only gun I've ever fired that I noticed the noise when I shot it at game.

I had to get rid of it.

I got another .300 Win. Mag - a Remington 700. It comes with a piece of hard rubber for a recoil pad, like a piece of truck tire. I replaced it with a Decelerator. I shoot it while wearing a vest with a little extra padding in the shoulder and it's quite managable. I've never considered another brake.

That's just one guy's take on muzzle brakes. I've got a buddy that does a lot of varmint hunting and he has brakes on his varmint rifles - .223 & .243 but not on his big game rifles. Go figure.

[L. Cooper]

For the sake of your own hearing and the hearing of others with whom you shoot and hunt, don't use one. If the rifle cannot be shot well without a brake, get a different rifle/cartridge to do the job.

A brake requires that you and anyone around you MUST use hearing protection all the time or you will damage your hearing very quickly. On the range or shooting prairie dogs, that is not a serious problem. But how anyone would put up with the discomfort, inconvenience, and awkwardness of hunting big game with hearing protection is beyond me.

Shooting already damages your hearing every time you pull the trigger without hearing protection. Why would you increase that damage on purpose?

Why would anyone use a cartridge that hurt so much on the "harmless" end of the rifle that it couldn't be shot well?

[skeet]

In a word...NO!
in more than one word..Don't do it...add weight for shooting off the bench..Take it out for hunting.

[SuperMagnum]

That's what I figured. I wouldn't want to damage anyone's hearing with it, I always use ear protection and if anyone's around me I tell them to cover their ears. It doesn't kick that much to me anyway, it probably is due to the stiff solid pad which I will replace anyway.

[bigbrother]

you guys are really anti-brake aren't you. Let me ask you this: if you're at the range why aren't you wearing hearing protection? You should be, therefore a brake doesn't make a bit of difference. In reality, good brakes throw the gasses, and noise to the side so the increased noise to the shooter is not that noticable. Standing along side could be down right horrendous however. But who stands beside someone's muzzle???? If you look at any 1000yd benchrest match, virtually all of the guns have brakes. That is so the gun will ride the bags straight back and return to the original firing position easily. If you want to see what you're hitting, you have to have a brake. Why would you want to carry an 11lb gun around the hills instead of a 9lb gun with a brake?

If you're worried about dust, debris etc. try a "varmint" or prone style break without ports on the bottom. Or look into an OPS inc. break with large ports on the sides only. KDF or VAIS are probably the top 2 you're going to see and both do a great job of reducing recoil and muzzlejump.

All that said: I don't own a rifle with a brake. But also wouldn't hesitate to own one or talk someone out of it. In this day and age of people not shooting enough practice, who wants to talk someone into getting beat up and the bench?

[billy ahring]

And to tell the truth I'm not that crazy about using them. Ya gotta use ear protection to safely shoot them and that is just not always possible in hunting situations. So they usually stay behind in the safe

[Skinny Shooter]

Originally posted by L. Cooper
Shooting already damages your hearing every time you pull the trigger without hearing protection. Why would you increase that damage on purpose?

Exactly.

I'd never shoot a modern gun larger than a 22 without some sort of ear protection off the bench or while hunting.
Doesn't matter if it's a record buck. If I can't get my muffs on or plugs inserted then so be it. The animal walks. My hearing is already damaged and an animal isn't worth it.
And for those folks who only take that one shot at a deer without protection think about that ringing in your ears after the next time you do it.
Or better yet, when you go to bed tonight and all is quiet, do you hear silence or is there a ringing sound? I'll never get that ringing sound out of mine. That comes not only from gunfire but from straight pipes on my Can-Am motocrosser and even the lawnmower when I was a kid and didn't know better.

Dittos Big Brother.
Brakes do have their use. OlSparks 300 Tomahawk and Boyd's 300 RUM were very manageable with a brake. Especially the Tomahawk.

[moosenuggets]

Hello there...Though I never had the need for a magnum I ended up with a Finnlight in 300 wsm. I had no problems with the recoil but the muzzle jump was downright annoying. After doing some research on muzzle brakes I had an OPS. brake installed. Holy man, what a difference. The rifle is now a shear pleasure to shoot, both at the range and in the field. I beleive the literature for the OPS says it will reduce recoil by up to 70% whereas most other manufactures say about 35%. I can't feel much difference between my 300 and my 6.5 swede now. Muzzle jump is virtually eliminated. As for the noise, at the range around here everyone wears hearing protection. I still felt guilty at first shooting it at the range because of all the negative stuff I read on the internet but all the people at the two ranges I go to so far have not had a problem with it at all. In the field I don't wear hearing protection and don't have a problem with the noise. The only problem I found with the OPS. is because of its design it gathers twigs and stuff easy. I always tape up my muzzle anyway but after shooting a deer and dragging it out through the brush I noticed it had collected enough crap to make shooting it dangerous if not aware of it. I hear balloons work good too so that is what I will use this following year as it is easier to pack another balloon in the pocket than a roll of tape. Anywho, my advice would be try a pad first but if that doesn't do the job enough or you have a real problem with the muzzle jump put on a muzzlebrake. Do some research on the net and talk to a few gunsmiths before deciding on a brand of brake. There are some good ones on the market but I am sure happy with my OPS. and would recomend them to anyone.

[Lycanthrope]

I don't understand the anti brake mentallity. Muzzle brakes can make shooting easier on the shooter and allow him to relax more. With several style of brakes you can choose one that will not vent to the bottom or sides and won't blow dust everywhere. While brakes can collect debri in the woods they can also save your crown should you stumble.

Apart from that, if you're shooting a high power rifle you need ear protection...braked or not. If someone is at the range without protection, they are not being responsible. For hunting I use a Game ear, with all my weapons or at least a plug in the left ear (since I'm right handed).

Second, I have a few braked weapons including my 7STW that is a real scorcher. That gun is in no way as loud as my standard muzzle 16" AR15 in .223. I can feel the blast in my sinuses with that one.