Muzzle Brakes

So, How many of you guys have had muzzle brakes put on your rifles, I know they make the rifle louder, Can you shoot them while hunting with out ear protection? Are you glad you had it done? What were the results?

  OK, I am first to respond this time....

Im just thinking it would be a real hinderance plus irritating to have to wear ear plugs (protectors) while you are hunting, especially if you were huntin in the woods where you need to listen as much as you need to see.....If its out in the open, like the wheatfield country or open sagebrush type places I sometimes go, it would not be that big of a deal to wear ear protection....

Yes sir, In fact, as much as I liked that rifle- I sold it to a buddy of mine. 

 While the noise inherent from a muzzle brake can be ameliorated by changing the direction/angle of the brake openings, an unsuppressed rifle with a brake will always be significantly LOUDER than one without.  A rifle without a brake is too loud to shoot without hearing protection.  If you want to prematurely lose your hearing, listen to the hype...

I did not plan on shooting the rifle with a Muzzle Brake without hearing protection. Im just weighing the pros and cons of it.  If I should bother having one installed. I do not want to ruin my hearing any more than I want to ruin the value of the rifle!!! The Electronic hearing protection deal sounds interesting, I may look into that....What do you guys know of this outfit? -http://www.hillcountryrifles.com  I hear they are very good and I was told to watch out for the local yokals who install MB's and call themselves Gunsmithes. We have several of those in my area of the country.. They are usually very opinionated  and a real pain in the ass. Everything they do and have is always the best, and everyone elses stuff sucks.. Great bunch of guys to deal with.....

Edited by JF4545 - September/04/2009 at 02:00

http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/websites/index2.php?username=ssgcustomrifles&page=4 Nathan Dagley... great guy, great smith...

JF4545, I actualy baught a rifle from hill country rifles.  I baught a 300 ultra mag from them.  They were good people.  I got a good rifle built on time and sent to me in great condition.  The rifle did everything they promised it would do.  It did not have a muzzle brake and I can't tell you what kind of work they would do in this area but I would do business with them again. 

my 300 win mag is a browning abolt. so it came with the boss, which is a brake. i made the mistake of shooting it in the field at a deer once. i never will do that again. yes they help eliminate recoil, but damn are they loud. i wear ear plugs when i hunt and i hunt in some pretty nasty woods up here. the ear plugs dont imo, hinder me at all.

For hunting I hate the damn things. You have to wear ear protection and I can't stand that in the field.

I'm not a fan of brakes on hunting rifles, I too hate wearing hearing protection on the hunt.

That said, my favorite rifle does have a brake, so I bought really good hunting hearing protection - and it works great.  Sometimes a fellow hunter or guide isn't impressed, but the damn thing shoots.

Given the choice, I would prefer not to have a brake on a rifle.  But, a brake is the best, most effective option for controlling punishing recoil.  If this pertains to a discussion you and I had, even though you do pay a penalty in noise, having a brake may be the only alternative to allow you to continue shooting the rifle in question.

Unless it's a real banger, I don't care for brakes on normal hunting rifles. I seldom shoot anything powerful enough to benefit from the reduced recoil (at the expense of increased noise). Just my $.02.

 I hate them.

Edited by RONK - September/04/2009 at 13:12

If asked to choose between partial hearing loss and a detached retina, I'd choose partial hearing loss.

True, you don't feel recoil when shooting on game, but you can feel the cut above your eye from the recoil you failed to manage.

I am no fan of brakes on hunting rifles; however, when my 7-pound 300WM launches a 208-grain bullet at about 2850FPS, I'd rather have a brake than not, even if the brake means wearing hearing protection while hunting.

If you invest in good hearing protection, it can provide benefits:
better hearing acuity
warmth in the ear regions
no threat of hearing damage due to sound-related events
no need to turn off one's ipod while shooting at game


There are advantages to hearing protection and brakes.

If you need a brake, I know a guy that makes a fantastic one, it ain't quite, but it works great, much better than those with holes all the way around (which obscure your view of the target for a least a second or 2.)

If I was going to hunt with a brake on a rifle I would invest in some nice in the ear hearing protection that also amplifies normal sounds.  They are expensive, but would be worth it to save your hearing.

A guy fromour camp went down to Texas a couple of years ago and I remember him telling us that the outfitter told him he could bing any caliber gun he wanted AS LONG AS IT DID NOT HAVE A BREAK.  They would not let you hunt with a muzzle braked gun on that ranch.  It was too much for the guides.  Personally I believe that if you need a brake to shoot a particular rifle/caliber combination you need a rifle/caliber with less recoil.  But that's just MHO.  And everybody has one.

i for one really do feel that some factory rifles require a brake. the .30-378wby is one that certainly comes to mind, the .300rum probably needs one too. the wby i do believe comes with one from the factory. i suppose one could always "customize" a rifle to make it heavier and dampen the recoil without a brake.

What if you already have a nice rifle that you'd rather not get rid of, and you have medical conditions that prevent you from shooting rifles with much recoil?  So, basically, you're faced with either parting with the rifle or getting a brake.

I believe that's the case here.

Im seriously  looking at a 7mm-08, 25-06 or 260, and if I shoot one of em before I buy first, I should be ok as Im not gonna be using it on a bench its a huntin rifle thats used once or twice a year, plus a little target shootin from time to time.. So thats my plan.. Just in case my physical condition gets worse I may even buy a more reasonably priced rifle like the X Bolt Browning in 7mm-08 in stainless that Im lookin at online now.. And guys Im not even beyond buying a nice little 243 because in all honesty my serious Elk huntin days are over. If I draw a tag I may sit and watch a hillside somewhere, here in Oregon we call em crossings or still hunting...Lots of old guys hunt this way..I guess this means I now qualify as OLD GUY... As far as the Muzzle Brake goes, I was thinking about installing one on my Kimber SA 270 WSM....This is because my Doc told me to not shoot the harder kickers.. Keep it mild he said, so I do not make myself any worse. I will probably just park the Kimber and give it to my Son or Grandson, It cost just a tad under 2,000 and I do not think anyone would pay that today for it. Although the good part about buying a NEW used rifle is you can shoot it and see for yourself that it will shoot a 1" group at 100. Also another possibility I may have is buying a Encore Pistol as Wes suggested and use it for Deer Hunting, If ALL else fails I can always go that route, although even though I own several hand guns Im a horrible shot with one. I do appreciate all the input as always JF

Edited by JF4545 - September/04/2009 at 17:06

You should get two rifles just alike Julio.  Get one in .223 and the other in one of your 3 mentioned calibers.  They you can hunt bigger game with it and enjoy all the shooting you can handle with the .223.

Jason,

Edited by JF4545 - September/04/2009 at 17:02

i'd just get a 7-08 i guess

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_700/model_700_vtr.asp

magshooter1 wrote: A guy fromour camp went down to Texas a couple of years ago and I remember him telling us that the outfitter told him he could bing any caliber gun he wanted AS LONG AS IT DID NOT HAVE A BREAK.  They would not let you hunt with a muzzle braked gun on that ranch.  It was too much for the guides.  Personally I believe that if you need a brake to shoot a particular rifle/caliber combination you need a rifle/caliber with less recoil.  But that's just MHO.  And everybody has one.