Give it to me straight on muzzle brakes...

[greg vess]

So I'm having a semi-custom 30-06 hunting rifle built, and seeing as a muzzle brake is standard, I'm going to go ahead and get one - along with a thread protector to shoot without it. Right now, I'm more inclined to not use it - not sure why - maybe because I have never used one. Because I plan to use the rifle on solo elk hunts, I do love the idea of being able to spot shots effectively (with the brake on). This is going to be a light rifle with a lot of muzzle flip without the brake.

I have decided that however I train at the range is how I am going to hunt - so it's either brake on 100% of the time or brake off 100% of the time.

My driving question is this - if I am at a range shooting prone and I have shooters on both sides of me shooting at their benches (because I haven't seen anyone shoot prone at the WMA range where I shoot), how disruptive/annoying/insufferable will I be to other shooters? Is a brake that obnoxious at a range, or are the anecdotal stories I read overblown? Trying to ride the line between using an accessory that doesn't violate the rules (as far as I know), but also being respectful of other shooters who may have also driven a long way to shoot.

Really the only ones that disrupt or piss fellow shooters are the brakes with big SIDE DOUBLE and TRIPLE PORTS.
I was shooting one day up at River Bend and I had a Micheluk three ports brake. First blew the hat of my friends head on one side and blew the gun sock off the table next to me. LOL They didn't think it was funny. They got up and moved to a different location. I got a few nasty looks from the whole row of benches. I couldn't stop laughing.

 

[gyppo]

Recoil has nothing to do with your group size, if you are applying proper shooting fundamentals. Muzzle devices can decrease or increase the size of your group (or move it).

i can give you an example where i would wager $100 that recoil makes a difference I have a 7.75 pound bolt action shooting 500 grain solids at 2250. The gun is capable of a 2 inch group at 100 but I have not met anyone yet who can hold 5 under 2 inches at 100. After the second shot just about everyone flinches a little bit.

 

[Lionheart]

I zero in my hunting rifles with brakes on private ground or empty ranges. 30/06 is really right on the borderline for me...depending on the weight of the rifle and ergonomics of the stock a brake just may not be necessary. My standard calibers .280 and under don’t have brakes. My .300WM, .264WM, 7mm Rem mags and up? They are braked.
The real advantage of the brake is the ability to see bullet impact on longer shots. I wear Walkers Game ears while hunting so the noise is not an issue.
Most of my hunting rifles have custom brakes drilled into the barrel with a 45 degree forward and out cant that keeps muzzle blast more forward and makes shooting prone possible.
I would not advise prone shooting with a break that has holes on the bottom...
try it once on dusty ground and you will see why.

Come shoot my .416 Rem Mag...and then we will talk recoil and brakes lol.

 

[CTS Tactical]

Yes the the break is louder than me

What did you break?

 

[CTS Tactical]

i can give you an example where i would wager $100 that recoil makes a difference I have a 7.75 pound bolt action shooting 500 grain solids at 2250. The gun is capable of a 2 inch group at 100 but I have not met anyone yet who can hold 5 under 2 inches at 100. After the second shot just about everyone flinches a little bit.

The brake makes the shooter shoot more accurately because it makes them less likely to flinch. It does not make the gun more accurate. It can in fact have just the opposite effect if it changes barrel harmonics.

 

[gh1950]

What did you break?

wind

 

[Necrosis]

i can give you an example where i would wager $100 that recoil makes a difference I have a 7.75 pound bolt action shooting 500 grain solids at 2250. The gun is capable of a 2 inch group at 100 but I have not met anyone yet who can hold 5 under 2 inches at 100. After the second shot just about everyone flinches a little bit.

You'd lose lol, I'd strap that mfer in a weighted shooting rest and have a ball. You're talking about a shooter issue (flinching), not a brake making the gun more accurate. Why you'd want a gun setup like that I don't know...

 

[gh1950]

i can give you an example where i would wager $100 that recoil makes a difference I have a 7.75 pound bolt action shooting 500 grain solids at 2250. The gun is capable of a 2 inch group at 100 but I have not met anyone yet who can hold 5 under 2 inches at 100. After the second shot just about everyone flinches a little bit.

Going back to shotguns, 500 grains is less than the 1 1/4 ounce load used in trap and live pigeon shooting. Granted it's shot at lower velocity through heavier guns, but it's also shot 25 times in a row in the space of 20 minutes, at a moving target going 40 mph @ 40 yds, and the best shooters will hit if all 25 times. In trap, they repeat that sequence at least 4 times.

 

[AK74U]

The only muzzle brake that is useful is the one that mounts a suppressor on the gun.