Muzzle Brakes - Necessity??

[brtelec]

I agree that if you are running a brake on a big caliber you should do what you can to be considerate. When I shoot my 338 LM at the range I try to take an end bench away from the crowd if it is available. I don't however not shoot if I can not get away from the rest of the rank and file. I do not see the difference between them dealing with my rifle and my dealing with being hit on the head by their brass as they fire some hideous semi-auto in rapid fire slinging brass 4 benches down. That is just part of going to a public range. Either deal with the people around you or find someplace else to shoot. Yes people should try to be considerate and at the same time people should learn to be more tolerant.

[fgw_in_fla]

Actually, All I really wanted to know was what they were for other than reducing recoil. I was curious if there was possibly some other function or purpose for them. The part about driving the guy next to you crazy was purely in jest. Humor, odd though it may have been.

The only other purpose I can think of would be - They do look pretty cool sometimes. I've had a look at rifles at the range that had some pretty funky looking brakes (breaks?). By the way... what's the correct word here? Is it "brake" or "break"?. The baffles on the end of a Barrett .416 or .50 are pretty cool looking and would undoubtedly blow off a guys hair piece. I mean, if a guy was wearing one, that is..... ::)

Again... It's just a curiousity thing.

Thanks,
Frank in Fla.

[nsaqam]

The proper word is BRAKES.

[darkker]

The baffles on the end of a Barrett .416 or .50 are pretty cool looking and would undoubtedly blow off a guys hair piece. I mean, if a guy was wearing one, that is..... ::)

Thanks,
Frank in Fla.


Not sure about a rug, but they can ignite cheatgrass, and Carhartts on fire.......so I've heard! ;D

[82boy]

Well, I am going to jump on my soap box for a minute. I spend most of my shooting in a competition format sitting beside dozens of rifles shooting at the same time. I can say I know first hand what it is like to shoot beside someone with a muzzel break, and I can say I know what its like to shoot with muzzel breaks on either side of me. I have sat beside people shooting muzzel breaks on calibers from 223 all the way up to 300 win mag, and I can say that the only time I have been bothered by a muzzel break is when someone put ir on a 308 Win. I dont know why but this is the most horrible thing. I am glad hardly anyone shots this round in copetition, but I can stand behine a line of 30+ gun, going off, and I can tell you wich one is a 308.

Now for all of you that would like to ban breaks at a public range, I will tell you of things far worse I have seen and witnesed at public ranges that nobody would raise and eye brow at. To start when I do go out to the range it takes me 30 minute to 1 hr to set up, that is before the first shot is fired. I usualy go out on weekday early in the morning. It never fails me that when I am set up, all happy, and have shot a few groups, I get a tactical twit and his buddy come in to shoot.

Now I ask you this, What is worse dealing with my muzzel break, or me dealing with the two of them shooting their ak and ar15 rapid fire, and there brass hitting me in the head, and bouncing all over the ground and benches? Or could it be that they are shooting wolf steel case ammo, and they leave pilles of it all over the range that they will never pick up, and will rust all over the place? Or could it be all the stuff they shoot? I have seen people shoot everything from tree shreaders, lawn mowers, TV, computers, fire extingushiers, propane cylinders, and tansinight. What makes it worse is they dont want to clean up ther mess, or they will take thier heaping pile, of shot up stee,l EPA violating, junk, and leave it by the trash containers, as if the range has a way of disposing of this. Let alone this guys dont know where there bullets are going, and dont care. I know of 4 clubs that in the last could of years have had bullets leave the range, and hit houses miles away, and they almost closed. (Guess who is cleaning this up, could it be me with my offending muzzel break that donates hours of my time to the range.)

Or even some other bad offenders, is the member that shows up once a year to sight in for hunting season. Now I ask what is worse my muzzel brake or the gun firing a 12 gauge shot gun with the hulls hitting me and the bench, as he shots everything in sight including my wind flags? Or they guy that is "going out west" and needs to sight in his rifle, and he has a 220 swift or 300 win mag laoded so hot it is blanking primers, and fires one right after another, and calls it good. Or how about the rimfire shooters that buy thousands of rounds of ammo, shooting them all at the range in one trip, and leaving the brass lay all around. Or could it be the guy that shows up with no guns just to BS, and tells you that your proven match winning gun could be out shot by his contender in 243 win, when all you want to do is shoot.

So what is worse my shoting a rifle with a muzzel break, where I can account for every shot, not leaving a mess, and not bother a person, or all the rest of the examples I have stated?

In closing, I can say at every range I have shot at the maintaince is done by the people who care about guns, and care about the range, not the once a year hunter, or the tactical twits, it is usualy some one that does some kind of competition shooting. Now if a competition shooter uses a muzzel break, are you going to ban him from the club as well?

[snowgetter1]

fgw
Brakes are great for reducing recoil and muzzle rise/jump. I have them on a 223 and 243 striker barrels. Yes they are loud, but I have not been to a range that isn't. I do not believe my brakes are any worse than an AR-15 short barrel.

[cgeorgemo]

Pointing out the faults of others doesn't correct faults of our own.
If your setting up next to someone who has been shooting and you have a brake you should check to see if you are going to bother them. If they set up next to you and you've been shooting then they've made that choice by setting up next to you. It is simple courtesy and I'm sure all of us are fully capable of it.

[mousemotors]

Yep, I have a brake on my 300 win mag. Love it. Tired of getting up the next day to realize that my right shoulder hurts like **** after shooting it. Don't get me wrong love the gun just hate the kick. When I do go to a range I get there as soon as they open. Rarely anyone else there yet. Get off to one side and have at it. I have been approached by other shooters and asked what I was shooting though at times. They just smile and say, nice gun or shoots pretty good. I have never had a negative word said to me about the noise. If and when I ever do I will try to accomodate the other shooters as best as I can. I do believe though that different brakes make different noise or volume of noise. I shoot a JP Enterprise brake.

[Eric in NC]

Can't we all just get along? ;)

I shoot everything (ARs and other "military" guns, target, handguns in rifle calibers, shotguns, civil war and western stuff, etc. etc.) and the key (as others have said) is consideration and appreciation that others can shoot what they are into too (even if it is loud). It is a shooting range after all!

Had a guy complain that I was too loud when I was shooting skeet with black powder shells in an old Ithaca hammer gun. Now I thought that was real funny! Yes BP shotgun shells do make a nice BOOM but if you are complaining about 1870's technology...

[Balljoint]

I would like to remove the brake on my Savage BAS/K as my gun club is not liking it UNLESS i am shooting BY MYSELF OTHERWISE PLEASE remove it, now just have to figure out how easy it would be to do so.

[k20350]

I hate them. My friend has a .300 Win Mag with one. I like to only wear ear plugs when I shoot rifles. It actually hurts my ears if I only have plugs in. When he fires I have to put my hands over my ears also.

[Westcliffe01]

If one frequently needs to shoot braked rifles at the same range, it may not be a bad idea to participate with the range in building a lane silencer like what the swiss use at almost all of their ranges (the one in the images below is from a member on this board, I could not find a decent picture of the ones the Swiss use. I doubt it would cost more than a few hundred $ and last a long time.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMzrNZSka4KDjLN2yeGIG1rDz7X0Uxn uvhq3osqeY3zY67A1PL
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzFkqDXImsG9wtDQ0OcllnFPhl44IYk T8BWxgxi7JbywvGt3x2
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMG-XnLoCVlu7u6W9RsulIeL5OH39uAeg9cEsS0n3lGKIcdPWk2Q

[Blue Avenger]

even just the poly barrel and foam would help.

[Icefox]

Im in the hate the darn things camp after a dimwit thought it was funny to shoot his braked 243 ai when everyone was taking a coffie break at the local range and i lost 60% of my hearing on my left ear from that one shot.

If i put anything on the end of my rifles its a suppressor, farcry better in every possible way than a brake and your neighbors on the range will love you instead of cursing you(=

[brtelec]

Nothing funny about that. That would have been his last day at our range.

[bootsmcguire]

If i put anything on the end of my rifles its a suppressor, far cry better in every possible way than a brake and your neighbors on the range will love you instead of cursing you(=


Can't argue with that. I would swap out every one of my brakes for a suppressor. If only all states were equal.

[drybean]

+1 to that

drybean

[Salvo]

Public ranges scare me, so I cough up the bucks to join a gun club for access to a private facility.

I usually show up early on a weekday, and very seldom see other shooters. When I do, they tend to be well socialized, sensible and friendly.

I have paid as much as $275.00 a year, and as little as 50 bucks a year for gun club membership. Some have been elaborate and well-equipped while others are more modest. Currently I am paying 50 bux a year to utilize a modest but quite functional range with pistol ranges, plus 50, 100, and 200 yard rifle positions. Every fourth or fifth time I go there, I'll see somebody else maybe.

( Click Image to See it Full-Size )

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff206/arwatch/Firearms/th_IMG_1838.jpg (http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff206/arwatch/Firearms/IMG_1838.jpg)

I have tried Magna-Porting, on a Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in .300 Win mag. Before and after Magna-Porting, the gun would put the first three rounds out of a cold barrel into 1/2" at 100 yards. - The porting had zero measured effect upon accuracy. The load that the gun liked was Federal Premium 180 grain factory loads. It shot those so well that I never bothered with buying reloading dies, or developing my own loads for that gun.

Sometimes you have to take a shot from an awkward position, or at a weird angle ( especially up in the mountains, or up in a tree ) and it is at times like that when the porting can make a big difference in the field. Another way that it helps in the field is really only noticed at the shooting range, where you get more practice in, and enjoy it more. Because of this, you will naturally tend to be a better, more confident shot with that gun - and that makes a really big difference in the field.

I buy and shoot magnum rifles for downrange performance. The critters and targets I shoot do not care whether I get knocked around to get that performance - or not. They do not care about the noise, either. It seems to me that the ones who must make overt manhood demonstrations are the ones who are most often in doubt.

One thing that should be understood about muzzle brakes is that they depend upon lots of high pressure gas in order to return the most benefit from their use. Because of this, a MB on a low-pressure 45-70 will provide some benefit - but not nearly as much benefit as a MB on a high-pressure/volume cartridge like a 7mm or .300 magnum in a bottleneck case.

The more "rocket effect" that your cartridge/barrel produces, the more potential benefit to be had from porting.

A can big enough to be effective on something that produces that kind of blast is going to be heavy, bulky and ungainly in the field. - They are mostly paired up with low pressure, 1000 fps "whisper" rounds, not the fire-belching 3000 fps magnums.