Considering 3 Brands-Models of Muzzle Brakes- Any Opinions?

[Grizz1148]

I have a .338 Lapua Magnum, Savage BA-110 LE , 17 lbs. I plan to use it mainly for long range targets, and long range hunting, all from a fixed, set
position, so weight is not a big deal. I am more concerned with Recoil reduction and accuracy and achieving a balance or the optimum best of both worlds for those two criteria, though I think I understand there is possibly some trade-off or conflict in the two depending on HOW recoil is reduced in a specific muzzle brake. I have read that accuracy is improved when there is a more balanced approach to have gas ports on the bottom and the top, regardless of the potential for dust signature, or flying debris. This is from actual testing of MOA vs. port design.

Here are the three my search has turned up that seem promising:

1) American Precision Arms - Fat Bastard, Generation 3 with tunable top and bottom gas ports.
Is the tunable part of this more hype than actual help? Does it just add another dimension of uncertainty or can it be deciphered--does it work?

2) Terminator T-4 (now available in the U.S. market)

3) Precision Armament - Hypertap or M11- Severe Duty

I'm more concerned with achieving accuracy and reducing recoil than the cost difference between all these choices, unless I can just get the same or very close to the same result from one of these and save several hundred dollars vs. other choices. But how would you rank the very best technical solution out of these three? Then what about the Bang for your buck choice?

I plan to integrate a barrel tuner in with this new brake. I have not yet decided which one. I am still looking at the EC Tuner, the ATS, The Ezell PDT,
and Harrell's, but using one of these brakes, because I think these brakes are better than the integrated tuner brake products offered for the
.338 LM rifle. Ie, I might just go with an integrated product if this was for a 6.5 Creedmoor or 7 mm mag. or something, but I want something a little better for the .338 LM and a tuner too.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts, ideas, questions, and your experience most of all.

I have 2 area 419s. Best I've used and the self timing system is awesome. Just my $.02

 

[747fullscale]

I have a .338 Lapua Magnum, Savage BA-110 LE , 17 lbs. I plan to use it mainly for long range targets, and long range hunting, all from a fixed, set
position, so weight is not a big deal. I am more concerned with Recoil reduction and accuracy and achieving a balance or the optimum best of both worlds for those two criteria, though I think I understand there is possibly some trade-off or conflict in the two depending on HOW recoil is reduced in a specific muzzle brake. I have read that accuracy is improved when there is a more balanced approach to have gas ports on the bottom and the top, regardless of the potential for dust signature, or flying debris. This is from actual testing of MOA vs. port design.

Here are the three my search has turned up that seem promising:

1) American Precision Arms - Fat Bastard, Generation 3 with tunable top and bottom gas ports.
Is the tunable part of this more hype than actual help? Does it just add another dimension of uncertainty or can it be deciphered--does it work?

2) Terminator T-4 (now available in the U.S. market)

3) Precision Armament - Hypertap or M11- Severe Duty

I'm more concerned with achieving accuracy and reducing recoil than the cost difference between all these choices, unless I can just get the same or very close to the same result from one of these and save several hundred dollars vs. other choices. But how would you rank the very best technical solution out of these three? Then what about the Bang for your buck choice?

I plan to integrate a barrel tuner in with this new brake. I have not yet decided which one. I am still looking at the EC Tuner, the ATS, The Ezell PDT,
and Harrell's, but using one of these brakes, because I think these brakes are better than the integrated tuner brake products offered for the
.338 LM rifle. Ie, I might just go with an integrated product if this was for a 6.5 Creedmoor or 7 mm mag. or something, but I want something a little better for the .338 LM and a tuner too.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts, ideas, questions, and your experience most of all.

I have American Precision Fat Bastard on all of my high powered rifles…. Never looked back. Just be sure to tell anyone around you that you have a brake….

 

[BrianID]

I have a Savage 110 that came with a break. My gun weighs a couple pounds less than yours though. The break makes the recoil very manageable. The problem with the break is that percussion and noise made it less enjoyable to shoot. It was also very offensive to anyone that was next to me. I ended up putting a suppressor on it and now it is much more fun to shoot. The suppressor didn't affect the accuracy. I still have the old break and would be happy to sell it for a good price. Just send me a message.

 

[rem.xp100]

Another vote for MBM. I've installed several hundred brakes over the years and have never had a rifle lose accuracy - generally improve but I feel that is a by-product of the lighter recoil and shooter control not the brake itself.

 

[Veteran]

You better check the state's reg's that you plan to hunt in for any weight restrictions. Here in Idaho your firearm, as used (ammo, magazine, scope, sling, bipod, muzzle brake, suppressor, whatever), is 16 pounds MAXIMUM.

Wow, I never even thought about a state having a regulation giving the maxium weight of a firearm you use for hunting.....but yeah I suppose someone could wanna use a howitzer.........never even crossed my mind......this rifle comes at 17 lbs straight from Savage. With scope and extras, its gotta be around 20 lbs. Yes, well I will check on that now. Good advice.

 

[TXTrained]

I have a .338 Lapua Magnum, Savage BA-110 LE , 17 lbs. I plan to use it mainly for long range targets, and long range hunting, all from a fixed, set
position, so weight is not a big deal. I am more concerned with Recoil reduction and accuracy and achieving a balance or the optimum best of both worlds for those two criteria, though I think I understand there is possibly some trade-off or conflict in the two depending on HOW recoil is reduced in a specific muzzle brake. I have read that accuracy is improved when there is a more balanced approach to have gas ports on the bottom and the top, regardless of the potential for dust signature, or flying debris. This is from actual testing of MOA vs. port design.

Here are the three my search has turned up that seem promising:

1) American Precision Arms - Fat Bastard, Generation 3 with tunable top and bottom gas ports.
Is the tunable part of this more hype than actual help? Does it just add another dimension of uncertainty or can it be deciphered--does it work?

2) Terminator T-4 (now available in the U.S. market)

3) Precision Armament - Hypertap or M11- Severe Duty

I'm more concerned with achieving accuracy and reducing recoil than the cost difference between all these choices, unless I can just get the same or very close to the same result from one of these and save several hundred dollars vs. other choices. But how would you rank the very best technical solution out of these three? Then what about the Bang for your buck choice?

I plan to integrate a barrel tuner in with this new brake. I have not yet decided which one. I am still looking at the EC Tuner, the ATS, The Ezell PDT,
and Harrell's, but using one of these brakes, because I think these brakes are better than the integrated tuner brake products offered for the
.338 LM rifle. Ie, I might just go with an integrated product if this was for a 6.5 Creedmoor or 7 mm mag. or something, but I want something a little better for the .338 LM and a tuner too.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts, ideas, questions, and your experience most

I'd be afraid to call Eric Cortina, he can shoot 5 shots through the same hole at 1000 yards. And he pulls practical April Fools jokes on people he knows, and he is from Texas. He may get mad that I'm not wanting to use his tuner brake, or I might ask him a dumb question......I'm still considering his tuner vs. all the others, and may go with his tuner, but I really don't feel he has the best brake solution for me that's out there, especially for .338 LM and above. Tiny brakes don't really do that well in the tests I just saw at:

Muzzle Brakes and More

muzzlebrakesandmore.com

And, I actually might suggest to him that if he can make some brakes that will do what the 5 port beast and the T-4 are doing in those videos, and couple that with his tuner, he'd probably corner the market! Just IMHO, but he could make his new machine shop a custom shop to optimize Brakes, and Tuners, (selling his tuner of course) and making it all integrate well together. He seems like a very knowledgeable and creative lathe operator and machinist type. It should be a cinch. I did talk to Alamo Precision up in North Texas though because they are one of his sales and installation outlets. I may still try to work through them on whatever "Frankenstein" kind of Tuner- muzzle Brake install I dream up after I read all of the advice and ideas I get here on LRH.

I'm afraid to call ol Eric. He may put a pumpkin with dial indicators on the end of my muzzle and laugh about it when I pick it up.

I'm not sure About the excessive amount of metal to be milled off to accept the EC Tuner if I didn't like it and that barrel not b eing able to accept a different tuner/brake

 

[gvjm]

Harrells precision, tunable, not tunable, whatever you want. I have one on my 9 1/2 lb 7 mag, no recoil.

 

[TXTrained]

Wow, I never even thought about a state having a regulation giving the maxium weight of a firearm you use for hunting.....but yeah I suppose someone could wanna use a howitzer.........never even crossed my mind......this rifle comes at 17 lbs straight from Savage. With scope and extras, its gotta be around 20 lbs. Yes, well I will check on that now. Good advice.

What? Idaho has a limit on a rifle weight? I never even considered there being a rule as that...I'm glad I live it TX..

 

[FreeNHim]

No mention of a JP Eliminator. Not included in the OP's list. Not sleek but effective.

 

[TheLongRanger83702]

Wow, I never even thought about a state having a regulation giving the maxium weight of a firearm you use for hunting.....but yeah I suppose someone could wanna use a howitzer.........never even crossed my mind......this rifle comes at 17 lbs straight from Savage. With scope and extras, its gotta be around 20 lbs. Yes, well I will check on that now. Good advice.

This is why we have our forum. To inform each other to help us make good decisions.

 

[Veteran]

I've used the Fat Bastard and Terminator breaks on 338LM - both work very well. Another option to help with accuracy is a Aaron Hipp tuner. That gun should already shoot just under 1MOA. 1/2 if you got a good one.
Are you loading your own ammo? If so what brass, what bullet?

I bought it used, and at first it was shooting 2-3 MOA and I was afraid the barrel was shot out. Then I discovered some loose screws on the frame and got those tightened up. Eventually I had to use blue thread sealant on them. That shoulda been my 1st clue about vibration.....At first I was just using hornady and remington factory ammo to get some brass to reload. The Remington shot better, and it was all Lapua brass which was a bonus. I then started reloading. At first, I was using the Hornady, Lapua, and PPU brass for my reloads, then I found out when I got Quickload and weighed and took H20 volumes on all my brass that the Horndady was only 107 grains H20 while my Lapua was 116 gr H20. The PPU was about 114. I was flabbergasted how much difference there was in the Hornady and the others. I quit using the Hornady and PPU and retired it, though I believe the PPU brass is not all that bad in quality. So, now I use exclusively the Lapua. I went to Peterson on my .300 WM. I am using Lapua Scenar 250 gr. bullets, which are quality high BC bullets. I am shooting N560, N565, N570, and just now got some RL 26 and Retumbo and H1000 to try out. I want to target a velocity of about 2850 to 2900 in the 26 inch bbl., with the 250 gr. bullet. At some point I will try the 300 gr. but not until I get out past 500 yards with it. My best groups before I tried the shaft collar were about 1 MOA, even after reloads, using Lapua Brass, and all the above. After the shaft collar, I began seeing 1/2 to 5/8 size groups with N560 and N565. So, that tells me it had some harmonics that the shaft collar has helped tame. I'm still going to do a lot more load development to get it as low as I can and use a tuner on top of that and cutting recoil should also help. I also tried the Berger VLD elite hunters, but could not get anything to work with those at all. I also shoot some Sierra 2600 Gamekings that shoot just a little worse than the Scenars but are great for hunting. So, the barrel was not shot out, and I got a borescope to confirm that.
I do think the rifle is capable of consistent 1/2 inch groups with more load development and a tuner, and checking all those screws.
If you did not read the 1st post in this thread, you may want to read it too.

 

[Veteran]

This is for 308 muzzle brakes but this guy did a test on a plethora of brakes.

Thank You for the video. I went to his web site The Truth About Guns .com to get all of the results in charts and tables. He showed the American Precision Arms M-11 and M-72 to be several of the top ones in reducing recoil, which is one on the list I had identified, but this work was all done 5 years ago in 2016, and it was on .308 vs. even bigger magnums, so I'm not sure its totally up to date with all the new things that are out there now like T-4, and MTM Beast. Good data though.

.30 Caliber Muzzle Brake Shootout - The Truth About Guns

In response to popular demand, we’ve scaled it up a notch and have taken the 5.56 muzzle brake testing to 7.62. Specifically, 24 muzzle devices threaded 5/8-24 for use with .30 caliber cartridges joined in the fun, all of them getting tested for recoil reduction prowess on a .308. Come on in...

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

 

[Veteran]

I ,meant MBM Beast in the note above.....I'm impressed with it and the T-4.

 

[Veteran]

I bought it used, and at first it was shooting 2-3 MOA and I was afraid the barrel was shot out. Then I discovered some loose screws on the frame and got those tightened up. Eventually I had to use blue thread sealant on them. That shoulda been my 1st clue about vibration.....At first I was just using hornady and remington factory ammo to get some brass to reload. The Remington shot better, and it was all Lapua brass which was a bonus. I then started reloading. At first, I was using the Hornady, Lapua, and PPU brass for my reloads, then I found out when I got Quickload and weighed and took H20 volumes on all my brass that the Horndady was only 107 grains H20 while my Lapua was 116 gr H20. The PPU was about 114. I was flabbergasted how much difference there was in the Hornady and the others. I quit using the Hornady and PPU and retired it, though I believe the PPU brass is not all that bad in quality. So, now I use exclusively the Lapua. I went to Peterson on my .300 WM. I am using Lapua Scenar 250 gr. bullets, which are quality high BC bullets. I am shooting N560, N565, N570, and just now got some RL 26 and Retumbo and H1000 to try out. I want to target a velocity of about 2850 to 2900 in the 26 inch bbl., with the 250 gr. bullet. At some point I will try the 300 gr. but not until I get out past 500 yards with it. My best groups before I tried the shaft collar were about 1 MOA, even after reloads, using Lapua Brass, and all the above. After the shaft collar, I began seeing 1/2 to 5/8 size groups with N560 and N565. So, that tells me it had some harmonics that the shaft collar has helped tame. I'm still going to do a lot more load development to get it as low as I can and use a tuner on top of that and cutting recoil should also help. I also tried the Berger VLD elite hunters, but could not get anything to work with those at all. I also shoot some Sierra 2600 Gamekings that shoot just a little worse than the Scenars but are great for hunting. So, the barrel was not shot out, and I got a borescope to confirm that.
I do think the rifle is capable of consistent 1/2 inch groups with more load development and a tuner, and checking all those screws.
If you did not read the 1st post in this thread, you may want to read it too.

P.S. I learned all about seating bullets to the Ogive from lands distance when I started trying to work with those Bergers.
I'd rather call'em Boogers.... I admit all my work so far has been only at 100 yards, and I hear rumors that they shoot better over
long distance, but I am at this point skeptical, if I can't make it shoot small groups at 100, then how in haides will I be hitting a pie pan at 1000......but, I'm willing to listen.....and keep an open mind, but for now, I'm focused on tightening up groups at 100, then trying to cross the ocean.