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

[GunHawk]

Area 419... Great customer service.

Muzzle Devices Archives

NOTE: The HELLFIRE and SIDEWINDER systems CANNOT share parts. IE: The use of a HELLFIRE suppressor mount on a SIDEWINDER adapter is impossible.

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[bengineer]

I hate brakes because they are noisy. I sell silencers and use them on almost everything. That said,
I do sell APA brakes. They seem to me to give the best recoil reduction out there. I havent tried everything by any stretch of the imagination. All my customers are happy with accuracy and recoil reduction with APA brakes.
Dont buy a brake with bottom ports. You will be sandblasted and hate your brake. My .02

 

[WeekendWarrior]

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.

Considering the long range application as well as recoil reduction, you might want to consider Erik Cortina's tuner-brake combo, not just his tuner. https://erikcortina.com/store/ols/products/ec-tuner-brake-ss-65mm

I know you want separate parts to combine afterwards, but Erik has done a great job with the brake and I personally dont think there is a difference in performance because he sells the brake and tuner as a single unit. I have this on my Savage 110 ba 300wm, and it's awesome. The recoil reduction is far greater than the brake my rifle came with. I know it's only subjective data, but it is what I experience. I used to get a bruised shoulder after shooting a box of ammo with the savage brake, I switched to the EC tuner-brake and two weeks ago I shot 60 rounds to generate some load DOPE without issue. I guess you could buy a larger brake and attach a tuner to it, but its hard to beat the nice four port brake Erik designed, and happened to thread to be compatible with a tuner.

For what it's worth, I did a custom 300wm ultralite hunting build and have been using the five port design brake (more similar to the brakes you are considering) from Rokslide: https://store.rokslide.com/ti-pro-3-st-p81.aspx. My shoulder feels about the same shooting a few boxes of ammo with this brake vs the EC tuner-brake.

The key for me was reducing the recoil enough to spot shots, and I'm able to do that with either brake. Just my 2 cents...

 

[brotherbear67]

I had a MBM Beast brake on my 338LM and really liked it, excellent recoil reduction. Swapped it out for a self timed Terminator TA. Accuracy was consistent between the 2 and poi shift was minimal. The Beast weighs less than the Terminator but the Terminator balanced the gun a bit better. Both are great as are the choices you are looking at. Haven't tried a brake with tunable top ports yet, though I have one on order from Area 419 to replace a Vias brake on a 300 Rum.

 

[Tikka Lover]

Terminator T4 all the way. I get calls almost every day with guys that have your rifle. That's the one. If you want a self timer in black go with the TA. Everything always ships out same day. Two days transit to most places.
Shoot-Long.com

 

[zr600]

Has anybody mentioned the Ti pro titanium break from rockslide? On long range only them guys love these breaks. They also weight next to nothing.

 

[Chas1]

Have you looked at the Painkiller? I've got one of them on an 7 Allen Mag and it is absolutely incredible. Light rifle, but kicks less than a braked Creedmoor. Brakes are funny things. What works good on one case size might not be the best fit on another. Muzzle pressure makes a big difference.

+1. I have a painkiller that Kirby Allen of APS Rifles installed on a 17 lb. 338 Allen Xpress he built for me. Accuracy has been outstanding and although the 338 AX holds about 10grs more powder than a 338 Lapua, the recoil is about like a 243.

 

[TexSavage]

Not sure if you have ever heard of Precision Rifle Blog by Cal Zant. He has done some pretty impressive data driven testing on various precision rifle equipment and other shooting topics. There are some excellent articles that are quite thorough on his test, results and conclusions. Here is a link to a Muzzle Brake test he did several years ago, August 2015 to be exact. He has more articles since then, one with brakes and suppressors to.

Muzzle Brake: Summary of Field Test Results

This post summarizes the eye-opening results for the massive muzzle brake field test I’ve worked on ...

precisionrifleblog.com

 

[Veteran]

Not sure if you have ever heard of Precision Rifle Blog by Cal Zant. He has done some pretty impressive data driven testing on various precision rifle equipment and other shooting topics. There are some excellent articles that are quite thorough on his test, results and conclusions. Here is a link to a Muzzle Brake test he did several years ago, August 2015 to be exact. He has more articles since then, one with brakes and suppressors to.

Muzzle Brake: Summary of Field Test Results

This post summarizes the eye-opening results for the massive muzzle brake field test I’ve worked on ...

precisionrifleblog.com

Yes, I had seen all of those videos and the results. I was most interested in his tests on the 300 Norma Magnum. This is where I picked up that the APA Fat Bastard might have some potential and was on my initial list. The thing I see now though is that this data is 5-6 years old and did not include either tests of the T-4 or the MBM beast which probably were either not around back then or just not available in the U.S. in the case of the T-4. Thank you for the link.

 

[longgun505]

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 shot/tested a lot of brakes in and out of kinetic fixture devices. Our heavy cal bolt guns run Vais brakes, and AAC Brakeout's for gas guns. The latter is a good brake for recoil reduction as well as can interface.

 

[Veteran]

Not sure if you have ever heard of Precision Rifle Blog by Cal Zant. He has done some pretty impressive data driven testing on various precision rifle equipment and other shooting topics. There are some excellent articles that are quite thorough on his test, results and conclusions. Here is a link to a Muzzle Brake test he did several years ago, August 2015 to be exact. He has more articles since then, one with brakes and suppressors to.

Muzzle Brake: Summary of Field Test Results

This post summarizes the eye-opening results for the massive muzzle brake field test I’ve worked on ...

precisionrifleblog.com

P.S., I see you are from Amarillo. I grew up in Odessa, and went to school at Texas Tech in Lubbock. Amarillo may be the only place in Texas where the wind can blow harder than Lubbock.......And you probably get the same sand storms. And not even sound can travel in those legendary sand storms at plowing and planting season.......Lots of fine red dirt......The movie, Hidalgo comes to mind.

 

[twister]

fat bastard is very nice.

 

[Betarider]

I just realized a possible answer to my conundrum.........I may have been asking an Oxymoron question...... Let's say I was just going to put on a brake only and wanted the best brake for just recoil reduction, then I think with all the stuff I read today I'm getting close to
understanding maybe which are the top 2 or so. But then I was worried about the tradeoff in accuracy due to any affect on barrel harmonics the brake may have due to the way it is cut, and the directions it is funneling the gas. But, I already decided I'm gonna install a barrel tuner too......so if I get the best brake for recoil, shouldn't I not worry much about the harmonics since I will have an integrated tuner to dial away the harmonics whatever they are? Maybe I was trying to be too precise looking for a brake that is high on accuracy while being high on recoil reduction at the same time???? Did I just answer my own question maybe at least in part?

Doesn't seem like anyone knows of testing that has been done on MOA vs. brake designs anyway? Maybe no one has done it.
Maybe it does not exist......

IMHO the brakes only effect is recoil reduction. The effect is better accuracy because you no longer flinch, to what ever degree, and that makes you shoot better as for harmonics it will change your poi but will do it consistently hence you can adjust the load to improve the accuracy as you would with any non braked rifle

 

[Eeegadd]

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.

O have the hyper tap. Love it!! No problem staying on target. 83% recoil reduction rated best on the market. Plus it's tunable for top ports. Anything that blows back at 45 degrees is going to be good. Also check out ectuners/muzzle brakes all in one.