Muzzle brake on a 300 Win Mag?

[dragman]

I am all for muzzle brakes! we may not admit it but recoil gets to even the best shooter eventually.

 

[foggybottombob]

I used to be anti muzzle brake from bird hunting with an uncle who had one on his winchester 12 guage. When you are standing to the side a muzzle brake, the blast is devastating. But I bought a Weatherby Vanguard in .300 win mag in Jan. It shoots sub 1/2" at 200 yds with Hornady superformance 180 grain Interbond ammo. The recoil is less than my .270 winchester with no brake. I don't think I'll be changing anything on the .300.

 

[Longrange_Newby]

My first rifle was a browning A-bolt in .300 win mag with a muzzle brake and I flinched more from the noise than any actual kick the rifle had. So I purchased a T/C encore .300 win mag with a 28'' bull barrel then put a millet rifle scope on it, and after only 10 rounds that P.O.S. millet tactical scope broke from the recoil of that gun. Then I purchased a VX3 which I love, but still couldn't bring my groups with in MOA. I just barely put a muzzle brake on my new rifle and must say my grouping has improved immensly. I was consitantly breaking clay pigeons at 900 yards. It was night and day difference for me, and for the noise I just use hearing protection which I should have just done with my old .300

 

[Twodogs10mm]

I disagree, go to Physics. the one thing that many are over looking for recoil is "time" getting part of a story really isn't much of a story at all! Pretty much the same thing as putting a cotton ball over a very slow leak on your air compressor or releasing a lot of air all at once in front of a dusting gun. Obviously the cotton ball will not move with the slow leak and fly across the shop when the volume of air is released in a fraction of the time - Kind of like a 350 cubic inch car Engine is always 350 cubic inches no matter what the compression ratio and the obvious charge density for Energy output. Take the time to build your own recoil sleds play with different designs of sleds and see if you disagree with the actual physics behind "FELT "recoil. It is extremely fun when when you start asking "what is actually going on here" - Do not let it fly over the top of your head with popular urban myth but what the heck he said she said!

I'm curious, how does recoil sled design help you understand the physics of FELT recoil?

 

[Kennedy]

i put a brake on my 270 win so that i can follow shots. So, what recommended minimum rating of db should we get for ear muffs for those who are shooting a 300 win with brake.

 

[foggybottombob]

i put a brake on my 270 win so that i can follow shots. So, what recommended minimum rating of db should we get for ear muffs for those who are shooting a 300 win with brake.

I use 29db attenuation earplugs. As far as I can tell the muzzle brake is not that much louder to the shooter. It would be devastating to anyone who is to the side of the shooter. Be aware that hot gasses will shoot out the brake holes. If your brake has holes in the bottom of it you want to be sure that whatever is under your muzzle is not something that will scorch easily.

 

[Hazarmaveth]

Suppressors for the win.

 

[gbritton]

I have one on My .300 Rem mag and I like it. I'm tweaking out my long range gun and the brake allows me to concentrate more on my shots than recoil. You can't go wrong with a GOOD quality brake.









A democracy ceases to exist when a government takes from those willing to work and gives to them who are not.

"Thomas Jefferson"

 

[HAMMERHAND]

Suppressors for the win.

Boy that's a fact if we didn't have such an ignorant public to deal with!! I used to be against a muzzle brake because of the noise. Wear a good pair of muffs with GEL instead of foam on the muff to head connection. I have silenco magnums and they work perfectly on an 8 mag with a hollands quick discharge brake. No way I will ever own another radial brake because it kicks dust in your face for prone shooting. Long range shooting has a huge subconscious mental aspect to it. If you're getting kicked, you're not shooting to your finest ability IMO. Fact is that shooting ANY weapon without hearing protection is foolish...not just braked guns....ALL GUNS. Ear pro is so easy to use before you take the shot. The hardest and most violent kicking gun I ever owned was a wby vanguard in .300 wby....flat clobbered me that gun did. I'd brake a .300 win mag in a second. .270 and below not such a huge issue, but anything .30 and up would have a brake on it unless it were a slow mover ie 45-70.

 

[kbaerg]

I am going to put a break on my savage FCP this winter so that I can enjoy shooting more and getting better, I'm going to try a smith that lives close to me... >>> (http://claryscomps.com/)
He seems to have a good reputation here..

 

[RajnCaucasian]

Only opinion that matters is yours. Put the brake on and run with it.

 

[LongRangeMike]

Got one on my rifle. Well worth it and I don't use hearing protection when hunting. It is louder but, your accuracy will increase greatly especially out at larger ranges. If you feel that much kick from your round, you may even want to look at a better butt pad for your rifle. I shoot really hot rounds, but my Accumark came with a very good quality but pad and with my brake off, I didn't notice an extreme amount of kick more than with the brake.

The net effect, is you rifle will remain more stable why the gases expand and leave the barrel and on subsequent shots, you won't be anticipating the shot because of the kick.

 

[hunterforlife]

I have shot 300 WM with both Vais & DE side vent muzzle breaks. Here is what I have found.
1) Felt recoil is less with the DE side vent break than with a Vais break
2) It is not only the increased noise but all the pressure wave that punishes the ears.
a) DE SV break is ~ 2-300% louder & the felt pressure wave is punishing compared to shooting without muzzle break. Don't ever shoot a large side vent break without hearing protection unless you are already deaf.
b) Vais is only ~ 30-50% louder with a felt pressure wave ~100% more than a shot without muzzle break.
3) Actually hunting, I don't notice any significant difference in recoil with or without muzzle break, but noise & pressure wave are significant with DE side vent much greater than Vais muzzle break which is marginally increased over shooting without break


Make sure you get a removable muzzle break with thread protector caps, then when in the field you can shoot without the muzzle break & have less risk of permanent hearing damage if you forget or don't have time to put on hearing protection.

 

[Old teacher]

The question is not whether or not to put a brake on anything, but rather, will a brake make me shoot better. And the answer for me is definitely yes...and not a little bit. I put brakes on everything, even my 25-06-AI. I do not like recoil, and with a brake, I am comfortable, less tense, and can settle down and keep my eyes open when I shoot. A good brake will allow even a 300 win mag (I have 3) to shoot so softly that you can see the bullet hit the target through the scope (if you have a scope that goes to 12 or higher.) I shot a deer once and placed the bullet right behind the last rib and low. It ran off like it wasn't touched. I saw the bullet hit the deer and I knew exactly where I hit it. My partner was about to desert me when we finally found the deer, only about 75 yards away, shot right through the liver. Without the brake, I would not have known that I hit the deer in a vital spot, and I would have given up and left a dead deer to rot. One of the greatest benefits of a brake is when you have a son or daughter who has reached hunting age, and you need to buy a rifle. A lot of people automatically go to a .243, a cartridge that I personally think should not be legal for deer. m(And I know I will get a ton of flak for that statement.) But, if you are willing to put a brake on your kid's rifle, you can buy at least a 308, have a rifle that shoots softer than the 243 by far, and won't have to be replaced the next year when junior wants a more powerful gun.
Regarding the range issue, yes, it can irritate other shooters. But I always warn other shooters near me and I visually check to make sure they have their "ears on" before I shoot. The only complaint I have ever had is that the brake blows sand back into other stalls from the cheap sand bags some people use. I always try to get to the range early and brush off all the tables so the sand is not an issue. I have not had a complaint since. And the bottom line is, why put up with being beaten to death by recoil; when there is a viable, reasonably priced option?