Screw on vs. Ported muzzle brake

[DJ Fergus]

I never specified screwed but flush same as my friends was done.
We went two pages over what was discussed or not, am I sure if it is not screwed on and so on...

Is there a disadvantages that we can discuss in having a ported brake recessed back.

I am more interested in muzzle velocity loss, affects on accuracy and so on. Ability to remove it is not really some big advantage on a screw on brake for me. As I said probably twice till now barrel being shorter now due to internal crown is most of my concerns.

I don't wanna be rude and appreciate the responses but really think that I can not change much at this point.
There was miscommunication of some sort for sure. However no point crying over spilled milk.

What are some of the things that can help, obviously wont get rid of the gun or change the barrel now. Did anyone experienced trouble in reloading or such issues, shooting in a rain as I heard that might be an issue as well.
That's something we should discuss and that's what I asked opinion on the forum for...

If he got the crown inside correct, it shouldn't take away from its accuracy potential. Some times adding or taking away weight from the muzzle end will effect the tune of a load & harmonics of the barrel but not necessarily accuracy potential. As far as velocity loss, I think the most you would likely see would be 80fps from 2" of barrel loss, but it may only be 30-40 fps loss. Its any ones guess until you chronograph what it does now compared to how fast it was before. Velocity loss some what depends on powder burn rate & bullet weight of the loaded round you were shooting or will be shooting. As far as hunting in the rain, I always keep a plastic bag over my muzzle until I'm ready to shoot whether it has a brake or not and whether its stainless or blued because any manner of rust or corrosion in the muzzle is not good. Being ported as such just makes it a little less convenient for drying & cleaning it out. If you were shooting a load or factory ammo that shot good before, It may very well shoot just as good now. If it doesn't, then that doesn't necesarily mean theres anything wrong with the work done to the muzzle, the load may just be out of node(tune) with the rifle now. You may have to try something different. Then on the other hand, it may even shoot better now. As far as drawbacks to being ported, the only draw back i see is it being less convenient to clean and keep it dry.

 

[aushunter1]

Miss communication??

How do you go from a please "fit a muzzle break" to "porting a barrel"??

Even if he came to the realisation that he couldnt get a brake to fit flush a phone call is all it takes to the customer before moving foward.
It only take 2 minutes & $1 to make an informed & happy customer!

 

[Quintus]

I wouldn't worry about a substantial velocity loss. I haven't been able to find it, but Back in the day either Shooting Times or G&A took a couple of rifles and chronographed them with 26" barrels. They ported them and lost less than 20FPS each. Then they started cutting them down and that was where the big velocity difference started to show. If I remember correctly the loss per inch became greater as the barrel got shorter as well. I don't think you are going to get any less effectiveness out of your rifle assuming the crown is correct. As stated earlier, the only real down side is you can't remove the brake and associated blast and noise.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Unless you were at max load for your rifle before, any velocity loss due to 1.5" shorter barrel length can be negated by either a touch more powder charge, or switching powder choice.
As long as accuracy is still there, really not a lot of difference between 2960 and 3000 (just reference velocities) that any game animal alive will notice. And you won't see much difference in drop until you hit 800+.

I would definitely be ****ed too, unless your friend's rifle was ported the same way. A call to the smith is definitely the next thing you should do.

 

[cohunt]

You said velocity loss from wsm, those usually run at around 35fps/in, but it depends on bullet weight/powder burn-- lighter bullets will often loose slightly more per inch than heavier ones.
Accuracy, ive never heard of a ported barrel hurting it, but you are stuck with what you've got unless you want to chop it off, so i say - go shoot it and see.
Rain- why would rain do anything different to a ported barrel than a bare muzzle or threadded brake?
Drawbacks-- cleaning the crown and ports is gonna be harder for sure.

 

[ripnbst]

The magnums and especially the Short Mags will be more affected by shortening of the barrel than say a .308 or .270 but as others have mentioned you may be able to overcome that with a touch more powder or going to a faster burn rate powder so that you are still able to achieve complete burn in the now shorter barrel.

Even not going down that rabbit hole you may need to tweak your load recipe as barrel harmonics are undoubtedly different now than they were before.

 

[P7M13]

I never specified screwed but flush same as my friends was done.
We went two pages over what was discussed or not, am I sure if it is not screwed on and so on...

Is there a disadvantages that we can discuss in having a ported brake recessed back.

I am more interested in muzzle velocity loss, affects on accuracy and so on. Ability to remove it is not really some big advantage on a screw on brake for me. As I said probably twice till now barrel being shorter now due to internal crown is most of my concerns.

I don't wanna be rude and appreciate the responses but really think that I can not change much at this point.
There was miscommunication of some sort for sure. However no point crying over spilled milk.

What are some of the things that can help, obviously wont get rid of the gun or change the barrel now. Did anyone experienced trouble in reloading or such issues, shooting in a rain as I heard that might be an issue as well.
That's something we should discuss and that's what I asked opinion on the forum for...

I get hammered on about communication regularly, and also about not mixing message topics.
You asked about the difference between muzzle brakes and porting, and you also took a good deal of keyboard time expressing your disappointment. Very early in the thread, pictures were requested.
Man, I read this entire thread, hoping to see a picture.
My take away -- reading this is like listening to my wife complain about her coiffure two hours after bringing her home from the shop, "she left these hairs untouched!" The stylist could have slipped and left a bald spot, and I would think my wife is still just as beautiful.

• Communication: it's important!
• When you pick up your rifle, examine it!
• If you have questions, when you are in the presence of your gunsmith is the BEST time to ask them!
• Magnaported or brake, it really doesn't matter except when it comes to reselling. The gun will still likely be capable of greater accuracy than 99.99% of the people who shoulder it, and elk, deer and paper will be DRT, perhaps a few milliseconds slower.

Like you say, no use in crying over spilled milk. It's like when I go to my Dr, and she talks about ordering thousands of dollars in tests. I ask, will it make any difference or change what I'm doing in a year? She responds no.
So, while it may be useful knowledge, it doesn't matter at this point.
Give that rifle some love. It will love you back. Shorter barrels are sexy because they're sportier and don't bump into things so easily.

 

[Blackhawk]

Shoot it, see how it does. If it has issues, you can always have it cut, recrowned and threaded. I personally wouldn't want something like that, but on the same note I personally have only shot handguns that were ported like that, so no personal experience. If your concerned about rain while hunting, just tape the muzzle. That is what I do pretth much anytime I go in the back country on a hunt.

What suprises me the most is that the smith did not tell you he was going to port it that way instead of the conventional method. I personally would have been upset at the lack of communication, but then again when I have a brake installed I specifically tell the smith what thread diameter/pitch I want, and supply my own brake.

Whatever was your gunsmith thinking?
IMHO, your gunsmith should never have acted independently of your wishes.
Is it possible that he misunderstood your instructions?
I would return your barrel to him post-haste, informing him of his error and demand a refund for the work done as well as a refund for the barrel that he ported. ( only if he, in fact, was in error )
You should not have accepted a barrel that you never requested to be ported without prior authorization from yourself.

To that end, you must be courteous as well as insistent in your demeanor if you can prove that your smith has made a mistake. ( this is in fairness to your gunsmith ).
Just for future reference, write down all work to be performed by your smith and either include this in the form of a letter or e-mail.
Date and sign it and make certain to keep a copy for your own records.

We had a saying where I worked as a Tool and Die maker
That saying is " Paper doesn't forget " so by writing it down there can be absolutely no confusion with regards to the work that he is to perform for you.
What I'm trying to say is included paperwork will state exactly what work is to be performed for the agreed-upon price.
No more, no less!

 

[Rich Coyle]

daka,

What do you mean by "ported"?

 

[Boman]

Have you actually confirmed with your gunsmith that its not a screw on thats perfectly blended? All I see is alot of "I think" ?

 

[FlyGuy11]

Daka,
Quit being a drama queen and call the smith as well as take a known load and chronograph it. The smith will tell you the answer on work preformed; so pick up your phone. The folks here that said 20 to 50 fps drop are spot on on their estimates https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/barrel-length-vs-velocity/247991 for your reading pleasure.

 

[Swiftkill]

Theres a huge difference between a ported barrel like Magnaport or a Compensator with an expansion chamber like a JP Brake or Miculek or any screw on compensator. I like to experiment and try different brakes unless you go with a KNOWN compensator that will forever stay on your gun, I wouldn't get it "blended". I try not to use a crush washer though that can make the transition look better. Adding a compensator to the length of your barrel should not make any tangible difference in velocity. It can change the harmonics of the barrel, but it usually reduces the whip. I have always found BETTER repeatability because you will shoot better getting beat up less, you can follow through. Also important is to shoot off a consistent rest. The pressure should be on the same point oft he forearm. A front pedestal rest with a forearm stop will almost always give you the best potential for repeatability. if you are going to use a bipod in the field you should sight in on the bipod. The bibod grabs the surface its on and either chatters or slips so going rom a concrete, wood or carpeted bench can change your point of impact and then shooting off loose soil or a rock can change your point of impact. When I shoot prairie dogs I bring a lightweight portable front pedestal rest with a small sandbag and a rear bag for reaching far. Inside of 400 yards you may not notice much diffrence. Wind and mirage and heart rate have much more effect than anything else. You can see some of my Youtube videos testing muzzle brakes. This is a good one of a custom 243 with a JP 3 port brake. You can search my channel for others.

 

[Buck Fever]

This sounds like working with an artist.

If you like their stuff and are willing to comission something, you take what you get at the end of the day.

I try not to do that unless I can really get on the same page with the artist's creative vision. It's still a risk.

I like to do my own gunsmithing when possible and use high quality parts with clearly defined specs that I can install myself. My latest barrel is from Lothar Walther and I specified a 3/4-24x0.750" muzzle thread with recessed target crown and that's exactly what I got. For my brake I got an Area419 Sidewinder with a 3/4-24 thread adapter. The adapter threaded on perfectly and the brake hand times easily. It's not a flush install but it's easy to remove and that's important because it is too long to fit in my gun case with the brake on.

As others have said, I would have specified exactly which brake was to be installed. No confusion there. The barrel length could cause some ambiguity if not spelled out explicitly. On the other hand, if a work order said "thread muzzle, flush install muzzle brake" you could ask "where does it say shorten barrel?".

My guess is that your smith had two jobs in the shop, one ported muzzle, one brake install and they got switched. He could be telling two people "well that's what you asked for" to cover his butt instead of losing a ton doing two re-barrel jobs.

 

[Kiwi Greg]

A decent side ported brake or even a Radial will be way more effective, (all be it a little louder) than a magna ported barrel with the bonus of no velocity loss & its removable/non permanent