Why a brake over a can or vice versa

[LRHWAL]

I've been considering a brake for a long time. Just never got around to it and I was put off by the idea of the noise as sometimes where I hunt there is little time to put on muffs and it's another thing I'd need to carry close at hand.

So I wondered whether a silencer might not be the answer. The biggest negative I see is the look (they are butt ugly!). But balance and the increased length does bother me.

Are silencers as sturdy as brakes? They are long and I wonder if bumping it won't be more inclined to put the silencer out of alignment with the bore. Also any comments on accuracy with silencers? Obviously load development needs to be tweaked.

Any comments on why you prefer a brake.

Thanks for the advice!

[tackb]

hi, I use a suppressor on all my modern rifles , reasons, reduced recoil,more accuracy,shoot without ear muffs.

yes they affect balance but they are improving all the time ie getting lighter and smaller , on my 308 i've shortened the barrel to 20" and used a over barrel can so the overall length is still only the same as a 24" barrel.

there is a poi change with it on or off but thats to be expected if you hang something on the end of the barrel as my grandad found out in ww2 when he put the bayonet on!

in my experience they make no difference to velocity with the exception of one .243 rifle a ghillie had in scotland which was 30-40 fps faster with the can on , I still can't figure out why but i saw the figures on my chrono with my own eyes!

one last thing , i think i read somewhere that suppressors are illegal in africa?

my cans are all very robust as they sleeve over the barrel and have a bush at the back for support.

Russ