I've found that a
muzzle brake must have a few essential things to work properly and maintain accuracy. It must be installed square to the rifles bore and the clearance hole must be true and even with .020" - .030" total clearance over caliber diameter. The ports must also be true and even.
Muzzle brakes will work effectively if the gases can dissipate evenly out of the muzzle brake. If you have holes or ports at 9 o'clock then you need to have the same size holes or ports at 3 o'clock for even gas dispersion. The gases will exit evenly and the bullet will not be disturbed by uneven gas pressure from one side (flutter). If you add holes to just the top you have created uneven gas dispersion as the the gases can't escape evenly from the top without holes to counter on the bottom. The exiting gas will push unevenly on the bullet in the opposite direction of the holes or ports. I know alot of you have brakes with holes on the sides and top only and your rifles shoot just fine. The uneven gas dispersion may only effect the accuracy a small amount but it is effecting it. Not all brakes are created equal.
For radial style brakes a really like a Vais. For timed or ported brakes I really like the muscle brake. The majority of the exiting gas is lost in the first row of holes or ports and a little less for each row of holes or ports from there forward. Either of these brakes will work effectively because the design allows them to disperse the gases evenly. The muscle brake has a slight edge though because of it's larger ports. The larger ports allow more gas to exit quicker. If you want to shoot prone with a muzzle brake, you don't want a radial style brake. My recommendation is a muscle brake. The Badger thruster has small ports. It will work just fine but larger ports would help to eliminate more recoil by allowing more exiting gas to dissipate quicker. In my opinion I don't recommend brakes with holes on just the top.
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