Hunting muzzle brakes

I found a photo of the brake with the most concussion I ever experienced. It is on a .223. I was behind the shooter and was amazed at the sound and concussion. It has half a pipe inside another pipe.

20170401_103642_zpsgfntxraz.jpg

That's a jp recoil eliminator. It's loud, kinda ugly, and man does it work. A buddy I shoot with swears by them so I have got to shoot several rifles sporting it. There are louder ones out there, but of any brakes I have shot this seemed to be the best from a shooter standpoint.
 
There is more to consider when choosing a muzzle break. If you're looking for the best break for reducing recoil I would look at American Precision Arms (APA) Little B*. I have this on a custom 7mm and the recoil is nothing. If you are looking for a break that does a good job with recoil reduction and also help with minimizing muzzle movement, then I would look at JEC Custom. You will need a gunsmith to open up the APA to your specific caliber, but you will need a gunsmith to turn the break to the diameter of your barrel anyways. The JEC break is caliber specific.
 
If your ever planning on a suppressor in the future for your hunt rifle(s) I would not worry about using a tapered to fit the barrel style brake.
I have a 26 inch 5R barreled 300 win mag stainless 700 Remington. It came unthreaded and I was like you and wanted a brake to help in the shoulder pain reduction and hopefully not a giant blast to the ears. I bought an APA Gen2 Fat Bastard Brake and had the barrel threaded to fit (5/8x24) it together with the rifle.
Using the Match Federal 190 gr rounds I have to say it took it from a 12 gage slug feeling each time I pulled the trigger to a nice .308 semi auto feel in recoil. Very nice and it is attached with a crescent wrench. I can put it on and take it off whenever I want and put a suppressor on quickly. It is NOT a slim fit as you want but, if your thinking of a suppressor in the future or already own one then this is the way to go. You can have a great shooting session when you go out and shoot or hunt. The sound difference is of course a bit louder is standing beside me but from behind the rifle it is un-noticeable.
Of course, always use ear and eye protection when you shoot.
 
I have done lots of recoil testing. If your main objective is to reduce felt recoil you need a thicker brake. Also if you want to see the impact of the bullet you need a thicker brake. On the other hand if you objective is to minimally reduce recoil and still maintain a semblance of a light barrel you obviously need a slimmer brake.

Most certainly I proved in the recoil slide if you drill out the brake at thread diameter and leave only a clearance hole in the end of a thin wall brake it doesn't do much at all.
 
I last year went through what the OP is going through now. After a ton of time on internet research, I went with the Vais brake. I had my smith contour the brake to match the barrel contour and had a thread protector made to match. Develop loads with the brake, hunt and match shoot with the thread protector was my plan. The amount of recoil reduction is significant. My fully loaded 13 pound 7mm RM shooting 180 ELDX pills at 2865 recoils much less than my 8lb .25/06 with 100 TTSX at 3150. My brother pointed this out to me by watching me absorb recoil while firing both rifles. Shooters at my local range have told me that my rifle is not any louder than any other rifle being shot when I have questiond them. I have asked people many times while shooting at my range, just to confirm the advertising claims made by the manufacturer. I have hunted with the rifle but shooting both prone and sitting has not been an issue so far as I shot over snow covered ground, no flying debris issues. Accuracy has been very good during load development using the brake. Groups averaging 3/4 minute with my best 100yd fluke group at under 1/10th inch. I call it a fluke because I have not been able to repeat it.
Good luck with your search and if you decide you do not care for your first purchase, don't sweat it, just unscrew it and try a different one, they are not permanent.
Good luck to you sir.
BTL

I use a Vias on my 300 Win Mag mod70 Featherweight. Looks like many.....( radial holes)...works great.
 
I have done lots of recoil testing. If your main objective is to reduce felt recoil you need a thicker brake. Also if you want to see the impact of the bullet you need a thicker brake. On the other hand if you objective is to minimally reduce recoil and still maintain a semblance of a light barrel you obviously need a slimmer brake.

Most certainly I proved in the recoil slide if you drill out the brake at thread diameter and leave only a clearance hole in the end of a thin wall brake it doesn't do much at all.

I am sorry but I do not understand the message that you are trying to convey in your last sentence
 
BTL,

Well, at least I am consistent in my inability to communicate. Here goes again. If the inside diameter of the brake is about a 1/16" under the outside diameter, so that it is a thin wall tube, containing only a single baffle at the end of the brake with the hole for the bullet to go through then the brake won't be very effective.

I will add this: If there are multiple baffles with vents to the outside between the muzzle and the baffle through which the bullet passes the brake will be very effective. It will be like a thick wall brake.
 
Never heard of the APS Pain Killer. Have either of you tried the Terminator 3 or Terminator 4?

Have not had the chance to shoot one of them. They have a very good rep though. I am not sure that I am willing to experiment with any different brakes on our builds. Only if a customer requests a particular break. Otherwise left up to us it will be a PK.

Steve
 
RockyMtnMT,

I found their web page. I had a Terminator 3 and sold it when I disassembled my 6.5RUMLN but still have a Terminator 2 on my 6.5SLR. I could see impacts at distance like 300 yards or more.

Since I've played with lots of brakes I can tell you from looking at the photos on their sight the Terminator 2 wouldn't stand a chance against any of their brakes. The Terminator 3 might be better than most are used to but I bet APS Pain Killer is better. I'm going to make one from aluminum to compare in my recoil slide. I don't know what angle he uses so I will go with 15* - 20*. That's what I can get in my mill/drill. :rolleyes:
 
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