Brakes on a hunting gun

Edward Pagliassotti said:
I am a newbie to this forum. I have been looking into magna porting my 7mm rem and 30-06. They (MagnaPort) are still in business. Question: how is a brake different than MPing? Weight?

Yes use hearing protection. Twenty three years in the military helped me loss hearing and develop tininitis.
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I brake doesn't add any weight. Some weight is reduced because of the slots created on the sides of the barrel. Very minimal though. For me, the Magna Porting completely made my elk rifles, much more comfortable to shoot. However, I think max results would be achieved with a brake.
 
Slim13 said:
OK....talk to me people. Interested in hearing from those that hunt with muzzle brakes.

I wore out my heavy barrel on my 7mm Rem Mag. I ended up putting a #3 bartlein on it because I was tired of lugging a 15lb rifle into the backcountry. I'm not recoil sensitive in the least, but with the missing weight in the barrel I'm fighting some muzzle jump that I've never had to deal with before.

I'm thinking about putting a brake on her to help manage the recoil and get the gun to track better. My question is: Have any of you regretted doing it? What kind of hearing protection are you using while hunting?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, advice and opinions. I've never had a braked rifle before and I keep going back and forth on the idea.
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I use muzzle brakes on every large bore rifle I have. In my book they are a MUST HAVE item. I even use ported barrels on my shotguns! Brakes reduce recoil significantly but they are louder. Wear ear protection!
They will improve your accuracy because you do not experience the recoil vs the unbraked rifle. They do not improve the rifle's accuracy, but they do improve the shooter's ability! Really want to see improved accuracy, go to a suppressor! Same reasoning. Be careful about shooting across the hood of your truck, brakes will blister the paint, and keep all spectators behind the rifles to further protect their ears. If shooting prone, and your brake has ventral ports, you will need a tarp or ?? to minimize the dust storm.
 
Slim13 said:
OK....talk to me people. Interested in hearing from those that hunt with muzzle brakes.

I wore out my heavy barrel on my 7mm Rem Mag. I ended up putting a #3 bartlein on it because I was tired of lugging a 15lb rifle into the backcountry. I'm not recoil sensitive in the least, but with the missing weight in the barrel I'm fighting some muzzle jump that I've never had to deal with before.

I'm thinking about putting a brake on her to help manage the recoil and get the gun to track better. My question is: Have any of you regretted doing it? What kind of hearing protection are you using while hunting?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, advice and opinions. I've never had a braked rifle before and I keep going back and forth on the idea.
Click to expand...
I installed a Brownells muzzle brake on my mod 700 bdl in .30-06. I also thought about a recoil pad, but after I put on the brake, it wasn't necessary. I also installed the same brake on my Brother's mod 70 .300 win mag. Now he can em shoot up at the range without the pain.
Also his daughter can handle it no problem. As for hunting with it attached, it works great! There's very little muzzle jump so I can stay on target and follow thru for a backup shot is awesome! I've also that noticed last season I took a nice Buck that was with a couple of Doe's. I was able to take the Buck and a Doe at 150yrds. I think because of the redirected muzzle blast, these deers had trouble figuring out the direction my shot came from. The Buck took 3 steps after I drilled a huge hole thru the heart. The Doe's both were startled and alert but froze long enough for me to fill my 2nd tag. I'd of had all 3 if I had another tag. With the muzzle blast redirected sideways and up through the top (that keeps the muzzle jump down) these deers were alert but confused about which direction to run? The woods are fairly thick too. That helped to absorb the noise. My Brother had a similar experience shooting across a hay field out in the open. So, putting a muzzle brake on a sporting barrel to hunt with was one of my more better ideas. It's relatively simple to do at home with a couple of inexpensive tools. If you're interested? I can give you the info you need for the tools and the DIY's. Stay Safe n keep ur powder dry.
 
Slim13 said:
OK....talk to me people. Interested in hearing from those that hunt with muzzle brakes.

I wore out my heavy barrel on my 7mm Rem Mag. I ended up putting a #3 bartlein on it because I was tired of lugging a 15lb rifle into the backcountry. I'm not recoil sensitive in the least, but with the missing weight in the barrel I'm fighting some muzzle jump that I've never had to deal with before.

I'm thinking about putting a brake on her to help manage the recoil and get the gun to track better. My question is: Have any of you regretted doing it? What kind of hearing protection are you using while hunting?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, advice and opinions. I've never had a braked rifle before and I keep going back and forth on the idea.
Click to expand...
 
I put Bartlien Barrels and APA Fat Bastard muzzle brakes on all my rifles 7mm, WBY 300 Mag, 338 LM. Extremely enjoyable to shoot. I always wear ( that means on) the best ear protection I can buy when I have the rifle in hand. What is super important is to tell and double tell those with you (hunting) and those around you (at the range) that your rifle is equipped with a muzzle brake.
 
wboregon said:
I don't think a break is really necessary for most hunting. how ever in the spirit of LongRange Hunting, I see no issue in using one for a LR/ELR shot where you might need to see the shot. I think if you're really setting up for such a shot there should be plenty of time for hearing protection.

Beyond that, if you kicking brush and hiking and expecting the chance of taking a shot quickly, then I don't think a break has any purpose, as you likely will be shooting at moderate ranges, and you likely will be so amped up that you won't feel the recoil. Plus your only shooting 1 or 2 shots any ways, not really enough to bother most people even with very strong recoiling cartridges and light weight guns.

Now hearing damage definitely occurs when shooting any gun with out HP but adding a brake really takes that to an extreme.
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I may be more or less sophisticated than the hunters here. But the last deer I killed without a brake I certainly felt the recoil and heard the blast from my eleven pound 7-.300 Weatherby. After that I started using Action Ears and brakes. The electronics go one when I get out of the pickup and off when I get back.

One time I shot a deer that ran over a very near rise. I ran after it. The rise was the edge of a "bowl" about 300 yards across. Since I didn't see the deer I figured it was down. I pushed the Action Ears against my head and turned them up all the way so they wouldn't squelch. Then I closed my eyes and started slowly turning my head. At one point I could hear the deer breathing so I opened my eyes and started looking farther and farther out that direction. About fifty yards out I could sort of make it out in some sage brush. Another shot finished it. Electronics are very useful.
 
I have several Holland Quick Discharge brakes, 243, 300 win, 30-338 win mag, 338 win mag. The 338 win mag is built on a Ruger M77 ultra light, with out the scope it weighs 5.75 pounds, I shoot a 180grain Nosler Accubond over 3200 fps and a Nosler 150 grain BTip out of the 30-338 at 3465 fps, with all my rifles I can watch my bullets hit my target.
 
My two cents, for what it's worth...
I don't like ear muffs. I've tried all sorts of plugs, but never an electronic set.
Muzzle brakes for LR shooting/hunting where there's surplus time to get setup is a no brainer to me since the added few seconds it takes to add ear protection is negligible.
With that said, occasionally even when LR is the hunting style, an animal jumps within easy snap shot range. I'm guilty of taking "that" shot once. My ears rang nonstop for 3 days after it happened! After that I stopped using a muzzle brake on any hunting rifle after that. That ringing scared me enough to accept the extra recoil. 7mm Mag with 180s for extended shooting sessions is my max comfortable recoil level. After that, it becomes unpleasant.
 
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I have brakes on two of my hunting rifles and wouldn't hesitate to put one on any future rifles. I use a set of 3m plugs around my neck while hunting and have not had any problems getting them in before a shot. As for bench shooting doubling up is a great idea.
 
I shoot a 300 win mag, with brake love it I have a couple disc in my neck that doesn't like the heavy recoil after shooting with the brake I'm sold. I also wear a pair of walker power muffs helps me hear better also.
 
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