My STW sports a 26" shilen tube and while recoil isnt too bad for a 9lb gun scoped contemplating adding a brake so can actually see critters fall and not rely on my buddy. Curious if any of you guys have done it. Im hesitant as talked to a couple folks and would make my overall length around 28" I could always cut to 24 recrown but that freaks me out a bit as its already really accurate and afraid to jeapordize it.
Adding a brake
- Thread starter Blacktail
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Doublezranch
Well-Known Member
One of the best things you will ever do. Call or send a PM to J E Custom and have a Assassin Brake built. He will tune it to your load and you'll be able to see everything.
Thanks I assume make it pretty dang loud? as bad as my ears have become should probably be wearing plugs anytime i pull the trigger anyway..lol what your thouhts on cutting and recrown? or just leave alone
Doublezranch
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately all brakes add some noise. It's a worth while trade off. Taming a mules kick and being able to see the hit verses a black and blue shoulder and not seeing your hit..lol!! No brainer...
I've never recrowned mine, however there maybe some that have good evidence that you need too. At any rate, if you love shooting your STW now, you'll really love shooting it with a brake on it.
I've never recrowned mine, however there maybe some that have good evidence that you need too. At any rate, if you love shooting your STW now, you'll really love shooting it with a brake on it.
If you go to Jerry's site, he also measure the dBs on all the muzzle brakes he tested for comparison.
Effective muzzle brake not only reduce felt recoil but also reduces muzzle rise/fall to allow you to spot POI on target or ease of target re-acquisition.
"Get a muzzle brake and give your shoulder a break."
Rest assured that Jerry will advice you if the crown needs attention.
I am now a huge fan of adding a brake to a hunting rifle. I never wanted to go the brake route because of the noise, but now that I've got one on my 338 Ultra, I love it.
My rifle weighs 8 lbs without a scope, and a touch under 10 lbs with the scope, and the recoil now feels like a mild 308 win. zero barrel jump. Just a straight back push.
But I will never shoot the gun without hearing protection. Always a tradeoff, but in my opinion well worth it.
My rifle weighs 8 lbs without a scope, and a touch under 10 lbs with the scope, and the recoil now feels like a mild 308 win. zero barrel jump. Just a straight back push.
But I will never shoot the gun without hearing protection. Always a tradeoff, but in my opinion well worth it.
I got a 4-port Muscle Brake installed by Ryan Pierce (piercisionrifles.com) and he did a great job. I believe he is a sight sponsor. And my rifle is a true 1/4 MOA rifle. I have a 27" barrel plus the brake and the length does not bother me at all.
Not all brakes are the same. The best brakes have a ratio of top vents to side vents and they are machined to a very close diameter to the bullet. Darrel Holland and a few others spent the time and determined how many thousands of an inch clearance you need to not disturb the flight of the bullet.
My .284 diameter brake has a inner diameter of .287 and the first top vent is before the first large side vents and also angled back at 20 degrees. They are drillable to adjust gun rise. The best are SS. It takes a good machinist to make them indexed without a crush washer. .284 to .287 is only .002 clearance some people drill to more like .010. I don't have scientific data.......... it is just what I did
I have brakes on my 7stw, 30-378, 243's and Ar's I've done same day bench rest and they don't change POI if well tuned. I can't say that out of the box because I spent time machining the inner diameter caliber and top vent diameter. hearing protection is a must
WOW, that's tight! All mine are .010"-.020" overbore for clearance.
I have been told the sweet spot for brake bore diameter is about .020 over the diameter of the bullet. Any tighter and accuracy can suffer and larger than .030 and brake efficiency starts to suffer.
I have also been told by more than one very experienced gunsmith that non-symmetric brakes, such as ones with holes on top and not on the bottom, can cause bullet yaw due to the unequal gas pressure around the bullet as it travels through the brake.
and really not trying to start an argument... Anybody with a brake that is efficient and accurate at long range has a great brake regardless of how it was built. Just passing along some knowledge I have learned over the years.
I have also been told by more than one very experienced gunsmith that non-symmetric brakes, such as ones with holes on top and not on the bottom, can cause bullet yaw due to the unequal gas pressure around the bullet as it travels through the brake.
and really not trying to start an argument... Anybody with a brake that is efficient and accurate at long range has a great brake regardless of how it was built. Just passing along some knowledge I have learned over the years.
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
I am quoting you because you have some good points that maybe I can help to clear up.
#1= the minimum bore diameter should be no less than .020 thousandths larger than the bullet diameter. (Smaller than that can get dicey if the brake is not installed perfectly, and adds nothing
to its performance). .030 thousandths is the maximum bore diameter before brake efficiency is reduced.
#2= I cant attest to an accuracy problem with top vents, but I can show the results of what happens with them on VIDEO
#3= There are many different types of brakes that ALL work to some degree, and none of them are quite. ear protection should be worn when shooting ANY firearm because My testing showed that DB levels are the same with or without a brake. Only the perceived sound is different because of the gases being directed in different directions. This VIDEO explains some differences in brakes and there function and efficiency is clear. with no mention of brands. also All testing was done on a machine that doesn't have any bias, it only measures recoil. A DB meter was used to check sound levels and was placed just behind the shooter for real world results.
There are many opinions on what it takes to make a good muzzle brake. Only impartial testing
identifies these differences, Not opinions.
J E CUSTOM
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