Best middle ground brake...

[Gibbshooter43]

I am considering adding a brake to my 6.5 x 284 (used almost exclusively for hunting) and am wondering what you have found to provide the best balance between recoil reduction and blast increase. Thanks in advance for your helpful input as this is my first venture into using a brake. (Old dog; new trick; and all that)

 

[Mram10us]

I like Ross brakes. Have had them on a lot of rifles.
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[logman48]

I prefer Terminater brakes.

 

[codyadams]

Supressor. Ha ha.

Any of them are going to make it louder, some make you feel it more than others. I like muzzlebrakes and more brakes, while they take away as much or more recoil than nearly any other brake, they make a rifle loud. You need earplugs. I have moved to wearing earplugs anytime I shoot my rifle now, pretty much all my big game hunting I have a little time to set up so it isn't an issue, but I know not everyone hunts like that. Personally I would get the most effective brake, then get a pair of walkers game ears or some other electronic hearing protection that allows you to hear all the time.

Same old argument, you should have earplugs even without a brake on your gun, so the electronic hearing protection is the best option for most people.

As far as a "quiet" brake, there are some that advertise it, most are radial so if you shoot prone plan on having stuff blown up all over you, and they aren't usually all that great at recoil reduction compared to brakes like terminator, beast, painkillers and other slab/side port brakes.

 

[ramrod79]

I agree with Cody on that go suppressed IF lived south of boarder I would never run not suppressed.

 

[BallisticsGuy]

There is no balance. Hell there's not even an off-balance. Add a brake, add a huge amount of perceived blast. Some are more intense for the shooter than others, some more intense for bystanders than others. ALL are going to increase perceived blast for the nut behind the trigger and for bystanders by a large amount. Add a suppressor, do what you're expecting from a middle of the road brake and then some.

 

[Cfshooter]

I am considering adding a brake to my 6.5 x 284 (used almost exclusively for hunting) and am wondering what you have found to provide the best balance between recoil reduction and blast increase. Thanks in advance for your helpful input as this is my first venture into using a brake. (Old dog; new trick; and all that)

The VG6 Gamma I saw was on sale for $35 somewhere. Great brake, just as good as my Little Bastard and Hellfire, at least I could not tell a difference.

 

[dougduey]

I love my Area 419 Hellfire brake on my 6.5-284 Norma. My gunsmith picked this one out for me when he put my new barrel on. I go with whatever he says. He's a legend in the firearms world and a Hall of Fame benchrest shooter. I bought an extra adapter so I can switch the same brake between this gun and my 6.5 Creed. Both rifle have basically zero recoil.

 

[Slick8]

I agree with the suppressor comment as the 65x284 isn't overly harsh on the recoil. But they're not for everyone.

I look at a brake like this. Those with ports at 90 degrees to the barrel and those with ports angled back.

If the ports are 90 degrees to the barrel they're not as effective but perceived muzzle blast to the shooter and those next to you on the bench aren't as bad. Those with ports angled back give maximum recoil reduction but the tradeoff is increased muzzle blast.

The Area 419 is an excellent option for the angled port brake.

IMO-the 284 isn't too harsh on recoil so I'd go with a 90 degree port. I've ran a gilled brake by Harrells and now have a Vias radial brake on a light weight 30 nolser. The Vias, IMO is minimum for the 30 nos but I feel it would be great for your 284. In the field, the recoil is barely noticeable but on the bench you have to have a bit more grip on the rifle than I prefer.

 

[BallisticsGuy]

The VG6 Gamma I saw was on sale for $35 somewhere. Great brake, just as good as my Little Bastard and Hellfire, at least I could not tell a difference.

That's really meant for semi-autos rather than bolt guns. Bolt guns should not have brakes with top ports, or if there are some they should be small and few.

 

[nimrod_gn]

I like the APA Little B**tard https://precisionrifleblog.com/2019/02/02/best-suppressor/

 

[rem.xp100]

I have made many brakes and used about every brand out there on customer rifles. Ported will give the best recoil reduction but much louder on the ears. For ported I like muzzlebrakesandmore.com but there IS a very good compromise brake for a hunting rifle. For my customers that want something that does a good job and is not so over-bearingly loud, I use VAIS.

 

[Ol' Red]

I had my first brake installed on my 300 Win Mag, and I was a little surprised at the actual reduction in felt recoil. It had a new heavy barrel installed at the same time, so I know that helped. Bartlett's Vias brake is what I went with, but as some others already mentioned, it would kick up a lot of dirt shooting prone. It is not as loud as I expected, but I wear hearing protectors when shooting anyway. I sat next to a 7MM with a different style brake and it sounded much louder. Of course there are lots of variables involved... load, velocity, caliber, etc.

 

[Litehiker]

I have the original Little Bastard brake on my 6.5 CM Ruger Precision Rifle and it is great but the Gen. 2 version is even better.

Check out "Precision Rifle Blog" and search for "muzzle brakes" to see how well it is rated in tests.

Eric B.