Curiosity...

[26Reload]

I have a couple rifles I have been leaning towards putting a brake on...26 Nosler and 7rum....
However...I don't want the noise pushed back towards the shooter or to the side...
So in curiosity...has anyone tried a brake with a sound reflector on a hunting rifle...
I see them on many styles of ARs...I called one gentleman and he hadn't used/ installed them on any other than rifle....
Other than a muzzle heavy rifle...wouldn't this work...recoil reduction with sound reflection.....
Thx

 

[Zen Archery]

Gas has to go somewhere. Trade off might be more felt recoil and with the gas being shot forward I'm guessing you won't be able to spot your shot or follow trace at longer ranges.

So guess you'll have to try and get back with us.

 

[26Reload]

Hey Zen....what makes you think of more felt recoil...are you thinking that the redirecting bell would cause more recoil?
Or that the brake inside the bell would have no or very little recoil reduction because gases aren't expelled straight away....
I would jump right into this if I had a threaded barrel...but unfortunately I don't.....
The brake I am thinking would be best is the 7° front 360° ported...
I asked my local gunsmith about this idea...he just suggested the 7° brake...no brake...so again back to recoil noise....my hearing is bad enough....

 

[Zen Archery]

Just seems like you'll be returning the gas back to the original direction as if you never even put on a muzzle brake. This is all speculation.

I've seen the covers you're talking about but those are typically for AR pistols running flash hiders and not muzzle brakes in a close quarter situation. Not a long barrel rifle.

I'm not saying that it won't/can't work. I'm all about innovation. It just seems like you're going to be adding a lot of weight to a long rifle. Again this is all speculation.

 

[Engineering101]

The rifles you mentioned won't be quiet enough to shoot without hearing protection if braked unless the brake is really a suppressor. If you hearing is already "bad enough" you ought to just carry a set of earplugs on a string around your neck, or wear some electronic muffs. I find no problem sticking in some ear plugs as I'm assessing the shooting opportunity - by the time I've figured out where/when I'm going to shoot, the plugs are already in. Of course if you are planning a long range shot you will have plenty of time to install hearing protection.

 

[J E Custom]

My question is, Why install a muzzle brake with backwards angled ports and then install a deflector that defeats the purpose of the angled ports.

There are plenty of straight ported brake that don't cause this problem.

As long as the ports are not facing any other way than 90o to the bore they will not change the thrust vectoring. some brakes have forward facing ports and my test have shone a reduction in efficiency over the straight ports and unequal loading on the barrel the rear facing ports have the same effect also.

There are even brakes that have straight ports in back and slightly angled ports forward for the purpose of adding a gas barrier that deflects the gas from the rearward facing ports. When we tested this design it appeared to be the best at reducing recoil and minimizing the blast effects to bystanders.

There is a lot of science to a well designed muzzle brake that can defiantly make a difference in the total performance. A good brake is a lot more than just a piece of steel with some holes drilled in it.

I would recommended looking for a brake design that incorporates the features of straight ports or at least the ones that have them in the back(Next to the muzzle).

J E CUSTOM

 

[26Reload]

I appreciate you guys jumping on this....as I don't want to waste cash on things that may or may not work....would prefer actual results....
Zen...i can see your point of gases...and understand the physical ideas of the gases not fully being released forward and being restarted forward...not allowing full exhaustion of recoil gases...

101...yes..plug hearing protection is always within grasp while hunting... plugs and head phones always used while practicing....but years late...the toll has been taken...a silencer would be the ultimate..but a grand and a years wait...makes me balk...I see them at the local shop and drool...if I had a place to build a range myself I would build what I saw at another place..a giant silencer...2' pvc 8' long..with eggcrate bed foam glued inside...and a layer on the outside...installed inside a row of tires....I stood just behind the guy shooting his AR into it..very little noise..less than headphones....
JE....I know you have lots of experience of what you speak...undoubtedly one to ask the most info of recoil and brakes..so I am always glad to hear your advice...
As to brakes on the rifles...I handle the recoil easily...
The sites I got this idea from is "kawValley"...was actually looking into the front ported "intregal" ports....I know that if I had one made for the front of my rifles they would need to be bigger....
Then I started thinking of the 7° forward ports and the redirectional.....but havent acted....it might be a while...then again it might not ever come to be....
Thx guys...

 

[J E Custom]

Muzzle brakes have more than one up side. They do reduce recoil, But they can improve the shooters ability to concentrate on other things instead of what's going to happen when he pulls the trigger.

The most common down side to a brake is the noise that is directed back at the hunter. Quality brakes have minimized this effect by design. (The DB level of sound is the same, with or without a brake. It is just redirected and is perceived to be more by the shooter or the by standers.

I have rifles with brakes and without brakes based on the service of the rifles. Many of my Big Bore rifles with tons of recoil don't have brakes even though they could use one because I don't let the recoil bother me. (But I don't shoot them 40 or 50 times at the range like I do other rifles)My personal tolerance to recoil is around 80 ft/lbs and then the fun goes out of shooting. I tried a 50 caliber without a brake that had 117 ft/lbs of recoil (NO FUN) and that is what got me started designing and building muzzle brakes.

I use hearing protection all the time now to save what hearing I have and it's not that much trouble to get use to. My recommendation to all shooters is to wear hearing protection all the time, shoot a brake if you want to reduce recoil for the reasons discussed, and be courteous to shooters beside you if you have a muzzle brake installed.

J E CUSTOM