muzzlebreak noise in the field?

[Bigeclipse]

All,
How loud would a muzzlebrake on a 300 winmag be in the field for the shooter? Do you need hearing protection? I have never owned a muzzle brake so I have no idea. When I shoot at the range I always wear hearing protection, but when I am hunting in the woods I do not. One shot in the open does not tend to effect me at all but, not sure how that might change with the break on. If it is dangerously loud, then what do you all do about hearing protection? How do you hear deer approaching? The reason I ask is I use one rifle for close and far distance hunting. I might be in a stand in the morning hunting 50 yards...and then sitting over a 400 yard field in the afternoon. Being able to hear the deer is important to me...especially when hunting woods stands.

 

[mtnwrunner]

They can be downright hurtful. I carry ear plugs but more often than not, I end up not using them. I had a hurry up shot on a large mule deer buck with a 338 ultra and man, it was horrible---I basically could not hear out of that ear for the rest of the day.
So......................wear ear protection with a brake.

Randy

 

[Jim See]

Muzzle Brake noise in the field can be a problem, by design some brakes transfer more noise to the shooter than others. The old saying that if the brake is not loud than it is not effective is not really true. (A suppressor is both quite and reduces recoil at the same time.) When the concept for the Muscle brake was given to me by Neal Cooper I design the brake around 2 features, look appealing and reduce the blast/concussion effect to the shooter. I have done the same thing with my new design in the Blast Tamer brake.

The biggest thing to consider if you ever think it would be ok to touch one off with a braked gun and no hearing protection, is your surroundings that may refract sound/ blast back to you. I know a fellow who ruptured an ear drum with a no brake 308. he pulled the trigger standing next to a rock wall and the sound refraction ruptured his drum in that ear closest to the rock wall. Shooting from a structure can cause a similar increase in sound/shock wave.

I have on occasion fired some of my braked guns with-out hearing protection. Under conditions of snow covered ground in a relatively open areas, I really could not tell the difference to a non braked gun. In wooded areas tree trunks will reflect sound and I have had even non braked guns ring my ears in wooded areas.

At the age of 44 and having fired over 50,000 rounds of center fire ammo I have become very cautious of my hearing. Get a pair of ESP hearing protection and you will hear the animals and not the gun. I have come to the point where I will plug up for non-braked guns when hunting.

 

[Bigeclipse]

Muzzle Brake noise in the field can be a problem, by design some brakes transfer more noise to the shooter than others. The old saying that if the brake is not loud than it is not effective is not really true. (A suppressor is both quite and reduces recoil at the same time.) When the concept for the Muscle brake was given to me by Neal Cooper I design the brake around 2 features, look appealing and reduce the blast/concussion effect to the shooter. I have done the same thing with my new design in the Blast Tamer brake.

The biggest thing to consider if you ever think it would be ok to touch one off with a braked gun and no hearing protection, is your surroundings that may refract sound/ blast back to you. I know a fellow who ruptured an ear drum with a no brake 308. he pulled the trigger standing next to a rock wall and the sound refraction ruptured his drum in that ear closest to the rock wall. Shooting from a structure can cause a similar increase in sound/shock wave.

I have on occasion fired some of my braked guns with-out hearing protection. Under conditions of snow covered ground in a relatively open areas, I really could not tell the difference to a non braked gun. In wooded areas tree trunks will reflect sound and I have had even non braked guns ring my ears in wooded areas.

At the age of 44 and having fired over 50,000 rounds of center fire ammo I have become very cautious of my hearing. Get a pair of ESP hearing protection and you will hear the animals and not the gun. I have come to the point where I will plug up for non-braked guns when hunting.

wow, those hearing aid/protectors are a couple grand...unfortunately I do not have that kind of money so it seems the muzzlebrake idea will be thrown out for now lol. Thanks!

 

[Jluck]

wow, those hearing aid/protectors are a couple grand...unfortunately I do not have that kind of money so it seems the muzzlebrake idea will be thrown out for now lol. Thanks!

Noise cancelling muffs should be well under 100.00

the noise from a break is a lot dependent on design. I have shot a '06 that was bloody painful even while shooting at game, I had a break built to my desire for my 7 Rem. mag and it is of course louder than it was and I always wear protection when possible but I have shot game and didn't even hear the report, No ringing in the ears either.

I personally feel a break is worth having. You can always have a thread protector made if you don't like it. .

 

[Bigeclipse]

Noise cancelling muffs should be well under 100.00

the noise from a break is a lot dependent on design. I have shot a '06 that was bloody painful even while shooting at game, I had a break built to my desire for my 7 Rem. mag and it is of course louder than it was and I always wear protection when possible but I have shot game and didn't even hear the report, No ringing in the ears either.

I personally feel a break is worth having. You can always have a thread protector made if you don't like it. .

eh, a guy I know is selling a custom rifle for pretty cheap so I was going to purchase it. I dont have any "REAL" need for it (already have 2 decent hunting rifles for the distances I hunt) I was going to see if this one may replace those but it sounds like more hassle than it may be worth. Again, id say 90% of my hunting is in a stand with 50-100 yard shots. 10% I am in a field that is 400 yards. Right now, I have one rifle that is a .75MOA shooter all day long and the other rifle is right at 1MOA. Yes this custom rifle is a one ragged hole shooter at 100 yards (think he said he consistantly gets .25MOA or better with his hand loads out to 600 yards, that is as far as he can shoot where he lives) but I dont really NEED it for my current application. I really dont like hunting with ear muffs. Tried my ones I used at the range and just did not like them while hunting.

 

[T3-OleMan]

lightbulbYou need to go here to the LRH Store and buy this. I did and am real pleased with no more destruction of my hunting hearing!!!


Hearing Protection

GOOD LUCK...gun)

 

[Bigeclipse]

lightbulbYou need to go here to the LRH Store and buy this. I did and am real pleased with no more destruction of my hunting hearing!!!


Hearing Protection

GOOD LUCK...gun)

thanks for the tip...I will definitely be considering it. My current rifles dont even ring my ears a little bit when out in the field...unless right next to a rock wall. I only shoot at game out in the field once or twice so never really thought it was a big deal but with the muzzlebrakes it definitely seems needed.

 

[pburton]

I currently use hearing protection with all of my shooting anymore. I had a .300 win mag with a brake for a couple years and never used hearing protection when hunting. About 5 years ago I shot an Elk in open terrain without hearing protection. I could barely hear out of my right ear for nearly three days. From that point on I no longer use a brake on any of my rifles and wear hearing protection. It takes some getting used to but it is worth it in the end. The only thing I miss about the brake is that is was so much easier to stay on target for follow up shots.

 

[Jluck]

If it's a super deal, get it! Try it. If it's too loud a simple 15 dollar thread cap will fix the problem. I sure wouldn't pass up a rifled deal over a item as easily changed as a break. My two cents.

 

[FearNoWind]

I've been shooting for sixty years. I can tell you that just because you're not aware of hearing damage "after just a couple of shots on a hunting trip" it doesn't mean you're hearing isn't damaged. Hearing damage is cumulative. It's a combination of noise level and length of exposure. Lots of loud noise over a short period of time equals quick hearing damage. Brief expose to loud noises of years equals gradual hearing damage. Even the best inexpensive protection only reduces noise levels a few dozen decibels. Take a decibel reading of a gun shot and deduct the rating of your hearing protection. If the resulting number isn't less than 80 then every shot you fire is causing some level of hearing damage - even with the protective device in place (and presumably worn properly)
And if hearing loss weren't enough of a risk by itself, tinnitus is another thing to consider and it can drive you crazy.
How much does good hearing protection cost? How much is your hearing worth?