Spotting your own hits

[270Weatherby]

What cartridge, bullet, rifle weight, muzzle break combo should I be looking at if I want to spot my own hits? Mule Deer size game. Any advice on where to begin? 6.5x284 in 10# set up with a Vais break?

 

[WeiserBucks]

My 6.5x284 weights just under 10 lbs and I use a 4 port brake from Muzzlebrakesandmore.com . Spotting my hits and misses is very easy. I have one of Nathan's brakes on all of my rifles and couldn't ask for more .

 

[Rich Coyle]

The brake on my .270 Win is a home made design. It has three ports 3/8"X5/8" angled back at about 20 degrees. It is made from 1" round stock. The hole through the center is .015" over bullet diameter. The load consists of 63.5 grains of Hunter pushing a Barnes TTSX @ 3,475. I can see impact at 100 yards with the scope set on 20X.

The factory brake that comes closest on my recoil slide is the Terminator 3.

 

[sable tireur]

What cartridge, bullet, rifle weight, muzzle break combo should I be looking at if I want to spot my own hits? Mule Deer size game. Any advice on where to begin? 6.5x284 in 10# set up with a Vais break?

Remember that the smaller angle of view through your scope shows more apparent movement than if you use a larger angle of view. The higher the magnification, the smaller the movements that are noticeable.

Less muzzle rise is achieved by smaller cartridges, lighter bullets and smaller amounts of powder. This can be augmented by a more efficient side and top discharge muzzle brake. While the Vais is a very good brake, a brake which allows the gas/plasma to escape quickly (dump) from the sides and top will control the muzzle rise and recoil better. There are some very good videos which compare the efficiency of brakes and a couple of good articles:

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/06/24/muzzle-brakes-field-test/

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/08/21/muzzle-brake-summary-of-field-test-results/

The JP standard profile compensator is one that works well:

But any of the 'quick discharge' style brakes will serve the purpose.

If I was going to conserve muzzle action, I would suggest using the 6.5 Creedmoor with the Berger 130 gr. Hunter bullet and Re-23. But you could also use the 6.5x284 cartridge and load the same bullet. Increasing the weight of the rifle helps with defeating rearward recoil.

 

[MTLIVIN]

I upgraded my savage 6.5x284 with a shillen select heavy sporter this winter and put an APA micro bastard break on it, weight is right around 10 lbs and it a pleasure to shoot. I can spot my impacts easily and recommend that caliber for mule deer too. Not sure the vias break would be enough, the break I use is very effective for recoil reduction, but it's loud like all highly effective breaks with angled ports so keep in mind for hunting you will NEED earplugs.

 

[Bravo 4]

270Weatherby,
Good info being given to you about equipment. Things that aid in recoil management are gonna help: rifle weight, mild cartridge shooting lighter bullets, good brake...plus lowering the magnification on the scope to increase field of view was a nice touch.
But I believe shooting technique is the number one thing for spotting your own impacts. Another thing is distance to target and recoil recovery time vs bullet time of flight.
If you were to tell me that you planned on shooting a 13 pound .338 Lapua prone with a bipod, I would tell you spotting impacts past 400 is easy. However, drop that down to an 8 pound 6.5-284 kneeling over shooting sticks and I will tell you that you better bring your "A Game" if you intend to spot impacts at all (especially on game as the intended target makes a difference in spotting impacts).
You will know when everything is just right when you can not only spot impacts but read your own trace and follow the bullet onto target, especially at moderate ranges.
Also; my opinion is that the vias type brakes are just good enough to say they do anything. There are so many better designs out there to help with recoil. And be careful shooting them prone.

 

[dah605]

I would definitely NOT RECOMMEND a radial brake like the Vias, especially if shooting prone in a dusty area. It might be good for relatively even recoil reduction, but if it kicks up a cloud of dust, you won't see your impact.

I use the Muscle Brake on my 300WinMag and I have a Hellfire brake (Sidewinder is the smaller version) waiting for my 338 Lapua AI. The Christensen Arms Slayer brake is a great option that is tunable for muzzle rise.

From the perspective of caliber, I'm a fan of the 7mm Rem Mag and the 300 Win Mag as good all-round hunting calibers. I prefer heavy for caliber bullets--Berger 195 EOL in the 7mm Rem Mag and Berger 215 Hybrid in the 300 Win Mag.

In 7mm Rem Mag, I have a light weight (7.8lbs total weight) rifle that I can spot shots all day long. It is sending the 195 bullets at 2700fps, which gives me an effective range of upwards of 900 yards for hunting (keeping the velocity above 1800fps for expansion). I picked a lower accuracy node to keep the recoil to a minimum. It has a Pierce Ti brake on it. I mention it to provide an example of being able to make adjustments for lighter weight.

-David

 

[BEEMAN]

I would definitely NOT RECOMMEND a radial brake like the Vias, especially if shooting prone in a dusty area. It might be good for relatively even recoil reduction, but if it kicks up a cloud of dust, you won't see your impact.

I use the Muscle Brake on my 300WinMag and I have a Hellfire brake (Sidewinder is the smaller version) waiting for my 338 Lapua AI. The Christensen Arms Slayer brake is a great option that is tunable for muzzle rise.

From the perspective of caliber, I'm a fan of the 7mm Rem Mag and the 300 Win Mag as good all-round hunting calibers. I prefer heavy for caliber bullets--Berger 195 EOL in the 7mm Rem Mag and Berger 215 Hybrid in the 300 Win Mag.

In 7mm Rem Mag, I have a light weight (7.8lbs total weight) rifle that I can spot shots all day long. It is sending the 195 bullets at 2700fps, which gives me an effective range of upwards of 900 yards for hunting (keeping the velocity above 1800fps for expansion). I picked a lower accuracy node to keep the recoil to a minimum. It has a Pierce Ti brake on it. I mention it to provide an example of being able to make adjustments for lighter weight.

-David

As far as very little recoil, I like my RBROS 6.5X47. Shoots 130 Bergers at 3000 fps. It wears a Defensive Edge 4 port brake. This gun is heavy at about 15 lbs. Depending how far you want to shoot the 6.5X284 should make for a excellent gun. My 300 Win Mag has a Holland Brake and running 215 Bergs at 3000 fps. Gun is a pleasure to shoot with very little recoil.

 

[Zen Archery]

JP Cooley on almost all my big guns. Nice when you can spot trace and impact.

 

[270Weatherby]

Great info! Thanks for the help.