Ken,
Yes, they're a bit hard to find, they haven't made any for several years, H&R did find a bunch at the factory last year and offered them, they went quick.
I shoot with hearing protection even when hunting, I've lost too much hearing to be able to afford loosing any more. The compensated muzzle not only reduces recoil, but also muzzle rise. I shoot 200gr Nosler partitions in the '06, its a dream to shoot off the bench, but not the guy next to me!! The last trip I was shooting in a baffled position, the fella next to me was shooting a 300 winmag with the big 50BMG style brake on his rifle, he was complaining about my muzzle blast, asked what the heck I was shooting, believe it or not!!
You can also remove the brake, it screws on, someone here or ebay had thread protectors for them recently.
I also have/had a standard contour 270 barrel that I just sold Aaron ( myarmor), it shot very well, was my first used barrel purchased.
Tim