Muzzle Brakes

[Troyboy]

Hello Handiholics,
Just a Quick ? Have any of you installed a muzzle brake on any of your barrels? I have a 308 Bull survivor that i have ordered cini lam stock for and i want to put a brake on the end. I would just as soon do it myself . Do you have to have a lathe? Can it be done with an arbor and a die? Many thanks Tim for your last reply on * barrels

[silver surfer]

For my $.02 I wouldn't waist my money or hearing on it.  A .308 doesn't recoil enough that you couldn't mitigate it with a cheaper and more user friendly method.  A "Muzzle Break" uses spent ejecta to "pull" the rifle forward.  This re-direction of explellant also increases the level of concussion on the person behind it; not good for the ears.  On the range with the proper hearing and eye protection that may not be a problem, in the woods without it can be a serious problem.  Read my post on the "Hog Hunting' thread, its the 450 versus 45-70 post. 
 
  It's your money and your ears, but a butt pad and some lead shot on/in the stock would serve your purpose with less cost and discomfort.

[trotterlg]

You really need a lathe to do it properly.  The threads need to be exactly square with the bore and they also need to have the bore exactly in the center.  About the only way to get it all right is to use a lathel.  Most Handi barrels don't have the bore exactly in the center, some are closer than others, some place there are some before and after pictures of a couple of muzzels that were off center before I cleaned them up.  I wouldn't want a break on a high powered rifle my self they do make a lot of noise, I am putting one on a 17 Remington Fireball barrel but it is more to deflect the muzzel blast and keep any muzzel rise down so you can see the hits, plus a Fireball doesn't have much muzzel blast anyway.  Other things to think about is where the gasses go, if the break has holes all the way around it will kick up a ton of dirt if you shoot it close to the ground.  Larry

[petemi]

A neighbor of mine had one put on his '06, then he had it cut and recrowned to get rid of it.  He said, jokingly, "the blast blew the beer cans off the shelf in the blind".

[wtroger]

I don't have a handi with one on it but I do have a 98 mauser in 338 RUM and it is the only way you can stand to shoot it. So if you are recoil sensity, then have a "good one" installed it does help (at least in my case) a bunch. And Larry is right the barrel needs to be set up on a Lath and threaded. The 338 Rum I did used 9/16 32 tpi.

[Hofs01]

Here is my Handi 308. As EVERYONE has said, It is loud as the dickins and it shoots awesome!

If hunting with it recommend using a pair of electronic muffs.

 Here it is before


Here it is after

[PHATINJUN]

I had one on a 45/70 once but got it gone .It was way to LOUD!!! Kurt

[NFG]

Do a search on ANY gun related forum...this one has lots of information...concerning muzzle breaks.  You will find not many really know the physics of what is going on and rely on "IT'S LOUD", then some reference to saving their hearing, to make a decision...then continue passing on faulty information.

The brake redirects the jet gasses to the side...AND therefore the sound energy.  If you wear ear protection like you should it isn't bothersome and if you purchase any of the newer sound modifying ear protection it is even better.

The modifiers with more and smaller holes change the sound into smaller waves which reduce the sound energy by spreading it over a larger area so they're not so "noisy".  Those with large holes allow larger sound wave and at a different pitch to hit your ears.

I have 3 heavy cal rifles with brakes on them, the"Quiet"  Gentry type...I don't find any more difficulty with sound levels as long as my ear protection is in place...but the difference in recoil recovery...time to second shot is enhanced considerably. 

If you shoot at a public range I would get well away from other shooters because you will be directing the noise right at them just as if you were pointing the rifle at them or they were standing in the cone of sound in front of the rifle.  Out in the woods it makes no difference.


Muzzle brakes are one of those subjects...you either hate them and will lie, cheat or steal to kill them all...or understand the pros and cons, address the problem areas and use them with gusto...and they are not always used just for recoil conpensation on the shoulder...a MB will allow seeing a bullet hit on a distant target in the scope on many of the populare 17, 20, 22-250, 6mm and 25 cal calibers.  I makes for a more pleasant shooting experience. 

'Njoy

[Troyboy]

Well i must say the 308 looks really cool that just the way a heavy barrel  ought to look ! I feel if you are at the range you should have your saftey gear in place noise should not be an issue. I do not hunt anything but paper anyway i am just interested in recoil reduction and shot placement . Lots of different opinions . I am still wanting to have my rifle done. Any suggestion on which are best? They seem to range in the 200$  installed.
                                                        Thanks again

[oneshotonekill]

There was a thread a whilke back about a guy making breaks for handi and encore barrels.  He would make you a break for $30 and if you sent him the barrel he would install it and make you a thread protector for another $30 so for $60 you had the break installed plus a thread cap.  His work looked pretty good, but I don't care for breaks.  I have a custom handi barrel 6mmx284 that has a break on it.  Its the only gun/barrel I own with a break.  They are great for recoil but I can't stand the blast.

[petemi]

I can't see a bullet hit at 50 or 100 yards with my .308, but I can at 300; By then, I'm pretty much back on target when it hits.  The recoil, to me, is mild.  I can shoot it all day in a T shirt.  It is the thing I love best in the .308 over the '06.

[NFG]

As I said...do a search on the net and you will find many providers...my local 'smith does brakes for $125-150 depending on which brake you pick and how much blending or bluing needed.  It is a simple thread job and you need to keep the brake exit hole as close to 0.020" over bore size to get the maximum recoil reduction benefits.

MUZZLE BRAKES_ROSS SCHULER...rem40xb1@msn.com is the guy who does the NEF jobs. 

I made a bunch of different type brakes to test a while back...they all worked to a greater or lessor extent depending on the size and way the holes were arranged.  The loudest was one with just a 3/4" hole drill through side to side and two 3/8" holes on top.  The quietest was the type with the many small holes either arranged in a slight spiral or in a straight line, the "Quiet" Gentry type.  I copied, modified and changed many parameters, used steel, SS and Alum with equal success while I was playing around...didn't seem to matter, although the SS looked better on CM or SS I think.

I can buy a very nice brake from Harrall's Precision for 30-35 bucks so making one...if you've done any amount of lathe or mill work...is just plain dumb unless you want to learn or like wasting time...I would rather getrdone then go shoot.  It takes me about a hour to setup, thread the barrel, install the brake and setup the taper cut and ream the exit hole then blue...and that includes coffee "brakes"  If I was making the brake from a piece of roundstock I can figure on 1 to 8 hours  depending on the design, number of holes, amount of setup and tool swapping then inside threading.  Even as worthless as my time is...30 bucks and a screw on job seems much more reasonable.

In todays world of CNC machinery the same brake can be produced in minutes...and if you don't have to mess around dialing in the 3-4 jaws it is really easy...not counting the knowledge need to set up the program.  I would give two Yankee dollars to have CNC machines in my shop rather than the manuals I have.

You will have to get used to the air puff in the face.  It startled me the first time it happened but it doesn't bother me now.  That's just your local variety physics teaching you lessons.

Anyway...we all have our different tastes as far as liking or not.

'Njoy