Dead Mule Recoil Reducer Installation??

[tbmaker]

Just installed a Dead Mule in a friends Sako in 340 Weatherby.
Great gun but kicks him viciously, by his standards.
He says there is no change in felt recoil, maybe worse.

I had to drill out the synthetic stock for it, drilled just deep enough and tight enough that it is a snug fit.
It comes with a piece of heater hose, why?
I presume to take up slack in stocks pre-drilled for the bolt.
What's wrong with this picture?
Is the mule supposed to be loose in the stock with the hose as a spacer between it and the recoil pad?

A recoil pad will be next but not before his elk hunt.

Options/opinions please.

Thanks
Wayne

[tbmaker]

Has no one used one of these?

[Doc Lisenby]

Wayne, I have put them in shotguns and they work fairly well.  The heater hose is. like you said, to take up space IN FRONT of the tube and a little in back of it as well to keep it from moving around.
I would put a muzzle brake on anything that big.  They have some which will act as a sound attenuating device as well.  Most shooters bitch about the sound of muzzle brakes but I shoot or have shot the big mothers, ie, 30/348. 300 Wby., etc. and the only device which will work well is a good muzzle brake.  You can put a couple of pounds of shot in the stock which will further cut the recoil.  The mercury filled tubes are just weight which moves. They work of the principle of "an object at rest tends to stay at rest."  There are a couple of plastics/composition recoil pads which cushion recoil but don't reduce it.  They just make it easier for your shoulder to remain red rather than purple.
Doc

[gunnut69]

Doc's right about the hose. If the DeadMule is in line the the centerline of the bore and solidly affixed inside the stock it's installed correctly. They have a limited effect and do not reduce recoil. They increase the time over which the recoil is deliverred to the shooter. This reduces the peak effect of the recoil impulse. Recoil pads do basically the same thing. There are no brakes that reduce the muzzle blast.. They redirect the high pressure gases at the muzzle and point the jets of gfas in a direction that counters the recoil effect. This is usually up and angled to the rear.. The result is a greatly increased pressure wave generated by the muzzle blast.. The shooter and those around him(her?) are subjected to great noise levels. There are some brakes that claim to be quieter than others. That seems to me to counter the logic of their operation. The most effective brakes are those used on the Browning 50 caliber rifles. They resmble those used on some artillery pieces. Large with baffles and holes facing rearward to use the gases generated by the rifle to the greatest effect. The 340 is a noted hunter hammer. It uses heavy bullets at high velocities and the recoil is quick and heavy.. Probably the one thing that  can be done to ameliorate recoil is install a correctly designed stock. The Weatherby MK-V stock is usually fairly good at handling high recoil.. It recoils such that you don't get hit in the face so hard.. Moreover a broad tall butt plate with a good pad and plenty of good gripping surface and even checkering can aid in recoil control. There is always the choice of moving to a lighter caliber and using one of the new high performance bullets to increase it's effect.. For laod developement a lead sled or 'sissy' bag is higkly reccommended..

PS- Forgot to mention the recoil reducers that work on the shock absorber principal-GraCoil and CounterCoil. both are available from Brownells and the Danhuser unit(CounterCoil) does work.. Sorry for the length.

[tbmaker]

Thank you both for your replies.
I wish I had consulted you guys before he spent his money.
I think the Sako synthetic stock works well for recoil control in my opinion.
Some of this is a recoil shy shooter, I've shot the gun and didn't find it any worse than my .338 or 7mm STW or my 45-70 with full power loads.
I'll see what he want's to do next after he gets back from elk hunting this week in Montana.

Thanks again,
Wayne