Muzzle Brakes

Like anything else, muzzle breaks do have their uses. I find them quite useful on heavy recoiling firearms. When hunting, you usually expend one shot so the noise increase isn't that notable. At the range where multiple firings are concerned, it is easy to damage your hearing. If you don't wear hearing protection, the you probably shouldn't be at the range (same would apply to eye protection). Just about everything I own above 300WM sports a break.
 
I have a muzzle brake on one of my rifles because it also serves as a mount/primary blast baffle for a suppressor.

On the plus side, a muzzle brake helps a .223 a great deal with less than perfect form when shooting while moving (i.e. IPSC-style shooting) and is also great fun when shooting from a stable position since it reduces recoil to levels that let you do your own spotting.

On the negative side, it does add a lot of blast and noise, especially for shooters who aren't behind the rifle. There are a couple of muzzle brakes that are reputed to give you the recoil advantage without the extra noise and blast (Noveske KX3, Battlecomp, Knight's Armament Triple-Tap) but none of them are cheap and some (like the KX3) are comparatively large.

From a practical standpoint though, I'd rather have a muzzle brake than a flash hider.
 
I'm using a Black River Tactical on my 6.8, and it does reduce the amount of noise that impacts the shooters ears.

There are a lot of different designs out there, and not all have side cuts or directional ports to keep the muzzle down. The BRT is a linear comp, no side openings, all the gas pressure and report go forward. It's actually quieter at the ear - tested and measured - than a standard GI flashhider. Most comps and brakes aren't, but this is a hunting rifle, and precision recovery under a stopwatch is less important than my hearing in the field.

Comps and brakes are all the fad these days, and they are a premium, costing at least $50 to the GI $7.50. Some are great and keep the sights on target with no tilt at all. Others are sold for looks to the "Loud pipes save lives" kind of shooter who thinks they work. If they are picked because of a "Me-too" recommendation and no real measure of what they actually reduce, too bad. Get a decibel rating and a least view a few videos of actual recoil before jumping on that nasty prong horned CQB and riot control device that looks so bad-azz it must be cool.

http://www.blackrivertactical.com/ It may not look cool, it does what I need it to do. They aren't all the same, and a lot of them aren't all that effective.
 
I have one on my 300 RUM, and it for sure makes me unpopular with the shooter next to me (usually my wife, so yes, I care). But the effect is also noticeable, I tried it without and didn't like it much. I might swap it for a suppressor, but in that caliber you're talking 2k, nothing to sneeze at either.
 
As mentioned, it's not about being able to "take" the recoil.
I'm going to add them to my guns to allow for quicker follow-up shots.

Shooting a large bore, high recoil rifle off a bipod on a bench makes it jump far off-target. I then have have to back off the magnification on the scope, re-acquire the target, then zoom back in for the shot. Having the rifle be able to mol remain on target would be a big "+".
 
Sorry guys I have a muzzle brake on a 308 only because of the 20 " brl. bounces off target. Made a big differance.Only target shoot with friends.
 
Makes sense you want to spot your shots. Anyone saying muzzle brakes are useless for short action calibers are wrong. Im not saying they're a necessity but they have their place.
 
My FSC30 and SEI brakes make a huge difference in a full days shooting at the range when compared to running thru 200 rounds without em. A lot less fatigue. Also, i didn't notice any disabling loudness when popping them two deer a couple weeks ago. Then again, I run those little 308s for those reasons anyways.
 
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