Muzzle brakes are fantastic at what they do, and being able to spot your own hits, or misses, on game is valuable, but is the cost worth it? The caveat with muzzle brakes is that unless you want to give yourself or your hunting partner permanent hearing damage, you must wear hearing protection for every single shot. Even while wearing hearing protection, the concussion jolted me at best, and at worst it has left my ears ringing for more than a day. I have been in several situations where another hunter or guided client had a brake and I was trying to film or spot his shot. Most of the time, I want nothing to do with muzzle brakes in a hunting scenario.

Concussion can negatively affect bystanders or spotters.

Guide or accompanying hunters must use ear pro too.

Requires hearing protection, even while hunting.

Even with proper ear protection, the cumulative effect of thousands of concussive impacts can’t be healthy. The concussion isn’t really noted by the shooter, but if you happen to be anywhere alongside and you’re not ready for it, the blast will ring your bell. The downside is the tremendous felt concussion and noise that is created by redirecting muzzle gasses to reduce the recoil. The upside of muzzle brakes is obviously softened recoil and less muzzle jump, which can lead to more comfortable, consistent shooting, as well as making it easier to see your impact. Tyler Freel The Pros and Cons of Muzzle Brakes A quick shot opportunity in the timber might not give you time to pop ear plugs in. Fortunately, most include an optional thread protector to install once you remove the brake, but many folks don’t do this. 338 Lapua Mag., but they’re even showing up on rifles in powder-puff kicking cartridges like 7mm-08, 6.5 Creedmoor, and. We would be expect this on something like a 33 Nosler or. It seems that muzzle brakes are popping up more and more frequently as standard kit on production hunting rifles chambered for standard cartridges. It doesn’t matter how macho a person is, heavy-recoiling rifles can lead to accuracy issues for a shooter, and a muzzle brake unequivocally aids in accurate, consistent shooting. They are often used not to prevent painful recoil, but to reduce movement of the rifle upon firing, which allows shooters to more easily spot their impacts and make adjustments if needed. I believe that another factor of muzzle brake popularity is tied to their use in precision rifle competition. Some of these cartridges would be horrendous to shoot without a brake, so having them come standard on these rifles is perfectly logical. 338 magnums have been drivers of the trend. Newer magnum cartridges like the Noslers, the 300 PRC, and several of the.

Muzzle brakes, although not new at all, have seemingly become much more popular in recent years. I’m not passing judgement on the muzzle brake shooter (I have used brakes plenty) but I still mutter a few choice words to myself nearly every time I encounter another shooter with a brake at the range or in the field.

I have a similar gut reaction when someone fires up an old 2-stroke outboard on a quiet fishing hole (once you’ve become accustomed to a 4-stroke). The shooter is doing nothing wrong, really, he’s just banging away with a muzzle brake on his rifle. I can feel the concussion reverberating through the shooting range, even from several benches down. “Obnoxious,” I can’t help but think to myself.

Best muzzle brake for 308 hunting rifle