Muzzle brakes - do they reduce accuracy?

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HiltonFarmer

New member
In having seen another thread on appendages being attached to the end of a barrel and having them reduce accuracy: I had to ask myself being a neophyte, would a muzzle brake do the same thing? Reduce accuracy?

The purpose of a muzzle brake is to deflect exiting gases and in so doing, reducing recoil. Any thoughts on why I would put one of these on my rifle or not?

HiltonFarmer :)
 
P

Pierre

New member
Maybe...maybe not. A brake can, in fact, change POI, but a good brake will be a minimal change. Good, meaning solid.
The perfect application is a threaded brake.... IE:

brake.jpg


This particular brake accomplishes a nominal 28% reduction in felt recoil.

The I/D of a brake is extremely important. With a threaded brake the opening can be much tighter as it will be absolutely concentric with the rifle's bore. A well made brake will allow for perfect, concentric expulsion of gasses. Note: This does not mean "deflector" as its a different application and mfg process.
THis shows a k31 Threading Kit with Damper and Muzzle Brake. This Damper produces a nominal 40% tightening of groups with GP11 ammuniton, and somewhat more with the right handloads.

thread8.jpg


A Clamp On Brake does not require any change of your rifle's muzzle, however....... its a trade-off. Considering that few rifle barrels are perfectly concentric with the bore, a clamp on type must, of necessity, have a larger diameter I/D so that gasses have less of an impact on the passing of the projectile out the end of the brake. If the I/D is tight enough it can change POI by as much as a foot at 100 yards.

This brake is designed as a k31-specific brake and has little, if any, impact on POI downrange.

newbrake.jpg



P
 
J

Jimro

New member
A lot of very accurate rifles have muzzle brakes on them.

Adding mass to the end of your barrel will change the POI with a given load, but usually not by too much.

Normally when a muzzlebrake hurts accuracy is when the inner diameter of the brake isn't concentric with the bore.

Jimro
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Harmonics

Besides what has already been said, the weight on the end of the barrel affects its harmonics. The POI shift is the most usual result, but some guns can actually have accuracy improved by the change in barrel harmonics.

Ruger Mini 14s are reputed to shoot better groups with a muzzle brake/flash suppressor than without. Each rifle is, however, and individual, and your results may vary.
 
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armedtotheteeth

New member
It seems we just had this conversation. I tried my Ar-30 300 WIN mag with and without brake. Mine shoots alot better with the brake on, (And so do I) Im not recoil sensitive realy but, i like that 22 cal recoil on a 300 Win mag. The larger groups without the Brake on could be a result of recoil twitch, but i actually think it has to do more with gases exiting the muzzle and not affecting the bullet.
Again, Harmonics and muzzle brakes are different, Its hard to try with and without on most guns. Once you got a brake , you got one. there really aint no taking it off. (Unless you just dont mind a threaded muzzle) It may also protect your crown. Never though of that before.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Muzzle brakes on .50BMG rifles

Aren't there for accuracy, they are there so ordinary humans can shoot the monsters. While they may have an added effect of aiding the accuracy, that isn't why they are used on .50 BMG rifles. Without a good muzzlebrake, the .50 BMG in a rifle under 30+lbs is virtually unusable by ordinary shooters. It is only the advances in muzzle brake efficiency in the last decades that have made the .50 BMG a viable rifle round.

Except for modern muzzle brakes, all the technology to build .50 BMG rifles has been around for as long as the .50 BMG cartridge, which was designed from a German 13mm anti-tank rifle round, fired in a huge Mauser bolt gun.

Almost nobody (except a few die-hards) built .50 BMG rifles. I have seen a couple, they used the WWI Mauser anti-tank action. Recoil is horrendous. Another one I saw was a handmade single shot, with a "compensator" about the size of a coke bottle. The shooter was 6'6" and over 250lbs. It nearly knocked him over when he shot it. This was back in the 60s and 70s.

I did see one other .50 BMG "rifle" before Barrett came along, but that one was at a gun show, and consisted of a .50 M2HB barrel, mounted in a tripod, with a scope mounted on it, and a hand made breech block with trigger. No muzzle brake. I didn't see this one fired (wanted to) I hate to think of how it would recoil, considering the complete M2HB tripod mounted (140+lbs) lifts the front tripod leg off the ground when fired single shot.

So, on a .50 BMG, a good brake is a necessity, not and optional feature. Even on Match Rifles.
 
L

Lycanthrope

New member
So would you say that it would be better to have a brake on a .308?
Click to expand...

You just don't know. A well done brake won't hurt accuracy, but you may have to work up another load since the barrel harmonics have changed.
 
F

FS2K

New member
I little off the track, but I would like to add...

That all this talk of accuracy loss due to muzzle devices is geared more to prescision/long distance type of shooting, and the loss in accuracy NOT substancial enough to matter with Assault type weapons and their "Battle Zero" settings.

So, depending on the type of .308 you have the effects of a muzzle device may not be enough to really matter.
 
C

ConRich

New member
I replaced the flash suppressor on my SAI NM M1A with a Smith Ent. muzzle brake and it reduced the felt recoil and muzzle jump. It did change the POI slightly, but my groups were smaller. I would say that it (the muzzle brake) improved my rifle. HTH

Rich
 
C

Charles S

New member
So would you say that it would be better to have a brake on a .308?
Click to expand...

It depends on your personal needs (I really think that is a bigger issue). Personally, I have never had a reduction in accuracy with a muzzle brake. I have seen lots of match and varmint rifles with brakes. I think your accuracy will be more than adequate with or without a brake.

For me, if I were only going to use this rifle at the range I would put a good brake on it.

If I were only going to hunt with it I would not have a brake on it (honestly, I despise a muzzle brake on a hunting rifle - each to their own).

If I were going to do both I would use a good removable brake with a thread protector for when the brake was off. I would choose a brake advertised for good recoil reduction with the least amount of noise increase. I would look really hard a Vais brake.

http://www.muzzlebrakes.com/

Good luck.
 
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Jseime

New member
I would say that overall a muzzle brake does lead to smaller groups. If you put a good one on your .308 it should improve your accuracy and youll be able to shoot higher volume with less shoulder fatigue.
 
D

Dave Haven

New member
Re: 44 AMP

So, on a .50 BMG, a good brake is a necessity, not and optional feature. Even on Match Rifles.
Click to expand...
True. That was my point.
It doesn't seem to negatively affect accuracy of the rifle, either. The record group for a .50 is 2.6" at 1000 yards. Just over .25 MOA.
I'm fully aware of the recoil characteristics of a .50 BMG rifle. I built one. It weighs 39 pounds. I may shoot it without the muzzle brake some day, but that's not high on my priority list. :)
 
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