Searched, did not find a similar/current thread.
This is quite an interesting project, very detailed, measured, recorded, fifteen or so muzzle devices.


Every Precision Rifle Brake Tested and Ranked
Canadian Precision Shooting
Mar 9, 2023

'3,841 views Mar 9, 2023
First video analyzing the best muzzle brake performance based for Precision Rifle need!
For those looking only to a specific part, here are the details:
Thanks - 3:10
List of brakes tested - 4:12
Testing protocol - 5:00
Results linear bench testing - 7:33
Results blast angle degree - 9:05
Results time before rifle stabilization - 11:48
Results maximum muzzle jump - 13:24
Results muzzle horizontal movement - 14:29
Results total muzzle movement - 17:20
Summary table - 19:55
Sorry for the huge accent :P you'll have to live with it if you want to listen to the video'





This is where I found the link to the video, (some discussion therein):

https://www.snipershide.com/sh...w-available.7165547/

As noted by blfuller in the other thread, there have been a few tests on muzzle brake efficacy. The results tend to be similar by brand and model. The best brakes reduce recoil really, really well. They also make the rifles really, really loud to the shooter and nearby people. Some tests show a 15-20 dB noise increase, which means that even with plugs and muffs, one still incurs hearing damage. I know -- my tinnitus got noticeable worse from years of matches with a braked 6.5CM.

I used an APA Fat Bastard. APA's whole Bastard line is very good. Recoil reduction is often tested in the 60-65% ballpark. Better yet is the rifles with Bastards don't jump up, down, right, or left during recoil -- they just come straight back. A FB braked 308's recoil is likely comparable to a fast 6mm.

The nice thing about the FB (and other quality models) brake is that the recoil pulse is amazingly short. Just a quick push on the shoulder, and then it's over. This is a great feature for shooting from unstable positions, as in barriers.

Quality suppressors reduce recoil, too. I use Thunderbeast for my precision rifles. TB cans likely reduce recoil by about 50%, which puts them in the league of mid-level brakes. But of course a can is way quieter than a brake -- maybe 30-40 dB, if not a little more. The downside to cans in barrier shooting is the recoil impulse lasts a little longer -- more of an extended push. Good cans still recoil straight back, but they're not quite as effective as a good brake.

I'll take a suppressor every day and twice on Sunday. Preserving hearing counts for a lot.

RichardC -- from the 308 thread:
"Are there muzzle brakes that reduce .308
muzzle movement enough to keep sights on target, spot own impacts, and spot own traces?"

For me, unbraked or unsuppressed 308 Win is about limit where I can completely control recoil and keep sights on POA throughout the recoil cycle. But I can't do this consistently. Hell, on days where my head is up my backside, I can't even do this with a 223 bolt action. Good thing I have a day job.

Recoil's effect on rifle stability is likely close to linear with the foot pound figures. Shooters with well developed skills and consistent practice on higher recoiling calibers will definitely better deal with recoil from magnums than the guy who only shoots low-recoiling rifles. For example, the 6BR guy might say 300WM sucks bigtime, but the guy who shoots a lot of 338LM might say that 300WM is kinda pleasant to fire.

If a person can't completely control the recoil of a given rifle/caliber, then it comes down to how long it takes to return sights to POA and be aware of what's going with bullet flight. At my altitude with a typical factory 6.5CM load, flight times to target via JBM are:
.224 seconds for 200 yards
.598 seconds for 500 yards
1.028 seconds for 800 yards
1.526 seconds for 1100 yards
2.112 seconds for 1400 yards

To see impacts at 200 yards, the crosshairs just can't stray from the target. There's no time to recover from less-than-perfect recoil management. For the shooter, trace is almost impossible to see this close. A good spotter directly behind the shooter can see trace, if air and light conditions are perfect.

At 500 yards the shooter can still see impacts if his technique is just a bit less than perfect. No way with a substantial rifle jump from recoil, however. With great recoil management, at this distance shooters can generally spot their own trace -- with good lighting and the right atmospheric conditions. I note this because in dry summer air of my high-ish altitude, I can struggle to see my trace. But on a cool damp day in the spring and fall, I might see trace like I'm watching a Matrix movie.

At distances increase, spotting impacts gets quite easy. At 1000 yards it can seem like "Is the bullet ever going to get there?" Go out even further, and one can rack the bolt action, get eyes back on target, and see the bullet splash. This is good for stages which allow 2 shots on distance targets -- minimizing time for the wind to change, between observation and trigger pull.

I've shot a handful of the Nightforce ELR matches in Wyoming with my 6.5CM. It's underpowered for the typical target distances of 800 to 1800 yards, but I don't have magnums. My rifle is much more stable than the magnums, and thus I spot my shots quite easily.

A few years ago at the match we had the usual suspects of Colorado shooters in one big happy camper squad of 10 or so. All but 2 of us had magnums -- my rifle was called "cute". One of the best shooters in our squad shot this match for the first time with his 338LM. IIRC he used 7SAUM and some flavor of 30-cal magnums previously. After a few stages he confided with me that the 338LM was much harder to shoot. Although the ballistics were great, the recoil meant that his eyes weren't on target for awhile after the shot. Spotting impacts on the "close" 700-800 yard targets of stages was challenging, and spotting trace was out of the question until targets were beyond 1000 yards. He expected to return to 30-cal magnums in future matches.

Trace also gets harder to see on long targets, because the angle of descent is steeper. The bullet's apex generally is above the scope sight picture, and thus trace starts high on the scope, comes down quickly, and isn't in your vision for very long.

I want to return to these ELR matches -- once my work schedule gets less demanding, and once my vision issues are corrected. If I get serious about ELR, I need some kind of magnum that's available in factory calibers. 7PRC and 300PRC are the likely options. 300PRC has better ballistics, but I suspect I will be happier with the lower recoiling 7PRC.

I've used quite a few PWS devices with success in many calibers.

https://www.primaryweapons.com...ode=list&order=price