Muzzle Brakes

[JD338]

I must be getting old, I decided to take my M700 LSS 338 RUM in for surgery. Dropped her off at Williams Gun Sight for Rob Canze to put on a muzzle brake. I chose their Slim Line Tactical brake. It is the same dimeter as the muzzle of the barrel and has shark gills on the sides with holes on the top. The bottom is solid so there will be no issues from shooting prone. Rob told me that the brake will reduce recoil by 65% making it feel like a 308 Win.

I should have it back in 3 weeks and will provide you all with a test report and photos.

JD338

 

[ScreaminEagle]

Can't wait for the report. Wear some ear plugs!

 

[IdahoCTD]

Welcome to the dark side :mrgreen:

 

[bullet]

Yep, that 338 RUM can kick, :mrgreen: looking forward to seeing how it looks and works for you.

 

[DrMike]

I hate to hear that, Jim. I have a 338 RUM for load development. However, it does have a muzzle brake already.

 

[JD338]

I hate to hear that, Jim. I have a 338 RUM for load development. However, it does have a muzzle brake already.

Mike,

What bullet weight?
I can give you a jump start on your load development.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

The fellow handed me 225 grain TSX and Nosler brass. I'm always open to recommendations from your experience, Jim.

 

[jmad_81]

A break will tame that big girl down for sure. I'm going to put one on my stw. Once i got over the fact that the lr hunting isn't really my deal and that I'll never hunt with a breaked rifle, it made the desicion easy. Spotting your own hits is pretty dang cool. I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[shoots_5]

I know with the break on my 338 lapua it makes it a lot of fun to shoot.....I can shoot it all day and not feel a thing afterwards. Those big rifles are a lot more fun to shoot when they shoot like little rifles!

 

[gerry]

Those big 300 gr bullets must have pushed you over the edge I imagine they must kick a lot harder than the 210 gr Partition load you have mentioned before.

 

[SJB358]

Looking forward to hearing about the recoil reduction Jim. I imagine that 338 with 300's would push anyone over the edge. That is alot of recoil for anyone to have fun with. Afterall, it is all about the fun factor, and 338's with 300's don't sound like alot of fun!

 

[Richracer1]

The fellow handed me 225 grain TSX and Nosler brass. I'm always open to recommendations from your experience, Jim.

Dr. Mike, here's what I used as when I was in CA and had to use the 225 TSX (until the 200ET came about).

87gn of RL-22
Fed 215M (Not the GM215M)
Fed nickle brass trimmed to 2.74"
OAL of 3.625" (Tip to base method)

I don't remember how accurate this load was as it was only intended for short term use to get the rifle bloody with a CA hog or two. I think it was about 1" to 1 1/4"

Here's it's first & only kill with the 225 TSX:

 

[SJB358]

That is a great pig Rich! Glad to see you around a bit! You doing much shooting lately?

Great looking pig buddy.

 

[DrMike]

Thanks for the tip, Rich. I'll actually start on this rifle this coming week. I haven't even looked at what I have, other than to note about five boxes or bullets and six boxes of Nosler brass. My only glance at the rifle revealed a very attractive rifle. I'll put up a picture at some point.

 

[JD338]

The fellow handed me 225 grain TSX and Nosler brass. I'm always open to recommendations from your experience, Jim.

Mike,

Here are my 225 gr loads for the 338 RUM

225 gr PT
RL 22 90.0 grs
best 3 shot group @ 100 yds .450"

225 gr AB
RL 25 96.0 grs
best 3 shot group @ 100 yds .567"

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Thank you, Jim. I'll note this. For the moment, I have to work with TSX on this rifle. Still, the intel will be helpful in the future, no doubt.

 

[JD338]

Those big 300 gr bullets must have pushed you over the edge I imagine they must kick a lot harder than the 210 gr Partition load you have mentioned before.

Gerry,

The 300 gr AB at 2742 fps generates 55 ft lbs recoil, quite a bit more the the 210 gr PT.
I shot a 338 Laupa last year witha brake and it was very plesant to shoot off the bench which started to get me thinking about it.
Looking forward to shooting a cream puff for a change.

JD338

 

[Oldtrader3]

My .340 with the Accubrake, is quite comfortable to shoot from the bench and probably is not more than 5 foot lbs or so more recoil energy than the 7mm Rem Mag without a brake. At least, they feel about the same to me but so does the .30-06 and .338 Federal with heavier bullets. I guess that I am not particularly sensitive to recoil?

The two worst rifles that I have had for pure, rattle your brains, recoil were a .308 Norma Mag (converted .30-06), Ruger 77 and a Browning Medallion, .300 WSM with 180 gr Partitions @2950 FPS or so. At 6.5 pounds each (bare, empty weight), they were worse than my .375 Ouch & Ouch, probably because of high recoil velocity and hard recoil pads. They rapped my cheekbones pretty badly as well.

There is a message there somewhere about .300 mags and 6-1/2 pound rifles?

 

[boomer68]

So, do you guys wear hearing protection while out hunting with muzzle brakes? If so, do you use electronic or plugs?

 

[runtohunt]

You folks are brave. I have the Accu-break for my 30-378. I only used it twice, once off a bench and once off of sticks while sitting. Especially while sitting at the bench, the blast from the break was like getting slapped in the face. The reduced recoil was very nice but the slap was not. When I turned around to talk to my father, he immediately asked me if I was ok. The entire conjunctiva of my left eye was bloody. I was wearing shooting glasses.

The second time, while sitting and shooting off of sticks, there was such a dust cloud that I had to get up and walk away while the dust cleared. I could definitely see where an un-ported bottom would be beneficial.