Brake or not?

[03mossy]

I will be rebarreling a Savage 116 lightweight hunter to 35 whelen. Recoil will be stout on that light gun but shouldn't be unbearable. Can't decide if I want to add a muzzle brake or not? According to the rifle recoil charts a 35 whelen in a 8lb rifle shooting 225 grain bullets the felt recoil is 25lbs. So I'm guessing in a rifle that weighs only 6lbs it will be in the 30+ range, maybe 35. Thoughts?

[wbm]

lol

[tobnpr]

I'd sure brake it.
If you do, just be sure the muzzle OD of your barrel will be adequate for threads/barrel wall thickness and shoulder needed for the brake.

[RustyShackle]

I would shoot it without a brake. I have my own philosophy on felt recoil. All things being not equal. I think at the heart of the matter, you have to account for the powder burn rate among other things. I use to own (and shoot) a 308 that was 4.5 lbs scoped. It was a beast.

[geargrinder]

I would shoot it without a brake. I have my own philosophy on felt recoil. All things being not equal. I think at the heart of the matter, you have to account for the powder burn rate among other things. I use to own (and shoot) a 308 that was 4.5 lbs scoped. It was a beast.

Couldn't agree more. I had a 308 that beat the garbage out of me in a few shots. However, I have a sporter weight 338 RUM that I can shoot all day. The 308 recoil was a very sharp punch, while the RUM was much more slower like a shove.

[VAFISH]

If you thread it for a brake you can always take the brake off and put a thread protector on if you don't like the extra noise.

[RustyShackle]

Instead of providing a physics equation to determine the recoil. Here is an online calc that should get you ballpark.

http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

[03mossy]

Hmm according to that calculator it comes in about 38 lbs. That's getting up there for sure. Brake may be a good idea.

[gbflyer]

I don't think a brake will be all that effective on a Whelen. They seem to work better on an overbore cartridge. It might help some but I don't think the extra noise will be worth it.

Great round by the way. I have built 2 of them. Almost a 375 H and H, but with 5 rounds instead of 3!

[TXRoadlizard]

If you do brake it, please don't be an inconsiderate arse like the guy I was placed next to on an indoor range last weekend... Showed up with a MDT Chassis mounted .308 with a brake. That thing was beyond obnoxious shooting indoors.

[PepeLapiu]

If you do brake it, please don't be an inconsiderate arse like the guy I was placed next to on an indoor range last weekend... Showed up with a MDT Chassis mounted .308 with a brake. That thing was beyond obnoxious shooting indoors.

A braked .308 indoors? Yikes!
I couldn't bare my .308 outdoors with a brake. I can't imagine it indoors between concrete walls.

[03mossy]

If you do brake it, please don't be an inconsiderate arse like the guy I was placed next to on an indoor range last weekend... Showed up with a MDT Chassis mounted .308 with a brake. That thing was beyond obnoxious shooting indoors.

No worries there. I am fortunate in that my shooting range is out my back garage door. My wife might not be thrilled with one though!

[tobnpr]

Likely not in your budget, but a suppressor is ideal for a hunting application such as this, providing both hearing protection and felt recoil reduction (and you could also utilize on other rifles).

[Satchamo]

Couldn't agree more. I had a 308 that beat the garbage out of me in a few shots. However, I have a sporter weight 338 RUM that I can shoot all day. The 308 recoil was a very sharp punch, while the RUM was much more slower like a shove.Man I'm glad you said this... I've been telling all my buddies how much my Kimber 308 beats the piss out of me (6.4 lbs scoped). Definitely a sharpness to the recoil that I've never felt on heavier guns!

But to address the OPs question, brake it if you can and carry plugs around your neck. It isn't near as big of a deal as some make it out to be.

[TXRoadlizard]

This goober was placed on Lane 1 too, so the cinder block wall was immediately to his Left. I was on Lane 2 right next to him...until he torched off that first round. His Brake was the type that had two openings to the right and left, and flame shot out about a foot on either side...hot hand loads? Anywho, I marched a 100-yards back down the hallway to the desk and told them I either wanted my money back or moved to Lane 4 (farthest from him). It was still God-awful loud. Luckily he only shot around 50 rounds, packed up and left. He was ringing my ears through triple flange under muffs.

[big honkin jeep]

Brake it.
I'm a huge fan of muzzle brakes.
They just plain work.

[RustyShackle]

Man I'm glad you said this... I've been telling all my buddies how much my Kimber 308 beats the piss out of me (6.4 lbs scoped). Definitely a sharpness to the recoil that I've never felt on heavier guns!

But to address the OPs question, brake it if you can and carry plugs around your neck. It isn't near as big of a deal as some make it out to be.


My buddies gave me constant crap about my .308. I invited them to shoot it, only one did and he got a nice Goose egg on his eyebrow. The only reason I retired that rifle was due to the fact the barrel profile was so slim that frankly it worried me that it would banana peel one day. It was a fr8 Spanish Mauser that had been worked over. IIRC it had a 16.5 bbl that looked like it belonged on a shotgun. The stock was skeletonized and it had a 4x fixed Leupold compact.

back to discussion, I’m not anti brake. But I wouldn’t let not having one deter me from building a lightweight thumper.

[tobnpr]

It all comes down to an individual's tolerance for recoil and their ability to shoot the weapon accurately.
Same applies to handguns, as well as long guns.
Flinching, and poor trigger control with heavy recoiling firearms is common. A .300 Win Mag is a great long-range chambering, but not everyone can shoot it accurately. Ditto for .40 cal, in a subcompact carry gun...

[johnwm]

Brakes certainly work, but IMHO the added muzzle blast and concussion is as bad as, or even worse than, the recoil they are meant to reduce. This is going to be a big game hunting rifle, not a target gun or a varminter for use on prairie dog towns. When you are sighting in or working up loads, you can always use a shoulder pad like a PAST, or maybe one of those slip-on rubber pads. Once you are out hunting, you will shoot once or twice at a time...and you won't be thinking about or noticing recoil when there is an animal in your crosshairs.

When I was young and stupid, I had a beautiful Sako AV in .375H&H that was one of my first "nice" guns. Shot it, hunted it, loved it...and then a friend talked me into having it Magnaported. I sold it within a couple months after that was done; it kicked a bit less, but it was just miserable to be behind it (or around it) when it went off. Concussion with a capitol "K". I've tried a few different rifles with assorted brakes since then, and I've always found I liked them better without.

Now that I'm old and stupid, I have a few lightweight hunting rifles, up to and including another .375H&H that weighs well under 7 pounds naked. I wear hearing protection religiously when I am at the range; when I am hunting, there is no way I am walking around with earplugs on my head or around my neck. I've learned my lesson; the only hole any of my rifles have at the muzzle is the one the bullet comes out of. :)