Never had a brake on anything smaller than a 7 RSAUM of my sons, but with 120 and 140 loads(medium size Texas deer) the recoil reduction has always been a big help. We have a little dust and dirt here in S.E. New Mexico, and i shoot a brake on everything...not much laying in the girt....snakes, scorpions, thorns.....so dust printing isn't a prob;lem....have three builds going...a 6XC, 260 AI , and a 6.5x284...all of them will be getting Vais style brakes.....By the way, i used Dave Gentrys "Quiet" muzzle brakes in the past, and just read in a new shooting magazine that he has passed...He was a great guy, and an excellent gunsmith, and he will be missed.....rsbhunter