What are the Pro's and Con's of a muzzle brake? Thanks.

Pro, reduces recoil and muzzle rise, almost a necessity on a lightweight magnum rifle if you want to watch your shot/impact.

Con, LOUD as all get out as more of the muzzle blast is directed in a manner that you hear it. Even in a one shot/hunting situation, ear protection is a must to avoid damage. Also must have a threaded barrel or an ugly clamp-on.

Exactly what he said ^^^^^

Exactly what he said he said.


If you want to shoot extended sessions with most anything over a 223 then I consider them a must. The reduction in recoil is a giant factor. The more effective the reduction, the louder it is generally. It’s my understanding that suppressors give a similar reduction, but I can say if you go to a match you don’t see very many. Most people run a brake.

One of the other Cons is how much stuff a brake can move around on your shooting bench (or the adjoining bench). My .338 Win Mag with a Little Bastard brake will remove scope caps, half-filled ammo boxes, extra targets, sunglasses, and many other small items from the bench and possibly your neighbor’s bench.

Out of the box my Tikka T3 300WSM shooting 180 gr Nosler Accubond bullett was a man killer and beat me to death. Installed break, limbsaver pad and adjusted trigger and now is a pleasure to shoot. It does make a difference.
Have killed antelope and hogs with it and in a one shot hunting situation I never notice the noise from the shot.

Shot a doe with mine 3 weeks ago from a box blind. Extremely painful. I had hearing protection but forgot to put them on.

A con I complain about is their maintenance. If you shoot a rifle often enough then the build will effect accuracy. It's a pain in the rear.

If the rifle isn't wearing a suppressor, you need hearing protection anyway. Might as well have half the recoil. I love brakes, and even hunt with one on one rifle. Ear plugs hang from my neck until I need them.

Get some carbon breaking solvent and cover the vents with it. After 15 minutes, scrape the carbon with a piece of hardwood with a good square edge on it.

Sums it up

What do you mean by "the build will effect accuracy"?

I think he means “build up” of carbon on the brake.

That's exactly what I meant, sorry. I had a build up of carbon. It would have been impossible to remove with the brake still on.

My saint 556 came with one, can’t wait to get it off