Thread: What to put on the end of the barrel?

Originally Posted by The Claw

I've had/have about 6-7 different brands of supressors on a heap of different calibres, the biggest being 7mm magnums. I have also have/had several braked rifles in bigger magnum calibres. My thoughts:

(Good) Brakes are more effective at reducing recoil than supressors, at the expense of being offensively loud to anything around you. As @Ginga said, for a pure alpine type long range rifle where you have time to put on ear protection, a brake is my choice. Also for bigger magnums where the size and weight of a supressor becomes a pain to manage.

For me, suppressors are a nice convenience. In smaller calibres they are realitively light and provide some decent recoil reduction and acceptable sound levels. I generally wear ear protection still but am happy to take a quick shot without if need be. As important to me is that supressors mask your location when varminting/culling. Animals often stand around and look as their mates get picked off as they can't work out where the danger is coming from.

The biggest negative for supressors in this use is heat, it doesn't take a lot of rounds to see heat mirage...

If you are undecided, get an ASE Borelock. Brake with a supressor that fits over the top. I think ODL has one like this too? I had an ASE on a 7mmRM, recoil reduction and noise suppression was impressive however it was a bit heavy

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Thats great feedback......thanks

have you tried putting a possum's face on the end of the barrel?

Originally Posted by 40mm

have you tried putting a possum's face on the end of the barrel?

Brutal......but i'll take that into consideration

Originally Posted by 7mmTom

Brutal......but i'll take that into consideration

I prefer the term "humane" extremely humane....

@7mmTom you already have lots of good advice above. I would second it. I see you mention that 7mmRM is your first rifle. Have you fired one or even better try and shoot several different makes/models. The stock design and weight of rig can have a big influence on perceived recoil, especially in magnums. If anything I would recommend you err on the side of a slightly heavier rig than an ultra light for your first magnum. As others have stated a 7mmRM can be shot accurately without a brake or suppressor, especially with a good stock & recoil pad. If your primary use is hunting then I’d go for suppressor, but for off hand shots in bush and for bush hunting/stalking shoot without suppressor. Wear HEARING PROTECTION !
The other point to watch out for with suppressor and to some extent with brake is more rapid build up of carbon fouling. This will wreck your accuracy if you don’t keep on top of it. You need to up your cleaning technique.

Your going to want hearing protection either way....
There's a third option too... If the rifle is of reasonable weight, eg sendero weight you don't need anything on the end.

(Oh chainsaw pretty much said it)

Brakes have their place in some applictions, but I’d never use one in a million ears on a hunting rifle for all the reasons already mentioned PLUS the one experience I had when we were young and stupid. Was on a biltong hunt in Namibia, nothing special, just a few springbok that were easy shooting from 300-400m on the farm. One of the lads brought his old man’s rifle, magnum of some sort, it had a brake. None of us took slightest bit of notice of it, complete ignorance. Lad lines up on a bok, resting the rifle across the ute tray with a big steel headboard on the front, behind the cab, with lad standing alongside him with the Leica a couple of metres to the right.

You get the picture. The redirected muzzle blast and reflection off the headboard of the tray ruptured the lad’s eardrum, the lad standing next to the shooter. He suffers tinnitus to this day. The shooter’s ears rang for days, he would have done some damage for sure but I lost touch with him. Me and the other lad got a big fukkin fright alright.

Like I say, young, dumb, ignorant, had no idea just what an effect the brake and the reflection would have. Stupid!

Every time I see a brake on a hunting rifle, I walk the other way, just me like I say they have their place, but not for me. A good suppresor transforms a powerful or short barreled rifle and is I think a necessity if you’re shooting in wooded country. On the tops? You could happily shoot all day without a suppressor, but you must use earplugs as a minimum. Trick is to remember to wear them when in counts.

My first 7mm mag weighed 9.5lb. I shot it without a brake for a few years. I was no problem to shoot. I ended up putting a Terminator brake on it, was real easy to shoot then.
I also had a sub 7lb 7saum, which I put a radial brake on. I left the brake off when when walking around in case a deer jumped up in front of me. I only put the brake on when I was sitting down watching a gully or had time to put it on before the shot, then I also have time to put in my ear plugs etc.
My last 7mm mag weighed around 8 lb. I didn't have a brake on that one, but recoil was sharp. If it had been my first rifle it might have caused me to develop a flinch.
Most of my hunting is on the tops. A 2-3 hr walk up a hill then around the tops. I like to keep weight down so I would never use a suppressor on a tops gun.

On the end of your barrel you should have a nice crown, and an iron post front sight. That is all.

Originally Posted by tanqueray

On the end of your barrel you should have a nice crown, and an iron post front sight. That is all.

let me know how you get on knocking over a Thar at 500m with ya 300wm, iron sights and no brake or suppressor
I'm not saying they are the be all end all but they do have their place

Originally Posted by dannyb

let me know how you get on knocking over a Thar at 500m with ya 300wm, iron sights and no brake or suppressor
I'm not saying they are the be all end all but they do have their place

sounds like a challenge..... might be a little mean on the animal though!

I've never shot a rifle and thought damn, wish i didnt have my supressor on. I have however had the opposite.
Lop to 20 throw a dpt can. The noise reduction makes a big difference. Especially if you let rip in a small valley or gut

My summary after shooting with both would be: always wear hearing protection where possible - not so easy in bush stalking so use a "can" - over a dog use a can - everywhere else use a titanium brake - super effective and weigh nothing.

Put a brake on it, you dont buy a 7rm to shoot stuff at 20 meters in the Bush. Brake will be lighter, shorter overall length (so you can keep a magnums long barrel for performance without being crazy long or having to cut it down) better recoil reduction, animals are still confused where the shot comes from as with a suppressor, and I would say even more so.