I recently purchased an AIAW 338LM from another shooter here on the hide. He bought it new and had the barrel rethreaded from metric to an american thread (28x3/4) to fit a suppressor. He also had it fitted with an APA Fat Bastard brake.
When I bought it I wanted to return it to an OEM look so I put an Badger FTE brake so it would look and perform like the original AI brake. (was easier to put an FTE rather than rethreading the barrel again back to metric). My smith did this without reprofiling the end of the barrel, he simply opened up the inside of the FTE and it was a perfect fit:
So I finally got to take it to the range and it shot great, the only thing was it kicked a bit more than my little girl shoulder was used to. I shot about 20 rounds and was surprised how much of a flinch I developed. So I decided to do a test today and shoot the FTE against the APA Fat Bastard Brake to see which tames the recoil/gas better.
Started at the range with the FTE strapped on:
Was shooting factory 300 grain Black Hills:
For size comparison, here is a .260 remington next to the .338 Lapua Magnum round:
I shot 10 rounds with the FTE and noticed it likes to buck a bit. I wiped the tears from my eyes with the kleenex from my purse and took the FTE off. It came off very easily once the hex screw was loosened.
Then I screwed on the Fat Bastard. Imho, it's not real pretty... but it's got a bunch of chambers.
After 10 rounds with the Fat Bastard I was certain of which brake works better.... the Fat Bastard won hands down. Clearly the four port design has much more surface area and the angles of the vent cut the felt recoil down easily by half. I shot a total of 28 more rounds and didn't flinch a bit. I was really impressed.
While I'm a purist for AI, it's true blasphemy to put an aftermarket brake on such a beautiful rifle. If the recoil of the .338 is troublesome, I would recommend the Fat Bastard as a 'not as pretty as the FTE' but much more effective way to tame the recoil.
When I bought it I wanted to return it to an OEM look so I put an Badger FTE brake so it would look and perform like the original AI brake. (was easier to put an FTE rather than rethreading the barrel again back to metric). My smith did this without reprofiling the end of the barrel, he simply opened up the inside of the FTE and it was a perfect fit:
So I finally got to take it to the range and it shot great, the only thing was it kicked a bit more than my little girl shoulder was used to. I shot about 20 rounds and was surprised how much of a flinch I developed. So I decided to do a test today and shoot the FTE against the APA Fat Bastard Brake to see which tames the recoil/gas better.
Started at the range with the FTE strapped on:
Was shooting factory 300 grain Black Hills:
For size comparison, here is a .260 remington next to the .338 Lapua Magnum round:
I shot 10 rounds with the FTE and noticed it likes to buck a bit. I wiped the tears from my eyes with the kleenex from my purse and took the FTE off. It came off very easily once the hex screw was loosened.
Then I screwed on the Fat Bastard. Imho, it's not real pretty... but it's got a bunch of chambers.
After 10 rounds with the Fat Bastard I was certain of which brake works better.... the Fat Bastard won hands down. Clearly the four port design has much more surface area and the angles of the vent cut the felt recoil down easily by half. I shot a total of 28 more rounds and didn't flinch a bit. I was really impressed.
While I'm a purist for AI, it's true blasphemy to put an aftermarket brake on such a beautiful rifle. If the recoil of the .338 is troublesome, I would recommend the Fat Bastard as a 'not as pretty as the FTE' but much more effective way to tame the recoil.
