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What's everyone's favorite muzzle brake?

Matt_3479

Sergeant
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Minuteman
Oct 12, 2009
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need to add one to my build component list and curious what everyone has had luck with. Going on a 6mm!
 
Right now I'm running an Area 419 Hellfire brake on my 6mm, with the Silencerco Omega mount from Area 419 so I can swap between brake and can with no tools. I've also got a PVA Mad Scientist and an APA Gen II LB brake. All are good but the Hellfire right now is my current favorite.
 
They are possibly one of the most expensive brakes out there but from a pure performance perspective (not that you're gonna need much on a 6mm!) you can't beat the Terminator brakes. For absolute value without sacrificing performance a bit, you can't beat Nathan's "Beast" brakes from www.muzzlebrakesandmore.com.
 
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Go to precisionrifleblog.com and check out their very extensive series of articles a while back on muzzle brakes. They analyzed virtually everything on the market from every angle. Well worth the read.

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Another vote for Nathan at muzzlebrakesandmore.com . They're custom made to your specs and very fast turn around time . I have several brakes from Nathan and that work great . He's also a hide member, IdahoCTD if I remember correctly.
 
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I have a PVA Mad Scientist on my 6.5 x 47L that I'm real happy with. Never been a big MB fan but the MS has made a believer out of me.



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I only use a brake when traveling to states that don't allow suppressors, but when I need one I use an Area 419 Hellfire. I am super impressed with that brake!
 
I have 2 Area 419 Hellfire brakes and think they work great and are very user friendly.
 
Patriot Valley Arms Mad Scientist.
Most fantastic. Very little blow back.
Excellent recoil reduction.
 
Area 419 hellfire. Very impressive and cool design for self timing. I also like the options he's adding for suppressors.
 
I have Area 419 Hellfire on my 6.5 Creedmoor barrel and a Little Bastard on my 308 barrel. Both work very good. The Hellfire has more options.
 
As mentioned abve, precisionrifleblog's testing is well worth the read.

Personally, the APA Little Bastard performs very well on my 6XC and performed similar on a 284 I used to own.
 
I ordered a little bastard a few days ago. We will see how it works ASAP. Hopefully it will be here tomorrow or Wednesday

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Insite Arms Heathen, it doesn't blast the shooter and spotter as bad as some other brakes in my experience.
 
I've used the Area 419 Hellfire as well as the Impact Precision self-timing break. I like both of them but I've grown to love the Hellfire, only because of it's simple installation method. It is rather pricey though. As far as actual effectiveness, I don't really notice the difference between brakes.
 
have both the Little Bastard and the Mad Scientist. The Mad Scientist by PVA is slightly ahead given the reduced blow-back - of both dust AND perhaps more importantly noise. The reduced noise to the shooter keeps you a tad less fatigued, so its easier to shoot across an entire day/weekend/week of shooting. A less tired shooter = a better shooter.



 
I went with a Dead Air Muzzle Break so I can use the Key-Mo adapter for my Hybrid on all my rifles. I'll let y'all know how it shoots tomorrow
 
Patriot Valley Arms just announced their 4 port "Rocket Scientist" brake this morning. Meant for the heavier magnum calibers but looks like a killer option.
 
I have a Gen 2 Fat Bastard on my .300 win mag... completely different beast than your 6mm, but it kicks similar to my 6.5 Creed without a brake! lol
 
I just bought a muzzle break. I did some reading and went with the APA LB Gen2. If I had read this thread, I'd probably give area 419 hellfire and pva mad scientist some considerations.
 
I just bought a muzzle break. I did some reading and went with the APA LB Gen2. If I had read this thread, I'd probably give area 419 hellfire and pva mad scientist some considerations.
Just got my little B in the mail today. Hopefully I'll put a couple rounds through it tomorrow.
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I was choosing between the APA Fat Bastard and the Heathen. The FB clearly had more recoil reduction but I really liked that the rear ports on the Heathen were perpendicular to the shooter to try and direct the blast further outward to protect the shooter (and close spotter).

Even on a 12.4lb 338 Edge, the Heathen is sufficient to reduce recoil down to between a 30-06 and 300WM. On a 6mm, it would be MORE than sufficient. And I've shot and been around quite a number of brakes, and I really believe the design reduces blast and concussion for the shooter.
 
I have the APA lil bastard Gen 2 on my 6.5x284. It's a very nice brake as far as recoil reduction goes but it is so damn loud (most brakes are, haha). I also have a Seekins muzzle brake on my 257 Wby Mag and that thing is an absolute dream to shoot. The holes in the end of the brake help direct some of that sound away from you without directing the concussion back at you. I will post a picture of the Seekins later if I can find it on my phone.
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Otherwise the RWS 3-port brake works like a charm too.



I also realized that the Strike Industries King Comp brake somehow timed and contoured almost flawlessly to my 260 bolt gun when I threaded it on. It was like $45 for the brake on ebay and ended up working surprisingly well.
 
I use the surefire comp on most of my rifles. Always has a good comp to use and can easily mount one of my suppressors on it at anytime. Best of both worlds. I only buy .30 cal suppressors and use the 1/2-28 comps on my ar15 that I can mount a .30 cal suppressor on them too.
 
Gen2 APA LB on my bolt rifles, Seekins ATC on my 6.5 grendel, JP, PWS, and SureFire brakes on my AR's. Hoping to try out the area 419 and the jp tank brake in the near future.
 
Area 419 Hellfire on 6.5CM. Clever design, easy to remove and reinstall, but loud. I'd give up 50% of the recoil reduction for less concussion. 6.5CM just doesn't kick that hard. I'm leaning towards returning to a Silencerco ASR brake - better balance of recoil reduction vs concussion.
 
Insite Arms Heathen.

This brake is self timing, like the APA or the Area 419. However, it has a distinct advantage in that the main port is designed to direct the blast perpendicularly to the shooter.

The result is that you get a brake that is self timing and just as (if not more effective) than the APA and Area 419, but with a lot less obnoxious blast directed at the shooter.

Don't just take my word for it - Lowlight has a video review on it, and seems to like it as he runs it on a few of his rifles.
 
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^^^ And, it's easier to clean on-the-rifle because it's easier to fish the corner of a rag with solvent through the perpendicular ports and see-saw it back and forth to remove the residue than it is on the ones with angled ports.
 
I just bought a 6.5mm APA Gen2 Little Bastard for my 6.5CM after shooting a friends rifle(RPR 6.5CM) and I was blown away bye the recoil reduction, I had no problem staying on target and seeing impacts at 600yds. I have used many brakes including AAC BLACKOUT, Seekins ATC, Insite Arms HEATHEN and a few others, for recoil reduction I find the APA Little Bastard to be the best one I have used.
 
I have had the APA GenII Lil Bastard on my 6.5 CM for a few months and I am really impressed with it. I just received a Area 419 Hellfire for another project and tried it out on a couple of rifles today including the 6.5 and a 308. I would still give the Lil B a slight advantage but very slight. I really like the design and suppressor friendliness of the Hellfire. If I get a little more serious about a suppressor, Hellfire will be my choice from now on. I am just going to leave it that since I really would like to get more serious about a suppressor. :)
 
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+1 for the Area 419. Great shooting experience, very intuitive and easy installation. The suppressor mounts really seal the deal for me. Can't go wrong IMO.
 
The Mad Scientist is a great brake. Could spot shots at 1200 even with a pst on my 6.5CM. And that was from a bench. I feel no back blast and it doesn't sound any louder to me than a rifle with no muzzle device. A lot of the other brakes at the range were way more obnoxious. My wife (first time precision rifle shooter) was ringing 1000 steel easy and seeing her impacts. I don't see how it gets better than that.
 
I will run suppressors when possible but the ASR Brake for my Omega actually does a fantastic job of taming my 300WM. Living in Texas and it gets so hot even a mirage cover cant hold the heat back so if I want to keep shooting alot of times I have to take can off to cool
 
PVA Mad Scientist, easy install, doesn't come loose, excellent recoil reduction, and the price is very good also. Rocket scientist brake looks very promising but I haven't got my hands on one yet. Josh makes some killer products and is one hell of a smith.
 
All I have to say is that if it gets better than a PVA Rocket Scientist then recoil would be non existent.
My PVA Rocket Scientist makes my 300 Win Mag feel like a 223, I mean that!
No muzzle blast to the face or anything.
If you need to tame your magnum then I highly recommend PVA.