Muzzle brake on .22 cal. rifles?

[Va varminter]

Does anyone do this? Maybe to keep rifle jump to minimum while busting PDs.

[Rick in Oregon]

Sure, some do. I've gone PD shooting with Darrell Holland, and was surprised to see his personal custom M700 tack-driving .223 outfitted with one of his Quick-Discharge muzzle brakes. When I asked him about it, he told me it's really not necessary, but if you want to see EVERY hit every time, then it really works.

This is a shot of Darrell with that particular .223 with the brake. Unfortunately, the brake does not show in this photo. That's Chris Ditcher, owner of Pac-Nor Barrels behind Darrell shooting one of his very accurate .223's, also with a brake. This was in South Dakota in June, the weather was a bit brisk, hence the jackets and hats. The dogs paid a dear price that trip, believe me.



As the photo does not show Darrell's brake, here's a shot of my .243 Ackley bench gun with the same brake. His design has changed a bit since these pics were taken, and his new brake is even more efficient. My 243AI has a recoil impulse about like that of a 22 Hornet.



This is the 243AI with an overall view:



If the rifle weight is around say, 11 to 12 lbs., then the brake is not needed, as you'll see almost every hit or miss. My custom M700 .243 Acklely bench gun on the other hand, weighs 12 lbs, and without the brake on it, I would not see very many hits or misses. Even a 22-250 can benefit from a brake, but just remember that bullet weight/ejecta + rifle weight dictates weather a brake is worth the effort. I like the ditty "The Laws of Physics are Strictly Enforced".

[kenbrofox]

Hi all,they just started selling brakes for .22 rimfire over here, would you believe? regs.KB.

[Rick in Oregon]

Ken: That IS going to the extreme! On the other hand, here's something on the exotic side....a 6.5-284 custom rig, water cooled AND a brake which was removed for cleaning when the pic was shot (internal threads were used):



This has been posted before, but it just shows the extreme lengths some will go through to keep a steady rate of rifle fire on those pesky prairie dogs at long range. A friend has a complete PD 'War Wagon"/trailer set up with a 100 gallon water tank, solar panel for pump power, and six shooting stations with Hall custom-actioned rifles, Pac-Nor stainless jacketed barrels, all equipped with water volume and pressure regulators to keep the barrels at a constant temperature of 46* F.

If you look closely, you can see the condensation on the exterior of the barrel:



The shooting stations showing the H2O setups:



This was in Wyoming in a particularly target rich PD environment. Smiles abounded!

[kenbrofox]

Rick, thanks for those exellent pictures, i'm learning all the time. I suppose the word awesome would'nt be out of context here, i never even knew things like that existed.I will look into getting a portable one with a back pack for my carry rifle for my one shot per day forays

[Rick in Oregon]

Ken: Any time a single shot if fired in a day, it's a good day! Firing that one shot sure beats a day at work, sitting in front of the boob-tube, or any number of other mundane things I could think of. Know what I mean?

[kenbrofox]

Hi Rick, i fired my last shot last tuesday evening at 18.45 our time, it's been dark about 1 1/2 hours by that time. I'd been calling this fox each evening for several days but could'nt get it close enough for a safe shot, anyway on tuesday i wait for dark then drive 1 mile to field and park landrover just inside field, then walk the track for 2 or 3 minutes and call for a few seconds. after about 2 mins. i switch on my 7" lamp which is mounted on my tele sight and slowly pan around, the eyes lit up about 90 yds away, thats when i chambered a round of 22-250 55g, rested on my polecat tripod and looked through the 8x56 schmidt & bender, can't see the outline of the body as it sits in the grass so have to use eyes as aim point. Took the shot and heard the sound of a bone strike, very nice dog fox about 25lbs which is big for this area. He,d been sitting in some reeds by a small stream and thats where i left him. Could be two or three weeks now before i locate another fox then it will be the same proceedure all over again. In the summer time i occasionally manage to bag one in daylight which is a real luxury.KB.

[steve]

Ken where are the pics?

[kenbrofox]

Hi Steve, i don't usually take pics. but i could revisit the scene because the fox should still be in decent nick as it's been frosty with a couple of inches of snow around Britain. Thats the easy bit. Totally useless with 'puter (you would'nt believe how long it can take to do a short post with just a trigger finger) so will have to try to get someone to help out. It's 0650 hours in England right now and still dark, as soon as it comes light i will go see if i can get the picture. KB.

[kenbrofox]

steve, sorry, went back to the scene but due to snow over grass and reeds could'nt find the critter...will look again in a few days when snow has gone.

[Arizona Hunter]

My friend has one on his T/C 22-250 single shot. Nobody likes to shoot next to him wearing only ear plugs because it's so noisy. He has it so he can see the impact on his targets. I told him just get a .204 Ruger.

[kenbrofox]

Arizona Hunter,
in UK, now, a lot of shooters have taken to using moderators and they really reduce the felt recoil and obviously they are very friendly on the ears. Also we don't have to pay a premium to our authorities (yet) to be able to use one. Cheers, kenbro.

[Arizona Hunter]

Kenbro,
Is a "moderator" what we might refer to as a "silencer"? I sure wish we could use them here in the USA.

[Rick in Oregon]

AZ: Not Ken, but 'yes', you are correct. We can easily have them here too, just as long as we're willing to fork over $200 to the ATF for the priveledge. It appears because of population density in the UK, most varmint shooters use them. Too bad our government is still clinging to 1920's era laws, eh? It's almost like a reversal of logic & laws (USA - UK). We can own a machine gun here legally (try that in the UK), but a silencer comes under the same inane laws (Class III)......tell me that makes sense.

[kenbrofox]

Rick, over here it's the responsible shooters doing their best to to appease the antis who use a moddy, or CAN as they call them.But the reason we are allowed them is on health and safety grounds. The authorities don't want sueing if we damage our hearing pursuing our hobby. My ears were shot out long before anyone thought about health and safety. Elf 'n' safety is good for some things ,but, like alot of good ideas it's now very much abused. Example: recently, paramedics refused to enter a dying mans house before doing a risk assesment, because he had left the door open so they could get in. Result one dead man who need not have died. Alot of safety but not much health for the man concerned.Got to hope the elf'n' safety never get a say over our military! Rant done, enjoy your day, regards Ken.