Muzzle brake clearances
- Thread starter brybenn
- Start date
I prefer to thread the barrel in a 4 jaw chuck with the bore dialed in to less than a thou run out... then the brake is fitted... and then the bullet clearance (20 to 25 thou) is bored within the same setup... that will give the best accuracy the the best brake performance.
A .224 bullet with 25 thou clearance ends up with about a 1/4 inch (.250") hole.
A 9mm bullet measures about 100 thou larger than that.
A .224 bullet with 25 thou clearance ends up with about a 1/4 inch (.250") hole.
A 9mm bullet measures about 100 thou larger than that.
Do you think its useless given the fact a 9mmx19 live round drops right in to the case mouth? Im not so worried about recoil reduction as i was about muzzle rise. This brake has a ported top and baffled sides. Im just wondering if it will negatively affect accuracy being such a large diameter
Its only a 223 rem but i want to be able to watch impact so was hoping to counter the slight muzzle rise. My fault for not fully understanding the specs before ordering it. Maybe ill get lucky and the rifle will weigh enough
Guess i have to wait to get the barreled action into the chassis and try it
Thanks
Guess i have to wait to get the barreled action into the chassis and try it
Thanks
Unless something new has come about, muzzle brakes weren't designed to "improve accuracy." Maybe I have your intent wrong?
guntech has some very good points that work well in most cases.
I find that brakes with to much internal clearance can be quite detrimental to accuracy. This is just my personal experience of course.
Many brakes, again IMHO, have chambers that are to large in diameter and to long.
When the propellant gasses follow the bullet out of the bore, they surround the bullet and are concentrated at the base, while expanding concentrically around the bullet during the first half inch of travel from the muzzle. I watched these effects on several different videos off the net.
Depending on the style of muzzle brake and what it was designed to do, the effects of the propellant gasses being deflected will effect the bullet's travel. This isn't that much of a problem with handguns but it is definitely noticeable when shooting rifles.
Some brakes are designed to eliminate muzzle jump. On some rifles, such as the AK47, it's only an open pan on the muzzle used to deflect gasses off and push the muzzle down.
Then there are brakes designed to reduce recoil, reduce muzzle flash.
Some of them work very well, especially those with evenly spaced holes all around their expansion chambers, which are mostly IMHO to large and again can have negative effects on accuracy
Through experimenting with several commercial types as well as a few of my own manufacture, accuracy on all of them was acceptable if they were installed properly as guntech just described.
My findings were that a minimal bore in the brake, about .002 thousandths clearance all around the bullet, from the rifle muzzle to the brake muzzle with an evenly spaced line of holes down each side, which were the equivalent of 3 times bore diameter between all of them was just about ideal for every diameter bullet. This system gives me the best accuracy and provides the best recoil reduction. However it doesn't eliminate muzzle jump.
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I heard the .02" on all side too. But also I know members with brakes that are .04 both side that work very well too.
I was kinda looking at brakes and break design because of bursitis in my shoulder.
Found this report a good read.
Muzzle Brake: Summary of Field Test Results
gstprecision
Regular
- Location
- Frankford, On
As gunech said if I install the brake. If I sell to a customer with pre-threaded barrel to be install by him then I will add an extra 0.01"-0.015" to account for misalignement.
A properly designed brake will help with follow up shots by reducing recoil and muzzle lift.
GST
A properly designed brake will help with follow up shots by reducing recoil and muzzle lift.
GST
.02" is not the same as .002" as bearhunter typed.
Jennings just east of you in Kamloops has designed his own muzzle brake style where the ports are
angled slightly forward taking some of the blast away.
I had one installed years ago by him on dad's old .308NM and it sure made a difference on recoil.
Some folks have scolded me for doing this, but it was this or the old gal stayed home.
I would sure hate to pay getting one fitted the proper way now.
Many, many years ago I copied the KDF hole pattern but angled the ports slightly ahead with the thought it may help keep blast slightly forward... It has worked well and I have done hundreds. I originally made them from barrel steel... now I buy a 'blank' and finish it to my specs.
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Many, many years ago I copied the KDF hole pattern but angled the ports slightly ahead with the thought it may help keep blast slightly forward... It has worked well and I have done hundreds. I originally made them from barrel steel... now I buy a 'blank' and finish it to my specs.
Looks like the one on the old Schultz.
Great looking workmanship guntech.
Many, many years ago I copied the KDF hole pattern but angled the ports slightly ahead with the thought it may help keep blast slightly forward... It has worked well and I have done hundreds. I originally made them from barrel steel... now I buy a 'blank' and finish it to my specs.
Very nice work
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Luke, I fully understand why a commercial manufacturer would opt for larger tolerances. They have no control over the fitting and installation of their product.
I don't make up or install brakes for anyone else but myself. To many firearms and to little time. I'm paring back on working on other people's firearms. They usually want it done for free anyway, even if it takes several hours and you never see them again.
My brakes work for MY purposes. They wouldn't be commercially viable. I also don't thread my brakes onto the muzzles, preferring to silver solder them on instead.
My reasoning for this is that threading can cause stresses when the brake is torqued up. Minimal buttttt
I also make up bore rods with two dimensions, one that fits the barrel bore and one that fits the brake bore. This is used to keep everything properly aligned to the axis of the bore.
Way to time consuming to be profitable in a commercial operation.
You were correct in my statement of .002 clearance all of the way around. It's what I do, but that's my personal choice. If I were doing it commercially, I would and have threaded barrels to match the threads on commercial brakes.
Next gun show, we'll talk about this.
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Would silver soldering the end of your barrel/brake be reaching temperatures for Harding the steel? (450C+)
An old Texan talks about using locktite only for Muzzle Brakes in this vid. Man I just love his accent!!!!
I've done a couple brakes this way with success. Making sure you are dead center using bore/brake rods.
An old Texan talks about using locktite only for Muzzle Brakes in this vid. Man I just love his accent!!!!
I've done a couple brakes this way with success. Making sure you are dead center using bore/brake rods.
Most silver solder requires temperatures where a chrome moly barrel is dull red.
I have not experienced any accuracy loss with correctly threaded and fitted brakes... brakes do not require much torque and the threads are not compressing the bore... I don't use crush washers.
I have not experienced any accuracy loss with correctly threaded and fitted brakes... brakes do not require much torque and the threads are not compressing the bore... I don't use crush washers.
