Canadian made muzzle brakes- what’s your favourite?

Matador Arms currently makes the Flarestack...a simple flash hider/brake, and the Regulator, which is adjustable and pricey.

I've got a Flarestack on my .308 AR and it seems to work quite well, although I a little skeptical about how much some such units are noticeably better than others. Their out-of-production Hammerhead unit also seems to work pretty well...I have two of them on .308s.
 
I've used a few brakes over the years - Insite Heathen (multiple generations), APA lil bastard gen II, Area 419 Heathen, Crux etc.

Today, there's simply no reason not to get a self timing brake. You can order a barrel with 5/8x24 threads, and put the break on yourself. Easy to take off to clean the barrel and crown of your rifle. And you don't need to tie up time and money having a gunsmith index your brake to your barrel every time you get a new barrel.

Out of all the brakes I've tried, the Insite Heathen is the best design overall and is of high quality. It balances out all the criteria I'm looking for in a brake the best, out of the ones I've thus far had a chance to own and try out. No tools required with the Heathen, and it doesn't direct gas back at the shooter (something you may not noticed until you try a brake like the Heathen). Does an excellent job with recoil mitigation (just as good as the other popular top tier brakes). The new design that incorporates changeable inserts is pretty smart IMO, turn a 6mm brake into a .30 cal brake if you need, a bit more versatile and "future proof". The design is refined and the brake looks great at the end of any barrel.

I've never tried the MDT brake, heard decent things and seems like a good budget option. Based on the nut design, it looks like it requires a wrench to tighten up, which I'm not a fan of (gets loose during a match and you don't have the proper wrench on you its not fun, had that problem with the APA). Aesthetically, it's not to pleasing to the eye to have the nut a smaller OD than the brake, doesn't really flow well on a barrel. This is subjective, and of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Seems like a decent choice if you are limited to a strict budget.

The Cadex brake is butt ugly IMO, it looks out of place at the end of any barrel. You have to get it timed to the barrel, which is extra gunsmithing work and cost, and if you go through barrels, this is a pain in the ass IMO. As I mentioned above, I would much rather have a barrel spun up to my specs and threaded for 5/8x24 and put my own self timing brake on. If your barrels last you numerous years, this is a non-issue. On the plus side, from the videos I've seen it seems like it does a great job of mitigating recoil.
 
I’m just amazed I can’t find anyone who has used a Coretac brake. A 4 port brake with a few top ports, looks well made. I’m starting to wonder if they’ve ever sold any...

Guys don't like brakes like that from Coretac because it vents directly upwards and that interferes with the sight picture and delays your ability to spot impacts or bullets in flight.

The Cadex MX1 brake vents to the side but angled upwards a little to help control muzzle jump without venting gas into the line of sight.

I have 2 of them... one on a 308 and one on a 223 and it seems to work quite well on both of them... even though the hole is cleared for a larger caliber on the 223.
 
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The Cadex brake is butt ugly IMO, it looks out of place at the end of any barrel. You have to get it timed to the barrel, which is extra gunsmithing work and cost, and if you go through barrels, this is a pain in the ass IMO. As I mentioned above, I would much rather have a barrel spun up to my specs and threaded for 5/8x24 and put my own self timing brake on. If your barrels last you numerous years, this is a non-issue. On the plus side, from the videos I've seen it seems like it does a great job of mitigating recoil.

I don't understand... Both Cadex MX1 and MX2 brakes are available in 5/8x24 thread.

Are speaking of the Cadex MX2 brake that needs to be timed?

The MX1 is the easiest of all to time. It's a split ring design that you tighten where you want it. It does not need to bottom out on the shoulder like others do.
 
Blue Chip Precision makes high-end brakes.

Danny is about to set the brake world upside down, I have personally seen the new brake and it has been tested overseas on a very similar design and has the best reduction measured by a manufacturer of actions,

sorry but Danny will have to elaborate more, professional curtesy and,patent protection

Jeff
 
I don't understand... Both Cadex MX1 and MX2 brakes are available in 5/8x24 thread.

Are speaking of the Cadex MX2 brake that needs to be timed?

The MX1 is the easiest of all to time. It's a split ring design that you tighten where you want it. It does not need to bottom out on the shoulder like others do.

Rather than having a gunsmith time the threads to the brake for a specific barrel, you could use the split ring. Hardly an eloquent design though.
 
Ive got a Rock Solid brake from Maple Ridge Armoury on my Savage 10TR and holy crap has it settled that rifle right down. I can follow the trace on my shots now!
 
I really enjoy the Heathen brakes I have from Insite Arms.

The Cadex MX1 is nice too, but I found the blow back to those around me was too much.
 
Ive got a Rock Solid brake from Maple Ridge Armoury on my Savage 10TR and holy crap has it settled that rifle right down. I can follow the trace on my shots now!

I have the same rifle in 308 with a 24 inch barrel. I don't have a name for the brake, it was provided by Epps in Orillia. they are made just for them, and I tell you what, it is more effective than the springfield socomII brake, speaking from experience.
other than the blast to the side, it really is an excellent brake for the price point (under 60.00) hard to believe, but it is for real.
 
Right, almost forgot about them! I like their Gill brake, but I don’t like that it’s permanent. I want to be able to remove it easily when I want.



Post edited after re-reading previous posts.
Sorry, previous comments were not relevant to this thread.

I still don't really understand why you consider it permanent, it's just a wrench turn away from removal and I'm not familiar with any that are tool-less.

Personally I like the ATRS Gill brake, I have a couple of them on different rifles and they work very well and aren't overly expensive.
 
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I don't understand why any brake would need a gunsmith to install it or how it's permanent.
As long as you have a barrel vise or a reaction rod (any means of stopping the barrel from turning without holding by the receiver) all you need is a crush washer and/or a shim kit. Both are cheap and allow you to time your brake perfectly.
I suppose that if all you have is a couple pipe wrenches you might have some issues but if that's the case you really shouldn't be doing any work on your rifles yourself.



I've used a lot of brakes over the years on various rifles and never had any issues installing them.

For example, a blended brake with crush washers or shims would look absolutely horrible.

Having a brake shouldered up to the barrel is a more elegant solution than using shims or washers.
 
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A blended brake with crush washers or shims would look absolutely horrible.

Having a brake shouldered up to the barrel is a more elegant solution than using shims or washers.

Sure but then you're looking at a custom made and installed brake most of the time.

We're talking about a Stag 10 aren't we? Not a $6000+ precision rifle. Washers and shims (either) is how they are mounted.
This is my 6.5 Grendel with Odin barrel, brake, and crush washer, elegant is not in my gun vocabulary but I don't think it looks bad at all.
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We're talking about a Stag 10 aren't we? Not a $6000+ precision rifle. Washers and shims (either) is how they are mounted, this is my 6.5 Grendel with brake and crush washer, elegant is not in my gun vocabulary but I don't think it looks bad at all.
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Fair enough - for a stag10 shim away. Forgot we were talking about AR's (thought I was in the precision rifle forum, not the black rifle forum).

My sr15 with triple tap brake is shimmed, which I think is fine for an ar.
 
Fair enough - for a stag10 shim away. Forgot we were talking about AR's (thought I was in the precision rifle forum, not the black rifle forum).

My sr15 with triple tap brake is shimmed, which I think is fine for an ar.

Exactly :cheers:

Edit, Turns out it was me that got mixed up with which post I was replying to, I can't find anything from the OP saying it's for a Stag-10.
My apologies, I'm browsing too many threads today (bored at work).

My Desert Tech 338 had a DT brake on it and it worked very well, it came with a shim kit from the factory.
 
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I really enjoy the Heathen brakes I have from Insite Arms.

The Cadex MX1 is nice too, but I found the blow back to those around me was too much.

Interesting about the blowback... isn't that the point of a muzzle break? Seems to me that would be evidence to support that it works well and the absence of blowback would tell me it is not.

Or is it that you want a break... but you don't want it to work all that well, if it is at the cost of blowback?
 
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