Lancet Viper Brake: where in Canada?

pgiuseppe

pgiuseppe

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My Weatherby Vanguard with MDT Chassis kick like a mule and I'm looking for a brake/compensator.
It has no threaded barrel but my gunsmith said they can do it. After some google-fu, I decided for the Lancet Viper: the bad-ass look is a factor for sure but it seems the best in what he does. Trouble is nowhere to find in Canada.
Anyone know how I can get one?
If you already have one, what's your experience with it?
 
Plenty of good options out there. I'd look at the Insite arms Heathen brake. It's made in Canada and they support the sport of precision rifle a ton.

A huge benefit to the Heathen is that is doesn't beat you up at all with recoil, blowback, or concussion compared to many other brakes with rearward facing ports.
 
Another Heathen vote. My favorite brake, I have one on a Mark V hunting rifle and another on a Sig Cross. If you can't find the brake you want on Arsenalforce.ca, you probably can't find them.
 
The IBI brake is excellent. Its every bit as good as the Heathen but less expensive and easier to install IMO.

Just to complicate things, there is the EC tuner brake.
 
Can't say that I've ever used (or seen) a Lancer Viper brake but I'll be another voice suggesting the Insite Heathen. I've used them for years (3, 4 and 5 port designs) and they are very effective without sending unnecessary concussion back at the shooter. The new MDT Comp brake is also a very effective brake.
 
pgiuseppe said:
My Weatherby Vanguard with MDT Chassis kick like a mule and I'm looking for a brake/compensator.
It has no threaded barrel but my gunsmith said they can do it. After some google-fu, I decided for the Lancet Viper: the bad-ass look is a factor for sure but it seems the best in what he does. Trouble is nowhere to find in Canada.
Anyone know how I can get one?
If you already have one, what's your experience with it?
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Good god, that thing is fugly. It is also gonna be seriously not fun to use as a brake like that is gonna push blast overpressure back towards the shooter and anyone in the near vicinity.
 
I really like the Insite Heathen brakes. Lots of nice little design features that make them my favorite, but chief among them is how they mitigate blast being sent back to the shooter while still being effective. That Lancet brake looks punishing to the shooter...

While no experience with the MDT brakes, I've heard nothing but good things and MDT is a great company.
 
kthomas said:
I really like the Insite Heathen brakes. Lots of nice little design features that make them my favorite, but chief among them is how they mitigate blast being sent back to the shooter while still being effective. That Lancet brake looks punishing to the shooter...

While no experience with the MDT brakes, I've heard nothing but good things and MDT is a great company.
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Heathen brakes are decent but why recommend buying one? They don’t mitigate blast any better than the IBI brakes, or mitigate recoil any better. They also cost 50% more.
 
coleman1495 said:
Heathen brakes are decent but why recommend buying one? They don’t mitigate blast any better than the IBI brakes, or mitigate recoil any better. They also cost 50% more.
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Because I don't know anyone who's used an IBI brake, for one.

Here are reasons to get the Insite Arms Heathen brake:

- The machining is better than most, if not all self timing brakes out there (I've had all the major brands, except PVA and MDT)
- Many different thread and port options - more than any other brake I'm aware of
- Multiple different brake OD's, you can better match it up with your barrel contour
- Ability to add a tuner, if that's your thing
- I think the collar is the most elegant out of all other self-timing brake options, I love the knurling. This of course is subjective.

At the end of the day, there isn't much to a muzzle brake. I personally like the nuances in performance, design and manufacturing that separates some brakes from others. But if all you want is a brake to mitigate recoil, there's a plethora of options available. Most any will do, and I'm sure the IBI brake works just fine.
 
kthomas said:
Because I don't know anyone who's used an IBI brake, for one.

Here are reasons to get the Insite Arms Heathen brake:

- The machining is better than most, if not all self timing brakes out there (I've had all the major brands, except PVA and MDT)
- Many different thread and port options - more than any other brake I'm aware of
- Multiple different brake OD's, you can better match it up with your barrel contour
- Ability to add a tuner, if that's your thing
- I think the collar is the most elegant out of all other self-timing brake options, I love the knurling. This of course is subjective.

At the end of the day, there isn't much to a muzzle brake. I personally like the nuances in performance, design and manufacturing that separates some brakes from others. But if all you want is a brake to mitigate recoil, there's a plethora of options available. Most any will do, and I'm sure the IBI brake works just fine.
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-The machining on the IBI brake is every bit as good as the Heathen
-The IBI brake has options for calibers and ports.
-The IBI tactical brake only has one contour but their hunter line has options which would be more suited for thinner profile barrels
- The IBI brake can be installed using wrenches instead of the annoying knurled design which either requires a strap wrench or putting something through the brake
-I don’t believe the Insite tuner is specific to the Heathen. It should work on the IBI but I’m not 100% sure about this
-IBI has never used an annoying online troll to crap all over Canadian products while incessantly hyping their products.
 
As I stated, I'm sure the IBI brake works just fine to mitigate recoil. One feature I like that they incorporated is having the main port perpendicular to the bore, which will interrupt/mitigate concussion going back to the shooter. I wish more brake manufacturers would place focus on concussion.

I've merely stated my preferences based on my own experiences with muzzle brakes. I've owned numerous muzzle brakes, many of the major self-timing ones. The Heathen has become my favorite. We may have different taste and preferences in products, but that doesn't warrant ad hominem attacks.
 
coleman1495 said:
-The machining on the IBI brake is every bit as good as the Heathen
-The IBI brake has options for calibers and ports.
-The IBI tactical brake only has one contour but their hunter line has options which would be more suited for thinner profile barrels
- The IBI brake can be installed using wrenches instead of the annoying knurled design which either requires a strap wrench or putting something through the brake
-I don’t believe the Insite tuner is specific to the Heathen. It should work on the IBI but I’m not 100% sure about this
-IBI has never used an annoying online troll to crap all over Canadian products while incessantly hyping their products.
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I can't say I have experience with the IBI either, just stating my preference to the Heathen vs. other brakes I've owned or tried.

As per some of your statements, the Insite brake certainly doesn't require a strap wrench or dowel through the brake to tighten it down. Hand tight is good and I've never had one loosen off. IMO, not having to use a wrench is a benefit since not everyone carries a wrench in the field with them.
The Insite tuner is specific to the Heathen brake due to the lock nut and the way the tuner set screws clamp onto the lock nut vs any other part of the barrel or brake.
 
I've never had to use a strap wrench either.

If you use a good quality gunsmith that cuts square shoulders with sharp tooling, you shouldn't have to use a wrench to keep your muzzle brake on.
 
coleman1495 said:
Heathen brakes are decent but why recommend buying one? They don’t mitigate blast any better than the IBI brakes, or mitigate recoil any better. They also cost 50% more.
Click to expand...

This is such a weird statement... The OP asks about muzzle brakes so different posters chime in suggesting their brake of choice. Clearly you like the IBI brake so it makes sense for you to recommend it. It would be strange for guys with no experience with the IBI brake to recommend it over brakes they know and like based simply on the fact that you think the IBI is better than the Heathen. Sounds more like you have some kinda axe to grind with Insite or Kthomas in all likelihood related to a bunch of #### that came up years ago the details of which you were probably never privy to.
 
Ahh the Heathen.
That smooth jam nut with shallow pretty waves is about the dumbest design anyone could have thought up for a tool-less brake.
If they put knurling like Area 419 puts on their brakes I'd change my tune on them. I'm sure some barrels grip their jam nut threads better, but my Tikka sure didn't. And from experience, getting a loctited Heathen off a barrel isn't much fun. Gaffer tape and channel locks were required.

What cartridge is this for? Is weight important (sheep gun)?

If maximum recoil reduction is the goal, there are lots of good brakes out there. For magnums the Area 419 Sidewinder, PVA Avenger, 5 port Heathen, APA Fat b@stard, MPA 4-port, Terminator brakes etc are all worth looking at. The smaller APA, PVA, Area 419 and 4 port Heathen brakes would be good options as well, at a lighter weight. If "made in Canada" is important, IBI, MDT and ATRS make their own brakes, in addition to Insite Arms. Kahntrol makes brakes for rifles that aren't threaded (clamp on), a few people here have given those brakes very positive reviews.
Lots of options to chose from that are easy to find in stock.
 
Did you use heat to break down the loctite? Loctite breaks down with heat, and makes it easy to remove. Even "permanent" red loctite.

Everything is a compromise. The Area419 system works very well for staying tight. I have two of them. However, I've had issues on both brakes with the jam nuts getting stuck on the universal adapter. If this happens, make sure you don't try and torque it off with your bare hands, as the port edges aren't radiused and are sharp as cheese graters.

Unfortunately everything is a compromise, and no on brake is going to be best for everyone. If you are going to shoulder two items up to each other, you have to rely on those shoulders being square to each other - this is where good machining really helps. Factory guns, like a Tikka, may be a gamble on that. The Area419 system works well for this, you can loctite the universal adapter on if you are worried about your brake coming loose. However, myself and my shooting friends have all experience the above issue with the jam nut getting stuck on the adapter. The geometry of the ports on the sidewinders, while effective, isn't very friendly to the shooter. The Area419 brakes are very popular, so people really do like them. Just wasn't for me.

I haven't had issues with the Heathen coming loose, though when using brakes I'm anal about checking tightness frequently after having an APA brake that perpetually wanted to come loose at the worst times. All my barrels are customs though. I've since moved to shooting 100% suppressed anyways, as its much more pleasant.

Everything is a trade-off, and thankfully there's lots of options. Understand the tradeoffs and compromises and pick whichever works best in your situation. Recoil mitigation, concussion at the shooter, weight, cost, mounting style, etc are all factors to consider. No one brake does everything the best.
 
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