Muzzle brake vs Mag-na-port?

[prosper]

What are the pros and cons of each?

I've never been a fan of brakes, personally. I find they're too noisy and not very aesthetically pleasing. I always though magna porting was the same, although I think I may have been mistaken. I recently acquired a 378wby with ports cut, and from my position behind the trigger I don't find that it increases blast over any of my other rifles, and I also found the recoil to be quite manageable (though recoil is a very subjective thing, of course). Of course, I have not had the opportunity to fire this particular gun before the ports were cut, so I can't make a good comparison. I find I don't like the idea of permanence of the ports - at least with a brake, you can remove it.

How are magna ports generally regarded? When would you recommend porting over a muzzle brake, and which method is typically more effective at reducing recoil vs increasing blast?

 

[guntech]

I much prefer a threaded on brake that can be removed when cleaning the barrel.

I have seen all sorts of damage inside barrels right by the magna porting caused by dirt and debris that entered the barrel through the ports.

When cleaning a magna ported barrel you really require pressurized air to blow the ports clean so they don't "seep" crap back into the barrel.

Brakes reduce recoil more, magna porting may be less loud.

 

[44Bore]

Magnaporting mainly reduces the muzzle climb--with some reduction in recoil. Brake will provide more recoil reduction.

Not sure if Magnaporting is done in canada anymore though.

44Bore

 

[sunray]

"...done in Canada..." Not by Mag-na-port. Their shop closed long ago.

 

[bigbull]

Yes it is still done in Canada. I have used magnaporting in a few guns and prefer it over any brake for esthetics, as for outright recoil control I don't know which system is more effective, for muzzle control the magnaport wins hands down, the only other brake that I have used that is as effective for muzzle control is the Holland Ultra Brake since it also has no ports at the bottom which greatly increases it's ability to control muzzle rise, another big benefit is that it does not increase the length of the barrel. The removable brakes in my opinion are alot worse for accumulating crap with their holes all over and in no way can be compared to the 4 small slots that the magnaport has, they have never been a problem keeping clean for me under normal hunting and range conditions.
bigbull

 

[the wrench]

Getting crud in the slots of a magnaported bbl. is vastly different than getting crud in a screw-on brake, as the slots go right into the rifled bbl. . I use a screw-on brake and wouldn't do it any other way. Put it on at the range, take it off for hunting. By the way, magnaporting does increase muzzle blast for the shooter. If you are hunting or whatever, always use hearing protection, I didn't and am now paying the price.