Near Muzzle Brake On .223 - Is There Something Better?

[toomanyhobbies]

I have a Near muzzle brake with the M1x18 thread. This brake has a bore of 0.375" which matches up great to the diameter of a .338, and quite well to a .308.

I bought it to try and reduce muzzle jump on my .223 Tikka Tactical when varmint shooting - keep the sight picture, etc. It doesn't really seem to do the job for me at high magnifications.

I built a spreadsheet that shows the .223 bullet only fills up about 1/3 of the space inside the brake. Does this really matter when you have high pressure gas escaping the muzzle, given the bullet is gone before most of that gas can escape? I would guess that the momentum of the expanding gases causes it to mostly go straight out the bore at high speed, obviously some part will it expand and engage the brake immediately - but how much difference does that extra clearance on the bore make?

Brake Bore	Rifle Caliber		Gap	Gap / Caliber		Unswept Area	Bullet Area	Ratio Bullet Area / Total Area
0.375	0.224		0.151	67%		0.071038	0.03941	36%
0.375	0.308		0.067	22%		0.035941	0.07451	67%
0.375	0.338		0.037	11%		0.02072	0.08973	81%

How much efficiency am I losing by using this brake on a .223 rifle? Is there a similar brake that has a tighter bore for the .223 caliber? Will I see a difference?

 

[MiniMe]

Well....I don't know much about MBs, but I found this on Brownells while searching for a MB for my rifle and apparently there's a relation between caliber and the brake exit. Note they say to open it up to 0.020" more than bullet diameter, i hope it helps:

Ready-To-Fit Brakes Enhance Recoil Control


Multi-port brake softens and reduces recoil and muzzle flip. Multitude of gas dispersion holes have an offset pattern, and a 7° forward rake, that effectively moves blast and sound forward to provide maximum noise deflection. The 0.220 (nominal) exit diameter must be opened up to 0.020” over the bullet diameter. Rear of comp can be tapered to blend with barrel contour. .865" Brake is correct outside diameter for Lone Eagle pistols. Furnished with a 6mm exit hole that can be opened up to .44 caliber.

 

[hoytcanon]

For brakes to function best they should be sized 0.020" over bore size (make sure that they are properly installed)... I would expect the brake that you are using with your .223 to have little to no effect, since it is grossly oversized for that caliber.

 

[toomanyhobbies]

I thought that too once, but I taped a wrap of thin cardboard over the outside of the brake and fired it - cardboard confetti everywhere! So it has "some" effect, just trying to figure out how much. I suspect you are right and it's not doing the job. I haven't seen a brake with that thread that is sized correctly, anybody know of one available in Canada?

 

[SKScanuck]

Muzzle break on a 223. That would be your shoulder......

Really....this is almost as bad a a muzzle break on a Ruger 10/22.

 

[toomanyhobbies]

Dude, please! Try to read for comprehension. The goal is to reduce muzzle jump so you can spot your own hits through the scope. My shoulder doesn't even feel it.

Muzzle break on a 223. That would be your shoulder......

Really....this is almost as bad a a muzzle break on a Ruger 10/22.