Muzzle Brake made and installed by Rusell GALL

[londonhunter]

Hi all

 

Need a bit of feedback

 

I have a single shot stalking rifle in 6.5 x 55 and it is shooting very well with silencer for the past 3 years.

 

However I like to try a muzzle brake since the balance and handling with a silencer is not ideal.

 

I heard about RG rifle making their own in house brake similar to VAIS

 

I wonder has anybody actually shot one of his creations ? I am NOT worried about noise

 

ALL I want is to take out the muzzle flip and poke that stops me from seeing my hit after the shot.

 

Remember my rifle is a Blaser K95 and weighs just under 6 pounds and 6.75 pounds with a small scope mounted.

 

I don't want to trouble Russell unless this will achieve what I want

 

I have only fired second shot once in 03 years so noise is not an issue and I always hunt with plugs.

 

I am guessing now

 

A well fitted tight tolerence machined brake is far more efficient than an off the shelf muzzle brake that looks the business

 

AM I right ?

[The Gun Pimp]

London Hunter,

 

I've fitted a couple of Russ Gall's muzzle brakes. They are superbly made and finished - I've never seen better - and they work as well as any. I don't think you will be dissappointed.

 

Cheers

Vince

[baldie]

I originally bought four brakes from Russel for an initial batch of .338 rifles i was building, one of which is my own. The brakes were absolutely beautifully finished, ports radiussed etc. Unfortunatly, i had to turn them down to match the barrels od, so lost all of the beautiful machined finish he had painstakingly done. The brakes were blasted and painted.

I now buy the same brake from third eye tactical, because i just require blanks to machine myself.This works out a bit cheaper for me ,both work the same.

However the fit of a brake is far more important than who sells it to you. Disregard anyone who tells you "one size fits all" because it does not. The brake needs to be fitted then reamed, not drilled, to .020" over bore size. Any smaller and its dangerous, and any bigger, and it gradually loses its effectivness the bigger the bore is.

Send it to someone who knows what they are doing, Russ Gall is one of them.

[onehole]

I have a couple of Russ Gall rebuilt rifles with his brakes will do some pics and a write up when back from a short break,yeah first class work.Dasherman [mckillop engineering] does brill job as well.

[baldie]

 

left to right on barrels. Russ Gall, third eye tactical, badger fte [front towards enemy ]

Unfitted , top to bottom,Benny Cooley, Miculek, and a Darryl Holland.

The bottom three are the most efficient, and also the noisiest. The Vais type ones [pepperpot ] are the quietest.

 

Reaming the bore.

 

[londonhunter]

Baldie

If I send you my barrel and you can machine down a third eye tactical brake for me to the tolerence you described. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea as to what is involved. I hope the profile of the barrel is not too thin to make the transition look smooth. Here goes

I am not too worried about the colour. Satin silver will be fine for contrast. I just need something that stops the barrel jumping after the shot so I can see the hit through my scope and to take out a little bit of poke since the rifle with scope weighs no more than 7.5 pounds

 

 

 

[baldie]

If you are not familiar with a vais type brake, they have a series of holes running from back to front which radiate from the muzzle. You can machine the outside of the brake down so far to match a barrel, but you must not go too close to these holes, otherwise the integrity of the brake is compromised, and it could explode in use.

That barrel diameter is too thin to machine one down to exactly match. I could machine it down to an acceptable size, and angle the back edge, much the same as the one in the earlier pictures, but that would be about all you could get away with i reckon.

I wont use other peoples threads either. When i fit a brake, i insist on threading the barrel myself, i know the threads are then concentric.

What calibre is it ?

[londonhunter]

I understand your reservations working on other peoples threads.

 

The rifle is in 6.5 x 55 and the threads were done by Steve Bowers originally

 

Its also the very same rifle featured in Shooting times written by Bruce Potts. Google and you will find it.

 

Yes machine it as close as you can like the barrel in the middle of your picture will be absolutely fine.

 

As I said before I just want something functional rather than something that look nice but does not work

 

If this is acceptable please send me PM and I will send you the barrel.

[1967spud]

as baldy said i have a third eye fitted and its awesome ,

[Vermincinerator]

Dave, do you use a piloted reamer?

 

Ian.

[baldie]

Yes, but its a fixed pilot on the brake reamers Ian.I buy undersized brakes, fit them to the bore, then bore the hole so the fixed pilot fits exactly. Then the reamer obviously cuts bigger as its used.

[varmartin]

Flix...have a closer look at the pics Baldie put in his post......

[TonyH]

I appreciate Londonhunter's specific application but why in general do people use muzzle brakes? The extra noise directed backwards and sideways is appalling. I always wear electronic ear defenders when out shooting in the field: I have shooting-induced tinnitus in one ear and don't want to aggravate this. At the range, noise is an even more serious issue. It's bad enough shooting next to someone using any of the 30-06 family, though even a short-barrelled .223 can be uncomfortable, and we all remember what magnum handgun rounds were like; but add the effect of a muzzle brake and you really should be using plugs as well as muffs - even then, the blast wave hitting your eyes/face is more than just distracting, it's very uncomfortable. I wonder if some people think they look cool in a paramilitary sort of way? I think they're ugly, like moderators, and superfluous in a civilian environment...

TonyH

[varmartin]

Errrrrr...yep done that.

 

What exactly is it that I'm supposed to be looking for?

 

 

Perhaps I misread your previous post..where you asked...

Quote

"When barrel porting was all the rage for competitive clay shooting, in order to help negate barrel flip it was customary not to port the bottom of the barrel , and only port the sides and top. Has anyone tried anything similar with MB's on rifles?"

 

Several of the muzzle brakes in the picture posted by Baldie are only ported on the sides and the top...

[AHPP]

muzzle brakes

 

...

 

I think they're ... superfluous in a civilian environment...

 

 

 

Care to expand?

[TonyH]

Care to expand?

Not a great deal, no! Just what I said before, about noise - 'orrible things, uncomfortable and unnecessary. On a .50 cal military weapon maybe (though don't they create a dust signature?) - but on a sporting rifle they spoil the lines and,er, well, increase the noise level unacceptably for the rifleman and his immediate neighbours. Just my two penn'orth. If you like them, fine - but please don't fire your rifle anywhere within 50 yards or so of me until I've had time to fit extra ear protection.

TonyH

[Ronin]

You tend to find that the quick discharge or "tank" style brakes are only (usually) found on larger calibre heavier recoiling rifles as these kinds of brakes are most efficient at braking the recoil.

 

Aesthetics aside, they work very well, I have a "tank" style on a 338, I am able to retain sight picture even when shooting at long range - like 1600 mtrs long range....

 

The Vais or ported style are prettier for sure, but are not as efficient.

[Ronin]

Best of both worlds -

 

 

No, I dont think so as there is a compromise and the cost of that is reduced recoil reduction.

 

 

For heavy recoiling guns - tank style brake - large vents quick discharge.

 

For sporting calibres - Vais style (multi ported)

 

 

If you can live with the looks- then the large port brakes offer far better recoil reduction, but they dont look quite right on a sporting gun...

[AHPP]

Not a great deal, no! Just what I said before, about noise - 'orrible things, uncomfortable and unnecessary. On a .50 cal military weapon maybe (though don't they create a dust signature?) - but on a sporting rifle they spoil the lines and,er, well, increase the noise level unacceptably for the rifleman and his immediate neighbours. Just my two penn'orth. If you like them, fine - but please don't fire your rifle anywhere within 50 yards or so of me until I've had time to fit extra ear protection.

TonyH

 

Oh good. Your tone inferred that you thought they were something that civillians had no need or use for but it turns out you just don't like them. Glad to hear it. Wouldn't it have been that which promotes growth and vigour if you had accidentally encouraged restrictions on them...

 

P.S. I don't like shooting next to one either.

[Vermincinerator]

Nothing wrong with muzzle brakes i use them on the range and so do my mates.

One of my mates has one on his 300 Rum, there is a masive concussive effect when he lets on off, so what, i just get on with my shooting and so should everyone else.

People should stop moaning about what others are doing and get on with their own shooting.

Ian.

[TonyH]

Nothing wrong with muzzle brakes i use them on the range and so do my mates.

One of my mates has one on his 300 Rum, there is a masive concussive effect when he lets on off, so what, i just get on with my shooting and so should everyone else.

People should stop moaning about what others are doing and get on with their own shooting.

Ian.

I'm sure you wouldn't mean to imply, Ian, that no-one should ever say anything remotely critical of certain guns or bits of them, or anything even sort of a teensy bit negative about aspects of the shooting sports? I mean, things would be pretty damn bland round here, with everyone nodding and smiling like Jehova's Witnesses, patting everyone else on the back, and never a contradictory word... Anyone might think you were taking my comments personally!

And I really don't think passing a bit of mildly critical commentary about muzzle-brakes amounts to "moaning"! Let's not exaggerate. I'd be interested to know why you and the other guys use m-b's at the range: since you're not trying to improve your chance of seeing bullet strike on live quarry, what benefits, precisely, do they confer? Benefits that outweigh the vicious discomfort of being close to somebody else using one, that is - ? I just don't believe a 'braked high-velocity round going off a few feet away is anything less than distracting and uncomfortable. Discuss, as Ronin might say...

Regards, Tony

[Vermincinerator]

Tony,

I am all for live and let live mate hence i tend to judge others by my own standards.

If a shooter rucks up next to me with a braked .50cal, i am not going to start criticising him, i will sit back and enjoy the situation, even go and ask for a shot.

 

Ian.

 

PS. Its in my signature.

[Vermincinerator]

Hi Tony,

You ask why my mates and myself use muzzle brakes on the range, becuase thats where we do all our load developement.

Load developement is being carried out with them on and although i dont think it would change POI much without the brake, it would seem foolish to develope a load without it and then screw it on later, after all you would not do the same with a mod.

Primary use of a brake for me is as you mentioned, to observe bullet impact on live quarry, i have one on my 22-250 Imp. and my 257 Imp.

Recently i have been shooting more with a moderator because much of my permission has housing bordering some boundarys and i wish to remain as discreet as possible, i believe noise pollution to be the biggest threat to our sport, however if i am in an area with no near housing i choose to shoot without a mod (dont like them) and resort back the brake.

 

Ian.

[baldie]

Some calibre,s are just not shootable Tony, without one. I have a .338 which is a big , heavy gun. Its like shooting a .308, recoil wise with the brake on. With it off, 5 rounds, and you do not want to shoot it anymore....its thoroughly unpleasant. I,m not recoil shy in the slightest, but some calibres have to be braked to make them usable.

That said, i have brakes on my 6mmBr, and 223 speedmaster, also the AR grendel. They are on those to get the muzzle back down quickly as i use them in practical rifle. I also have a vais type brake on my .22lr buckmark pistol. Thats there to do the same thing, and has turned an "also ran " gun, into a regular gold medal winner at Bisley.

The only range i have found restrictions on brakes is Bisley, which is not surprising coming from the NRA [and i,m a member ] Other ranges such as Diggle dont mind them, if one shows a bit of consideration for others. What i tend to do when shooting the .338 is tell the RO [usually Vince ]and ask to be put further away, bench wise from everyone else, or i wait and shoot last on a benchrest match. On the grass podiums, i put my AIM bag at the side of me, and shield the other shooter. No one has ever complained.

As with many situations in life, a bit of live and let live usually works.

[TonyH]

Hi Tony,

You ask why my mates and myself use muzzle brakes on the range, becuase thats where we do all our load developement.

Load developement is being carried out with them on and although i dont think it would change POI much without the brake, it would seem foolish to develope a load without it and then screw it on later, after all you would not do the same with a mod.

Primary use of a brake for me is as you mentioned, to observe bullet impact on live quarry, i have one on my 22-250 Imp. and my 257 Imp.

Recently i have been shooting more with a moderator because much of my permission has housing bordering some boundarys and i wish to remain as discreet as possible, i believe noise pollution to be the biggest threat to our sport, however if i am in an area with no near housing i choose to shoot without a mod (dont like them) and resort back the brake.

 

Ian.

OK Ian, that makes sense, thanks for the explanation. I still don't like them, but I understand your reason for using them at the range. I too don't like mods either, except for subsonics on a .22, since I think they look ugly and spoil the lines of an otherwise good looking rifle. But I understand why some shooters need them when hunting close to houses.

You mean, that signature image is a night-time shot of the 'braked muzzle flash from your rifle? I thought it was a nuclear blast...

Regards, Tony