308 brakes

For what it's worth when I built up my first rifle I spent money in all kinds of places not really knowing where it was most appropriate. I have no regrets over my APA LB brake purchase. From form to function I love it. When you have one in hand it is easy to see why the cost is there very nice piece in my opinion.
 
Same boat. Just ordered another break for a new build. Trying out The Beast by Muzzle Breaks and More. They are one of the few that make a 30 cal in 3/4 thread. Never understood having a heavy barrel and and turning down to 5/8 for a muzzle devise. Put a Thunder Beast CB on my last build. Does next to nothing, but then it is a hybrid break/mount. APA won't make me a little bastered with 3/4 thread and the fat bastered is too long. So far the best break I have found that is 3/4 thread and short is an old 3 gill Badger Ordinance. They don't make them anymore.
 
I use an old Khantrol on my 308 and it eats almost all of the recoil. I have area 419s on all of my other rifles and they are imo worth the price.
 
Not to hi jack....... However I have a rather lite 20' 308 rifle. It is a .5 shooter with match grade rounds, however it does jump a bit leading me to have to re-position almost after ever shot. will a break help with this? and will the addition of a break degrade accuracy?
 
Not to hi jack....... However I have a rather lite 20' 308 rifle. It is a .5 shooter with match grade rounds, however it does jump a bit leading me to have to re-position almost after ever shot. will a break help with this? and will the addition of a break degrade accuracy?

I'm in your exact situation, except the 1/2 MOA part haha, but thats exactly why I am getting a brake.
 
He said < $150. What he wants to get is what he will pay for. I'll out shoot your ass with my Savage 308 with no brake. Friends don't encourage friends to put a brake on a 308.
 
Picked one of these up at a deal for my first rifle. Works pretty well for my uses.


PA makes nice stuff. I have the EFAB on my LMT and it works great but a bit over your $150 budget-plus you should get the recommended washer kit for another $25.
 
Same boat. Just ordered another break for a new build. Trying out The Beast by Muzzle Breaks and More. They are one of the few that make a 30 cal in 3/4 thread. Never understood having a heavy barrel and and turning down to 5/8 for a muzzle devise. Put a Thunder Beast CB on my last build. Does next to nothing, but then it is a hybrid break/mount. APA won't make me a little bastered with 3/4 thread and the fat bastered is too long. So far the best break I have found that is 3/4 thread and short is an old 3 gill Badger Ordinance. They don't make them anymore.

It ain't cheap but the best brake I've seen is the KAC MAMS. If you have the QDC PRS suppressor it's even nicer. Anyway, there's a video where a guy shoots a 16" APC with the regular flash hider they come with in slow motion, then another slow motion of him firing another 16" with the MAMS. Oh man, the difference is so obvious it's painful. In one he's driven back with each shot and recovers but with the brake he barely jars. It's fucking amazeballs. I have an SR25 and I already broke down and got a fixed stock, now I'm considering a MAMS someday... I don't have plans to change other parts, I just wanted a fixed stock on a 20" rifle and that MAMS simply works. But it's over $300 and I have a flash hider that works and mounts the can, but if I didn't and/or had the money to spend, or if I just needed a new brake, it'd be the MAMS for sure. There's a reason it's so expensive. It also looks cool as shit, but that isn't the point here.

I use the CB's on a lot of rifles too. I figured the brake would work better than the flash hider, but I like how the small brakes work with the suppressors, especially the Ultra 5. And it's gotta be better for the blast baffle and can in general I'm guessing. But yeah, as a brake it can't really do much.

I think the AAC brake comes in a brake only version and I think they go to 3/4. I have one on a .300BLK for mounting an SDN6 but I can't tell you how well it works, I don't notice much one way or the other with that, but it's a nice looking brake with two large chambers and looks like it would perform.

What about the Noveske Flaming Pig? Isn't that one supposed to be a real performer and linear?
 
Looked at the KAC, 5/8 thread so no go there. Not looking to do a suppressor. Did the TB muzzle break just to try out, and they come in 3/4. Slim pickings out ther for an effective short muzzle break that does not require you to turn your heavy barrel down to a
Pencil barrel for mounting.

The flaming pig does just enough on a .223 to notice it. On a 30 cal I can’t tell any effect on rapid fire through on 7.62x39. The search continues.
 
3/4" threading on a 308?

honestly you're not saving anything by going with a cheap alternative. they just aren't effective and you're gonna upgrade to a hellfire/apa LB/jetblast/heathen anyways

wait a week/extra paycheck and get a real brake
 
I'm not saying I want a $25 amazon special, just curious of what other alternatives out there that people have experience with.

It's interesting how every forum has their favorites.

I did find the muzzle brakes and more Beast brake which I had not heard of before. He has some testing videos up which were interesting to see.
 
I posted this in a different thread but have had good experience with a Surefire ProComp 7.62 brake that preformed very well for the value. In the test below it was measured as the most reduction per $ of those tested.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/02/jeremy-s/308-muzzle-brake-test/
that's a relevant test if you shoot an AR. and even so there's likely better stuff come out in the last 3 years

surefire brakes do about dick compared to a hellfire/heathen
 
that's a relevant test if you shoot an AR. and even so there's likely better stuff come out in the last 3 years

surefire brakes do about dick compared to a hellfire/heathen
No doubt, but honestly for $50, I had no problem with "only" a 53% recoil reduction. I could watch impacts pretty well with it. No longer have the brake or heavy ass gun, but hoping I have a similar experience with the YHM brake I plan on getting if I end up picking up their Resonator.
 
i mean honestly, no one can compete with the 419 system.

One improvement could be that they tell you to clean it periodically in BIG CAPS. I was perusing their site for what is new and never noticed that they said that the brake should NOT be cleaned with CLR but it should be cleaned with a good carbon remover every couple of hundred rounds.

LMAO, I had almost 2,000 rounds through mine and never cleaned it. Needless to say, I won't be making that mistake again. It is now damn clean
 
Picked one of these up at a deal for my first rifle. Works pretty well for my uses.


I second that
PA makes nice stuff. I have the EFAB on my LMT and it works great but a bit over your $150 budget-plus you should get the recommended washer kit for another $25.

I second that on the PA brake I own 2 on a AR .308 and a Seekins .300 WM bolt gun and am really happy with them. I also own a PWS, SiCo and a Sure fire and would rank them in that order on AR’s the PA brake is noticeably better on recoil however more back wash and loud.
 
MPA brake is effective and extremely loud to the shooter. I pulled the trigger about three times with that brake on and took it off and sold it in the marketplace. I was even double plugged.

I wouldn’t shoot with a brake unless I were competing or shooting a large caliber. I have a pva brake that is much easier on the shooter than the MPA brake but is still too obnoxious for me to use.
 
Can you elaborate please?

The Area 419 brake has a tendency to carbon lock up. My brake currently has the collar/nut seized to the brake portion, which I'm speculating it's due to carbon. This was happened to some of my shooting friends as well (that have since gone on to other brakes - most to the Heathen).

Another downside is the "gills" of the brake are super sharp - I cut my hand up good trying to unseize my brake. Honestly, for a product at that price point, I would expect a more refined product.

I find the recoil reduction of the Heathen to be just as good, and the brake design is a bit more refined. It has never seized up on me, and it has always been easy to remove. The new design with the changeable inserts look awesome, I have a couple of the new style coming in soon.
 
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The Area 419 brake has a tendency to carbon lock up. My brake currently has the collar/nut seized to the brake portion, which I'm speculating it's due to carbon. This was happened to some of my shooting friends as well (that have since gone on to other brakes - most to the Heathen).

Another downside is the "gills" of the brake are super sharp - I cut my hand up good trying to unseize my brake. Honestly, for a product at that price point, I would expect a more refined product.

I find the recoil reduction of the Heathen to be just as good, and the brake design is a bit more refined. It has never seized up on me, and it has always been easy to remove. The new design with the changeable inserts look awesome, I have a couple of the new style coming in soon.

Hey, mine also locked tight to the collar after a few rounds. I tried a strap wrench, no joy. The 419 support guys were great and we got it undone by giving it a solid smack with a lump of wood hitting it flush on the collar. It didn’t damage the brake at all but I’ve now moved over to the Heathen too. It has a superior connection method imho. I love the 419 brake itself but they need to ditch that collar approach for sure.
 
Why would you ever cheap out on a brake? If you want one that does what it is supposed to do then lay down the cash and get it done. $100 for something meh vs. $150 for something that kicks ass? Worse you are buying a .30 so you can swap over to any other barrel down to a 6mm in seconds.

No experience with 419 brakes but they have a following for a reason. I have 3 APA's and zero regrets.
 
3/4" threading on a 308?

honestly you're not saving anything by going with a cheap alternative. they just aren't effective and you're gonna upgrade to a hellfire/apa LB/jetblast/heathen anyways

wait a week/extra paycheck and get a real brake
Your looking at the wrong one. KAC absolutely makes a MAMS in 3/4”. That’s what all of their SR-25s are threaded. You actually have to try harder to get a 5/8” MAMS than you do a 3/4”.
 
Why would you ever cheap out on a brake? If you want one that does what it is supposed to do then lay down the cash and get it done. $100 for something meh vs. $150 for something that kicks ass? Worse you are buying a .30 so you can swap over to any other barrel down to a 6mm in seconds.

No experience with 419 brakes but they have a following for a reason. I have 3 APA's and zero regrets.

Like with any other product, the most expensive doesn't always mean the best, or the best price:performance. I've never purchased a 308 brake, so I know little about them. I was just curious to what else is out there. I know the self timed brakes are more expensive, but I didn't know if maybe there was a non self timed that was as good or similar performance for a cheaper price.

For instance, I learned about the muzzle brakes and more beast brake. He has some testing videos, and whether this translates to real world felt recoil or not I can't say, but his $110 brake measured very similar to the $160 little bastard.