Gunsmithing Bergara lrp muzzle brake seized

[Codiekfx400]

New member here on the hide hello guys. I have a Bergara lrp in 6.5 creedmoor with the factory brake wanted to remove it and install a PVA jetblast. I got it to loosen slightly and then it stopped so I returned it to close as (timed) as I could. Any help would be appreciated. Plan B is cut off barrel crown and thread but I really don't want to do that.

 

[GH41]

New member here on the hide hello guys. I have a Bergara lrp in 6.5 creedmoor with the factory brake wanted to remove it and install a PVA jetblast. I got it to loosen slightly and then it stopped so I returned it to close as (timed) as I could. Any help would be appreciated. Plan B is cut off barrel crown and thread but I really don't want to do that.

Could be rockset, loctite or galled. If it moved and stopped it sounds like the latter. Is there a professional near you that could look at it?

 

[jetmd]

Put some heat on the brake. A propane torch will do the trick.
It does not need to get that hot. It will cause no damage to the factory piece or barrel unless you get really carried away.

Just out of curiosity is the factory brake that bad?

 

[Codiekfx400]

Thanks guys I believe that it is galled. I put heat on it already with a propane torch and that got it broke loose. I know of a few smiths around here but I don't trust them. I might just box it up and send it to longriflesinc I was going to ship them another rifle for a cut crown and thread job anyway. The factory brake on the lrp is not very good it is designed so a suppressor can be mounted to it and its effectiveness is therefore hindered. The accuracy of the Bergara lrp is excellent though. I have a PVA mad scientist and PVA jetblast on other creedmoors and they seem to work really well.

 

[USMC 308]

My Bergara LRP was shooting around .5 moa. Took to a smith and removed the factory brake for an Area 419. My crown was nasty as it was difficult to clean with the brake installed. Using the Area 419 brake, my groups opened up some....to about .75 moa. Not happy about that. Removed a few times and retourqued the nut....didn't help. Bought a Hawk Hill barrel and it's now at Tumbeweeds Custom Rifles for install. If that thing does not come back being sub .5 moa.....I'd be surprised.

 

[Codiekfx400]

My Bergara LRP was shooting around .5 moa. Took to a smith and removed the factory brake for an Area 419. My crown was nasty as it was difficult to clean with the brake installed. Using the Area 419 brake, my groups opened up some....to about .75 moa. Not happy about that. Removed a few times and retourqued the nut....didn't help. Bought a Hawk Hill barrel and it's now at Tumbeweeds Custom Rifles for install. If that thing does not come back being sub .5 moa.....I'd be surprised.

Why do you think the accuracy got worse when Oem brake was removed? Was the crown damaged upon removal?

 

[GH41]

My Bergara LRP was shooting around .5 moa. Took to a smith and removed the factory brake for an Area 419. My crown was nasty as it was difficult to clean with the brake installed. Using the Area 419 brake, my groups opened up some....to about .75 moa. Not happy about that. Removed a few times and retourqued the nut....didn't help. Bought a Hawk Hill barrel and it's now at Tumbeweeds Custom Rifles for install. If that thing does not come back being sub .5 moa.....I'd be surprised.

Did you put the original brake back on and try it?

 

[USMC 308]

Don't think it was damaged. I watched the smith heat it up and remove it carefully. I did not put the original brake back on.....been wanting to see what a custom, cut rifled barrel would do with that rifle.

 

[Tiger_Shilone]

Just out of curiosity is the factory brake that bad?

Bergara and Dead Air Armament share working space together. "Bergara rifles come standard with threaded muzzles (5/8×24) and a Dead Air™ Armament Key Lock® muzzle brake/suppressor mount installed". Copied directly from the Bergara official website. Also looks like they are no longer offering the mount as part of the rifle package on future LRP rifles, that's too bad ($90 mount).

Heat does not affect rockset, it is heat resistant by it's design (Suppressors get hot). Use water to loosen rockset. Heat will physically expand the brake a small amount before it also transfers to the barrel and makes it expand, have to act quickly. Worst "stuck muzzle device" I've been involved in recently was on a factory DPMS recon 308 with the factory AAC 3 prong mount. Guy ordered the actual AAC tri-lug wrench socket tool and still needed a 3 foot cheater bar to break it loose after soaking overnight. DPMS didn't put one drop of rockset on, the entire length of threads was thickly covered in rockset. Guess they didn't want it rotating off. Threads were still good after removing the AAC.

I like the Dead air brake on my 6.5c LRP. So much so I am converting Sico asr mounts to Dead air mounts as funds allow and using a keylock adapter
for my Omega.

Did you put the original brake back on and try it?

I'd be curious about that too. Different muzzle devices can affect accuracy and have also noticed my mono-core suppressors affect POI more than the stacked core suppressors on all the .22 hosts I've tried that on.

 

[USMC 308]

Too late now...but I'll make sure to post how the Hawk Hill barrel performs.

 

[Codiekfx400]

These Bergara muzzle brakes are made to accept dead air silencers that is in my opinion why they do not reduce recoil like a PVA brake. My state does not allow silencers. I have never heard of rockset but I will research it some.

 

[Tiger_Shilone]

These Bergara muzzle brakes are made to accept dead air silencers that is in my opinion why they do not reduce recoil like a PVA brake. My state does not allow silencers. I have never heard of rockset but I will research it some.

I think you are probably right as they do have to act as a mount and therefore the diameter of the brake is reduced. This means a smaller surface area for the gases to react against as compared to a larger diameter brake with larger surface areas. With that said, there have been some very good tests done for recoil and flash reduction done and posted on the internet:

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/02/jeremy-s/308-muzzle-brake-test/
http://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/07/07/muzzle-brakes-recoil-results-for-6mm-6-5mm/

You'll find the DA brake about 2/3 back on the chart on TAG, but 52% reduction is way better than a bare muzzle.

 

[Codiekfx400]

I got the brake off with 2 relief cuts and a propane torch. To be honest though I think it would have come off with just heat. I don't think I got it hot enough the first time I tried. Looked to me like there was some hi temp loc tite applied to the threads.