Is the lack of brakes the reason you quit shooting F-Class ?
Belly bench-rest never really held any interest for me. I've always held that F-Class is short for Fudd-Class. I've never seen anything to suggest otherwise.
ITs pretty tough to see bullet holes in paper at 1k.
Exactly, there is absolutely no advantage to optimizing a rifle for self-spotting in F-Class. Bringing this sport into the discussion is a red herring.
Hang an array of 0.5-1 MOA steel circle targets, eliminate the "pit crew", and outlaw 3rd party spotters on the line. (An RO will record hits from the shooting line, but will not give corrections.) Now lets see what happens to the F-Class gear... Oh, and we're going to shorten the relays to 10 shots in 2 minutes, and every shot counts for record. Oh hell, let's make it fun. The shooter must do a left or right barrel role (with rifle) after every 2 shots...
Its not tuff to spot hits on steal at 1k with no brake.
It's not the hits on steel that are the problem. It's spotting the misses- as they give much less indication. As often as not, the only indication is that elusive "bullet trace."
If you can't spot hits at 1k with your 25lb 6BRA without a brake, it might be more indicative of other problems.
While this may be the case, the majority of targets at a typical PRS event are closer than 1000, and are not shot from prone. The irony of shooting is that self-spotting gets more difficult as the range gets closer because time is on your side.
Let's not forget that you don't get any sighters in PRS. And, you get 90-120 sec to shoot the entire string, including getting into position, and moving between positions- often several times.
Everything about a PRS rifle is optimized to self-spot- from the anemic cartridges, to the ludicrously heavy barrel profiles, interchangeable weight systems, endless debates about "balance," front bags, rear bags, pillows, and yes muzzle brakes. Hell, even the shooting techniques are optimized for spotting impacts.
I really don't like muzzle brakes. But, my match rifles have brakes, because they are part of the system designed for the game...