Suppressor vs. Muzzle Brake for PRS

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I know that suppressors reduce recoil somewhat, but not as much as a brake. For PRS shooting will a suppressor make it significantly harder? I want to preserve my hearing, and with a muzzle brake would be using double ears.

I know that specifics matter - which suppressor, which muzzle brake, what caliber, etc., but am hoping that there is some general information out here.

Thanks!
 
The extra weight out on the end of the barrel helps even though a suppressor doesn’t reduce recoil as much as a brake.

My buddy’s suppressed 6.5prc feels like my 6.5cm.

I think guys don’t like the extra length poking around into barricades
 
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I shoot a can because the concussion from a brake is fucking miserable.

But, lots of guys use brakes as they do mitigate recoil well.
I agree about the concussion. For me it's about saving my hearing. I'm 57 and been shooting for a long time and been around chainsaws, farm equipment etc. my entire life. PRS matches I'll be wearing double ears as 99% are using brakes. When I practice, it will be nice to use just a set of muffs.
 
I’m old too. Need to save what hearing i have left. My Dead Air Nomad-L should hopefully arrive next month. I will run it and see if it’s an impediment.

A top shooter told me there’s no advantage of a can since everyone else has a brake blasting at you from both sides. But I’ll try it anyway. Can’t hurt.
 
Brakes offer a slight advantage over suppressors for managing recoil. The recoil impulse with a suppressor is a longer dwell or a "push". However, suppressors have the advantage of taming the concussion much better, which makes it more pleasant to shoot from that standpoint.

Once my suppressor gets out of jail that's all I'm going to shoot. They are just much more pleasant. After shooting a match suppressed, I don't want to shoot with a brake again. If you are shooting PRS for fun, then rock the suppressor. If you are shooting PRS to pretend to be a shooting "professional" and to have a jersey with company logos on it, then the brake will offer a slight advantage over a brake, allowing you to make up maybe 1 or 2 points in a match. Plus you will fit in with the "cool kids".

If you really want to fit in with the Jersey shooters and give them boners, then check out the niche Area 419 Maverick.
 
The recoil difference between cans and brakes is a lot smaller in 6mm’s common in prs than the bigger calibers.

I can totally understand a mild shooting and mild report on a 6mm with a suppressor.
 
I think the trend should be moving to more suppressed rifles in competitions, everyone claims to own one now days. It would make the range neighbors happy if we were a little quieter as an added benefit.

I'm going to shoot suppressed in our local club tactical bench rest match this year, I'll be the only one but if I shoot well enough I think it could be a thing people will think about. I'm no super star for sure but I shoot against some really good shooters, one guy placed #2 at the Benchrest Nationals last fall so it pushes you to get better.
 
One other impediment is that some states do not allow suppressors. I hail from PA. NY & NJ matches cannot be shot with suppressors. My thought is local matches & when in suppressor friendly states - use a suppressor. In the commie land states use a muzzle brake along with double ears.

Not going to turn this political but f'in insane that suppressors are considered NFA items. These are things that save hearing!!! Industrial equipment that exceeds 85 dBA gets fined big time. What did that Jefferson guy say about the 'Tree of Liberty..."
 
I dont do PRS shooting, but alot depends on the whole gun itself.
2 different guns
2 different build directions

My gun is a 24" tikka CTR 6.5 creedmoor in a B&C M40 stock milled out for ctr bottom metal. I run a OSS Helix 762 on it, the older generation with the octagonal sleeve, not the newer QD can although I have it too. The loaded weight of the gun is 13lbs. If you are locked into a good solid shooting position you can see your impact, if you are less than ideal, you will move off target and have to find it again, not much but at full 24x on my PA 6-24 target will move out of view.

A buddys 6.5cm savage he built up has to weigh close to 20lbs, MDT chassis of some sort, leupold 5-25, and some sort of brake from impact sports. It doesnt move when you shoot it. He does do a little PRS style shooting with it.

I wanted mine more utilitarian, he wanted a tack driving bench gun more or less. Those damn brakes are obnoxious and I dont like them, a little concussion sensitive. But he can put 5 rounds on target in the time itd take me to do 3 without a doubt.
 
Why not have the best of both 😀


There's a company in South Africa that offers the same thing, shot a match with a guy who had the SA version and it looked pretty sweet.

I too hate the percussion caused buy muzzle brakes, you get used to it but it's still unpleasant. Also hate working about my hearing as a braked rifle is considerably louder than unbraked.

Only real down side to a suppressor is the extra 4-8" of barrel length, which may or may not be a problem for the individual.
 
There's a company in South Africa that offers the same thing, shot a match with a guy who had the SA version and it looked pretty sweet.

I too hate the percussion caused buy muzzle brakes, you get used to it but it's still unpleasant. Also hate working about my hearing as a braked rifle is considerably louder than unbraked.

Only real down side to a suppressor is the extra 4-8" of barrel length, which may or may not be a problem for the individual.
Have you got a link to the SA company ? Someone else mentioned them and also said good things.
 
A top shooter told me there’s no advantage of a can since everyone else has a brake blasting at you from both sides. But I’ll try it anyway. Can’t hurt.
I don't know who this is, but there's never been guys shooting on both sides of me at a match.

Usually the closest bystanders to a shooter are the ROs and there's plenty of room to get far enough away from a shooter as to not feel the brake, unless you're the RO.
 
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I’ve only shot one match. But out of the 10 stages 3 of the stages had shooters within 10 ft of each other shooting separate targets at the same time. So it was loud and I could feel the blast from the shooter on my left while I was shooting.
 
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I don't know who this is, but there's never been guys shooting on both sides of me at a match.

Usually the closest bystanders to a shooter are the ROs and there's plenty of room to get far enough away from a shooter as to not feel the brake, unless you're the RO.
It happens depending on where you shoot. I have mad it happen many times. Less so now with the cookie cutter PRS stages though.

I wouldn't run a can now in a match. You got guys that say they won't run a 6.5 over a 6mm because of the recoil difference but they will run a can and get less recoil reduction? No sense. You wear hearing protection anyways at matches so no advantage to a can.
SHC08_FLG-0500.jpg
 
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@Dthomas3523 smaller Size? Weight? Maneuverability?

Recoil reduction and the fact that everyone is running brakes.

So, if you’re already wearing earpro no matter what, why would you give up the better recoil reduction?

As Rob said, if you’re running a 6mm vs a 6.5mm for less recoil, and then running a can.......kinda ass backwards.

Now, if you’re one of those people that gets sinus issues and/or migraines from the concussion, a can makes sense at all times.
 
Less recoil reduction is the biggest. The extra length usually is not a problem but can be depending on the stage. In a game where recoil reduction has become such a high priority why would you give that up?

Because most people are going to a match to have fun, become a better shooter and meet awesome people.

Not everyone is hyper competitive and trying to get to the top of the podium. In fact, I would guess the majority don't care - it's a fun weekend hobby for most of us, and getting to the top of a grassroots sport doesn't define us.

A suppressor doesn't hinder you from having fun, becoming a better shooter, or meeting new people. Arguably it's more productive towards those goals then a muzzle brake.
 
I hope suppressor use grows.

If a braked rifle report is 175 dB, my foamies combined w muffs probably only cut that to maybe 135, which still can damage hearing.

I doubt that's going to happen.

The sport is evolving in a way in which it's moving away from its practical roots and more and more into a highly specialized game, like IPSC. Gamer plates, tuners, 30lb 6mm's, etc.

The top shooters will shoot muzzle brakes (or devices like the Area419 Maverick), so they are not giving themselves any sort of handicap/disadvantage to the next shooter, and the herd will follow.
 
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Because most people are going to a match to have fun, become a better shooter and meet awesome people.

Not everyone is hyper competitive and trying to get to the top of the podium. In fact, I would guess the majority don't care - it's a fun weekend hobby for most of us, and getting to the top of a grassroots sport doesn't define us.

A suppressor doesn't hinder you from having fun, becoming a better shooter, or meeting new people. Arguably it's more productive towards those goals then a muzzle brake.

Remember that when people ask for caliber recommendations. 😉

I have tinnitus also and run a brake as I wear double hearing protection as I always do. I do it for my own protection from other brakes. Nothing to do with podiums or competition.
 
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Remember that when people ask for caliber recommendations. 😉

I have tinnitus also and run a brake as I wear double hearing protection as I always do. I do it for my own protection from other brakes. Nothing to do with podiums or competition.

Haha that's a fair comment.

Honestly, I'm thinking about shooting any future matches with a suppressed .308. Even though I have a ~20lb 6mm, playing "barricade benchrest" gets a little old, and I want to go more back to the roots of the sport, rather then shooting specialized rifle with specialized gear that makes an unsteady and challenging position as steady as modified prone. Perhaps I'm projecting right now.

For me it's about the challenge and tackling the stage within the spirit of it, not "dumbing down" a stage to make it as easy as pulling a trigger with a "managed recoil" position.

If a shooter is out there to have fun, a suppressor can contribute to that. If a shooter is about climbing the leaderboard, then a muzzle brake will be more optimal.
 
Because most people are going to a match to have fun, become a better shooter and meet awesome people.

Not everyone is hyper competitive and trying to get to the top of the podium. In fact, I would guess the majority don't care - it's a fun weekend hobby for most of us, and getting to the top of a grassroots sport doesn't define us.

A suppressor doesn't hinder you from having fun, becoming a better shooter, or meeting new people. Arguably it's more productive towards those goals then a muzzle brake.

Anyone just concerned with having fun wouldn’t be asking for cartridge recommendations or brake vs suppressor affecting performance at a match.

They also wouldn’t be switching from 6.5 to 6 for the advantage.

If fun is your only goal, take whatever you have an you want and have fun. Asking what will make you more competitive literally negates someone *only* wanting to have fun or get better.
 
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IMHO I think double ear pro, plugs & muffs, is near mandatory around any of these guns unsuppressed if one cares about their hearing, braked or not they're LOUD. But, a can is nice and if someone likes using one, use one if you want. You can't control other shooters though, whether at a match or on just a random Sunday at your club, so unless you're by yourself, I'd double plug anyway if I was using a can.
That, and just the fact that I don't like having all that hanging off the end of a gun that's already as long as a mini-cannon, is why I don't run a can.

But yeah, brakes are fucking loud and the concussion and blast-wave sucks, fatiguing to be behind for too long sometimes.

IMO this is where things can improve: not all brakes are as obnoxious as others', so instead of trying to remove every last 1% of recoil they can, I wish companies would focus a bit more on the balancing act of maybe making them a little less obnoxious and loud, or at least try.

I have an Insite Arms Heathen 4-port on the way that I'm going to try on a 6mm, I decided to try it partly because it was one of the few options out there where at least their design acknowledges that keeping noise/blast off the shooter is part of the recipe, hopefully it works...
 
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About the only time a suppressor has an advantage over a brake is when you're shooting thru a culvert/pipe or some other enclosure where the backblast from the brake would make a dustcloud in the enclosure, hindering follow-up shots.
 
I shot a suppressor all last season because I needed it to balance the rifle but only felt like it really hindered me if I was trying to free recoil it. I changed up my rifle this year and now have a heavy barrel. I’ve been using the Area 419 hellfire this season, recoil is basically nothing. I plan to put the suppressor on again for the next match just to see how it feels on the new rifle.
 
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If everyone was required to use a muffler than I would too but when most people just use muzzle breaks I'll Just double up ear protection.

Unless you are shooting a suppressor only match (which are a lot of fun BTW), then double hearing protection is best.

I'm pretty much always wearing ear plugs + ear muffs.
 
I might be the odd ball that has always traditional shot much better running my can in a match than my brake. Granted when i first started i shot more anyway and the last couple of matches that i've shot i was sincerely out of practice. No doubt the recoil is worse with the can but i just honestly prefer it. It's how i do 99% of my shooting.
 
I've gone back and forth like nobody's business. I've never really experienced a big enough difference in recoil to not run a can. In fact, I admit....the reason I ran a brake is because I've fallen into the "the best shooters are running brakes" trap often, so I switched to a brake. The experience though always left me with the notion of not much difference. So, I've been running my can only now for about a year. The other day, I decided to do a little barricade practice and started with my brake (because I was falling in that trap again). After shooting a couple of stages, I couldn't wait to put my can back on, and get that damn obnoxious brake off. I swear to god, I noticed absolutely no difference in my performance and spotting impacts. My point to all this, is I would bet that if guys started shooting their can's for a prolonged period, they too would end up hating their brakes .....and damn, I wish it would happen!! :)

Disclaimer - this is based on shooting a 6BRA. I'm sure the experience would be different in larger calibers.
 
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ok, me too...

Its hard to decide to run a can at the matches because it is going to be more recoil / muzzle movement. The blast with hearing protection on most stages is really minimal, but the movement change from a brake to a suppressor is pretty substantial. I know some guys who practice with a suppressor (just because they shoot much more in practice than in competition - and because they are training with more movement) vs a brake in competition.

I still haven't decided, and I have a lot of suppressors. I have talked with a lot of suppressor manufacturers about this, and it just seems to be some physics issue that can't be overcome to get the same muzzle movement of a brake with a suppressor (no matter how large).

As mentioned above, its not just the movement overall, but also the total duration of the movement. A brake is a extremely short sharp movement that is over very quickly so your disruption from the shot is done quickly where the suppressor seems to drag on longer.

Can you train around this - certainly, but guys spend a LOT of time gaining points in some fashion or the other, so giving up something easy like a functional brake - you have to decide if the difference in the sound is worth it to you vs the extra work to manage the platform.
 
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I'm never going to challenge anybody but the bottom 10 shooters, so I'm going to start running my can at matches. If I'm going to train with the can on, I'm fairly certain I don't want a completely different feel and report etc. when I'm on the clock. Like @kthomas said before, I shoot for fun, not to win. I'll just keep timing out stages with my big loooooong can and save some of my hearing---and try to shoot more, suck less, and have more fun.