muzzle break vs silencer for hunting

**glenn.watson** · 03-07-2021, 12:26

what are you thoughts on using a muzzle break rather than a silencer for hunting to reduce recoil a bit more, my understanding is that it does but might be wrong

**Bonedoc** · 03-07-2021, 12:39

Silencer will protect your hearing, and of those around you when hunting. With muzzle brake, you will have to wear ear protection.

Both decrease recoil, mb probably more than with a silencer. This all depends on design, rifle, cartridge etc.

For the small perceived benefit in recoil, I would much rather not have to worry about ear protection while hunting.

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**driepootx** · 03-07-2021, 13:07

If walk and stalk is the method then recoil is normally not a problem at all. I would then not use any of the two items, as noise and balance of the rifle compromise the hunt.

For a voorsit hunt a silencer is a great benefit. The same applies when varminting. You are mostly stationary so weight and balance do not have an effect.

Muzzle brakes are lately only used for long range shooting or hunting as they limit muzzle flip and allow you to see impact shots. Here ear protection is part of the exercise.

**tcbc** · 03-07-2021, 13:13

Silencers also help stop the game from being spooked. By the end of the season, it can make a huge difference in hunting success

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**glenn.watson** · 03-07-2021, 13:14

Originally Posted by Bonedoc

Silencer will protect your hearing, and of those around you when hunting. With muzzle brake, you will have to wear ear protection.

Both decrease recoil, mb probably more than with a silencer. This all depends on design, rifle, cartridge etc.

For the small perceived benefit in recoil, I would much rather not have to worry about ear protection while hunting.

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thanks. with my 270 and a silencer I don't bother with hearing protection and it's fine as I'm not shooting loads of rounds.

**Bonedoc** · 03-07-2021, 13:56

Originally Posted by glenn.watson

thanks. with my 270 and a silencer I don't bother with hearing protection and it's fine as I'm not shooting loads of rounds.

That's exactly my point. With a silencer, you don't need to wear ear protection, especially out in the open. Its just one less thing to worry about when hunting.

Using no muzzle device, or a muzzle brake without ear protection is detrimental to your hearing. That why I almost always hunt with a silencer.

My sport shooting guns have a mix of muzzle brakes, nothing or silencers. Will depend on type of comp. Sport shooting, same as normal range work, I will always wear ear protection, so doesn't matter what is on front of rifle.

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**A-R** · 03-07-2021, 14:51

Originally Posted by glenn.watson

what are you thoughts on using a muzzle break rather than a silencer for hunting to reduce recoil a bit more, my understanding is that it does but might be wrong

A good crown on the muzzle is critical for accuracy, even when hunting. Don't break it!

If you were referring to a brake, that is a completely different matter.

A brake may be useful on a hard-kicking rifle, especially when shooting from a bench. In the field it is just a pain in the ears. I have tried it and I still regret it.

In the field, you don't really notice recoil. So reducing it is not usually required. If your rifle does kick you more than you can tolerate, then rather fit a suppressor. It reduces the recoil significantly.

While the blast form a normal rifle muzzle may be tolerable in field conditions, it still contributes to permanent hearing loss and tinnitus. A suppressor helps a lot to protect your hearing, and also helps to not spook the game too much.

I have a hunting rifle that has an integral brake. That thing is so loud, it is painful to shoot it in the field without ear protection. My solution was to hunt with electronic ear muffs. Then I managed to sweat a decent set of electronic muffs to death. That rifle is the first candidate to get a suppressor fitted.

**Basjan** · 03-07-2021, 15:12

I have a MB on my 308 Win. very usefull when doing voorsit hunts because with 110gr v-max i used to see the shot on the target, it takes some practise though. As every one mention ear protection is a must, also when hunting with friends, i normally dont take any shots with them in the vicinity because they will hate me afterwards. That is a big negative of the MB, for me....will i put one on a new rifle again, i doubt very much.

**tcbc** · 03-07-2021, 15:30

At our range, the F class guys with a M B, have to shoot far away from us! The blast can rock you if you’re in the aim, and one of them fires. Plus you need to double plug if you’re next to them.

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**TStone** · 03-07-2021, 15:32

I used to hate muzzle brakes with a passion, however was forced to accept them because a lot of American hunters use them. A couple of years ago, I started wearing electronic ear plugs which were molded to fit in my ears. This made a huge difference and I started to appreciate the benefit brakes bring. They reduce recoil substantially without radically altering the weight or balance of a rifle, as a silencer does. I wear the plugs when hunting by myself, which I do a lot, and also when guiding clients.

I used silencers on all my rifles for several years but then removed most of them as I do not like the way they change a hunting rifle's, weight, length and especially the balance. If I do fit a silencer to a rifle again, I will drastically shorten the barrel before doing so. Silencers do have one huge benefit, they protect your hearing. They do reduce recoil.

For walk and stalk hunting you do not need either, unless the land owner force you to hunt with a silencer, as recoil shouldn't be a problem when hunting. A properly fitting stock, a decent recoil pad and staying away from a bench rest while practicing will take care of reducing recoil. If recoil still bothers you, consider fitting either a brake or a silencer for range use and removing it while hunting. You will have to re-zero your rifle when changing but that should not take more than a couple of shots. Or, change to a caliber you can handle the recoil of.

From a ph or tracker's point of view, a silencer is certainly preferable to a muzzle brake, especially if he doesn't own, or can't afford, to have decent, comfortable hearing protection made for him.

As an aside, silencers make absolutely no difference to how game animals behave when walk and stalk hunting. For 3 out of 10 years we only hunted with silencers on the reserve where I work, stopping using silencers made absolutely no difference to game behavior. Early on we did quite a bit of hunting from vehicles. Once we stopped that, game gradually became tamer.