Brake or Suppressor?

les

les

Hammer Time Executive member
I've never shot a suppressed gun. It just been a couple of years since I crossed over into using a brake. Now I have three guns with brakes. I really like them! Two of my friends tell me if I even try a suppressor, I will never go back. That said, wow are the spendy! I hate having to give Uncle Sam a couple of hundred bucks just to have an accessory to my gun. So to those who have shot both, what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of both? It is my understanding that a good suppressor acts like a brake too.
 
Sadly up here in Canuckistan suppressors are considered prohibited devices. We can't even PAY for the right.

I don't like brakes, they take a dangerously loud firearm and make it 5-10x louder and that makes me flinch. Actually it might be the concussion, I'm not sure - I know a couple guys who can keep their eyes open through braked reports but I am too much of a snowflake I guess, or I don't shoot enough, or I simply lack the mental fortitude for that. I consider blinking a flinch.

Would certainly utilize a suppressor if I could!
 
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Once you own a suppressor you’ll never go back. Look into something like a SilencerCo Hybrid 46. Pretty universal. I run it on everything from 22-250 up to 458 socom. Beats the hell out of earplugs!
 
I own two and have shot a few more. The two I own are 30 cal cans for my long guns and I can say.....I don't like them on my long gun / hunting rifles!!! They add extra length and weight to the end of your barrel which is super cumbersome. They don't suppress the sound that much, though they do reduce the recoil...like a break. A break is much louder, but easily mitigated with ear protection. Brakes are lighter, shorter and also reduce recoil......I love brakes on my big boomers!!

I do love suppressors on .22lr's, .17hmr's, .223's and 300blk. My all time favorite is a .22 lr with a suppressor for grouse......that's just a lot of fun. 300blk with subs is also a lot of fun with a suppressor.

I will buy more suppressors....but for smaller caliber and not for my hunting rifles. The tax stamp sucks.....
 
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I don't particularly care for either although most of my warp speed boomers have brakes out of necessity. I just might have to build a dedicated short barrel suppressed rifle one day but that would be the only way I would have one. Screwing them on the end of a 24" or longer barrel just makes the whole thing too awkward in my opinion. A dedicated rifle with an 18" barrel chambered in a short mag type cartridge might lure me to the dark side :unsure:

JM2C

Regards
 
les said:
I've never shot a suppressed gun. It just been a couple of years since I crossed over into using a brake. Now I have three guns with brakes. I really like them! Two of my friends tell me if I even try a suppressor, I will never go back. That said, wow are the spendy! I hate having to give Uncle Sam a couple of hundred bucks just to have an accessory to my gun. So to those who have shot both, what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of both? It is my understanding that a good suppressor acts like a brake too.
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If you are shooting multiple animals in a single whack that’s where they shine. I.e. hogs. A brake could blow them all out on first firing where suppressed would allow more opportunities before they split.
Aside from that, they’re useless in my opinion.
 
I just acquired my first two rifles with brakes this year, and had the misfortune of firing both of them at coyotes without remembering or taking the time to put earplugs in. That was over a month ago and my ears are still ringing badly from it. I'm sure I did some damage. They may be nice for the range, but not for me while hunting.
 
No experience with supressors. They're pretty useless at 30/06 size and up from what I've read?
Only takes once to remember your ear plugs. All but 2 of my rifles have brakes on them. Shooting is much more pleasant and quicker back on target - and yes, it's fun to actually see impacts!
 
I have a suppressor and two or three rifles with brakes. I have no use for the suppressor. It's heavy, extends the rifle length and doesn't mitigate recoil like a brake. But I am one who is sort of modern and never shoots a rifle without hearing protection. At the range earplugs and electric muffs so I can hear commands, hunting only the electric earmuffs.
 
les said:
I've never shot a suppressed gun. It just been a couple of years since I crossed over into using a brake. Now I have three guns with brakes. I really like them! Two of my friends tell me if I even try a suppressor, I will never go back. That said, wow are the spendy! I hate having to give Uncle Sam a couple of hundred bucks just to have an accessory to my gun. So to those who have shot both, what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of both? It is my understanding that a good suppressor acts like a brake too.
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We must be thinking alike les because yesterday I looked to see if anyone on this forum had talked about suppressors before. I just put together a 22 CM with threads for a suppressor, but I'm in for a long application wait before I can even put one on. My buddy shoots most everything suppressed when I'm around him and I think I would like everything about them but the extra weight/length.
I've wussed out lately and I just can't shoot my boomers without brakes but most of my rifles are 24+" barrels.
My hearing is already gone so maybe it's not worth the expense/wait?
 
I had a hearing test done last year by an ENT Dr. He said I had the hearing of an average 65 year old… I was 49 at the time. Years of shooting with no protection and loud car stereos in my 20’s did most of the damage. The last few highly successful dove hunts pushed me over the cliff. I learned my lesson, but learned it too late.
 
While we cannot have them in Australia I did use a suppressor in South Africa.
Using a loaner 7mmRm so I wasn't familiar with the Rifle without it.

In Africa and New Zealand they are not regulated. Just an accessory. Somehow that makes them a while lot cheaper and reduces the required tax stamp or permit.

They can be used in Australia with a commissioners permit as they are classified as prohibited. Government agencies and maybe some professional shooters get approved. Not easy. Not cheap

Brakes are a nuisance on the range. To noisy.

If I can't have a suppressor I'm stuck with 22" barrels and hearing protection when the situation allows.
 
hand skills said:
Sadly up here in Canuckistan suppressors are considered prohibited devices. We can't even PAY for the right.

I don't like brakes, they take a dangerously loud firearm and make it 5-10x louder and that makes me flinch. Actually it might be the concussion, I'm not sure - I know a couple guys who can keep their eyes open through braked reports but I am too much of a snowflake I guess, or I don't shoot enough, or I simply lack the mental fortitude for that. I consider blinking a flinch.

Would certainly utilize a suppressor if I could!
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I’m in the same boat, a couple of the guys I shoot with have brakes, yes we’re using ear pro but I find it hard to focus through the shot, not for me. Shooting on the table next to them is way worse… and one time when we thought everyone had finished an most had removed ear pro standing behind the line talking one guy decided to shoot a couple more! Not fun!

I keep thinking about those linear Comps but don’t have a threaded barrel so haven’t got one yet.
 
I’m a fan of the suppressor. To me, they make shooting much more enjoyable, much more gentlemanly. The braked guns I have shot were great at reducing recoil, but my goodness they were loud! Like hand skills joked, I might be a snowflake, but I just don’t like noise anymore.

Yes, the stamp sucks. It is bureaucratic theft. But as a federal law enforcement officer friend and fellow gun nut said, getting the stamp is far cheaper than getting caught without it. So I view it as an insurance policy and suck it up, even though I resent having to have that policy. Don’t fault anyone who disagrees with me.

To wit, if you can do a Form 1 can, the wait time is ridiculously short compared to a Form 4. I Form 1’d a lower to make it an SBR. Took 15 days total to get it approved, and that was with a trust and included the time my fingerprints were in the mail.

As for the type of cans I have: Two are rimfire, and that’s just a hoot with standard velocity ammo. Almost Hollywood quiet. Squirrels hate it!
Also have two 30 cal cans. One is “hard use” suppressor, which is ok, but heavier, and the other is a titanium, “precision” suppressor (KGM R30, to be exact, which is no longer available to the public. Ugh).
The lighter, titanium can is much more manageable, although it does nothing to reduce length. The KGM has a ported end cap to act as a brake. (I believe the SilencerCo Harvester has a brake on the end as well). Since I shoot prone a lot, I don’t utilize the ports to their fullest potential. I am also not shooting full blown magnums either, so I don’t need any additional braking. ThunderBeasts are supposedly very nice and light, but I could not source one when I purchased the KGM.

Hope that non-pithy perspective helps, Les.
 
Riceman - Sorry for the restrictions, but I guess you have one less thing to think about. I am very pleased with the Ultradyne brake on the 300 WSM. For now, I'm putting the suppressor on the back burner. Thank you all for the insights and I hope this thread has helped others.
 
Ultradyne brakes are great recoil reducers. Stays on target for seeing impacts too. Your really going to like it.
Put one on my 26n, what a difference between that and the ECtuner that was on it.
 
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