Can you put a muzzle brake on a Mosin?

Cyrano · 02-07-2008, 08:51 PM

I've run across what are described as muzzle brakes for Mosin Nagants here and there on the Internet. The ad info at the top always claims you can't mount one on the 91/30 - but farther down the page there will be a list of M-Ns the muzzle brake will fit, and the 91/30 is on it.

The claim is adding a muzzle brake will reduce felt recoil by 50% and muzzle blast by about the same, so it sounds worthwhile to me when I get my C&R and I can start buying at prices that won't cause me to kick holes in the wall, the way the prices on M-Ns here do. But how hard are they to install? And do they live up to the hype?

texnmidwest · 02-07-2008, 08:58 PM

I posted the same question a while back when I was thinking same as you and what they all told me was that the muzzle brakes that bolt on are not worth it. They scratch the muzzle and have been known to go flying down range after a shot. Sounds good in theory but from what them thats knows they say it not a good idea. Some said that a good slip on butt pad would do the same for felt recoil as a muzzle brake.

No experience. Just info gleaned from what they told me.

SwedeSteve · 02-07-2008, 09:30 PM

Tex is right on the money! I bet most here won't 'fess up and admit they bought one. The only muzzle brake that will hang on to a Mosin, is one that is siversoldered on or threaded! Do yourself a favor, buy a slip on LimbSavr buttpad, or a PAST doohickey that straps on your body. Personally, I just grit me teeth, and remember when I touched off my Granpappy's .54 cal hawkins! Yeeeee-Haaaaaw! You only get one ride!

bigbuddy21 · 02-07-2008, 10:00 PM

^ +1 what swedesteve said.

marion57 · 02-08-2008, 12:06 AM

They seem to work good for the first shot then you have to go find it down range LOL.. buy a slip on recoil pad I have one on each mosin

SwedeSteve · 02-08-2008, 11:23 AM

Marion- Do they fit the buttstock well? I have a leather one that fits OK.

tmfun · 02-10-2008, 03:13 AM

I have a Remington 870 that has been "Vang Comped" ie; chambered and ported. Didn't seem to make much difference but it looks cool.

Hey,Mosins don't kick that hard. Do some shoulder exercises. My Remington with mag loads kicks a lot harder than the Mosins. Be a man! You don't need no stinkin muzzle break!

roadie · 02-10-2008, 05:29 AM

I agree, those muxxel breaks that attach via set screw are crap, I put one on my 22 just for the looks and it flew off after about 100 rds, no matter how tight I made it...so I sent it back.

gandog56 · 02-10-2008, 06:55 AM

I just don't think my 91/30 kicks that bad.

Philip · 02-10-2008, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwedeSteve

Tex is right on the money! I bet most here won't 'fess up and admit they bought one. The only muzzle brake that will hang on to a Mosin, is one that is siversoldered on or threaded! Do yourself a favor, buy a slip on LimbSavr buttpad, or a PAST doohickey that straps on your body. Personally, I just grit me teeth, and remember when I touched off my Granpappy's .54 cal hawkins! Yeeeee-Haaaaaw! You only get one ride!

tee hee hee

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadie

I agree, those muxxel breaks that attach via set screw are crap, I put one on my 22 just for the looks and it flew off after about 100 rds, no matter how tight I made it...so I sent it back.

what i think is funny is there is about 10 different kinds of muzzle breaks you can get for a 10/22!! i was looking in the new midway usa catalog, and could not help myself from laughing at the claim -- "50% less felt recoil" so, you need one of these if you have extremely advanced osteoperosis? you would have a hard time squishing the bugs around here with the recoil from a .22!

Cyrano · 02-10-2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip

tee hee hee

"50% less felt recoil" so, you need one of these if you have extremely advanced osteoperosis?

As a matter of fact, I broke my right shoulder a number of years back (stellate fracture at the point of the shoulder, second time in my life in the same place since I did it as a kid too), the doctors couldn't do anything for it, and it hasn't been right ever since. I'm in constant pain from it right where my buttplates snuggle in. (Fortunately, Aleve handles the pain, though it does nothing for the mobility.) It can handle the recoil from my SKS or an M-1 Carbine okay, but I'll ache for days if I fire a 2 3/4" 12-gauge standard load from a shotgun with no recoil pad. I've heard folks on this forum say that the 7.62x54R round out of a Mosin is in that league in terms of felt recoil, so I need to find a way to deal with the felt recoil before I spend the money to contract Mosinitis. And then there are the other .30 cal type military rifles i want to acquire and shoot....

I like the idea of the lace-on recoil pads. Where do you find them and how much do they cost?

As far as collecting, I realistically expect to have some in milspec condition brought back as far as I can, and one or two shooters.

For a shooter, I would have no problem having a smith weld a muzzle brake into place, if they really work. (I also want to get one and configure it as a sporter for hunting, with a synthetic stock and probably a scout scope, perhaps with those accordian-pleat dinguses that attach to the scope and run back over the action to your eye because you don't have to drill and tap to mount them. I have a hard time using scout scopes for some reason.) So the question is, do they really work are are they bull-hype?

texnmidwest · 02-10-2008, 12:17 PM

CY, I am sorry for the pain you feel. I shot sporting clays with a guy who was in a bad car accident. Did about the same damage to his shoulder. Not sure about the correct term for this but he put a shock absorber type recoil pad on his 12g. I shot it and it was like I was shooting a 22. They cost a lot. Last I checked they were around $300 installed. But it allowed him to keep shooting competitive clays with out killing himself with the pain.

Muzzle brakes do work. But it sounds like from the forum that the best way to go is to have the muzzle threaded for a good brake. The thing wont work if it won't stay on.

marion57 · 02-10-2008, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwedeSteve

Marion- Do they fit the buttstock well? I have a leather one that fits OK.

I buy the small size as they come in s m l

just_a_car · 02-10-2008, 09:15 PM

The one that did it for me was the Limbsaver® Slip-On Recoil Pad. It's a rubber-type material and I've had it on my 91/30 ex-sniper, "Bethany", ever since I put it on. It makes the recoil "nice" and it makes the length of pull just right for me. The small one (there's a medium and a large) fit the Mosins, but will appear to not fully fill-in at the top where the buttplate is flat; it's not a problem. Also, I've had no issues with corrosion, water, or stock discoloration underneath the pad in the year(s?) I've had it on there.

Cyrano · 02-10-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texnmidwest

Muzzle brakes do work. But it sounds like from the forum that the best way to go is to have the muzzle threaded for a good brake. The thing wont work if it won't stay on.

Tex, y'all have to remember I live in New York, with that idiotic Patacki Gun Ban (the New York version of the Slick Willy Gun Ban, without the sunset clause, damn him to hell) to contend with. They have a problem with threaded barrels. They also have a problem with aftermarket compensators, though not with muzzle brakes. (I won't tell them there's no difference if you won't!) That's why I mentioned welding a muzzle brake on. Perhaps the ding-dongs wouldn't have a trouble if the muzzle was threaded so the brake could be screwed into place and then welded permanently into place? Or could I get the same result by clamping it into place and then welding it on, without threading it first?

Maybe I should ask seabeescotty; he's a gunsmith. Or cetmedog, ditto. But I'd like to hear what folks who shoot the Mosin think about the idea before I add a permanent muzzle brake to my Zen Mosin or bother smiths who have better things to do with a stupid idea/question. (As I've said, around here the gunshops want $150 - $200 for examples that rate no better than NRA Good [and often no better than Fair], and $50 transfer fees if I order one from out of town. I'm willing to wait if I have to until my C&R license comes through before I join the Mosinitis Club.)

billy · 02-10-2008, 10:49 PM

i bought a slip on pad and swap it to whichever one i am shooting.
i like to bench shoot and they seem to kick more that way.

texnmidwest · 02-11-2008, 07:00 AM

Cy, I hope that Scotty, Moose or one of the other gunsmiths chimes in. When I read your post above I started to understand more about what you were talking about. The idea did cross my mind about magnaporting. As you know it is slots cut into the barrel to divert gases instead of adding it onto the muzzle. No threading or welding needed. Not sure how that would fit into the New York gun ban. Have you looked into that?

Cyrano · 02-11-2008, 12:34 PM

New York has no trouble with magnaporting. The legislature has a problem with threading the barrel.

You have to remember that most of them, just like Slick Willy and his Clintonistas, know less about firearms than they do about fornicating. Everything they know about shooting they learned from watching the movies.

It never occurred to them to ask why one might need or want a threaded barrel on a firearm. Because they mostly aren't shooters themselves, the only reason they could come up with for threading a gun barrel was to put a silencer on it. They thought that every shooter is a potential assassin, I suppose. And because the only firearms they could think of that might use threads for some other purpose, like hiding the flash (which as far as I can tell, they thought meant hiding the flash from the target, which is impossible) were evil assault rifles like the M-16 and AK-47, they banned flash-hiders and compensators, which they were told did the same thing. In other words, they thought with the little head and not the big head. And because all the really good compensators screw onto the rifle, they put a ban on threading the barrels as a way to insure someone would not find a work-around!

The only reason they didn't include muzzle brakes in the ban was they did not realize for practical purposes a muzzle brake is a kind of compensator. It just compensates for recoil instead of muzzle climb. Or perhaps they did (though I doubt it) and decided a compensator that worked fore and aft was okay, while one that worked up and down wasn't.

Hey, it's lawmakers we are talking about here. Nowhere is it written that what they do has to make sense!

lefty o · 02-11-2008, 12:46 PM

you can have the muzzle threaded, install the brake, and silver solder it in place. wlding puts too much heat into the barrel for my taste.

Cyrano · 02-11-2008, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lefty o

you can have the muzzle threaded, install the brake, and silver solder it in place. wlding puts too much heat into the barrel for my taste.

As long as it locks the muzzle brake down I have nothing against using silver solder and sweating it into place. Or could it be done with something like Loc-Tite? I used that on the oil filter studs of my VW Thing because a previous owner had buggered up the studs and stripped one, requiring it to be replaced by a larger one. I Loc-Tited them all into place and used the nuts that came with it, and it worked fine for as long as I had the Thing.

An auto engine gets hotter for longer periods than a bolt-action rifle. Would Loc-Tite work to lock the muzzle brake on, do you think?

02-07-2008, 08:51 PM	#1
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,356	Can you put a muzzle brake on a Mosin? I've run across what are described as muzzle brakes for Mosin Nagants here and there on the Internet. The ad info at the top always claims you can't mount one on the 91/30 - but farther down the page there will be a list of M-Ns the muzzle brake will fit, and the 91/30 is on it. The claim is adding a muzzle brake will reduce felt recoil by 50% and muzzle blast by about the same, so it sounds worthwhile to me when I get my C&R and I can start buying at prices that won't cause me to kick holes in the wall, the way the prices on M-Ns here do. But how hard are they to install? And do they live up to the hype?

02-07-2008, 08:58 PM	#2
texnmidwest Listen to yur Inner Hippo Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South east Wisconsin Posts: 3,443	I posted the same question a while back when I was thinking same as you and what they all told me was that the muzzle brakes that bolt on are not worth it. They scratch the muzzle and have been known to go flying down range after a shot. Sounds good in theory but from what them thats knows they say it not a good idea. Some said that a good slip on butt pad would do the same for felt recoil as a muzzle brake. No experience. Just info gleaned from what they told me. __________________ "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (If all else fails play dead)

02-07-2008, 09:30 PM	#3
SwedeSteve Thor's Hammer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alaska Posts: 10,347 Images: 1	Tex is right on the money! I bet most here won't 'fess up and admit they bought one. The only muzzle brake that will hang on to a Mosin, is one that is siversoldered on or threaded! Do yourself a favor, buy a slip on LimbSavr buttpad, or a PAST doohickey that straps on your body. Personally, I just grit me teeth, and remember when I touched off my Granpappy's .54 cal hawkins! Yeeeee-Haaaaaw! You only get one ride! __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

02-07-2008, 10:00 PM	#4
bigbuddy21 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: new albany in. Posts: 974 Images: 5	^ +1 what swedesteve said. __________________ LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!

02-08-2008, 11:23 AM	#6
SwedeSteve Thor's Hammer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alaska Posts: 10,347 Images: 1	Marion- Do they fit the buttstock well? I have a leather one that fits OK. __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

02-08-2008, 12:06 AM	#5
marion57 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 2,880	They seem to work good for the first shot then you have to go find it down range LOL.. buy a slip on recoil pad I have one on each mosin

02-10-2008, 03:13 AM	#7
tmfun Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 69	I have a Remington 870 that has been "Vang Comped" ie; chambered and ported. Didn't seem to make much difference but it looks cool. Hey,Mosins don't kick that hard. Do some shoulder exercises. My Remington with mag loads kicks a lot harder than the Mosins. Be a man! You don't need no stinkin muzzle break!

02-10-2008, 05:29 AM	#8
roadie Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 634 Images: 10 Blog Entries: 1	I agree, those muxxel breaks that attach via set screw are crap, I put one on my 22 just for the looks and it flew off after about 100 rds, no matter how tight I made it...so I sent it back. __________________ Blaming guns for violent acts is like blaming the keyboard for your poor spelling.

02-10-2008, 06:55 AM	#9
gandog56 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Montgomery, IL. Posts: 4,307	I just don't think my 91/30 kicks that bad.

02-10-2008, 12:17 PM	#12
texnmidwest Listen to yur Inner Hippo Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South east Wisconsin Posts: 3,443	CY, I am sorry for the pain you feel. I shot sporting clays with a guy who was in a bad car accident. Did about the same damage to his shoulder. Not sure about the correct term for this but he put a shock absorber type recoil pad on his 12g. I shot it and it was like I was shooting a 22. They cost a lot. Last I checked they were around $300 installed. But it allowed him to keep shooting competitive clays with out killing himself with the pain. Muzzle brakes do work. But it sounds like from the forum that the best way to go is to have the muzzle threaded for a good brake. The thing wont work if it won't stay on. __________________ "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (If all else fails play dead)

02-10-2008, 09:15 PM	#14
just_a_car Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Edmonds, WA Posts: 3,521	The one that did it for me was the Limbsaver® Slip-On Recoil Pad. It's a rubber-type material and I've had it on my 91/30 ex-sniper, "Bethany", ever since I put it on. It makes the recoil "nice" and it makes the length of pull just right for me. The small one (there's a medium and a large) fit the Mosins, but will appear to not fully fill-in at the top where the buttplate is flat; it's not a problem. Also, I've had no issues with corrosion, water, or stock discoloration underneath the pad in the year(s?) I've had it on there. __________________

02-10-2008, 10:49 PM	#16
billy spiritual counselor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 12,106 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 146	i bought a slip on pad and swap it to whichever one i am shooting. i like to bench shoot and they seem to kick more that way. __________________

02-11-2008, 07:00 AM	#17
texnmidwest Listen to yur Inner Hippo Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South east Wisconsin Posts: 3,443	Cy, I hope that Scotty, Moose or one of the other gunsmiths chimes in. When I read your post above I started to understand more about what you were talking about. The idea did cross my mind about magnaporting. As you know it is slots cut into the barrel to divert gases instead of adding it onto the muzzle. No threading or welding needed. Not sure how that would fit into the New York gun ban. Have you looked into that? __________________ "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (If all else fails play dead)

02-11-2008, 12:34 PM	#18
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,356	New York has no trouble with magnaporting. The legislature has a problem with threading the barrel. You have to remember that most of them, just like Slick Willy and his Clintonistas, know less about firearms than they do about fornicating. Everything they know about shooting they learned from watching the movies. It never occurred to them to ask why one might need or want a threaded barrel on a firearm. Because they mostly aren't shooters themselves, the only reason they could come up with for threading a gun barrel was to put a silencer on it. They thought that every shooter is a potential assassin, I suppose. And because the only firearms they could think of that might use threads for some other purpose, like hiding the flash (which as far as I can tell, they thought meant hiding the flash from the target, which is impossible) were evil assault rifles like the M-16 and AK-47, they banned flash-hiders and compensators, which they were told did the same thing. In other words, they thought with the little head and not the big head. And because all the really good compensators screw onto the rifle, they put a ban on threading the barrels as a way to insure someone would not find a work-around! The only reason they didn't include muzzle brakes in the ban was they did not realize for practical purposes a muzzle brake is a kind of compensator. It just compensates for recoil instead of muzzle climb. Or perhaps they did (though I doubt it) and decided a compensator that worked fore and aft was okay, while one that worked up and down wasn't. Hey, it's lawmakers we are talking about here. Nowhere is it written that what they do has to make sense!

02-11-2008, 12:46 PM	#19
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 4,797	you can have the muzzle threaded, install the brake, and silver solder it in place. wlding puts too much heat into the barrel for my taste.