A Data-Driven Approach To Precision Rifles, Optics & Gear
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Tag Archives: APA Fat Bastard

300 Norma Mag Custom ELR Rifle

300 Norma 338 Lapua Custom ELR Rifle

I’m sharing a series of posts on ELR shooting, but I didn’t want to jump from the long-range rifles in mid-size 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges that I normally talk about straight into the extreme, super-high-performance 375+ caliber rifles used to engage targets at 2+ miles. Instead of just presenting the extremes, I thought it’d be helpful to first share a rifle setup that is somewhere in between. Then in later posts I’ll get into the more specialized setups used to push the boundaries of what is possible with shoulder-fired rifles. In this post, I’ll share the details of a rifle ...

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Muzzle Brake: Summary of Field Test Results

Muzzle Brakes

This post summarizes the eye-opening results for the massive muzzle brake field test I’ve worked on the past few months. It included several objective tests to quantify the performance of 20+ muzzle brakes designed for precision rifles in 6mm through 30 caliber. My goal with this project was to equip fellow long-range shooters with as much hard data as I could reasonably gather, so they could make an informed buying decision for their application. I’ve already published ridiculously exhaustive details of each test, but I’ll try to sum it up in this post. This test focused on muzzle brakes designed ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Muzzle Blast & Ground Signature

Muzzle Brake Blast

Muzzle brake designs vary widely, and their blast pattern varies significantly as well. I wanted to capture the muzzle blast somehow to help you see the differences between the 20+ models in my field test. There is no established method for doing this, so I had to get creative. My first attempt was with a fog machine. Don’t laugh! My idea was to set up some high-speed cameras (one from above, another from the side), flood the area around the rifle with fog, then fire the rifle, and watch how the fog was dispersed. It was a bad idea. I ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Sound Test

Muzzle Brake Sound Test

I thought about these muzzle brake tests for over a year before I started this field test. We all know one of the biggest downsides of a muzzle brake is how loud they are. If you’ve shot more than a couple of these, you know some are much louder than others. So I naturally wanted to quantify how loud each model was, but it turns out that is much more complex than it may seem. Steve Adelmann (one of my favorite gun writers) explains the issues involved in quantifying the sound signature of a firearm: “When you compare decibel measurements ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Ability To Stay On Target

Best Muzzle Brake For Staying On Target

One important aspect of a muzzle brake is helping the rifle stay on target. In fact, I was discussing this muzzle brake test with David Tubb, a very accomplished rifleman, and he is convinced the ability to stay on target was the most important aspect of a muzzle brake. He thought a few percentage points difference in recoil reduction may not make a huge difference (or help you get more hits), but a brake that can keep you on target can be a big advantage. Staying on target not only allows quick follow-up shots, but more importantly for precision shooting, ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Recoil Reduction Results Summary

Best Muzzle Brakes

This post provides a comprehensive view of the muzzle brake recoil reduction data gathered on all 4 rifles. You can dive deeper into the recoil data in these posts: How The Data Was Collected 6mm & 6.5mm Recoil Results 308 & 300 Mag Recoil Results To recap, here is a look at the 4 cartridges and rifles used for the recoil tests: First, let’s look at how the recoil signature of each rifle was affected. The graphic below shows the amount of recoil force over time for each rifle, which was directly measured at the butt of the rifle. Each ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Recoil Results for 308 & 300 Magnum

308 Muzzle Brake & 300 Mag Muzzle Brake

This post summarizes the results for the recoil tests ran on 20+ muzzle brakes using two 30 caliber test rifles: the 308 Win and the monster 300 Norma Magnum. The recoil data was collected using high-speed, high-resolution force sensors. For more info on the test equipment and how the data was gathered, please see the recoil post. Here is the full line-up of muzzle brakes, and you can read more about each in this post. How to Read the Results As we discussed in the recoil post, when someone claims a product “reduces recoil by 50%” … it usually isn’t ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Recoil Results for 6mm & 6.5mm

6mm 6.5mm Muzzle Brake Rifle Recoil Results

This post summarizes the results for the recoil tests ran on 20+ muzzle brakes using 6mm and 6.5mm test rifles. To see the full line-up of muzzle brakes tested, check out this post. The recoil data was collected using high-speed, high-resolution force sensors. For more info on the test equipment and how the data was gathered, please see the previous post. How to Read the Results As we discussed in the last post, when someone claims a product “reduces recoil by 50%” … it usually isn’t clear what they’re talking about. Unfortunately, there is no industry standard for measuring recoil, ...

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Muzzle Brakes: Recoil Primer, Test Equipment & Rifles

Rifle Recoil Test Setup

This post provides a primer on recoil, and then explains how I measured recoil, including the approach and specific equipment used. It also reviews the rifles and cartridges tested. What do we mean by recoil? I’ve read a thick stack of articles and white papers on this subject, and suffice to say we can get pretty deep in the weeds if we weren’t careful. But, I’m going to try to keep it simple and on point. For our purpose, recoil is the rearward kick we feel when we fire a rifle. I’m less interested in the esoteric mathematics-based models (although ...

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