Ok...now that I have my first muzzle brake, and have yet to fire it........

V

VaniB

New member
....am I screwed if I accidently leave a cleaning patch sitting caught up inside one of the holes that the .224 caliber 75 grain bullet passes through ?

I'll try to be carefull not to let such things happen, but the possibility of such an occurrence has entered my mind, and I was wondering what I could expect.
 
Well, wow......

Isn't this kinda' like asking "what if I leave a patch in my bore? Am I screwed??"

define screwed.......

And "leave a patch???" ..... this just isn't one of those things you "forget."

And there's only one hole that the bullet goes through.

My GUESS is that if you leave a patch in the brake probably nothing will happen except a puff of feathers. Maybe you'll put a swelling or ring in the brake (you'll never notice) and MAYBE the brake will fly into pieces from the encounter.

Depends on the brake, the patch and where it's positioned.

Now if you misplace a small animal in the brake all bets are OFF!

al
 
On one of our 105deg days I had a wet towel on my barrel. I didn't notice that it slipped over the muzzle. It snowed a lot and made a 5" group at 100yds. The next group was a .201. It didn't hurt it, but I would be very careful of anything in the bore.
Butch
 
alinwa said:
Well, wow......

Isn't this kinda' like asking "what if I leave a patch in my bore? Am I screwed??"


And "leave a patch???" ..... this just isn't one of those things you "forget."



al
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"Oh your a riot Alice. A real regular riot!"

Al, I don't know if you have ever owned a rifle with a muzzle brake like the Darrell Holland's that I have. But unlike a vais or some other designs, this Hollands brake is rather large with large open slots that will allow a patch to drop off into it.

Without a brake, it is hard for somebody NOT to push a small patch out of a 224 bore once it was administered into the barrel. It has nowhere to go but foward, and it will often simply fall out of the muzzle and onto the ground if you push it too far.

However, I foresee the possibility with this brake that a patch can be pushed out past the muzzle and gently get gently caught up at the first baffle hole. It would be fairly hidden well and out of view. Such an event might occurr when we are doing our usual cleaning regimen (which like vacuming the carpet, doesn't require a lot of genius and thought) Somebody or something can distract us long enough so we we just didn't notice the patch fell off into the brake. While this complete lapse of inattention is unlikely, never the less when we pushed the rod far enough out of the muzzle before the advent of a brake, the patch fell harmlessly to the ground. ....NOT SO now.

My definition of "screwed" is when you/and or your firearm suffer serious hurt. I'm under the distinct impression that if a patch was sitting loose at the mouth of a baffle orifice, the bullet would not be able to pass through it and the brake would be violently destroyed. Flying bullet fragments are a hazardous likelyhood. (ie; "screwed" )


....unless of course this stainless brake is strong enough to withstand a shattering bullet, and the fragments are safely directed out of the baffle holes away from you, and toward your fellow shooters instead. (sorry, I couldn't resist this attempt at humor)
 
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VaniB
I own a couple Holland brakes with the large collection chambers but with the small venting holes and you don't want to leave a patch in the big chamber.If the shot catches the patch you will probaly distort the brake then remove it with the next shot.
Bring a 12 inch long rod with you wrapped in black electrical tape and simply spin it off.
Also post back and let me know what you think of that new style brake if you would.I am thinking about building a real stomper and want the best brake possible on it.
Waterboy aka Lynn

Alinwa the brake he is talking about has a large expansion chamber on it but it also has those big fish gill baffles as well like a Serbu type brake.
 
ive been shooting the holland QD brake for a few years, and cant possible see how you would lose a patch in it. clean the barrel, then clean the brake. by the way, its a pretty effective brake.
 
Seems to me that when you put a patch in one end, you should expect to get the same patch out the other end. Sorta like, when you put a bullet in one end and it doesn't come out the other, it might be a good idea to see where it stopped before you stuff the next one in. If a person can't wrap their head around that concept it might be a good idea to reconsider the operation of things that go bang.

But then maybe that's just me.

Rick
 
I don't shoot that brake but I do have a couple of rifles with brakes and they sound similar. I know we are suppose to stop short of letting our rod drop out at the muzzle but on these two I just keep on pushing and let the patch fall out on a towell. I was careful about my rod and jag selection and I have seen no damage at close to 1000 rounds on one of those rifles.

The biggest problem for me wasn't the patch, it was getting in all those brake areas to clean out the "drippies" and crap I leave behind after cleaning. Never even thought about leaving a patch.
 
The concept of making sure a patch comes out the other end before firing another shot seems like a pretty common sense deal..... :rolleyes:
 
Patch???

Unless you've had your attention distracted by some little "honey" down the line, shouldn't your focus be on whether the patch comes out one end or the other??Stan-Share your sport:)
 
I can't figure out why in the world you would put a muzzle brake on a .223? Surely it is not to reduce recoil (what recoil?).
 
a patch can even get hung at the crown of a non- braked barrel. I make it a part of my routine to always wipe the blue scum off my crown after cleaning and part of my cleaning routine on muzzle brakes is to spray them with carb cleaner after the cleaning is over. it keeps that blue stuff from building up and also lets you see if anything is in it. just add that step and it should remind you to look.
 
Always wear a football helmet to protected from your fellow bench mates, most often you will have these troubles from fellow BR shooters to your left and right.:D

These problems are usually followed by statements about killing the dirty SOB with the brake.
 
Ok guys.....perhaps the sarcasm is well deserved as I likely over analyzed this. Perhaps because I am so use to much of the time letting the jag-tip to just clear the muzzle and allow the patch to fall off to the ground, I worried that I might allow this habit to prevail with a muzzle brake too.

I'm sure even with the distraction of the 3 kids at the table next to me trying to clear a jammed AR15, or somebody coming over to ask the usual "Whatcha got there?", it is unlikely that I would allow a hidden patch to remain in the brake.
 
VaniB said:
Ok guys.....perhaps the sarcasm is well deserved as I likely over analyzed this. Perhaps because I am so use to much of the time letting the jag-tip to just clear the muzzle and allow the patch to fall off to the ground, I worried that I might allow this habit to prevail with a muzzle brake too.

I'm sure even with the distraction of the 3 kids at the table next to me trying to clear a jammed AR15, or somebody coming over to ask the usual "Whatcha got there?", it is unlikely that I would allow a hidden patch to remain in the brake.
Click to expand...


And by the same token I may have under-analyzed it because I never let anything fall on the ground....... I'm even a little self conscious about letting the threads from my patches drop to the ground, in fact if you watch me clean you'll see me putting these threads into my pocket as I prep my patches for use. I reach out and catch each and every patch.

And gently guide the jag back into the crown.

And use the patch to clean up drips on the muzzle.

And carefully "read" the patch, looking at it and spreading it out to see what it says.

Not getting a patch back would be kinda' like taking a dump and turning to see........



nothing



:D






al
 
I have installed hundreds of brakes and I much prefer a threaded on brake that you can easily remove for cleaning the barrel... it makes cleaning so much easier...
 
Saw Tony Boyer shoot thru a patch hanging off the end of his barrel at a Super Shoot..........too late to tell him, the commence fire instructions had already been given.

Guess it can happen to anybody, he went on to win that tournament...................Don
 
alinwa said:
And by the same token I may have under-analyzed it because I never let anything fall on the ground....... I'm even a little self conscious about letting the threads from my patches drop to the ground, in fact if you watch me clean you'll see me putting these threads into my pocket as I prep my patches for use. I reach out and catch each and every patch.

And gently guide the jag back into the crown.

And use the patch to clean up drips on the muzzle.

And carefully "read" the patch, looking at it and spreading it out to see what it says.

Not getting a patch back would be kinda' like taking a dump and turning to see........



nothing



:D






al
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Dennis,

Thanks for the input. You are the second person to mention this on the thread. I was not aware that removing the muzzle brake could be an acceptable practice. I was under the impression that it is installed fairly tight with perhaps some loc-tite, and was not something that should be taken on and off the barrel. I'll at least take it off in my shop to get a feel for how it is installed, and if I would care to be removing it during cleaning relays at the range.

Lynn,

The MB is on my 22x47L rifle which is pushing a 75 grain 224 bullet at 3,400 FPS. It is similar in power to the Jaybird cartridge. Before I installed the MB, this 17 1/4 lb rifle still recoiled enough for me to lose the sight picture of impact. I'm sure now with this MB, the rifle will sit fairly still. But, I'll let you know in the next few days to what degree of just how efficient it proves to be.


Ok, Al.
If you must be persist in being analytical, you're starting an as*-wipe contest with a very anal guy;

Yes, I retrieve most of my patches to "read" them and see how the cleaning is progressing and what is or isn't still coming out of the bore. No, I don't retrieve the first patch swabbed through the dirty black bore for the reason that it is not a good idea to drag carbon deposits back through the bore. And just in case such matters concern you; yes, I do clean-up the few patches on the ground before leaving the range for the day.

And just for good measure; I am aware too that it is not a good idea to let the Dewey rod jag exit the muzzle and drop onto the bore. :p

But, I'm sure I still missed something. (??) Your turn.
 
removing a non indexed brake is one thing, you have an indexed brake. remove it once or twice and it will most likely not line back up anymore.
 
VaniB said:
....am I screwed if I accidently leave a cleaning patch sitting caught up inside one of the holes that the .224 caliber 75 grain bullet passes through ?

I'll try to be carefull not to let such things happen, but the possibility of such an occurrence has entered my mind, and I was wondering what I could expect.
Click to expand...

I don't think you would be as screwed as you would if you left your glasses in there.
 
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