when adding a break, should you cut the barrel or just add it on?
 

gonna get a break on my rifle and was wondderin should ya cut the barrel down or just add it on? the guy at the shop asked and i don know to say.

Before you have your break installed, contact an outfit like KDF for their opinion. Someone that is familiar with installing breaks will have an answer for you. Caliber and original barrel length will be considerations and should be addressed before you make any changes.

It would really depend on if you want to keep your original barrel length to maintain existing accuracy and end up with an overall longer rifle when done. Or if you would rather cut the barrel down to keep the rifle length down when done. From what I have seen a break will add about 4-8 inches to your rifle. I have never had one installed, but my brother in law did for his wife and I think he kind of went for middle of the road and had about 2 inches taken off to keep the overall length down for the finished product.

Depends on if you want the same overall barrel length or if you are willing to put up with the added length of the brake. The brake will add about 1 - 2 inches of over all length to your barrel depending on what brake is installed. So, if you don't cut the barrel down and you have a 24" barrel right now you will end up with about a 26" barrel. If you want to keep the same over all length to your barrel then you would want to cut the barrel the length of the brake.

What cartridge is this rifle chambered for?

Before you add a brake to your rifle ask yourself if you are prepared to wear hearing protection in the field.

IMO if you need a brake to shoot a rifle then you are over gunned.

On the topic of cutting the barrel back to install a brake, IMHO it depends on what caliber and what is it's intended use. Magnum cartridges for the most part will do better with longer tubes rather than shorter ones, this is to have a complete burn of the added powder involved.

If you have a magnum I would add the brake to the existing barrel. If using a standard cartridge you could remove some barrel length and the velocity loss will me minimal if you wanted to keep the OAL the same.

I would disagree with the idea of being "over gunned" if you want a brake on the end of the barrel.

I have recently cut two 26" barreled 308 win's back to 20 inches. It reduces some length and improves the balance a little too. With both of them I lost on average 70FPS which isnt much.

I just got done installing a Badger Thruster on this Savage after bobbing and recrowning. After shooting the rifle today I find that it barely moves and now I can see impacts without the use of a spotter if need be.

well i have a bar shorttrac in mossy oak breakup in 300short

http://www.browning.com/products/cat...31&type_id=328

I should qualify what I mean by that.

If you "need" a brake in order to comfortably and accurately shoot the rifle then you are over gunned and should be shooting a lighter recoiling cartridge. In other words... if a 300 magnum hurts then shoot a 30-06 instead of installing a brake.

There are definitely specific applications where a brake is a valuable addition to a rifle. Such as on a varmint rig or tactical rig where either seeing the bullet impact is important or reacquiring the target as quickly as possible.

On a general purpose hunting rifle, such as his, a brake is not a good idea imo.

i never said i needed a break to shoot. I asked if i should cut the barrel or leave it long. i am not askin advise on what gun to shoot, simply..cut or leave it long?

nice work, i hope they can re-camo the end of mine and make it look like that..

WTH are you talking about here? I think you were half baked when you wrote this.

Fact... past 300 yards +or- you are "lobbin" the bullet in no matter what cartridge you are shooting. There are a few exceptions but the vast majority of cartridges will need compensation past 300 yards.