OUTDOORS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Community Health Beat
Dale Valade/Contributed Photo
The Allterra Arms .22 Creedmoor comes standard with a muzzle
brake.
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
Do you need a
muzzle brake?
.243 Winchester. Its recoil
s I have written
here before, the
energy with 100-grain bul-
first muzzle brake I
lets in a 7-pound rifle is
had ever encountered was
approximately 11 pounds.
attached to the end of Bob
The aforementioned .338
Hansen’s .338 Winchester
Winchester Magnum fir-
Magnum. Bob was a fam-
ing 225-grain bullets in a
ily friend who used to hunt
9-pound rifle is 33 pounds,
elk with us annually, God
or three times that of the
rest his soul. When Bob
shot that rifle, it seemingly
.243 Winchester!
measured on the
Individual rifles
Richter scale. Its
are very much a law
lightweight design
unto themselves,
would’ve pro-
even where recoil is
vided inquisitional
concerned. Both my
amounts of recoil
.308 and my .270
sans the BOSS
feel to me like they
muzzle brake.
Dale Valade
Bob’s rifle certainly
kick more than my
needed a muzzle brake.
.30-06, for example. I’ve
While living in Idaho,
fired .338s that seemed to
I frequently repaired to an
kick less than .300 Mag-
informal shooting area on
nums. Lightweight guns
the outskirts of Ammon,
paired with heavyweight
about 20 minutes away
from my home. One day, as calibers are typically a rec-
I was leaving, another vehi- ipe for excessive recoil. If
your latest smokepole isn’t
cle arrived with a couple
who, seeing me packing up
grouping like it should, it
to leave, began to unload
may be due to a case of
their shooting possibles.
flinch-itis.
Among the items they
My personal recoil
placed on the table was a
threshold
for guns need-
.22 rimfire rifle. After we
ing
a
muzzle
brake begins
talked a minute, it was pre-
somewhere
in
the .300
sented for my inspection.
Magnums. And as I’ve said,
There, on the muzzle, was
a muzzle brake. On a rim-
it varies from gun to gun.
fire. “But it looks so cool,”
My father’s .300 WSM
he quipped. It was a good
kicks about like a .30-
thing I was wearing sun-
06, which to me is accept-
glasses as my eyes reflex-
able and manageable. The
ively rolled back into the
.300 WSM I used to have
darkest portions of my
seemed to kick more like a
head as I handed it back to
.375 Magnum, regardless
him and quickly made my
retreat.
of the loads I used. I would
Not all guns need a muz- get migraines from shooting
zle brake. Throw all the
it, a sensation I had never
tomatoes you want, it’s sim- before experienced. Rather
ply not necessary. Unless
than install a brake, I sent
you’re always wearing ear
it down the road; a brake
protection — which when
would’ve been the only way
hunting is impossible — a
muzzle brake can cause tin- for me to shoot it accurately
as it had me buffaloed.
nitus to both shooters and
bystanders as they amplify
If you’ve exhausted
the report and concussion
yourself in several boxes of
of an already loud noise. To ammunition worth of pain-
put such a thing on any rifle ful beating on a bench rest
simply “because it looks
cool” is an identifying mark trying to get your rifle to
shoot, it may be time to talk
of someone suffering from
to your gunsmith about get-
Cranial Excreta and treat-
ting a brake installed. Just
ment should be sought
forthwith.
please don’t do it for the
Some guns absolutely
aesthetic. You’ll be saving
NEED a muzzle brake! I
a bunch of your gun-lov-
recently fired a friend’s
ing buddies from hav-
.500 S&W Magnum pis-
ing to schedule a trip to
tol and could not imagine
the optometrist to get their
doing so without the inte-
eyes unrolled. Ultimately,
gral porting in the barrel,
though, it’s still your call.
sort of a factory-machined
muzzle brake. Noise pol-
Do you use a muzzle
lution notwithstanding, the
brake? Write to us at shoo-
muzzle brake is the most
tingthebreezebme@gmail.
effective way of reduc-
com and check us out on
ing recoil. Whatever your
Facebook!
recoil tolerances, a quality
Dale Valade is a local
brake will typically lessen
country gent with a love for
the recoil of any rifle by
the outdoors, handloading,
40-65%.
hunting and shooting.
Take, for example, the
A
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AW
Featuring:
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•
•
•
Roofing
• General Construction
Remodeling
Fences
Decks
Storage Sheds
Andy Wolfer
541-910-6609
and
Much
More!
CCB#186113
What's new at BMHD?
New Providers
now
ow seeing patients:
Gillian Seton, M.D. General Surgeon. General surgeries &
diagnostic colonoscopies. Contact your primary care provider for
a referral.
Charlie Price, D.O Now seeing patients of all ages for general and
family medicine needs. Call 541-575-0404.
Saturday
y Same Day
Appointments
Appoi ntments
Available for sudden, non-emergent symptoms.
Dates: September 10th & 17th
8am - 4pm
Call to schedule 541-575-0404
Dine & Walk with a Doc
Join us for a complementary catered meal from Taco Co while you
enjoy a talk from Dr. Sickler. After we eat, we’ll take a walk around
beautiful 7th Street Complex.
What Time: Dinner will begin at 5:30pm by the duck pond and a
walk around the complex will follow.
When: September 13th
This is a FREE event and people of all ages are invited!
We're Hiring!
Recruiter | Human Resources - (Full Time)
Activities Director | Care Center - (Full Time)
Nurse Informaticist | Hospital - (Full Time)
Receptionist | Clinic - (Full Time)
Director of Infection Control - (Full Time)
Many other full-time, part-time & casual positions open,
visit our website for more information & to apply.
Strut, Stride, Straddle & Stroll
&
Hilton Half Marathon
Saturday, September 10th, 2022
4 mile, 6 mile, 13 mile bike ride,
1.5 mile walk, & half marathon.
Registration form available on our website:
www.bluemountainhospital.org
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