rick_reno

Have you thought about getting it magna-ported? It'll preserve the barrel as is - and still give you good recoil reduction.

stubblejumper

I undergo hearing tests regularly at work.Over 25 years of hearing tests has shown no noticeable loss of hearing although I hunt without hearing protection.A member of our fish&game club used to say the same thing until he had a muzzle brake installed on his 300winmag.However one shot while hunting without hearing protection caused his ears to ring for several hours.Subsequent hearing tests over the past several years have shown that he has suffered permanent hearing loss as a result of that single shot.
The point is that MUZZLE BRAKES DRAMATICALLY INCREASE NOISE TO THE SHOOTER.The louder the noise the more likely the chance of hearing loss to the shooter.That is a fact.

Roskoe

Jeff - I agree with you in principal; but experience has been that, if the thread protector weighs very close to the same as the muzzle brake, its effect is generally minimal. I would, of course, recommend some testing both with and without - and sometimes its like two different barrels - but a majority of the time they are similar enough to be feasible. In my personal .300 Win Mag, with a 24" Hart 1:12, there is no difference.

Roskoe

Stubblejumper - I wished I had known this ten years ago. A half dozen or so shots with the muzzle brake under field conditions (without ear protection) has put me into the land of the hearing impaired. Ears ring all the time. Read lips in almost any situation where there is background noise (restaurants). A Belltone is in my future . . . .

handloader1

If you remove 2", you are going to land close to .338-06 velocities. A rule of thumb is any cartridge which holds over 70 grs. of powder can use a 26" barrel to efficently burn that large powder charge. You are burning as much as 76 grs. in some cases. If you install a muzzlebrake, just use a "Walkers Game Ear." Good luck.