Monday Gunday Product Review: Witt Machine Muzzle Brake for Mosin-Nagant 91/30

Back in March I received a Witt Machine Muzzle Brake (normally $85, but I got mine through a group-buy that only cost $55) for my now-infamous Mosin-Nagant 91/30. (Witt Machine also makes M44 brakes.)


Attachment
As you can see from the attached photos, this is not a cheap brake that clamps on with a single screw and will end up flying downrange after a few shots; this is a solidly machined piece of anodized aluminum that sockets onto the barrel exactly like a bayonet does, and is then further secured by no less than four screws.

The instructions also call for the user to further secure it in place with application of blue Loctite along the contact surfaces of the barrel. However, this was not ideal for me because 1) with the brake permanently mounted I could not fit it inside my longest rifle case, and 2) I still like the idea of being able to use my bayonet.

I remedied this by calling Witt Machine leaving a message with the receptionist. I received a call back from the president of the company (it turns out the receptionist is his wife), and when I explained the situation he said -- and I paraphrase here because it's been nearly a year -- "Yeah, it should be fine with just the socket and screws. That's how we test each of them before we ship them. The Loctite is just an extra layer of security. But if your brake fails, send it back and we'll replace it."

I am pleased to report that my muzzle brake has yet to fail, and I don't think it ever will, either.


Dimensions

Performance
This muzzle brake is supposed to reduce felt recoil and muzzle rise up to 70%. While I cannot accurately speculate as to how much recoil it reduces due to all the other recoil-reducing gimcrackery I have on my Mosin, I can tell you that it does indeed kick less. In a previous post I noted that Oleg Volk said I had managed to drop the recoil down to that of an AR-15.

I'm not sure if I would go quite that far. What I will claim, however, is that this brake eliminated nearly all of the twisting, bucking and jumping antics that drove me crazy. (No joke: every time I fired it, the rifle would jump up about an inch and 2-3 inches to the left. This made re-acquiring my target at 100 yards a severe annoyance.)


Cleaning
If you shoot corrosive surplus ammo, you know the importance of cleaning. One of the first things I thought when looking at this brake was "I bet all those vents and baffles make it a pain in the rear to clean."  I am pleased to say that I was completely wrong about this, and here's why: I can take the brake off and stick it under hot running water, or soak it in a pot of boiling water, or just spray the heck out of it with solvent. Then I just wipe it down, possibly apply some CLP to it, and it's ready to go again.

However, if you glued it to your barrel, you're probably not going to have a fun time.


My Rating: A+
I encourage every Mosin owner to get one of these. Not only does it help tame your beast to make it more fun to shoot, the brake is just as rugged as your rifle. It's easy to put on, easy to take off, and its multiple methods of securing it make it clear that its designer is serious about it not coming off during operation. The fact that it also has a 100% lifetime guarantee further demonstrates that the manufacturer believes in its reliability.

The brake mounted on a certain infamous 91/30.

Obligatory FTC Disclaimer: I bought this with my own money. Go away.