Joe W Gorman
Grizzly Gunworks has been manufacturing firearms parts since 2008. Owner Jeff Cox got his start as a tool and die maker and became popular at shooting ranges for his ability to recut chambers, and for being able to re-barrel and re-crown rifles.
These days, Grizzly Gunworks exclusively manufactures brakes for rifles, shotguns and pistols. I asked Jeff about his methodology for tuning brakes for rifles. He explained that he installs a brake, measures and records the recoil impulse in a lead sled and tunes the brake from there. He mentioned that his brakes must be effective and demonstrate no degradation of accuracy before they are put up for sale on the Grizzly Gunworks website.
I requested a Grizzy Gunworks brake for my Ruger-made 1895 Marlin SBL .45-70: Ghost Lite brake in matte stainless. This rifle is crazy accurate! It can shoot sub-2” groups with 325gr FTX Hornady ammunition from 200 yards and with me behind the trigger!
Easy to mount, easy to index, no gunsmith required! You’ll readjust your scope once mounted, but after that your shoulder will thank you.
It is also a relatively light-weight rifle and after denting about 10 primers of the 325gr FTX ammo, I was afraid the 11th shot might liberate my soul from my body. If the Grizzly Gunworks Ghost Lite brake could help keep me all together and not degrade the accuracy of my rifle what’s not to like?
Then it hit me; there’s no free lunch in physics. You can use a brake and it definitely reduces recoil but the byproduct is sound pressure. My Ruger SFAR rifles, for instance, have very effective brakes on them but, Good Lord, are they loud. My 1895 is my #1 deer getter and
I don’t really want to make more noise with my hunting rifle.
Let’s review the requirements for Joe to put a brake on his #1 deer rifle: The brake must be effective. The brake must not reduce accuracy. The brake must not cause the rifle to be significantly louder.
Recoil Reduction
Installing the Grizzly Gunworks Ghost Lite brake on my 1895, I instantly noticed the quality of the brake and the ease with which it was installed and timed, such that the solid side of the brake was at the bottom of the bore. The included locking nut secured the brake in position. The matte finish of the Ghost Lite is attractive and looks right at home on the SBL.
Using the Hornady 325gr FTX round as a baseline, I did in fact notice a decrease in the sharpness of the recoil impulse with the brake installed. I did not have to use nearly as much stock pressure to keep the scope out of my eyeball when shooting from a bench. I didn’t quantify this reduction of recoil, but I can say that I felt less recoil and what came back into my shoulder was more like a shove than a punch.
I am not sure how the brake works with a low-pressure cartridge like the .45-70 but I could feel less recoil, so it does work.
At the bench, from a Caldwell Tack Driver bag, the recoil from the Hornady 325 FTX load through a stock 1895 Marlin SBL can get to a guy after a while.
The GGW Ghost Lite can help.
Freedom From Accuracy Impact
Testing Hornady 250gr Monoflex and Hornady 325gr FTX ammunition, I quickly noticed a couple things about the effect of installing the Ghost Lite; the consistency of group sizes did not seem to be affected, and the point of impact was different. So that was good news. Every brake I’ve ever installed on any of my rifles has had an impact on the point of impact, so that’s the price of admission. I corrected for the POI change with scope adjustments.
Out to 200 yards, if I did my part, with the Ghost Lite installed I was still shooting MOA groups with the 1895 SBL with the brake installed! It doesn’t negatively affect accuracy, but you will need to re-zero after installation.
Author noticed a significant point of impact change after mounting the Ghost Lite brake. That is to be expected. The brake did not affect accuracy as this 3-shot, 1.2” group at 200 yards attests to.
Brake Blast/Noise
My first experience with just how much more noise is presented to the sides of a brake was in South Dakota when I approached some of my buddies who were prone on a hilltop shooting at prairie dogs. I was probably 25 yards from my buddy, and perpendicular to him, when he touched off a 6.5 Creedmoor from his Remington 700. Even at 25 yards, the blast was severe. The blast was much more concussive than I was accustomed to, from typical varmint rifles without brakes. For prairie dogs at 800 yards, no one really cared, but for deer hunting, being extra loud might ruin chances for a second shot with a .45-70.
As fate would have it, I have two 1895 SBL rifles on hand. Tee hee. As such, this test was easy. I had a friend first shoot the rifle without a brake, then using the same ammunition (Hornady 325gr FTX) fire the 1895 SBL with the Ghost Lite installed, while I stood off 50 yards perpendicular to his position. I did hear a bit of a difference in the sound, and it was in fact a bit louder. I am going to forgive the brake for this as it is the nature of brakes to trade recoil for noise and the SPL gain was nowhere near the I’d get if I added a brake to a 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun.
The Ghost Lite does add a bit of length to the rifle and does increase the noise a bit. It is a well made and effective brake for a .45-70 rifle. It also comes in 17 colors! Check them out.
Machined from 416 stainless, the Ghost Lite brake is a quality piece of kit. It definitely takes the edge off of stinging recoil.
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