Letters - 09/97

High Praise for High Standard

As a very satisfied owner of older Hi-Standard handguns Model B and Field King, I was long overdue to upgrade to their new models. Helping push me over the edge was information from several of your recent articles measuring Hi-Standard performance. I ended up purchasing the Hi-Standard Victor.

It strikes me that your extensive test/measurements put you in a unique position to gauge and profile a gun manufacturer’s repair service. It seems as if there is no way for the average person to sense the commitment of the entire process of repair (i.e., repair authorization, repair estimate, turnaround, communication with customers, reliability of fix, etc.). Have you considered this?

My reasoning behind this letter is that due to a problem with my Victor soon after purchasing it, I had to send it in to the factory. The turnaround time was only a few days, and the service from Hi-Standard was phenomenal. If I had known this commitment to outstanding repair service existed at Hi-Standard, it would have been a major influence in my handgun-purchase decision.

-John Bailo
Ballston Lake, NY

Cleanliness Is
Next To Accuracy
I would like to see a piece on cleaning a weapon after coming home from the range. I would like to make sure I am not back in the stone age in that respect.

-Donald W. Killmeyer
Pittsburgh, PA

Ask, and you will eventually receive.

More On Muzzle Brakes
This letter is in response to the article which appeared on page 23 of the June 1997 issue, where a muzzle brake was desired on a varmint rifle to enhance the ability to stay on target so one can actually see the shot strike.

We make both silencers and muzzle brakes for law enforcement and qualified individuals. Some states restrict silencers, while none that I know of restrict muzzle brakes.

For a right-handed shooter, asymmetrical rearward reaction to the acceleration of both bullet and propellant gas forces the muzzle of a rifle to rotate up and to the right, around the shooter’s body mass. This usually takes the scope completely off the target. We’ve designed a brake with a single chamber and a single gas port. In a firearm like a .22-250, the port points up and slightly to the right. We need to permanently mount the brake then enlarge the port on a cut-and-try basis until we get it right. It is important to duplicate the actual load used and the position of the front bag or bipod. A generic brake that dumps propellant gas in all directions will not work. A brake specifically made for a right-handed or left-handed shooter is a must. The system works fairly well, but does not eliminate all recoil. The crosshairs don’t normally stay on the target, but one usually sees the bullet strike through a portion of the scope.

With regard to silencers, they serve to reduce both the sound-pressure level and the recoil impulse. I can usually see a bullet strike through a scope in any suppressed rifle from 7mm Mag on down. As well, most commercial silencers are good for at least a 30- dB reduction on the muzzle blast, whereas a muzzle brake increases the decibels by an average of 8 dB.

-Mark White
Pelham, AL