I am considering removing the AK74 muzzle brake from my bushmaster.  

Advice?  Suggestions?  Legality?

If I cannot remove it, can I trim the little brake some so that not as much noise is reflected back to me?

It is a postban, HBAR.  Nothing fancy.

TheRedGoat

Sell or trade the upper for the one you want.  Once you start cutting, even if you do it right, any resale value goes out the door.

Or, wear the muffs when hog hunting!  That brake is handy for the necessary quick followup shots.

You can remove the brake as long as the barrel length stays over 16 inches. Measure from muzzle to bolt face. Otherwise you have to register it as a SBR and pay the BATF tax.

Brakes on a .223 are a waste of money unless you fire full auto.

Quoted: Sell or trade the upper for the one you want.  Once you start cutting, even if you do it right, any resale value goes out the door. Or, wear the muffs when hog hunting!  That brake is handy for the necessary quick followup shots.

Good point on the sell or trade.  I forgot that cutting would shoot the resale value in the head.  

I am looking into earphones I can wear while hog hunting.  

Gonna be tough to find an earmuff to fill the bill.  Texas heat is horrible.  I will be filling them with sweat.  I tromp through some pretty bad mud, briars, brush while hunting so they must be durable.  

So far I have not needed earphones the entire time I was hunting.  I am probably going to go with the cheaper option of the stiff plastic headpiece with foam earplugs attached.  I don't think these will hang up on the briars as badly as the plastic string version.

I have used the old foam plugs on a plastic string a few times, but I left them behind (much to my dismay) on the very last hunt. They tend to get wrapped around limbs, drug off etc.

My right ear is still not completely back to normal after being semi-deafened from 20 rounds of rapid fire, so I gotta be looking at ways to prevent this from happening again.

Quoted: Sell or trade the upper for the one you want.  Once you start cutting, even if you do it right, any resale value goes out the door.

Listen to Chairborne.

TRG,
check out www.tapco.com they have a Bushmaster 74 type blast diverter for your gun, The part number is MB09001 and is on sale (at least in the latest catalog that I got two days ago) for the price of $4.99. I think that the diverter is on closeout though.

HTH
Karl

RG, check your IM.

a 20" barrel will cut down the noise.

Quoted: RG, check your IM.

Big Thanks, Don!

I think DonR might have put me on to the best/cheapest/easiest option.  Sonic II earplugs from Wal-Mart.  Going to check them out, but they sound ideal.

Thanks everyone!

TheRedGoat

You did not ask for this, but it relates...  I have worn hearing protection due to my work for many years, and my hobbies, shooting and R/C model aircraft.

The BEST earmuffs (not the active noise cancelling kind) are only good for about a 25-26 db cut.  Most are about 23 db.  

Most foam earplugs are good for at least 29 db, and many are rated 31 - 33 db.  These are what I usually use.

Very little is gained from putting muffs over earplugs, as after a certain sound level, more noise is conducted through the bones in the head, or through your mouth and up the eustacian tubes.

Noise cancellation technology is really coming along, and I would not be surprised to see some earplugs completely self contained soon.