EC Tuner Brake Review

Hi everyone...using this in a match tomorrow and thought I'd give you an overview of it and some groups. Enjoy!
00:00 Intro
01:30 Mounting
02:50 EC Tuner Brake vs. Sidewinder
09:05 500 yard shots
10:15 850 yard shots
11:50 Final Thoughts
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[@barrygrant2907]

Great review. I've been following Erik during his efforts to produce this item. He really wants to give his customers the best tuners and tuner brakes possible.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Barry! I was a bit skeptic to be honest, but the groups don't lie. I did pretty bad at the match today, but it was me and not my equipment...You know, you practice on Wednesday and shoot lights out. That buzzer goes off on Saturday and you shoot like cr@p! Oh well, at least now I know what I did wrong and I'll work on it for the next match. Hey thanks for the kind words my friend and thanks for watching!

[@ErikCortina]

Thank you for your support and review.

[@The4GunGuy]

Thanks Eric! Great product and looking forward to more!

[@ErikCortina]

@@The4GunGuy Shoot me an email please.

[@user-kv4kw5dx8n]

You mentioned one of the brakes coming loose all the time. That would most certainly effect accuracy. If the angle of the brake changes on the barrel, it would vent gas unevenly. If it is moving, it would be inconsistent in where the extra venting is occurring. I had a flash hider that had the crush washer unevenly crushed resulting in angling the flash hider. When ever it was removed for cleaning, it was getting reinstalled in a different orientation. It most certainly moved the point of impact.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Robert! Totally agree with that analysis and it's why I now and finally have decided to use ONLY Area419 muzzle brakes because of how they mount to the barrel...I've NEVER had a Hellfire or Sidewinder come loose. Thanks for watching another one my friend!

[@johnfrederikson2002]

Great review; thanks for doing such a comprehensive and straight forward review. Thank you. J.

[@The4GunGuy]

Thanks for the kind words and for watching John!!

[@cedricmendoza1305]

eric cortina is just gettin started . all products he sells work amazing. best brake in the business!

[@Rons-yz5qt]

Thanks! Wish you had shot a few groups at 100 to replicate the .125 (best) group. Thanks again. Seriously considering getting one.

[@fpip5233]

As usual great job 4 Gun. Thanks

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey F Pip! Thanks for the kind words and for watching my friend! Shoot straight!

[@davidsalsedo6765]

Thank you for the honest review Love your channel Keep making vids!!

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey David! Thanks for the kind words my friend! I love making these and try to be as honest as possible.

[@davidsalsedo6765]

You nailed it!

[@ronnydowdy7432]

I follow Eric and he wants to make his product to the highest standards. Thank you for your time and the information you shared. Good luck with your competition

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Ronny! I've been in contact with Erik and told him how much I really liked his build quality. It takes a shooter, and one with a track record to know and understand what we need and I think he understands that. The other thing I like is that he prices his products fairly and for the majority of us "regular" shooters. Thanks for watching and your kind words my friend!

[@ronnydowdy7432]

@@The4GunGuy I didn't know about your channel until today. I have subscribed to you're show and look forward to your content and sharing knowledge.

[@The4GunGuy]

@@ronnydowdy7432 Thanks for the subscribe Ronny! I really appreciate it!

[@Sanwizard1]

Very nice review!

[@tonypiperato2944]

Thank you Sanwizar1!!

[@johncloepfil2266]

Like your videos very much. Noticed the husker cup. Was wondering if your from Nebraska. Iowa here.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi John! I grew up in Northern California, but have been a Texan now for over 30 years. When I was a kid I watched Big Red roll over defenses with that power running game and just adopted them as my college team. Was able to attend a game in person a while back and what an experience! Hopefully they'll get that old glory back some day! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@sf2189]

Great video and groupings. They actually have a new 4 port Hellfire that has been reconfigured to reduce recoil even further. Also not as fat as a Sidewinder.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey S F! Yeah, I just love that Sidewinder and would have probably looked at that Hellfire if I hadn't gone to the tuner brake. I'm sure we'll see one coming out from Area 419 once the EC takes some of their market share...Ain't competition great! Thanks for the kind words my friend!

[@MatthewsFabrication]

Great video

[@The4GunGuy]

Thanks!

[@davejones3923]

Good information I am thinking of getting one

[@The4GunGuy]

HI Dave! Thanks for watching! The tuner really does work.

[@davejones3923]

@@The4GunGuy would the tuner work just as well on a 16 inch barrel? I have a CZ 457 At One and thinking of ordering a longer barrel

[@The4GunGuy]

@@davejones3923 I don't see why not. The tuner basically adjusts and dampens the harmonics of the barrel, so it should do that no matter the length.

[@davejones3923]

@@The4GunGuy thanks for the reply

[@donaldcostello8312]

Great video as always, ordered two EC tuners i will let you know how i like them Donald.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Donald! Glad I was able to give you some information to base your decision on and thanks for watching as always my friend!

[@raywang6528]

Great video! Just received my ec tuner brake. Can't wait to try it out. Out of curiosity, what load are you using for the 140 eldm?

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey Ray! Thanks for the great feedback. I use H4350 powder and Forty One Point One grains. I'm actually going to look at going to Forty One Point Three grains and get my velocity up another 20 fps. Spelling it out for a reason :). Thanks for the great feedback and good luck on your tuning...Let us know how it turns out.

[@davidschmidt5810]

Thanks for the review. I would have loved to see a paper target at distance. A two MOA plate only gives you so much. I’m sure the tuner works well. I’m thinking about one for my Fclass rifle.

[@rdsii64]

Be careful. Last I checked, you can't use a brake in F-class.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi David! Yeah, paper at distance is a bit tricky at our range. I'd like to do that test as well, but will need some dry days and get there real early to get permission to go say 500 yds downrange, which is the limit that I would drive there. If I do that I'll post it for sure. Also, per rdsii64 below and per www.ssusa.org/articles/2016/12/15/getting-started-in-f-class-competition/ muzzle brakes are not allowed. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@ErikCortina]

@@The4GunGuy If you ever wanted to try F-Class with your rifle, you can simply pull the brake off and install the tuner from the brake on the barrel. It’s threaded 5/8-24 as well. 😉

[@The4GunGuy]

@@ErikCortina Man Eric, you're reading my mind! I'd LOVE to try F-Class even with the rifle I have now. Gonna have to invest in a good front rest, so I'll have to save up for that. Thanks for the info and encouragement Eric...Really appreciate it!

[@johnkrol5917]

Put one on my ar 6.5 cm platform. Tamed it right down and shooting close to quarter moa now with it. Ended up on #3 on the tuner.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey John! Nice to hear. Yeah, I'm happy with it and am going to try not to mess with it too much...You know, we tend to tinker when we don't need to! Thanks for watching!

[@paullavallee1631]

I get 1/2 minute groups with my Model 70 Winchester featherweight with the BOSS barrel tuner, I swear by them

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Paul! Yep, any tuner will get you good results is my opinion. In the end, we're simply tuning the barrel and it shouldn't really matter what we use to do it. I like the idea of this combination although, I no longer use a tuner on my centerfire since I went to a 1.25" straight barrel. Glad you found what works for you and your rifle, and thanks for watching my friend!

[@oif3vetk9]

I have one waiting to go on a 6mm ARC gas gun "build". (waiting on the upper from atheris) Going to start out doing the barrel break in with factory 105gr bthp factory loads and factory brake but once it's broke in I want to switch and see what happens using the EC tuner. Then go back to zero with the tuner and try it with the 108 gr eld-m's. (also factory loads) Should be interesting all the way around considering I'm going from .308 out of a M1A to 6mm in a AR. (Yeah, shooting PRS with a M1A. It's a challenge for sure. lol)

[@garrytalley8009]

Very nice video. BTW gunsmithing is required for all of us without threaded barrels. I have some brakes on some of my rifles with non common threads. I do have a few AR's that would work with these brakes but I am ready to at least have a gunsmith thread my heavy barrelled 6.5 Creedmoor to try out one of Erics brakes. I am sure they work. No skeptic here. Not sure how well the brake part will be because I do prefer the brakes I have on some of my other rifles. The combination of the two would be nice though to tighten up the groups. I usually just hunt and get my groups under an inch at a hundred yards, but the tighter the better. Thanks again for a great video.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey Garry! Thanks for the great feedback! I was using the Area 419 muzzle brake and absolutely loved it. But I did find better grouping with the Tuner Brake...Not much, but better. And the brake on this thing really does work. To your point, if you're only hunting out to say 500 yards and an MOA or even slightly better sub-MOA group is your goal, not sure you'd get the total benefit from this tuner brake. Thanks for watching Garry and shoot straight my friend!

[@garrytalley8009]

@@The4GunGuy Since my last reply I have purchased a 6.5 PRC Tactical and have finally got reloading components like brass and bullets and am getting started on a more precision game. I will be getting the EC-Tuner sometime in the near future. I am still getting it broke in and fire forming some brass at the same time. I want it broke in with at least 100 rounds through it before I start messing around with a tuner brake anyway. I did very much enjoy your video. I don't shoot volumes of bullets. I usually get good loads in short order for under sub-MOA. I am just trying to up my game for better accuracy. My best rifle is a 300 Win Mag Sendero that shoots 2.75 inch 5 shot groups at 300 yds. That's shabby next to yours. But I am shooting for the tighter stuff with my new 6.5 PRC. Thanks again for your video.

[@The4GunGuy]

@@garrytalley8009 Hey Garry! Glad to hear it's all coming together! Hey, 2.75" at 300 yards is STILL sub MOA my friend and that's a heck of a feat with a 300 win mag! Keep us all up to date on progress!

[@markthilenius5533]

If your rifle is zeroed at 100 yds without the ec tuner break how much does your point of impact change after putting on the tuner break or just the sidewinder break. Great video to the point well done

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Mark! I already had it zeroed with a regular brake on it, so it was pretty much there already. But, the tuner just fine tuned it to what you saw there. I've since gone to a "bull" or straight barrel on both Centerfire and 22LR builds and decided not to run the tuner on either. I run the Area 419 Sidewinder Match brake on the 6mm BRA and nothing on the Vudoo 22LR, which with the bull barrel is a single hole at 50 yds. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@brentmcqualter4661]

Great vid! What caliber are you using?

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Brent! That's on my 6mm BRA centerfire rifle. Thanks for watching!

[@north4961]

Thanks for the great info! At what yardage is your rifle zeroed at? Liked and Sub’d. 👍🇨🇦

[@The4GunGuy]

Thanks North49! I zero my centerfire at 100 yards.

[@markhernandez8840]

How’s the recoil compared to the sidewinder ? I have a PVA Jet blast and I love it in my .308, I’m thinking on getting Erik’s tuner brake, also I’m considering on converting my .308 to 6.5 creed.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Mark! No noticeable recoil increase. Used it in a match this past Saturday and was happy with it. I shot like garbage, but the tuner brake was great!

[@markhernandez8840]

@@The4GunGuy Hey that happens sometimes you shoot great one day before and next day for some reason we shoot like we are using an ak47 ahahahaha, I may order one to see what changes I need to make to my loads, I just wish primer and powder becomes available and the prices goes down as well hahaha, thanks for the information.

[@plrodrig123]

it might be a good idea to try the TMB tuner muzzle brake from StrikeWithoutWarning. I've only seen 3 reviews of the TMB that was not from the company owner. it would be good to compare the EC tuner brake vs the TMB

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi plrodrig123! Since changing to a straight barrel on both rifles, I don't run a tuner on either now. BUT, I have thought about testing one out on either rifle just to see if it makes a difference and may do that soon. Thanks for the advice on the TMB...I'll look into it. And thanks for watching my friend!

[@rustynut1967]

I have a EC Tuner Brake but haven't installed it yet. I want to do a before and after on my 6mm ARC gas gun with factory ammo.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Rusty! OK, a piece of advice, once you get the brake on, DON'T TAKE IT OFF until you need to clean the tuner brake itself. This thing is a bear to get lined up properly, so I don't take it off when I clean the rifle. I do miss that about my area 419 Sidewinder, the ONLY brake I've seen/used that is really a self-timing brake. Other than that, this is still a good buy IMHO. Good luck with your testing my friend and thanks for watching!

[@oif3vetk9]

You and I are on the same path. Just waiting on my upper right now. Hopefully a couple more weeks and I'll have it..... Good luck with yours.

[@lynndragoman1573]

What's the difference from this tuner to all the others that have been around for decades now? And the tuner is changing your standard deviations and extreme spreads?

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Lynn! They all do the same thing. I was using the KSS ATS tuner and it worked perfectly fine for me. Eric sent me his to try out and I do think the build quality is much better than the KSS. Other than that, they both tuned the barrel. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@jadoncramer6512]

Is it necessary to retune for different target distances?

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Jadon! No, not necessary to retune for target distances. You may need to retune if you change your load characteristics though (powder charge weight, projectile, primer, powder type, etc...) because those changes may affect the harmonics of the barrel. Thanks for watching and the great question!

[@user-kv4kw5dx8n]

I am struggling to understand how a tuner could impact velocity. Maybe a brake because of venting gas???

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi User! Velocity was affected in this case due to the tuner part of the tuner-brake. By effectively increasing the length of the barrel with the tuner part (since it's not vented like the brake), velocity can be impacted. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@johanswart8116]

In south africa a company that makes suppressors, chassis an muzzelbrakes, makes erik cortina tuner with his permission for south africa market. So they my not ship out of south africa. They launched a ec tuner now for a 300 winchester magnum that they developed for the bigger rifles.

[@johanswart8116]

www.gunwarrior.co.za/warrior-beast35-tuner-brake

[@The4GunGuy]

Nice! Good to know Johan. Hopefully they'll ship outside South Africa or Erik will carry them here in the States.

[@robertpage2927]

What barrel length are you taking about I shoot 308

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Robert! This was on a 26" barrel. I've since moved to a 28" straight "bull" barrel, so didn't really require the EC Tuner and went to an Area 419 Hellfire Match muzzle brake. If I had stayed with an MTU contour I would have continued to use the EC Tuner. Hope this helps and thanks for watching!

[@WilhelmNauta]

A tuner is not going to impact your MV, ES or SD. A tuner will only impact harmonics, i.e. point of impact and group size. What am I missing?

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Wilhelm! As we saw, it didn't really affect my MV, but it did impact my SD and ES numbers, reducing them by about 20%. That could have been attributed to the brake which is what I'm thinking. Also, this test was done in a single day (same weather) and with a low number of shots. Brian Litz just got done doing an extensive review of tuners and found that they DID NOT improve accuracy. When asked about weather and distance changes, Eric Cortina has validated that the tuner should be "recalibrated" for those changes. Who knows! About a year ago, I removed all tuners because I have gone to a straight taper 1.25" barrel on both my centerfire and rimfire competition rifles. BUT, I do believe that if you are running a "normal" barrel taper, a tuner can help. Hey thanks for watching my friend!

[@72gunslinger]

More or less does this work kinda like the old browning boss muzzle device.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi 72! I never used "the boss" but heard of it, so not sure. Thanks for watching!

[@markcacchione6281]

Where can I order one of these EC tuner brakes

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Mark! You can get them at www.shootsmallgroups.com/shop/ but make sure you order the right one for your needs. Thanks for watching!

[@tarcisiomonteiro3579]

Como eu faço para conseguir uma peça desa por favor

[@The4GunGuy]

www.shootsmallgroups.com/ E certifique-se de selecionar o dispositivo certo para o seu rifle

[@tarcisiomonteiro3579]

O meu rifle e um 8117 da cbc calibre 4,5 17hmr

[@The4GunGuy]

Isso deve funcionar para você. obrigado por assistir meu amigo!

[@tarcisiomonteiro3579]

Gosto muito de assistir os vídeos seu,vc pode me passar o valor em real

[@rdsii64]

Why did you bleep out the word bullet?

[@The4GunGuy]

KZbin will ping me for verbally using that term. We now have to be careful about what we say here.

[@kurthunter2427]

SD…Standard Deviation…what is ES?

[@The4GunGuy]

HI Kurt! ES is extreme spread of the velocity in the string. So in the first string in my video my low velocity was 2,714 fps and my highest velocity was 2,735 fps, giving me an ES of 21. Generally speaking, any SD below 10 and ES below 20 is considered to be very good. However, once you get into this stuff, and get your reloading down, you'll expect sub 7 SD's and ES's below 10, hence why I said I wasn't really happy with my ES's in this video. Hope that answered your question and thanks for watching my friend!

[@chrisharris9710]

Who can afford to do “primer development” these days? Lol…… I load with whatever primers I can find atm.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hey Chris! Yeah, I got lucky at a match and snagged 1,000 of the 205's. I always tell the story of when I got into reloading and at the time, I could only find 5,000 primer boxes and was so mad that I had to buy 5,000 primers for .03 each! Now we're lucky if we can even find them! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@chrisharris9710]

@@The4GunGuy tell me about it….. I just paid .12 per primer for 5.56 milspec small rifle😂😂. I wouldn’t have done that, but I really need some atm so my new Dillon can do some work. I’m an 07 FFL, but I don’t have the greatest hook ups for Ammo yet and I’m small. Mostly buy from Graf and Sons, but they haven’t had anything for nearly a year. So when Midway had some available I grabbed a 1000.

[@chrisharris9710]

@@The4GunGuy and thanks for the review. I’ve followed Eric on his journey with the machine shop and his tuner breaks. I’ve thought about getting one. I shoot a 6.5 PRC for long range target and hunting, but I always run it suppressed, so I’m not sure I want to go the unsuppressed route.

[@Thomas1969H]

Make it more complex and complicated next time :D

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi Thomas! Will do! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@DLN-ix6vf]

WHAT ?

[@justice1327]

Should show...not tell how to install.

[@The4GunGuy]

Hi DW! As I said in the video, it's about as easy to install as it can get and Erik does a great job on his channel installing it. I'm probably getting another one for my Vudoo 22 LR and I'll take your advice and show the installation on that video. Thanks for watching!