Would a railgun Sniper rifle need a muzzle brake?

I’m not sure if it’d need one, but it would have no use for the thing you posted. if you used magnetics to propel whatever you were firing a muzzle brake wouldn’t do anything at all.

As I understand it a muzzle break is useful in a gun that is firing a projectile using a propellant, therefore a railgun that is firing a projectile using an electric current and magnetism then a muzzle break is not necessary

The physics make a muzzle brake ineffective, (they only work with a propellant that has mass)

The recoil works out to be (stock velocity) 2,587 Feet per second, which would relocate your shoulder into the next county while shattering a wood stock.

Sorry, but the physics make a hand held weapon of this type impossible to fire (by humans)

Yeah thought so. Thanks for all your help. Looks like I win.

All of the pictures I’ve seen of railguns being fired show impressive amounts of muzzle blast. My guess is breakdown of air into ions due to the accelerating voltage. Channeling that blast through a brake would help recoil some.

did you win anything besides being right?

No. Being right is enough for me. I wouldn’t mind some beer though.

With the current engineering state of art: I’m sure you could make the gun bit rifle-sized, but it would be weak and very heavy, and the power supply would most certainly NOT be man-portable.