Sound Moderators, are they really required?

[andyf 144]

To start this thread lets put cards on the table, I have four rifles, three have moderators and one doesn't.

It has occured to me that I have been 'sucked in' by the shooting press, and in reality I don't need to have these 'silencers' most of the time.

The likes of Peter Moore (GunMart, Shooting Sports etc etc) have indoctrinated all of us to expect and without waiver have a sound moderator on our rifles, now I have been shooting for at least as long as Mr Moore (probably longer), but I missed out on the 'Army' bit, also the 'handgun' and 'practical' stuff. Now I'm not going to decry any of that, as they are valid shooting discipline's, and range use with many others in close proximity may well make the 'moderator' thing a step in the right direction.

However in the field, its not the same, my experience has shown the opposite, Rabbits don't (In Devon at least) seem a bit bothered by HV .22, Deer either die within a few seconds of the bang or run off to a better life with a hearing deficiency, the only 'up' is that I can shoot the .22 near to houses without bother.

My latest aquisition a 22-250 Ruger No 1 in 22.250 has no 'Drain pipe' on the sharp end, it's light, portable and doesn't swing downwards on the sling when walking about! What a relief!

The bang is a bit raucous, but as long as it's not ten in a row Fine.

So what do you think?

Are you a 'Silencer' boy/girl.

Lets hear what you think?

AF

[Fidgety 8]

Moderated .22rf for the "close to" stuff .......... actually think it makes FA difference to the amount of rabbits you can take in a session.

 

.243 is moderated because of close proximity of houses and livestock ........ makes it a nicer shooting beast too, downside is that it's very nose heavy and has ruined the nice balance of the gun.

[nod 285]

I think on a .22 they are good espeicially when your going to a ground that u shoot often the small pop doesn't make them bolt further down the field but on a big rifle unless u are very quick at reloading dont think they are needed, (even though i have one on my .223, got a good deal) cause what ever u shoot at with a biggun even if u miss or there is 2 of them thier gunna be gone from the crack of even a moderated centerfire

[theinvisiblescarecrow 0]

Short answer is no you don't need one but a good one can make a difference.

[The one 8,445]

They make a differnce alright ive seen my mate take 3 and 4 rabbits from a group of five often with his air rifle and rimmy with hand made silencers so quiet you can hardly hear them

[Steve McHardy 2]

They make a differnce alright ive seen my mate take 3 and 4 rabbits from a group of five often with his air rifle and rimmy with hand made silencers so quiet you can hardly hear them

 

they make a difference alrite havn 1 on both .22 and .222 and had 1 on the .25-06 i used o have when i was out culling deer you coould get 5 outa 5 wi a mod on if you took the lead hind 1st with out you mite get two at most and they save your hearing.

[waidmann 105]

having been abroad for a long time where you do not get mods they are new to me. i think on rimfire rifles for close rabbits they are very good.

on bigger guns you will not cause so much disruption to the area you are shooting in( next fields,housing,walkers,horse riders etc).

not to underestimate the benifits on the lugs.reduced recoil. and so on.

 

i think the pro outweighs the contra( is there a contra? balance etc) we are lucky to be able to use them in this country.

so yes they are usefull tools.not essential.

atb

[HUnter_zero 58]

To start this thread lets put cards on the table, I have four rifles, three have moderators and one doesn't.

 

So what do you think?

Are you a 'Silencer' boy/girl.

Lets hear what you think?

AF

 

 

I have always refused to put a can on the end of my C/F rifles but to be honest am really starting to question my logic in the decision and in many ways sanity. Couple of weeks ago I was up the range with my mate, he was shooting a .308 moderated, I was shooting a .243 without a moderator both the same make/type of rifle. The .308 was so much nicer to shoot, very little recoil, follow through was much easier to achieve effectively, grouping was all round better and more uniformed. He switched the can on to his .243 and it was like shooting a .222 heavy barrel.

The only thing that stops me is that I hate the look of moderators on stalking rifles, the moderators are big and add extra weight, snag up and are 'just' another thing that need to be cleaned. I do like my .22rf with a moderator and to be honest I think a HMR need a moderator. All said and done, many years ago I can remember shooting six rabbits one after another with a .22 WMR. Later that morning two foxes side by side.

 

John

[langouroux 14]

i have a friend who shoots a .243 and hasn;t had a mod on it until about 4 weeks ago, he said he cant belive its the same rifle!

[Deker 3,477]

There is no overall universal answer.

 

Mods make a gun easier to shoot and quieter, but I have spent a fortune on guns making sure the balance isn't completely stuffed.

 

It is an art and is not simply a matter of buying a mod and screwing it on, commonly that will cause grief in several areas and possibly a nightmare if you have a floating barrel.

 

Are they necessary....well there is the H&S issue to consider and also consideration to the neighbours/neighbourhood has to be be a factor sometimes. It certainly does help with quarry in my experience, I have dropped deer on more than one occasion and the others have stood/looked around bemused and NOT run off!!

 

Still an almighty crack on anything supersonic but much quieter than without a mod.

 

Are they worth the Money....well, many rimfire mods are not too expensive but Centrfire mods have outrageous profit margins on them!!!!

 

I use lots of rifles in lots of different environments, ALL my rifles have their own individual mod fitted, works for me and my requirements but not necessarily essential for everyone!

 

Can't remember where I heard/read it recently, but interesting to note there are more rifles with moderators in the UK than anywhere else in the world!

[jamie g 17]

To start this thread lets put cards on the table, I have four rifles, three have moderators and one doesn't.

It has occured to me that I have been 'sucked in' by the shooting press, and in reality I don't need to have these 'silencers' most of the time.

The likes of Peter Moore (GunMart, Shooting Sports etc etc) have indoctrinated all of us to expect and without waiver have a sound moderator on our rifles, now I have been shooting for at least as long as Mr Moore (probably longer), but I missed out on the 'Army' bit, also the 'handgun' and 'practical' stuff. Now I'm not going to decry any of that, as they are valid shooting discipline's, and range use with many others in close proximity may well make the 'moderator' thing a step in the right direction.

However in the field, its not the same, my experience has shown the opposite, Rabbits don't (In Devon at least) seem a bit bothered by HV .22, Deer either die within a few seconds of the bang or run off to a better life with a hearing deficiency, the only 'up' is that I can shoot the .22 near to houses without bother.

My latest aquisition a 22-250 Ruger No 1 in 22.250 has no 'Drain pipe' on the sharp end, it's light, portable and doesn't swing downwards on the sling when walking about! What a relief!

The bang is a bit raucous, but as long as it's not ten in a row Fine.

So what do you think?

Are you a 'Silencer' boy/girl.

Lets hear what you think?

AF

 

well i hope your wearing something to protect your ears. because you keep using that 22/250 with out some ear potection and your hearing is going to suffer. its a horrid noise to hear with out mod. and one of the loudest rifles to hear with out mod. due to the high speed.

 

i found with a mod on my grouping was better due to less flip at muzzle

[coldweld 65]

For the animals benefit ? No

 

For the shooters benefit ? Yes

[mattydski 560]

A sound moderator on a rifle does make a difference if you are down range of the shot. It prevents the sound being directional. You are not able to tell from which direction the shot came from, so if two animals were together, there is always the possibility of a second shot, or at least an animal will hesitate before moving, because it does not know which direction to go in. The health and safety benefits have already been covered.

The down side is the weigh of the bloody things. I have an over barrel PES on my .243, and the balance has completely gone.

 

The other thing is on a light barrel rifle, it will alter the point of impact, not because of the effect of the mod on the bullet, but the effect the weight has on the harmonics of the barrel. It alters my point of impact by 8", so it is either all or nothing..

[Guest hyperion]

having fired my mate .308 both with and with out the mod on it i think ill stick with having the mod on!

 

BOOM!

 

"F**K thats loud!"

 

"not sure mate, about half ten"

 

cheers

hyperion

[v-max 2]

For the .22rf its not heavy & i think its 6 & two 3's with the mod & mine is always on the rifle. When it comes to the cf-rifles then yes the balance goes all to pot but the positives of the mod to me out way not having it on & i dont like the boom now.

As for balance i recently looked at some custom rifles & must admit they balanced so much better that it shocked me & they were not heavy rifles either. I dont know if it was the actions its self or the MacMillian stocks but it felt unreal to me my tikka 695 felt heavyer to me any way.