help me choose a moderator

cushcam

well lads i've recently purchased a rem 700 vsf and would like to hear your opinions on the different mods available before i bring the idea to a gunsmith. pros and cons or just your own experiences because this will be my first mod so i know very little about them.

the gun is .223 cal and it's a heavy/varmint barrel .820" at the muzzle so from what i've read when searching boards it will require 5/8" thread but feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

thanks in advance

kildare.17hmr

I have a t8 on my cz but that might be too big and heavy on a heavy barrel gun, my mate had a t4 on his old sako, about half the size and it eould be hard to tell the difference in sound between the 2

Cass

Here are a few mods and average prices. They do depend on where you buy them obviously.

Ase Utra S5/Jet-Z = €380

T8 = €265

Wildcat Predator = €295

Personally i have/had all three of the above and find the Wildcat the better of them overall. I've given some observations based on usage and the rifles they were used on below.



An Ase Utra S5 on a .308

• Great mod, great results with little to no difference in POI out to 300yds with it on or off.
• Easy enough to clean.
• Best sound reduction.
• Heavy on the end of the barrel.
• More expensive than most other mods.
• Tough wearing and will last as long as the owner if treated right.

T8 on 30-06 and .243

• Good on the .243 and 30-06, but difference in POI with mod on was 7" at 200yds.
• Prone to rusting.
• No more difficult to clean than an Ase, etc.
• Screws down over barrel so reducing excess weight on the end of the rifle.
• Has a resonance when fired.
• Cheapest of the current available stock of mods.
• Lighter than the Ase.

Wildcat on .223

• Great mod, and very little in difference in POI with in on or off.
• Lighter than the Ase and ( i think) the T8.
• Screw down over the barrel for reduced weight.
• Completely comes apart for easy cleaning.
• Baffles can be changed allowig the mod to be used on a .223 up to .30cal wth new inners.
• Polymer housing gives no resonance.
• Cheaper than Ase, but a little more expensive than T8.

patsat

I'd second the wildcat, my father has one on a .243 and it's very good.

Really like the way it can be taken apart to be cleaned.

I had a Ase northstar on my .270 and it terms of recoil and noise reduction it done a great job but it was fairly heavy.

Anybody have any experience with titanium moderators?? Awful expensive but seem to be very effective???

4200fps

Hi. T8 is what i'd use as it sleeves down the barrel and only adds 2 inchs to your rifle length as others will add much more but it will rust if you don't clean it or put wd-40 on it. Trapper john sells them new at 250euro.Ezridax put up good information for you on the different types of moderators. T8's down fall is its potential to rust but they all do the same job. I dont know if this is true or not but i was told that wild cat will blow apart is not put back together right after cleaning and you may have to zero your rifle in again after cleaning it. I could be wrong about that but its what i was told. Anybody who has one will know if thats true or not and its a long moderator

Cass

4200fps wrote: »

I dont know if this is true or not but i was told that wild cat will blow apart is not put back together right after cleaning and you may have to zero your rifle in again after cleaning it.

It might, but you'd want to have it put back together by Stevie Wonder for this to happen. The parts come apart, and go back together the same way so it would take serious neglect on the person involved in putting it together to cause this.

As to re-zeroing. I never had this issue. The bullet does not engage any rifling in the mod as they are not rifled, and as the parts are the same weight, design, etc it should not interfere with the harmonics. Maybe it's down to the tightening the mod is given. I know with my T8 if i over tightened her she would shift a little, but i usually marked the mod so the same point was always to the top when screwed on.

Honestly i like/prefer the Ase. A far superior mod, but the drawback being they are not reflex, are probably the heaviest. So for that reason i prefer the Wildcat. however there are a few other brands such as Roedale, Northstar, etc. I haven't any experience with these so any opinon would be based on visual or second hand knowledge.

patsat

Ezridax wrote: »

however there are a few other brands such as Roedale, Northstar

These are just a model made by ASE so are the same quality as the Jet-z, they come back over the barrel too but still have most of their weight infront of the muzzle.

And if money isnt an option...

http://www.lawrenceprecision.co.uk/

Cass

Oh, i know they are, but afaik they are the only model that come over the barrel (reflex). When i speak of Ase i refer to their S5, S7, Jet-Z, etc models that are all muzzle fitting mods. So i always make sure to differentiate between the two.

Good point though.

cushcam

thanks for the great info, i am leaning towards the wildcat predator 8 but am not fully decided yet. it seems like good value and a nice design

johngalway

T8, cheapest, quietest (of what I've heard), will last years if you look after it.

ormondprop

I have a jetz compact and its great and small but its heavy,



if i was to change it i'd go for a atec, there just over the 300 mark, the maxim model sleeves over the barrel and is the cheaper model, the cmm4 isn't a reflex model but is lighter, great mods for hunting and you wouldn't know they were on the end of the barrel, i know stakelums in thurles and redmills goresbridge have them,
http://www.a-tec.no/lyddempere/cmm-4-alu

Roedale make aluminium mods too but i haven't handled one yet

zeissman

I have just ordered a DM80 MK3 moderator from the UK.
I ordered it in .20 calibre for my 204.
They are a overbarrel design and the specs are.
weight. 450 grms
overall length 230 mm
diameter. 35mm
extends barrel length by 130mm.
I have read good reports about them so decided to chance one.
They wont post to the republic so I am getting mine sent to N Ireland.
Cost is 160 sterling posted.
I will let you all know what its like when I get it.

Hibrion

I've used a few different types of moderator and found the T4/T8 type to be a real pain.

I use a Sonic 45 moderator on my 30-06 now and it is excellent. It fits down over the barrel and adds only a few inches to the overall length of the barrel. It is very lightweight and the balance is fine on my Tikka T3 hunter.

I believe they are relatively new, but reduce noise as well as any other mod I've heard and reduce recoil more than any other mode I've heard. They are also fully strippable for cleaning.

I think they are a small bit pricier than some of the other mods mentioned on this thread. Give John Lambert in Camolin a ring for one, but be quick 'cos he can hardly keep them on the shelves!