To mod or not to mod, that is the question!

ths84

Well-Known Member
I have a lovely Remington 700 SPS with a whopping T8 mod slapped on the end. Now is it really worth while me keeping this on as it does add a fair weight and as I have short legs does tend to drag through stuff. I wear EP4 ear plugs anyway and the land I shoot on is a very close friend so no restrictions on noise etc so my big question is to keep it on or take it off and only use on estates that require it which won't be for a while as plenty of deer on current permissions and not a lot of spare cash to travel around!
 
i think you should take the mod off and sell it. by the way i am looking for a mod how little do you want for it lol
 
Lol it's about 6 weeks old and had about 60 shots through it! So when I get my ticket back I might put it up on here :)
 
I have kept my .270 mod free, much nicer to carry, shoot, clean etc etc!
just sold my .243 that had a mod, horrible thing to carry, too long to be muzzle down in anything other than short grass, too top heavy to carry muzzle up!

am in the process of "modding" a .222 but it will have a shorter barrel for this reason
 
Have you tried a few shots without the mod on?
A lot more muzzle flip!

It's a sad thing to say but many shooters simply cannot manage the recoil pulse and it's muzzle rise etc without the use of such aids as Moderators or brakes. perhaps it's time to learn to shoot properly once again. Kick off the training wheels ;).
 
It's a sad thing to say but many shooters simply cannot manage the recoil pulse and it's muzzle rise etc without the use of such aids as Moderators or brakes. perhaps it's time to learn to shoot properly once again. Kick off the training wheels ;).


:thumb: mod on rimfire and .223 but my 30-06 just feels wrong with one!

Saying that if you need to use one for noise polluons try something a bit more compact than a T8 (roedale or a-tec?)

Mike
 
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There may be some but you won't find many estates that require you to use a mod, you don't say what calibre but do you find the recoil excessive without the mod.
You say no restrictions on noise, but is the noise of rifle shots likely to disturb residents or other users of the area.

What type of deer are you stalking are they herding species are you likely to get multiple shots at a group from the one position.



If the answer to all of the above is no get rid you don't need a mod.
 
never had a problem taking two (or even three shots) at red hinds without a moderator. in practice the echoing of sonic boom can appear very difficult to to pinpoint and red hinds will often whirl around trying to locate the source.
the second might be easier for them.

Shot a buck with an unmoderated .270 couple of weeks ago and probably could have shot the accompanying doe as well as it was confused and stood for a few seconds.

I had a .243 with a PES T12 (600g? not sure) wasnt aware of any less recoil with it on, but then I wasnt bracing myself for some Nitro Express madness so probably wasnt thinking about it.
 
I actually brought my Wildcat P8 and a rifle suitably threaded so that should I asked to use a moderated rifle I could comply. Then of course the .243 Win chambered Midland 2100 came along with the same thread but of course I had not shot either before so judging the difference was hard. So the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser had it's fore sight removed and the muzzle threaded so I could compare as I had owned this Swedish Mauser for a couple of decades at least.

I cannot truthfully say it shoots better with the moderator as with the right loads it will group very well. Even with me behind the butt clusters touching are not uncommon. Five shot groups of 1/2"-3/4" are quite common. Felt recoil is reduced butt he weight of the moderator does spoil the balance. So in my little collection are rifles threaded for this moderator chambered for .243 Winchester, 6.5x55 Swedish and 25-06 which should cover all but Boar.

So then we come to the 280 AI which whilst the barrel was being machined in the lathe to fit the BSA Monarch action a second set up was carried out and the muzzle threaded 1/2" UNF on that as well to make a total of four that can utilise the Wildcat P8. We never got to try the moderator of course as the mod can take the 6.5mm but no larger without a new baffle stack.

The 280 AI will happily handle species such as Boar of course.

So far the Moderator has not claimed a deer as my last stalk was using an um moderated .270 Winchester chambered rifle.

When the new outdoor range opens the planning rules say after a certain hour of the day only moderated rifles may be used so there is another reason to have one here. Does not mean I am over struck with them though.
 
Thanks for the responses, I zerod the rifle today with out the mod and being honest there was a lot more bounce but not a problem it didnt bother me as it still shot great!

Also by not having the extra weight I was much more comfortable carrying and shooting so I don't think I'll be going back to the mod!

Most of the deer on the land is fallow so a few groups Ive seen have been 6+ and as I'll be out a lot on my own I won't be taking more than one at a time! The land is within a mile of a housing estate so will have to play it by ear to see if any complaints come through, if a load flood in I'll have to get a smaller mod.
 
There are moderators, and then there are moderators.

On a deer rifle that I intended to carry a fair bit I would not entertain a T8 or the like. Get one of the 200 - 250 gramme mods from Roedale or A-Tec, they are a revelation.
 
There are moderators, and then there are moderators.

On a deer rifle that I intended to carry a fair bit I would not entertain a T8 or the like. Get one of the 200 - 250 gramme mods from Roedale or A-Tec, they are a revelation.
should have had your wheatabix
 
Just out of interest, has anybody seen any real data where accelerometers have been put on a rifle fired with a moderator and then without a moderator but with an equal weight added to the barrel to make up for the weight taken off and measure what the actual reduction in recoil is? I would be interested.

Thanks,

David.
 
as recoil is directly related to weight it would be fairly linear

however in my opinion "perceived" recoil is the issue at hand
 
Just out of interest, has anybody seen any real data where accelerometers have been put on a rifle fired with a moderator and then without a moderator but with an equal weight added to the barrel to make up for the weight taken off and measure what the actual reduction in recoil is? I would be interested.

Thanks,

David.

It is an interesting question.

My thinking is that the mass of stuff leaving the rifle on firing (considering as an example my .270) is a bullet of 140gr and hot gas of mass 51gr.

With a mod on, I guess the bullet is still leaving the rifle at about 2900fps, but the 50-odd grains of gas are being caught in the mod and expending a good deal of their energy pulling the rifle away from the firer.

If I'm right, the net effect with mod should be of a rifle firing a bullet of 90ish grains at 2900fps, rather than one of 140grains. Added to the weight of the great lump of mod on the end, this would explain the pleasing effect of the mod on flip and recoil.

Is this a sensible hypothesis?
 
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