B&T Tigre Hunting Suppressor

B&T (Brugger & Thomet) is a Swiss company specialising in firearms, accessories and solutions to specific customer problems/requirements. One of these areas is sound suppressors and for 23-years they have been supplying moderators to most of Europe’s small arms producers, police agencies and NATO militaries. Importers Viking Arms Ltd supplied me some examples of their work in the past and they proved effective at what they did, but the all-steel versions I used were very heavy and we sporting consumers have very specific needs in this area. Put simply if it weighs much more than 1lb people tend to lose interest.

ENTER THE TIGER

With this in mind B&T doubtless realised that A - there’s a big potential market out there and B – they needed to produce something that conformed to sporting shooters needs. Called the Tiger it is a muzzle-mounted design available in three fullbore (Light Hunting) and one rimfire (.22 Suppressor) options. Precision made from top quality materials B&T do not give ‘lives’ for these items but reckon they should last as long as the rifle that uses them.

I have to say that B&T were not that forthcoming with build or material specifications and as the Tigers do not appear to be strippable I shall report on what I can see. We are told they are made of anodised aluminium and inside they look to be baffle less or have very few, along with what look like transfer ports into an outer chamber, which would account for the low weight. Typically they are rated in calibre groups as follows:

With the exception of the Rimfire, which has a fixed 1⁄2 x 20 UNF thread in common with near all 22 rifles, the centrefires all use a removable, threaded bush allowing conversion from barrel to barrel by replacing it. The SD-988166 (5.5 – 6.5mm) also offers a 1⁄2 x 28 UNEF pitch as well as metric, it seems to be the case of they will make what is required!

For test I was sent the SD-988167, 7 – 8.2mm, which came with a 15mm thread, not having anything cut for that one Viking supplied a 1⁄2 x 20 UNF adaptor nut which is simple to replace. Which I shot on both 243 Win and 6.5 Creedmoor barrels and it proved highly effective giving a flat report and was perfectly acceptable on the ear. At under 12oz it proved reasonably handy though was maybe a tad long compared to some other makes. Prices look a bit above average in some case but B&T have never been that cheap. Pro rata it’s the Rimfire that comes up most expensive compared to the opposition. The one that appeals most to me is the 5.6- 6.5mm SD-988166.

FOR

Good build, effective moderation

AGAINST

No reflex option

VERDICT

Quality product Should last a long time