Brugger & Thomet Tiger moderator – Viking

Brugger and Thomet is a Swiss-based manufacturer that has been producing sound moderators for 25-years. Their clients include small arms manufacturers, military contracts and police agencies as well as providing these technologies to the civilian hunting market. All moderators are muzzlemounted and range from the .22 rimfire model and three fullbore versions. All are made from aluminium and are sealed units.

TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT

The Tiger Light range is designed to be light at the muzzle. Models range from .22LR all the way up to .338 Lapua Magnum with differing lengths and widths. Each moderator is precision made on state of the art CNC machines to exacting tolerances. This makes them virtually maintenance free and no chance of baffles becoming misaligned on reassembly as with some other moderators. Although it does make it difficult to see the insides. First the rimfire, which is a small and efficient design. It is 152 x 30mm and weighs 101 grams. The overall finish is matt anodised black but with a polished black end cap that holds the ½ inch UNF thread as standard. Inside there is an initial blast baffle with an hexagonal inner bore that dissipates the gases to pass through four baffles and thus five expansion chambers to further reduce heat and thus sound. Most subsonic ammunition produces 135-140dB noise at the muzzle and the B &T Tiger Light reduced this level to 113dB thus a reduction of 22 -27dB which is good. As with all rimfire mods they can fill up with un-burnt powder and debris so a spray of some solvent and an oil should sort them out. I have shot this moderator on all manner of .22 rifles and have always been impressive with both its noise reduction and light weight.

BIG BROTHER

The full bore Tiger Light models come in three sizes, .22 -.25 cal, .270 - .325 and .338 -.365 calibres. I had the .22-.25 model on test. As with all B&T sound moderators the outside is clearly marked with max bullet diameter, here it was 6.5mm, a serial number, proof marks for calibre and date of manufacture. The end cap where the bullet exits has a small lip with six radial holes that allows a smooth transition of the bullet from the moderator without buffering from the expanding gases as they vent.

Clever is the fact that they are not cut for a specific thread, as B&T can supply threaded insert nuts to suit various forms you might be using. Inside (by my eye) you have an initial blast baffle and then there are two large chambers, the second larger than the first.

Dimensions are 157 x 40mm yet it weighed only 276-grams; nice. On test I shot a .243 Win and a .223 Rem through the B&T with a reduction from 164dB and 160dB to 139dB and 135dB respectively. A good noise reduction with a quick higher frequency report and no muzzle flash at all!

CONCLUSIONS

These mods are very well made and lovely and light to use, the rimfire did not change zero at all and the fullbore was minimal depending on barrel diameter! The centrefire does heat up quickly within 6-8 rounds when sighting in but when stalking, no problems at all. The prices are good as was the noise reduction and they are built to a high standard.

PRICES: Tiger Light .22 rimfire £80, Tiger Light centrefire £264 (22-250” version)
CONTACT: Viking Arms on 01423 780810