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Tier One Spartan 3 Moderator And TAC Brake Muzzle Brake

A muzzle brake can be a real advantage on heavy calibres rifles to tame muzzle jump/ recoil and I have fitted them to my snottier guns. However, they make the shot louder as they compress and direct the gas through ports. Also they work best when permanently fitted, which means no moderator! Tier One offers a rather elegant solution with a brake/ moderator system giving the best of both worlds.

I was speaking to owner Craig Coote and he sent me a set up to test. This consisted of the Spartan 3 Matrix reflex moderator and Tactical Muzzle Brake (TAC Brake). There is also the option of a muzzle-mounted Spartan and a radial, multi-hole (pepper pot) brake too.

TAC BRAKE

The TAC Brake is short and comprises of two, separate systems. Up front are two, large horizontal cross slots and drilled longitudinally through the threaded, rear section are five, slim, angled ports that direct the expanding gasses upwards and to the sides. Three are located at 11, 12 and 1 o’clock with the other two at 3 and 9. A pretty standard recipe but the major difference is an exterior threaded section where the moderator locates. This is covered by a collar when you don’t want to fit a can. The brake is available in both marine grade stainless steel and Titanium and in calibre-specific sizes from .17 to .338 Lapua Magnum.

Given the directional nature of the TAC Brake it has to be fitted in the correct position (timed) with the central of the three ports sitting at 12 o’clock for maximum effect. A set of shims is included for the purpose, these sit between the barrel relief face and the rear of the brake. Small corrections can be made by removing metal from the rear; it’s advised it’s tightened to 4 Nm torque with a 19mm open jaw spanner.

THIS IS SPARTA!

The Spartan 3 Matrix moderator is available in both reflex and muzzle- mounted options, I had the former. The build is hi-strength aluminium alloy with stainless steel inserts on all the baffles and nose cap to resist the effects of heat erosion. There are six, cup and reverse cone- shaped baffles that are hard anodised as are the rest of the internals, the exterior is matt- finished. At the rear is a screw-in muzzle brake adaptor tube, which also forms the inner wall of a slim expansion chamber. There’s no provision for a synthetic rear stabilising bush, instead the moddy locates on the muzzle thread only, with no exterior influence. A 3-pin spanner is included for stripping etc, I would advise some form of anti-seize compound on the threads as they will get jammed up as the firing residue penetrates them.

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The moddy measures 43 x 225mm and weighs a pleasing 400 grams (sub 1 lb) and extends 129mm past the muzzle. The Spartan is available in calibres from .17” to .30”. To give it a good run ashore I put it on my Browning X-Bolt Hunter in 270 WSM using Winchester’s Ballistic Silver Tip 130-grain load, which is running around 3283 fps and generating 3111 ft/lbs burning around 67-grains of powder. As can be imagined this loading can be quite lively!

TESTING TIMES

Testing consisted of two phases; first the brake and unsurprisingly the TAC tamed things to far more comfortable levels, feeling to me like a 243 Win or similar. It was bloody noisy though and I’d recommend ear plugs in the field. Screwing on the Spartan 3 immediately adds weight up front so reducing muzzle jump and felt recoil too, though I have my doubts if the brake does anything given it’s confined in a tube. However, as the gasses are forced through the ports it might serve to break their flow so reducing velocity before they pass into the interior of the can.

Moderation effect was acceptable but near the comfortable edge; hardly surprising given what the 270 WSM produces. However and in fairness I had previously tested a Christensen Arms rifle in 308 Winchester with the muzzle-mounted version of the Spartan and that was highly effective and I doubt if most will be shooting rounds like the WSMs through a moderated rifle anyway! In the UK the bread & butter calibres we use are numbers like 223 Rem, 243 and 308 Win etc., so if the Spartan III can handle the 270 WSM you know it’s going to perform well with the more sensible fare! For me though the advantages offered by this dual system makes any rifle more of an all-rounder; certainly some of my big boomers!

NAME:
Tier One Spartan 3 reflex Moderator £220
Tier One TAC Brake £140 (titanium)
Tier One Stainless Steel Radial Port Brake £95
Please specify calibre and thread size when ordering

CONTACT: Tier One, 01924 404312 www.tier-one.eu

FOR: Clever and versatile system
AGAINST: Not a lot
VERDICT: Well worth a look Solves the old problem of brake or moddy easily

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