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An hour with the moderated 20 bore


Goldfish
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Popped out yesterday morning between 7 and 8am to knock over a few squirrels in the formal gardens on the estate, I had to be finished by 8am due to the gardeners coming on site but 11 in the bag, I do enjoy the moderated O/U and a thermal for those noise sensitive squirrel chasing sessions

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I have used all the moderated shotguns out there from singles to pumps to o/u and have to say the only moderated gun I have and use on a regular basis is the o/u 20b, it is by far the most useful and better balanced of them all.

The .410 I found to be a short range gun, the pumps were long and the moderator short which made them noisy, the 12bs were monstrous.

The 20b kills and patterns out to a measured 40m with fixed 1/2 and 3/4 choke and the non selective trigger is not an issue, it is a basic gun.

I put a ruby sight on it for low light and a cheek riser in the form of a sheet of foam so it patterns where I want it to as most moderated guns shoot low.

Now as for cartridges, DO NOT BUY SUBSONIC, can't be clearer than that. The barrels are ported for their full length and subsonic cartridges are pathetically slow, I use 30g 5 shot (having followed advice on here, believe it was @sitsinhedges) as these are not going too fast, regardless of the advertising, and when put through a ported barrel are the quietest I have used.

I did make the mistake thinking 30g in 6 shot (Sipe and Eley) would be the same and my god are they loud so I just use Lyalvale Express Supreme Game Ultimate Power in 30g 5 as through the full length porting come out the end as a pop and kill to 40m. 

This time of the year I love to listen to the song birds as I walk about and the moderated gun and cartridge combo means I don't need hearing protection so can enjoy the songs

 

Another day on the vermin yesterday

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On 24/02/2022 at 08:54, Eddie B said:

How well does the moderator cut out the noise level? I've never used or seen one being used in the flesh.

With the right cartridges a pop and nothing heard 100m away in open fields or closer in woodland plus no need for hearing protection

On 24/02/2022 at 09:14, oowee said:

Aweseome. It's my go to gun when shooting in a hide with the dog. Shells are not cheap but the no5's work well. 

Got to think of the dog 👍

No 5 30g definitely the better cartridge

On 24/02/2022 at 11:01, Weihrauch17 said:

Subsonic or standard?

Standard which are reduced to subsonic by the porting of the barrels unlike the guns with shorter moderators which need to start subsonic to stay quiet

On 24/02/2022 at 13:31, oowee said:

Subsonic. 

Subsonic No 7's are carp. 

Totally agree, no speed and no energy due to the small shot. ok for gentle clay use but not much else

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On 24/02/2022 at 13:42, Walker570 said:

I have a moddded Mossy pumper and shoot standard 3 inch relods from it and 150yrds away you wouldn't really know what it was... just a POP!!

Haven't used the sub sonics so would think they would be almost silent just a few yards away.

The great thing about using them in woodland is that you don't startle the woodland around you when you take a shot, I often shoot then 50 meters further on see squirrels still out

3 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Great, but have you logged your kills ?

I do a bag tally at the end of the month so Monday the total will be up there👍

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  • 5 months later...

@Mice!Numbers definitely fluctuate but I tend to hit hard then move on for a month or 2. Rotation between woodlands keeps me productive and cull numbers up. If you create a void it doesn’t take long for others to move in.

The 9 I took the other day was from an area that had no squirrels a month ago.

The Hushpower OU is a great tool and I couldn’t be without it, combined with a thermal spotter it’s a perfect set up, 7 out of the 9 would never have been spotted without the thermal.

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10 hours ago, Goldfish said:

@Mice!Numbers definitely fluctuate but I tend to hit hard then move on for a month or 2. Rotation between woodlands keeps me productive and cull numbers up. If you create a void it doesn’t take long for others to move in.

The 9 I took the other day was from an area that had no squirrels a month ago.

The Hushpower OU is a great tool and I couldn’t be without it, combined with a thermal spotter it’s a perfect set up, 7 out of the 9 would never have been spotted without the thermal.

👍👍

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10 hours ago, Goldfish said:

@Mice!Numbers definitely fluctuate but I tend to hit hard then move on for a month or 2. Rotation between woodlands keeps me productive and cull numbers up. If you create a void it doesn’t take long for others to move in.

The 9 I took the other day was from an area that had no squirrels a month ago.

The Hushpower OU is a great tool and I couldn’t be without it, combined with a thermal spotter it’s a perfect set up, 7 out of the 9 would never have been spotted without the thermal.

Wich Thermal spotter do you use ? Like you I think I miss quite a few that may well be picked up with a thermal spotter.

Dan.

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On 25/08/2022 at 08:43, Mullard83 said:

Wich Thermal spotter do you use ? Like you I think I miss quite a few that may well be picked up with a thermal spotter.

Dan.

Helion 2 XQ38F is fantastic and the one I use on a daily basis.

Field of view, battery life and quality of image are the selling points for me

Expensive but worth it, the Axion range are a good pocket size introduction unit but the Helion 2 is a game changer 👍

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On ‎26‎/‎08‎/‎2022 at 22:31, Goldfish said:

Helion 2 XQ38F is fantastic and the one I use on a daily basis.

Field of view, battery life and quality of image are the selling points for me

Expensive but worth it, the Axion range are a good pocket size introduction unit but the Helion 2 is a game changer 👍

Thank`s I will look into these.

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  • 1 month later...

@BRYAN3 The cheek riser is a sheet of sticky backed sealed foam and the sight bead is a Ruby Sight.

Great gun, wouldn't be without mine 👍

Get some Lyalvale Express Supreme Game Ultimate Power in 30g 5

I have a new sight and foam sheet in the draw if you want to PM me, makes a massive difference and makes a great low light gun that now hits where it points.

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