Tuners on a hunting rifle? Anyone tried it?

[john 800]

I know there are some competition guys that have been using tuners, bit I am not involved with that whole scene. Other than the old browning boss years ago that ended up going away, I have never heard of anyone using one on a hunting rifle. So for you guys that have used them on br guns and such, I have a few questions:
Do you think it would be beneficial? Ex: There have been times where I have had two nodes and sometimes the lower node was a little better, but god knows we all like the faster node because it makes us feel better. For that situation do you think maybe it would improve the higher node? Would there be any other benefit? Or is there just plain and simple a reason its not common?

 

[Bill Norris]

Last year Zack Donovant built me a Model 7 30BR hunting rifle. I asked him to thread the barrel so I could use a tuner since I knew I could run a 125 gr. Nosler B T and A B @ 3000 fps to hunt with and then play at the bench with it too. No regrets at all. Love it.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I put a tuner brake on my custom 308. It has a 1-11 twist Krieger barrel.. I tuned it to shoot the factory 150 grn Federal with the Barnes TSX bullet.

I got it to shooting three shot groups in the 5/8 inch range. My son shot a nice white tail with it. He said the range was around 150 yards.

 

[abishai]

You're not shooting groups .... Might as well put a Lapua sticker on it

 

[dgeesaman]

Waste of weight

Tuners work when you get to constantly verify and adjust your tune for conditions. Hunting doesn’t have a range with wind flags and clean targets to support that detail.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Limbsaver barrel deresonator. "Tuner" you can hunt with.

 

[john 800]

Last year Zack Donovant built me a Model 7 30BR hunting rifle. I asked him to thread the barrel so I could use a tuner since I knew I could run a 125 gr. Nosler B T and A B @ 3000 fps to hunt with and then play at the bench with it too. No regrets at all. Love it.

I put a tuner brake on my custom 308. It has a 1-11 twist Krieger barrel.. I tuned it to shoot the factory 150 grn Federal with the Barnes TSX bullet.

I got it to shooting three shot groups in the 5/8 inch range. My son shot a nice white tail with it. He said the range was around 150 yards.

View attachment 1420922View attachment 1420923View attachment 1420923

Interesting, I was kind of hoping it would allow me to shoot the load I like with better accuracy even if it wasn’t the rifles first choice.
What do you or your son have to say about the 150 tsx for terminal performance out of the 308?

 

[john 800]

You're not shooting groups .... Might as well put a Lapua sticker on it

Maybe I should take it a step further and just get a Lapua tattoo? I gotta do something to be cool, I dont have enough hair for a man bun

 

[jackieschmidt]

Interesting, I was kind of hoping it would allow me to shoot the load I like with better accuracy even if it wasn’t the rifles first choice.
What do you or your son have to say about the 150 tsx for terminal performance out of the 308?

He hit the Deer just behind the shoulder, he said it staggered about 10 yards and fell.

He recovered the bullet. I can’t find the picture, but the front was curled out to about the size of a dime, the back looked intact.

I built and put the muzzle brake/tuner on this rifle so I could choose a premium factory load and tune the barrel for it.

 

[Ray123]

A tuner on a hunting rifle? ...an absolute absurdity for me. I don't require a target or specialized rifle with its most accurate load to hit a basketball at any reasonable hunting range I'm likely to encounter....probably 100 yds or less 98% of the time. I've even used factory 2nds bullets to kill deer, with the 338, as I graduated from a 30-30 lever action to eventually a 338 and 350 mag ...no tuner to kill deer...just big heavy bullets at moderate velocities, blast a big hole completely through the animal, always seem to do the job...for me. Light, fast, handy, low power scope, hand loaded to produce velocity first accuracy 2nd but still more accurate than required.
My perfect rifle is a (modified for 2.910" cartridges) Model 7 350 Mag 20" 250 gr 2625 fps. Barns 225 gr 2750 fps a 3×9, or 2x7 set on low power. Rain forest to the high mountains, Grizzly bears were just re-introduced to take care of the big game...and black bears I encounter have been at very close range, you can walk past them just feet away...had one followed me down an old logging road, didn't know it was there...until I turned my head as I felt a presence...expected a deer...but it was a big bear.
But those who want the most accuracy possible, they should certainly explore all possibilities, whether required or not, if it provides confidence, go for it.
You rifle, ...custom or factory, make it work for your needs...that may require a tuner on a hunting rifle, ..just not my cup of tea...but that doesn't matter.

 

[Fuj]

Waste of weight

Tuners work when you get to constantly verify and adjust your tune for conditions. Hunting doesn’t have a range with wind flags and clean targets to support that detail.

However it could work great as your shooting P-dogs all day on
the grass lands. That grass is easy to read wind at distance. Weight
is not an issue, and actually more helps since your shooting off of
some type of bipod or rest.

 

[BradY]

I use them on my rimfire rifles where I can’t tune my ammunition to suit the rifle. CZ 457 22lr and a marlin 917V 17hmr. Still have to get the most consistent ammo for the rifle first. Centerfire I just use quality barrels and a good gunsmith. My krieger barrelled 12 twist 223 holds half moa out to as far as I shoot with it with properly developed loads. A tuner isn’t going to make it any more effective while the wind still blows and I still wobble.

 

[dgeesaman]

However it could work great as your shooting P-dogs all day on
the grass lands. That grass is easy to read wind at distance. Weight
is not an issue, and actually more helps since your shooting off of
some type of bipod or rest.

Maybe, if you can assess the group size contracting/expanding and you have spare rounds to burn.

 

[dcali]

Waste of money. A hunting rilfe isn't accurate enough to see the difference and you won't be shooting off a bench. You could argue that any load development for hunting is unnecessary. Certainly that's the case for most factory rifles.

Browning did make a tuner a while back (I believe on the A bolt?). I don't think it ever took off.

 

[Laurie]

Browning did make a tuner a while back (I believe on the A bolt?). I don't think it ever took off.

Yes, it was called the B.O.S.S. (Ballistic Optimizing Shooting System). I had a 7mm-08 A-Bolt sporter with it many, many years ago. It might or might not have worked, but I found it much easier to leave the device locked onto a setting and tune my handloads to suit the barrel.

The idea was that non-handloaders would tune the skinny barrel to suit their factory ammo loading. Some users claim it worked well in this role and were very happy with it.

https://www.browning.com/support/faq/boss-system.html

In its usual guise it included an incredibly noisy muzzle brake that made the little seven really anti-social - might have made some sense with a heavy recoiling cartridge in this weight rifle, but certainly not for 7-08, and Browning put them one everything, even 223s.

(There was a replacement 'range-shooting' sleeve, the 'CR' lacking the brake holes that was allegedly available, but I never found one in the UK, or even anybody who knew what I was talking about.)

https://www.browning.com/news/tech-terms/boss-rifle-accuracy-system.html

It didn't sell well and only lasted a short time as a standard fitment. Browning continued to put them on some of its range and chamberings afterwards. Interestingly, Browning patented it at the time, but I can't see how that works for barrel tuners in general as the concept is very much older than the BOSS system.

 

[dcali]

Yes, it was called the B.O.S.S. (Ballistic Optimizing Shooting System). I had a 7mm-08 A-Bolt sporter with it many, many years ago. It might or might not have worked, but I found it much easier to leave the device locked onto a setting and tune my handloads to suit the barrel.

The idea was that non-handloaders would tune the skinny barrel to suit their factory ammo loading. Some users claim it worked well in this role and were very happy with it.

https://www.browning.com/support/faq/boss-system.html

In its usual guise it included an incredibly noisy muzzle brake that made the little seven really anti-social - might have made some sense with a heavy recoiling cartridge in this weight rifle, but certainly not for 7-08, and Browning put them one everything, even 223s.

(There was a replacement 'range-shooting' sleeve, the 'CR' lacking the brake holes that was allegedly available, but I never found one in the UK, or even anybody who knew what I was talking about.)

https://www.browning.com/news/tech-terms/boss-rifle-accuracy-system.html

It didn't sell well and only lasted a short time as a standard fitment. Browning continued to put them on some of its range and chamberings afterwards. Interestingly, Browning patented it at the time, but I can't see how that works for barrel tuners in general as the concept is very much older than the BOSS system.

That jogged the memory. I got curious and looked up the patent. It's actually fairly interesting.

US5279200A - Ballistic optimizing system for rifles - Google Patents

A ballistic optimizing system for use on a preferably bedded rifle comprising a movable weight element secured to the end of a rifle barrel such that said weight element can be moved axially along said barrel to change the effective weight applied for dampening purposes and having an indicator...

patents.google.com

 

[Fairchaser]

Yes, it was called the B.O.S.S. (Ballistic Optimizing Shooting System). I had a 7mm-08 A-Bolt sporter with it many, many years ago. It might or might not have worked, but I found it much easier to leave the device locked onto a setting and tune my handloads to suit the barrel.

The idea was that non-handloaders would tune the skinny barrel to suit their factory ammo loading. Some users claim it worked well in this role and were very happy with it.

https://www.browning.com/support/faq/boss-system.html

In its usual guise it included an incredibly noisy muzzle brake that made the little seven really anti-social - might have made some sense with a heavy recoiling cartridge in this weight rifle, but certainly not for 7-08, and Browning put them one everything, even 223s.

(There was a replacement 'range-shooting' sleeve, the 'CR' lacking the brake holes that was allegedly available, but I never found one in the UK, or even anybody who knew what I was talking about.)

https://www.browning.com/news/tech-terms/boss-rifle-accuracy-system.html

It didn't sell well and only lasted a short time as a standard fitment. Browning continued to put them on some of its range and chamberings afterwards. Interestingly, Browning patented it at the time, but I can't see how that works for barrel tuners in general as the concept is very much older than the BOSS system.

I have them on my brownings and they DO work well to tune a load. But the muzzle break was too loud for hunting without hearing protection. I opted for the CR sleeve which can be tuned as well. BTW, browning is happy to send you the CR for free to avoid any lawsuit for hearing loss caused by muzzle breaks.

 

[WSnyder]

That jogged the memory. I got curious and looked up the patent. It's actually fairly interesting.

US5279200A - Ballistic optimizing system for rifles - Google Patents

A ballistic optimizing system for use on a preferably bedded rifle comprising a movable weight element secured to the end of a rifle barrel such that said weight element can be moved axially along said barrel to change the effective weight applied for dampening purposes and having an indicator...

patents.google.com

I had an article written shortly after the introduction of the BOSS by the engineering firm they hired to explain how it worked. I'm sure it got thrown away many years ago and I've never been able to find a reference to it online ever. It'd be interesting to read it again to see how it compares to later ideas and ideas of today.

 

[jackieschmidt]

A tuner on a hunting rifle? ...an absolute absurdity for me. I don't require a target or specialized rifle with its most accurate load to hit a basketball at any reasonable hunting range I'm likely to encounter....probably 100 yds or less 98% of the time. I've even used factory 2nds bullets to kill deer, with the 338, as I graduated from a 30-30 lever action to eventually a 338 and 350 mag ...no tuner to kill deer...just big heavy bullets at moderate velocities, blast a big hole completely through the animal, always seem to do the job...for me. Light, fast, handy, low power scope, hand loaded to produce velocity first accuracy 2nd but still more accurate than required.
My perfect rifle is a (modified for 2.910" cartridges) Model 7 350 Mag 20" 250 gr 2625 fps. Barns 225 gr 2750 fps a 3×9, or 2x7 set on low power. Rain forest to the high mountains, Grizzly bears were just re-introduced to take care of the big game...and black bears I encounter have been at very close range, you can walk past them just feet away...had one followed me down an old logging road, didn't know it was there...until I turned my head as I felt a presence...expected a deer...but it was a big bear.
But those who want the most accuracy possible, they should certainly explore all possibilities, whether required or not, if it provides confidence, go for it.
You rifle, ...custom or factory, make it work for your needs...that may require a tuner on a hunting rifle, ..just not my cup of tea...but that doesn't matter.

I really never built this rifle to hunt anything with. I just accumulated a bunch of parts and decided to put it together.

I decided to build a muzzle brake, then said what the heck, make a muzzle brake/tuner.

My son got on a deer lease,, so I decided on a good Factory load. We bought two boxes of the Federal 150’s at Academy and tuned it in.

Sure, it’s overkill. But it as fun.

 

[chop house]

Limbsaver barrel deresonator.

hey i use those as a sticky bumper to protect the muzzle when i lean it against the wall of the shooting house. and as a handle (empty chamber only, of course!)