I assembled a wide selection of moderators for testing...
Out Foxing
Moderators Tested
Make
|
Order of Quietness
|
Weight
|
Length
|
Wide
|
Price
|
MAE T12
|
4
|
750gm
|
394mm
|
38mm
|
|
MAE 66
|
2
|
540gm
|
250mm
|
32mm
|
|
MAE Ali
|
1
|
Custom fit
|
Custom fit
|
32mm
|
|
MAE Muzzle can
|
1
|
425gm
|
252gm
|
32mm
|
|
MAE Mighty Mouse
|
9
|
84gm
|
160mm
|
22mm
|
|
Reflex T8
|
7
|
670gm
|
310mm
|
50mm
|
|
Jet-Z
|
3
|
480gm
|
153mm
|
38mm
|
|
Ase-Utra
|
6
|
270gm
|
162mm
|
28mm
|
|
SAK
|
9
|
220gm
|
144mm
|
35mm
|
|
Wildcat 200
|
6
|
680gm
|
200mm
|
50mm
|
|
Wildcat Growler
|
8
|
168gm
|
150mm
|
38mm
|
|
JLS Stalker MK1
|
5
|
450gm
|
278mm
|
38mm
|
|
JLS Stalker MK2
|
N/a
|
400gm
|
204mm
|
38mm
|
|
Sako
|
10
|
126gm
|
202mm
|
28mm
|
|
Sound Biter
|
10
|
64.5gm
|
108mm
|
28mm
|
|
Husher 1
|
9
|
238gm
|
152mm
|
40mm
|
With the Hornady .17 magnum Rimfire round firmly being established
within the British shooting community, most Sporting shooters will want to take
advantage of some excellent sound moderation to utilise the mighty rimfire at
its best.
I assembled a wide selection of moderators for testing both rimfire
.22lr based right through to a myriad of small capacity centre fire cans and up
to .308 capacity to see how much moderator was enough to suppress the light
payload of 5.5 grains of Hodgons LIL-gun that Hornady use to propel take 17 gr.
bullet at 2550 fps.
It would be interesting to see if some of the smaller and less baffled
moderators were just as efficient as the larger moderators, as in the past I
had noted that there is definitely a “sweet” spot of maximum sound suppression
with in the internal air space and in fact some times a larger moderator can be
more noisy as you start to get a reverberation or echo effect.
To keep the testing completely unbiased I used two sound meters both to
the right side of the shooter 10-foot from the muzzle and one at the shooters
left hear. This would hopefully give me some indication in decibels as to which
was the quietest but I also had three people just using the old ear lobes,
which in truth is as good as any test in real life. I shot with an Anschutz
1717, Ruger 17/17 Laminate and UK custom shop Brno firstly into a soft sand
back stop to eliminate the muzzle crack associated with supersonic flight and
then repeated the sequence across a flat and un-obscured field, to avoid
rebound or reflected noise. Hopefully I
would have all bases covered, I am not a sound expert and some will balk at he
testing procedure I am sure but actually when the testing started it was the
human ear that became the best indication of the noise reductions and not the
sound meter. We experienced a few problems picking up all the frequencies of
the shot and the “rise” time or speed of the sound meter to detect the shot was
to slow in reality and so all the readings were a lot lower proportionally than
they should be. Some of the moderators quite definitely changed the note of the
report which was not reflected in the sound meter reading and gave a false
appearance to some of the readings. It was thus decided that we would ditch the
meters in favour of the ear as I could not afford to buy a professional sound
meter B&K at £5000 plus, call me fickle.
Also whilst testing the noise reduction was not all that was important
to note as some moderators where longer or heavier and bulky than others and
though alright in a range environment it would become tiresome and restrictive
in many or most sporting applications and so you will have to weigh up noise
reduction with the overall performance and price for that matter, to make the
right choice for you.
I tested 15 moderators in all ranging from .22lr models to see if they
where up to it through the Hornet class mods right up to the larger centrefire
models to see if there was an optimum point where noise reduction peaked. As
well as the over the barrel Reflex and PES type cans I used a range of muzzle
mounted moderators of varying lengths and was actually quite surprised at some
of the results we obtained.
Listed in the chart are the makes and specifications of each model of
suppressor with a price guide and importantly the order in which the test crew
thought the quietest in muzzle report reduction.
Shooting the rifles without a can on, gave that characteristic whip
like crack from the speeding 17 gr. V-Max bullet that certainly is too
intrusive if you want to shoot several rounds on one given area without being a
nuisance to neighbours. All the moderators were screwed on in turn and their
effectiveness tested. In fairness all the cans reduced the muzzle blast to some
degree and were all of a benefit. None, as with all moderators could suppress
the supersonic crack but all the “guts” of the noise was removed and it became
much less offensive. Additionally although very light recoiling in nature the
muzzle flip was further reduced and any muzzle blast flame was concealed which
is handy whilst out lamping at night.
Well top marks had to go the New Zealand made PES moderators imported
by JMS Arms which are proving to be very efficient and effective sound
moderators. I tested five models from the range and very interestingly, the
quietest of all the types tested was a joint first place between the 32mm
diameter Aluminium model telescopic model and the more traditional muzzle
mounted can. Nearly all the muzzle blast was suppressed and all you had was the
supersonic crack, there was very little rolling echo, or reflected noise back
off obstruction. This is interesting because the muzzle can was just as
effective as the now “must have” down the barrel design and shows that only a
certain internal air capacity is needed to optimise suppression for a
particular round. The disadvantage of the muzzle-mounted can is that the
overall length is increased which is why most people favour the “Reflex” type
moderators these days. But if you can live with the overall length increase
then the price difference between the two model may influence your decision,
the muzzle can is £73 cheaper.
Nearly as good was the PES 66 model, specifically design for the .17
HMR round and hosts a 6 baffle stack instead of the normal 12 usually found on
the PES range. This is available also in stainless or blued steel and although
costing the same as the larger model T12 is actually quieter in the tests and
came in second overall in the quietness test. Also it only weighs 540 gm and
uses a 32mm tube diameter that when mounted on the rifle feels no weight at
all because the weight is positioned
down the barrel length and not sited at the muzzle end predominately. As stated
the T12 model designed for large calibre fullbores was place fourth in the
quietness test, still very good but with a 38mm tube as compared to the PES 66
32mm tube you are not gaining any advantage. This is what I was saying at the
beginning, some times the biggest and wider cans are actually noisier than some
of the smaller more slender models as there comes a point where the moderator
has suppressed the gases as much as it can. Try and match the cartridge to the
moderator, bigger is not always better.
The final PES I tested was the Mighty Mouse originally designed for the
rimfire rifle, which is very good at, but on the .17 HMR could only manage
ninth place with the Husher One and SAK moderators. However at only £29.95 it
was very cheap and still took a lot of the bite out of the HMR`s muzzle report,
so if money was tight then you could do a lot worse than fitting one of these.
I next tried a range from Jackson rifles who have been importing the
Reflex moderator for some time now as wells as the ASE UTRA and SAK range.
These moderators cover all calibres from rimfire right up to the largest
centrefires and I tested the Reflex T8, JET-Z CQB, ASE-UTRA rimfire and magnum
model as well as the SAK rimfire can.
The quietest and third overall in noise reduction was the JET-Z which
was just as well as it costs £315 and although designed for larger calibre’s
really stifled the .17 HMR report very well. It too is a muzzle mounted suppressor with a 38mm
body diameter and weighing 480gm but has
the advantage of only being 153mm long so as not to increase the overall length
of the rifle too much .
A nice surprise again was the effectiveness of the ASE Utra can that
was the quietest .22 lr rimfire moderator I had tested although a pain to
assemble and disassemble properly. It came in sixth quietest overall the same
as the bigger Wildcat 200 but this only cost £59.95 as opposed £220 of the Wildcat. A great
little supressor that is light at 270gm and only 162mm long but be careful if you want to clean it (I
would not) as the baffles stack in a 45 degree plane and can be a fiddle to get
back correctly and so enhance the risk of striking a baffle by mistake.
Equally good ,financially that is, was the SAK moderator at only £29.95
came in join ninth place with the PES Mighty Mouse for the same price and the
£127 Husher One. Although not the quietest for the money, it offered noise
reduction at an unbeatable price in practical terms. It is virtually
maintenance free and very strong, short
at only 144mm length and weighs only 220gm although with a 35mm body diameter
does look a bit bulbous on sporter profile barrels.
The Reflex T8 came in seventh in the quietness table that is good but
in my view is overkill for the .17 HMR cartridge there was a distinct ringing
to the can on firing and although sleeves down the barrel well it too is
bulbous and heavy looking to really be practical, better on a fullbore. The T4
would be better but one was not available to test.
New to the market are the Wildcat moderators from the UK Custom shop
that offer stainless steel construction that are totally strippable with a
dedicated .17 HMR aluminium hard
anodised model called the Growler, unfortunate name.
The 200 model so called due to its 200mm length is a large moderator at
720gm in weigh and with a 50mm body diameter. Being a sleeved down the barrel
mounting moderator this helps spread the weigh but it does look out of place on
the skinny sporter barrel. It was quiet though being sixth in the table and at
£220 pounds you are paying for the build quality and strippability, still nice
and quiet. On the flip side the Growler is light at 168gm only and only 150mm
long also sleeved down the barrel with little added length to the gun and the
38mm body diameter does not look to bulbous. Original tests put this further up
the quietness table but with the advent of a greater range of moderators
available only managed eighth place.
A real treat or a surprise was the result for the JLS Stalker
moderator. A muzzle mounted can of 278mm length and 400gm weigh it utilises a
more conventional one-piece baffle array unit but was really effective at
muzzle report reduction. Placed fifth overall the report was very nicely
suppressed and offers very good value for money and shows the older designs can
still work well, just look at the old Parker &Hale rimfire model. Only down
side is the length of 278mm is all added to the muzzle end of the rifle
although John from JLS does offer a shorter version, I will being testing this
soon. Good honest moderator at an honest price.
The Husher One that started a
revelation with its no baffle stack design only managed ninth place which was
disappointing but shows that some moderators work better with more pressure put
in them. At £127 , a hundred more than the PES Mighty Mouse which gave the same
noise reduction its virtues are its
excellent build quality and strength and ease of cleaning.
Lastly and not least were two rimfire
cans, the Sako and the diminutive Sound Biter. Both came last in the
noise reduction stakes but hey they were design for a completely different
cartridge. However they still reduced the muzzle blast to a level that from a
distance down range the noise was far less obvious as a gun shot, so at only
£25 a piece have got to be a very cheap option.
This last point about noise down range is important as under the test
conditions all the moderators were tested under the say conditions, however any
obstruction such as hedges trees ,buildings etc will reflect the noise and make
any of the moderators tested seem louder. Also if you listen the muzzle reports
down range which is where the game or neighbours will be sited , not near the
rifleman, then it is far harder to distinguish between the individual
moderators report signatures.
Overall its your own preference not only in performance but looks
weight, maintenance and how much you want to spend on a moderator that will
influence your own choice , that’s up to you these are just the results I
obtained from an unbiased team of listeners.
label here
label here
Mods on test
Crafty crow shot
MAE on right
LEI Moderator
Bruce Potts
By Bruce Potts
List of contact names
MAE Moderators from JMS
Arms 01444 400126
www.maemoderators.co.uk
email jmsarmsuk@gmail.com
email jmsarmsuk@gmail.com
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