Quietest mod

[Grousekeeper84]

Hi Davy I was talking to Colin from OLC is that the 6.5x47 AI that he was talking about making a mod for? What's the noise suppression like?

Another vote for the OLC suppressors. This was a prototype Reflex type with stainless front end and heavy wall aluminium back end to act as a heat sink. It barely warms up at all and is a superb bit of kit.

 

[hunter87]

Shame there is no such thing as the holy grail of sound moderators you just got to narrow it down by comparing size, weight, length materials used, what your going to use it for ect ect.

 

What annoys me is that the makers of some of the mods both custom and off the shelf don't even state what level of db reduction you can expect sure it will be different for every gun but at least a ball park figure or test it on one gun and print the figures as a guide.just seems strange to not use the figures as a selling point that is unless they can't compete with the sound reduction of the others on the market

[Missed]

That might have rather a lot to do with the very great expense of using suitable acoustic testing equipment.

A comparison would be for all ammo manufacturers to use doppler radar to calculate BC.

[Chris-NZ]

(puts professional hat on)

 

There are serious issues with measuring impulse noise. "Normal" sound level meters do not handle impulse/impact noise accurately. This is because their integration time is way too slow for impulse noise . A rifle shot has a (dangerous) peak with a duration of less than 5 msecs and this peak will not register accurately on a std industrial meter with an integration time suitable for continuous occupational noise. Even the Impulse mode that some of these have will not give a valid reading.

 

Ironically, some of the '70/80s vintage B&K impulse meters were ideal for the purpose but they no longer make these. Only the top end (read: --expensive--) analysers tend to have a true impulse mode.

 

You read a whole lot of drivel about how a rifle shot "needs to be taken down to XX dB" to be safe" but most people saying this have no clue what they're on about. The current std that has some credence is that you should not be exposed to peak levels exceeding 140dBSPL , ie, measured with a impulse meter.

 

I very much doubt many manufacturers of suppressors have engaged the services of a consultant with the requisite instrumentation. I'd take many claims with a grain of salt.

[hunter87]

(Sits down and reads thread)

[hunter87]

I just think a lot of manufactures live of hear say and word of mouth rather than taking the time out to provide the potential buyer with information regarding dB reduction

Others such as ASE can do it so why can't everyone else

[Davy]

Grousekeeper84, Yes this is probably the rifle Colin was talking about. The rifle is my old Accuracy International so a bit of a test bed for stuff.

 

Given that it is a prototype that Colin built and I tweaked. I do not have noise reduction data however it certainly works. I can shoot this without ear protection if needed with no discomfort.

 

I wanted a suppressor that was going to last hence the stainless construction for the baffles and front tube, I also wanted something that would not heat up unduly so the back was made from aluminium which acts as a huge heat sink and dissipates heat very quickly. Colin had some ideas for the inner workings of the Reflex section and it comprises of a stainless steel tube that is vented internally from barrel to chamber a bit like a muzzle brake. I modified the original design rear endcap to incorporate a rear O ring acting as a seal on the inner tube, it also has an O ring that contacts the barrel which sounds like an odd addition however it means the suppressor will not loosen during operation. This inner O ring has no impact on POI or accuracy and the rifle is routinely shot to 1200 yards. Finish is satin black Cerakote for durability.

 

It is undoubtedly the best suppressor I have used and I am convinced it will last for many years.

[hunter87]

Grousekeeper84, Yes this is probably the rifle Colin was talking about. The rifle is my old Accuracy International so a bit of a test bed for stuff.

 

 

Given that it is a prototype that Colin built and I tweaked. I do not have noise reduction data however it certainly works. I can shoot this without ear protection if needed with no discomfort.

 

I wanted a suppressor that was going to last hence the stainless construction for the baffles and front tube, I also wanted something that would not heat up unduly so the back was made from aluminium which acts as a huge heat sink and dissipates heat very quickly. Colin had some ideas for the inner workings of the Reflex section and it comprises of a stainless steel tube that is vented internally from barrel to chamber a bit like a muzzle brake. I modified the original design rear endcap to incorporate a rear O ring acting as a seal on the inner tube, it also has an O ring that contacts the barrel which sounds like an odd addition however it means the suppressor will not loosen during operation. This inner O ring has no impact on POI or accuracy and the rifle is routinely shot to 1200 yards. Finish is satin black Cerakote for durability.

 

It is undoubtedly the best suppressor I have used and I am convinced it will last for many years.

You should do a review with pics stripped ect as there are no reviews of this for potential members looking to buy one.

 

I for one would find it interesting

[onelesscharlie]

Hi All

 

I have been reading this topic with obvious interest and had hoped that I wouldn't be tempted to comment, however if I could just add a few tiny little points that may be of benefit.

Before I do that I feel I must say a big thankyou to anyone who has taken the time to recommend one of my moderators, it is much appreciated and not forgotten.

 

• Sound attenuation measurement.... the correct equipment for this (certified for microsecond spike measurement) is amazingly expensive and for someone like me who doesn't make thousands of moderators is commercially unviable. As we manufacture custom units, sound moderation isn't always the key requirement, sometimes it's weight, sometimes its longevity so perhaps for us a manual test system offers the best approach.
• Reviews..... most of our mods have at some time been reviewed by Sporting Rifle, Sporting Shooter, Shooting Sports, the Countrymans Weekly and others. I always welcome reviews from individuals either positive or constructively negative, it is a great way to assist in the development of products even though it has been known to bring me to tears As such I hope Davy or anyone else for that matter can commit finger to keyboard.
• Holy Grail..... As mentioned this does not exist and I doubt it ever will, everyone looks for something different, personal preference is exactly that. I try to make the best I can, there will be others that make something similar, lighter, cheaper and off the shelf...... there is nothing I can do about that other than try to improve all the time and with the help of shooters like you lot out there the task is so much easier (most of the time.

All the best and looking forward to meeting you all on our stand at the British Shooting Show (but not all at the same time)

 

Colin

[gbal]

Just picking up on Colin's sensible comments-all the posts so far have been,quite understandably,about noise reduction.

How about recoil reduction-are there consistent differences there? Sometimes I have no need of the very best sound attenuation (eg on range) but do want to reduce repeated recoil as much as possible.(Brakes don't seem to me to be as good,and of course are noisy and disruptive to those on either side).

Anyone noticed differences in recoil,especially with ,say,308 and up?

Gbal

[Swamp Donkey]

My northstar gets borrowed by my mate when we are on the range together as it tames it better than his sl5. He's just a wuss, but his (lightweight) 243 is far less 'snappy' with a heavier one

[Jagged 77]

Just picking up on Colin's sensible comments-all the posts so far have been,quite understandably,about noise reduction.

How about recoil reduction-are there consistent differences there? Sometimes I have no need of the very best sound attenuation (eg on range) but do want to reduce repeated recoil as much as possible.(Brakes don't seem to me to be as good,and of course are noisy and disruptive to those on either side).

Anyone noticed differences in recoil,especially with ,say,308 and up?

Gbal

I think I've mentioned before but I'm very impressed with the recoil reduction from my ase utra Jetz compact when used with my 300 WM. For such a small compact moderator to tame the recoil of a 208 Amax with full load is impressive. I also have the SL7 with my 338 and it makes the recoil more of a shove. I'm thinking about purchasing the new ASE .50 cal compact mod, it will be interesting to see how that fairs against the RPA brake, which is very effective (thankfully!)

[hunter87]

Hi All

 

I have been reading this topic with obvious interest and had hoped that I wouldn't be tempted to comment, however if I could just add a few tiny little points that may be of benefit.

Before I do that I feel I must say a big thankyou to anyone who has taken the time to recommend one of my moderators, it is much appreciated and not forgotten.

 

 

• Sound attenuation measurement.... the correct equipment for this (certified for microsecond spike measurement) is amazingly expensive and for someone like me who doesn't make thousands of moderators is commercially unviable. As we manufacture custom units, sound moderation isn't always the key requirement, sometimes it's weight, sometimes its longevity so perhaps for us a manual test system offers the best approach.
• Reviews..... most of our mods have at some time been reviewed by Sporting Rifle, Sporting Shooter, Shooting Sports, the Countrymans Weekly and others. I always welcome reviews from individuals either positive or constructively negative, it is a great way to assist in the development of products even though it has been known to bring me to tears As such I hope Davy or anyone else for that matter can commit finger to keyboard.
• Holy Grail..... As mentioned this does not exist and I doubt it ever will, everyone looks for something different, personal preference is exactly that. I try to make the best I can, there will be others that make something similar, lighter, cheaper and off the shelf...... there is nothing I can do about that other than try to improve all the time and with the help of shooters like you lot out there the task is so much easier (most of the time.

All the best and looking forward to meeting you all on our stand at the British Shooting Show (but not all at the same time)

 

Colin

In my humble opinion if I was going to produce sound moderators for the foreseeable future and was really interested in development I would think sound measuring equipment would be a very good investment I mean how else do you know if your product is improving as you change the design ?