Western Airguns Hushing the Sidewinder Mini .30

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I have a full sized Sidewinder and I've been fairly successful in taming its bark. I'm using a Huma Mod50 with my own baffles which are just washers that have been turned down to fit snugly, drilled out slightly larger than the bore and covered in moleskin. I also drilled about 50 small holes in the shroud and added some pot scrubber material to the inside of the shroud. I'm running it in the low 900's with 50.1 grain pellets and a little over 90 fpe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: subscriber and weevil
Upvote 0
Those moderators look great!

I have a full size .22 Sidewinder that Subscriber worked with me to help quiet down the muzzle blast, but the action is still really loud, especially with my head right there against it. If I had an infinitely long moderator on the barrel, it would still be about the loudest airgun I have . . . .
 
  • Like
Reactions: weevil, Sawney Bean and subscriber
Upvote 0
AlanMcD said:
Those moderators look great!

I have a full size .22 Sidewinder that Subscriber worked with me to help quiet down the muzzle blast, but the action is still really loud, especially with my head right there against it. If I had an infinitely long moderator on the barrel, it would still be about the loudest airgun I have . . . .
Click to expand...
This is the same problem I've been running into. The action on the Sidewinder is really loud. Wrapping the rear of the rifle helps a little and doesn't seem to interfere with the magazine.
 
Upvote 0
Sawney Bean said:
This is the same problem I've been running into. The action on the Sidewinder is really loud. Wrapping the rear of the rifle helps a little and doesn't seem to interfere with the magazine.
Click to expand...
I bought some mastic to stick on the sides of the action, but have not been brave enough to try it yet, as I don't want it to damage the finish if I were to ever decide to sell the gun. I may put some on a similar piece of metal ans see what it does after a period of time. Here is the stuff: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RSZ9L9J
 
Upvote 0
Sawney Bean said:
This is the same problem I've been running into. The action on the Sidewinder is really loud. Wrapping the rear of the rifle helps a little and doesn't seem to interfere with the magazine.
Click to expand...
I'm not really sure if it's just me or not but, the action on mine doesn't seem loud at all. I know when I got it I could feel a slight bit of air from the action so I loosened the barrel bolts and tightened it until it stopped on the magazine, and then turned it back a very slight amount (not 1/8th turn) until the mag was free. Is it possible you're all hearing that blast of air because the action itself on mine as I said, isn't loud to me anyway.
 
Upvote 0
Congrats on those results weevil... this is an interesting project. I wonder how it would sound on a full-length SW. Even though I don't need mine to be backyard friendly it would be nice to reduce the bark at higher power levels. I've been meaning to get a 3d printer for a while now but this might be the thing to finally make me do it :LOL:
 
  • Like
Reactions: subscriber
Upvote 0
weevil said:
My mini is definitely more muzzle noise than action but I certainly agree that it is significant…. I have crafted and printed an action muffler that I’ll report on later!
Click to expand...
I am really looking forward to hearing about how this works for you . . . I feel mine is still uncomfortable for me to shoot, but that is a function of both the noise level and something going on with my hearing. For most, I bet the noise level of my action is loud but tolerable.
 
Upvote 0
weevil said:
For me, the primary concern was that it was uncomfortable to shoot, hearing-wise. What is the caliber of your SW and does it have a stock moderation system?
Click to expand...

Yep, stock shroud/mod on mine. It's only .25 so it's pretty tame when the power is dialed down, but when I "open the throttle" it gets much louder... Loud enough that it usually sends all the birds flying out of the nearby trees 😅 I don't really need to worry about neighbors, but it would be nice to make it quieter for my own sake.
 
Upvote 0
weevil said:
Hi Alan,

This is a picture of the action muffler:

View attachment 440967

While it works to allow rotation and doesn’t get in the way of shooting, I can’t discern any benefit in terms of noise. Moreover, I think if the action noise is sufficiently bothersome, it would be more comfortable and practical to use earplugs or muffs. I don’t think that component of the overall report is a problem to neighbors or pests. As you say, it’s just that it’s right next to your ear.

The interior is just HD foam with cut out for the mag and lever with a thinner piece on the LHS. The plastic frame is flexible enough to allow it to be slipped on from above but tight enough to remain clamped. I really can’t detect any air escaping in that area. How about you?
Click to expand...
What I did with mine was I just wrapped the entire magazine area with a large gun sock, but like you I found I didn’t find it to be very effective. I do think it quieted it down a little however.
 
Upvote 0
weevil said:
Hi Alan,

This is a picture of the action muffler:



While it works to allow rotation and doesn’t get in the way of shooting, I can’t discern any benefit in terms of noise. Moreover, I think if the action noise is sufficiently bothersome, it would be more comfortable and practical to use earplugs or muffs. I don’t think that component of the overall report is a problem to neighbors or pests. As you say, it’s just that it’s right next to your ear.

The interior is just HD foam with cut out for the mag and lever with a thinner piece on the LHS. The plastic frame is flexible enough to allow it to be slipped on from above but tight enough to remain clamped. I really can’t detect any air escaping in that area. How about you?
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing that. Too bad it did not do much. I do wear earplugs whenever I am shooting the Sidewinder more than a few times - it's annoying to have to do, as none of my other guns need it, even more powerful ones.

I have tweaked the barrel about as tight as I dare - I had it tighter once (and I think a bit quieter) but it led to a jam. I don't detect any air escaping. I think part of the noise is radiated from the side of the action, especially the cover right by the magazine as that has the piston and rod in it for advancing the magazine.
 
Upvote 0
subscriber said:
I don't own a Sidewinder or a Huben, but as far as I remember the Huben has an O-ring or compliant seal between the magazine and barrel at the front. And between the mag and receiver at the rear. This, while the easily removable and inserted mag of the Sidewinder suggests a close fit, but no compliant seals either end of the mag chambers.

So, this suggests the Sidewinder will have air leaking from the front and or rear of the mag to some degree, much like the flash gap on a revolver cylinder. So, the way to reduce noise from the action would be to ensure the front and rear mag faces are smooth, flat, parallel and perpendicular to the axis of rotation. And then, that the gap the mag fits into is adjusted to the minimum that allows for free insertion and rotation. But, even then, the Sidewinder will be noisier than the Huben at the rear, simply because some high pressure air will leak out on every shot, near your ear.

If the Sidewinder is efficient, then this air leakage can't be too much But, there is not a lot to be done about it. For the right handed shooter, it may be possible to cover the mag port on the left of the gun. The right side mag port needs to be open to change mags.

Anyway, I may be stating the obvious, but the above is how things seem to me, from a distance.
Click to expand...
The Huben does have a seal that moves forward and contacts the rear of the magazine on the shot, but there is no seal between the front and the magazine. The shot cycle pushes the mag forward slightly and seals via pressure and direct metal to metal contact. It does not leak much air at all.

I believe the Sidewinder works the same way, but I have not had it apart and there is no schematic on it. There definitely is no seal between the barrel and the magazine. It does not leak much air either, as shown via the "tissue test" and the tissue not moving.
 
  • Love
Reactions: scottblair
Upvote 0
subscriber said:
There is some interest in a muffler for the full size Sidewinder. It seems that the rear shroud is not active, and leaving it like that will simplify matters. The size of muffler mentioned was 50 mm OD by 250 mm long.

If there is interest in that, I can design such a beast to work with the stock thread, or with the 1/2-20 adaptor. But, I will need dimensions to enable the front to rear fit of the stock shroud to continue to work.

As the OldSpook Tesla Valve tribute design I did is the best of the Sidewinder Mini ones weevil has tried, it seems to make sense to make a larger version of the OSTV for the full sized sidewinder.

I would prefer to design something that more than one person would want. While I do not charge for designs, my time is not free. So, I prefer not to duplicate a lot of work, if I can help it. weevil has suggested improvements to the OSTV design shown above. I prefer not to make the full size muffler overly complicated, before we are confident that the basic device performs as intended; including its potential effect on group size.

The fact that the full size version would not have any active rear shroud means that the initial air handling from the barrel muzzle will not be the same as for the mini. I know how I want to handle that, but prefer to prove that design, before including improvements, such as removable felt at the front end; for example.

Is anyone interested? If so, can you define the outside moderator dimensions you would prefer? And the thread diameter, pitch and length? And the stock shroud distance to barrel stud shoulder?


EDIT: If the connection between the barrel and stock rear shroud has vents feeding the shroud, then the shroud is "active". Even if there is no conventional flat or conical air stripper. If the stock shroud is active, then that function should be kept. I can only design around known dimensions. As I do not own a Sidewinder, those who have an interest in a larger moderator will need to feed me the appropriate dimensions, including the stock shroud OD and ID. If used, I need images and dimensions of the thread adaptor installed, so I can interface with that too.

Click to expand...
I too would be interested in one of these, based on Weevil's results. I'll take my full size Sidewinder apart tomorrow to get some pics and dimensions for you, but they are the same as back when you designed the 8" plume moderators for me (in 1.5" and 2" diameter). The shroud is active, but the 1/2-20 adaptor has no stripper and is not very efficient at moving air to the back - but as you say, it is better than nothing. The area for airflow is probably a good bit less than what you designed into Weevil's moderator . . .
 
Upvote 0
subscriber said:
Now that I have seen the AOA adaptor, I feel better about using it.
Click to expand...
The 1/2-20 threads on the AoA adapter extend out 11.9 mm from the shoulder/base, which I would think is all you need. The overall diameter at the interface to the shroud is 26.1 mm on the knurled portion. If you need any internal dimensions I can take it apart and get them. With the adapter and factory shroud tube the shoulder extends just forward of the end of the bottle, there is no real concern of clearance between the moderator and bottle - even with the 2" plume moderator I can fit a finger between the mod and bottle.

I agree with Weevil that we probably don't need anything much bigger than his - 250mm in length sounds huge, but if that is where things go so be it. I will say that the 2"x8" plume moderator ended up only being 1 dB less (on a phone app, barely noticeable while shooting) than the Huma 40 Standard (which is about 7 3/8" long), but is almost unwieldy in size (plus it is heavier than the Huma). The 1.5" was lighter but louder than the Huma. Sadly, the Huma stays on the gun as it was the best balance of the three.

I expect the TV design to beat out the plume design by a good bit - and the Huma even within the same envelope.

I'd be game for the CF outer tube too if that helps with strength/volume side of things, as I'd like it to be able to take the full power of the Sidewinder or Huben if I decide to go with slugs at some point. But I know this is not my show here . . . ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: weevil
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu