SUMO Vs Buckrail Vs home 3D printed moderators

[Ratzilla]

Slow morning for me so I decided to mess around with a cheap dB meter and some moderators.

Here are the results I got using a .177 Akela @ 810-820 fps with H&N Barracudas 10.65g, indoors in my basement, shooting into duct putty. Readings were a average of a 5 shot strings. A inexpensive Amazon dB meter was used. It was placed approx 3' in front of the muzzle and then retested 3' behind the muzzle, close to where the shooters ear would be.

I was using up the filament that I had on hand, that is why some are yellow in color. The 3D printed moderators (except the Buckrail) were random free downloads off thingverese. Hopefully soon I will be able to design my own airgun accessories.

The SUMO won if going strictly by the dB reduction. Other things to consider I think would be cost, size and quality of build. Is a couple decibels reduction and better build with the SUMO worth 5x or 100x the cost of the others? I guess that is up to the individuals budget and taste. Also accuracy of each moderator was not factored in.

The dB reduction does not seem like a lot but it was very noticeable to my ear.

 

[beerthief]

I would not go outside with the yellow ones , ALL the Karen's will spot you in a minute.

 

[iAMzehTOASTY1]

Buck-rail my one and only brand of can

 

[iAMzehTOASTY1]

I would not go outside with the yellow ones , ALL the Karen's will spot you in a minute.

Paint or tape
Or wrap

 

[dizzums]

its hard for me to justify spending huge on an airgun, but for something as cool as a screw-on 'can', yeah, donnys are super sweet ...

 

[Ratzilla]

I would not go outside with the yellow ones , ALL the Karen's will spot you in a minute.

LOL..I have some Black carbon fiber filament coming Sunday and will reprint in that color.

 

[delooper]

Could you post some links to the thingiverse designs? Curious to see what the internals look like. It looks like you're printing the entire moderator?

 

[Ratzilla]

Could you post some links to the thingiverse designs? Curious to see what the internals look like. It looks like you're printing the entire moderator?

1/2 UNF moderator, silencer up to .25, Hatsan AT44 silencer by puna102

There are three .stl files. two of these are the same except the thread size, both are 1/2 UNF. The Silencer_V1.stl was a bit tight fit (needed some post processing) so I modified the thread a little. This may vary on other printers. The third version is adapted to fit on Hatsan AT44.

www.thingiverse.com

The ones I printed were 1 piece units but there are a variety of styles

If you search silencer or moderator https://www.thingiverse.com/ quite a few come up.

 

[delooper]

1/2 UNF moderator, silencer up to .25, Hatsan AT44 silencer by puna102

There are three .stl files. two of these are the same except the thread size, both are 1/2 UNF. The Silencer_V1.stl was a bit tight fit (needed some post processing) so I modified the thread a little. This may vary on other printers. The third version is adapted to fit on Hatsan AT44.

www.thingiverse.com

The ones I printed were 1 piece units but there are a variety of styles

If you search silencer or moderator https://www.thingiverse.com/ quite a few come up.

Thanks, yeah, I've seen them. Generally I think these kinds of moderators would be more efficient if you print a monocore, and slide the monocore into a carbon fibre tube. It makes the construction more complicated as you'll need appropriate o-rings. But the monocore design is a lot easier to clean-up after prints, and gives you quite a bit more design flexibility.

 

[Ratzilla]

Thanks, yeah, I've seen them. Generally I think these kinds of moderators would be more efficient if you print a monocore, and slide the monocore into a carbon fibre tube. It makes the construction more complicated as you'll need appropriate o-rings. But the monocore design is a lot easier to clean-up after prints, and gives you quite a bit more design flexibility.

I finally have my printer tuned up correctly and will try more complicated designs.

 

[rattletrap]

I've made several 3D printed moderators. I use Carbon Filled Polycarbonate. I think they're as quiet if not more so than some of the big name ones, but the print time and removal of supports is a drag. I print the core, go around it one time with fiberglass window screen material (to keep the felt away from inside the core), then go around one more time with 2 turns of felt. The two end caps keep the core centered. The rifle end of the moderator is printed with a counterbore that is a slip-fit to the barrel and a helicoil is set at the bottom of the counterbore to engage the barrel threads. The counterbore takes the hanging weight off of the threads and puts it on the barrel.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Since sound is measured on a logarithmic scale a couple of decibels can make a big difference, as can the frequency, which will impact how sharp you interpret the blast to be. There is a lot of variables to be played with…

-Marty

 

[MartyMcFly]

Forgot to mention, it’s important to remember that sound follows the inverse square law. For example, a 90 db sound at 1 meter will fall to 84 db by the time it hits 2 meters and 78 db at 4 meters. Therefore, having a 2 db reduction at the muzzle can have a very meaningful impact down range.

-Marty

 

[orangeokie]

Slow morning for me so I decided to mess around with a cheap dB meter and some moderators.

Here are the results I got using a .177 Akela @ 810-820 fps with H&N Barracudas 10.65g, indoors in my basement, shooting into duct putty. Readings were a average of a 5 shot strings. A inexpensive Amazon dB meter was used. It was placed approx 3' in front of the muzzle and then retested 3' behind the muzzle, close to where the shooters ear would be.

I was using up the filament that I had on hand, that is why some are yellow in color. The 3D printed moderators (except the Buckrail) were random free downloads off thingverese. Hopefully soon I will be able to design my own airgun accessories.

The SUMO won if going strictly by the dB reduction. Other things to consider I think would be cost, size and quality of build. Is a couple decibels reduction and better build with the SUMO worth 5x or 100x the cost of the others? I guess that is up to the individuals budget and taste. Also accuracy of each moderator was not factored in.

The dB reduction does not seem like a lot but it was very noticeable to my ear.

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Not related to sound Dbs, but did your Buckrail threads fit perfectly with your Akela. I received a Buckrail for mine but the threads would not screw in tight and secure. They are sending me a replacement.

 

[Ratzilla]

Not related to sound Dbs, but did your Buckrail threads fit perfectly with your Akela. I received a Buckrail for mine but the threads would not screw in tight and secure. They are sending me a replacement.

yes, I have the Buckrail with the steel insert and it fits fine

 

[cosmic]

I believe that the decibels are so close that the TONE of the shot is what matters..

 

[pnwairgunner]

I believe that the decibels are so close that the TONE of the shot is what matters..

I think if airgunners developed a moderator that was actually a tuning device for the tone of the sound and not made to reduce decibels it would safeguard their use in the future. There’s a big difference in noise that’s high pitched and a deeper pitched noise. To my ears anyway.

 

[MartyMcFly]

I think if airgunners developed a moderator that was actually a tuning device for the tone of the sound and not made to reduce decibels it would safeguard their use in the future. There’s a big difference in noise that’s high pitched and a deeper pitched noise. To my ears anyway.

There are two possible approaches to this. The first is using intelligent materials that can adapt to different sound frequencies. Baffles built of such materials may work better for various calibers. See article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9044041/

The other solution is digital. If you have a fast enough sound processor and small speaker you can produce a “negative” sound wave, one that is a mirror image of the original that cancels the sound out.

-Marty

 

[pnwairgunner]

There are two possible approaches to this. The first is using intelligent materials that can adapt to different sound frequencies. Baffles built of such materials may work better for various calibers. See article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9044041/

The other solution is digital. If you have a fast enough sound processor and small speaker you can produce a “negative” sound wave, one that is a mirror image of the original that cancels the sound out.

-Marty

Oh yes I remember there was a luxury car back in the late 80s that had a device that cancelled out noise in the cabin. Very interesting.

 

[orangeokie]

Not related to sound Dbs, but did your Buckrail threads fit perfectly with your Akela. I received a Buckrail for mine but the threads would not screw in tight and secure. They are sending me a replacement.

Just received my replacement Buck Rail moderator for my Benjamin Akela and it screws in perfectly and securely. Very quiet now. Definitely backyard friendly. The only "loud" noise is the hammer striking the firing pin. Same sound as my FX Crown. Very much backyard friendly.