Before you go through the expense of putting a moderator on a HW 30 or R7, get some old pillow or junk cushion you can fold over the end of your barrel to shoot into. Completely cover the end of your barrel in the middle of the folded pillow/cushion . ***KEEP YOUR HAND AWAY FROM THE END OF THE MUZZLE...!!!***
Go ahead and shoot into it....the mechanical noise is the noise you're hearing , the sound will be amplified through the stock emanating to the side of your head and into your ear.the largest .177 moderator will do nothing to quiet that mild shooter.
Closest I've ever heard of quieting a HW 30/R7 was
Shoot heavier pellets.
Tune with a lighter spring to about 5.5 - 6 fpe, supposed to cock and shoot buttery smooth.
But as far as I can tell with my bone stock HW30 shooting 7.87gr diabolo pellets (has almost 6000 pellets down the pipe) I'd estimate 80 - 85+% of the noise is from the spring and piston firing cycle.
Again , just my thoughts~~~
