Is it really worth suppressing a break barrel?

[Mk12mod1]

All right, going through the rebuild process on a couple of Diana 34 clones and was wondering if it is practical to add a suppressor on some of the builds?

I known there are many factory built break barrels with integral suppression, however I believe these to be gas piston and not spring driven.

I am leaning towards the "why bother?" as I think most of the noise would be caused by metal parts and not the passing pellets.

Am I on the right track?

 

[thumper]

It makes a little difference from what I've noticed. Not dramatic by any means. Makes more difference on a short barreled high powered rifle obviously. 

The UK guys almost always have one in their springers. But I wonder if it's more for looks, cocking leverage, and because they are cheap and plentiful over there?

 

[intenseaty22]

I personally have them on my LGVs and my HW30. To me the sound suppression is both noticeable and worth it. Your mileage may vary, but you’ll never know until you try it or see if someone has a gun you can try with and without. It also gives the gun a nice look and aids in cocking. 

 

[STO]

So my hot take on this is that it really depends on what you're trying to muffle exactly. 



The higher power the springer, the more pressure and/or air volume there needs to be at the muzzle end, and so the louder it'll be and the more valuable the moderator will be. But there will always be some little "puff" at the muzzle which can be made quieter. Thing is though, that is the end of the gun furthest away from you and the pressure wave is largely pointed away from you. Stand in front of the gun (not recommended) or shoot at a sound-reflective surface and how you perceive your gun may change dramatically. 

So if you want your springer quieter for you, then depending on the rifle the moderator may only help a tiny bit. Certainly it isn't a "bigger is better" application. However if you want your rifle quieter for whatever you're shooting at or near, then a moderator may be much more worthwhile. 


My 2c. Hope that is helpful. 

 

[leadfoot]

If your neighbor is 100 feet away from you, anything you can do to not draw attention to your shooting would probably be a good idea.

I have a R7 (HW30), a R1 (HW80), and a Benjamin Steel Eagle NP2. The first 2 do not have any suppressors, the Steel Eagle has a factory shroud and baffles. From a shooters position, they all seem pretty quiet. When shot at a tin or aluminum can, the target makes a LOT more noise. If it were me I'd probably decide not to add the extra weight and 5 inches to the end of the barrel.

When shooting a PCP, especially when the Foot Pounds get near 30, or you have a shorter barrel, you do get a "crack" and a suppressor can make a lot of difference.

 

[Mk12mod1]

Thanks guys.

Really not worried about the added weight or length.

Maybe I will start of with one and go from there.

 

[parallax]

I find the HW moderator for the HW30 works well.

BTW, Mk12mod1 is a cool user name.

 

[MScottLeeman]

They work. Your break barrel rifle Will be quieter. If you want it quieter,it's worth it.

There Ya go. Thats the "Meat and Potatoes" answer to your question.

Mike.

 

[fishinwrench]

If I had neighbors that got all freaked out about the sound of a pellet rifle .... I'd either not care if it bothered them, or I'd be looking to move.

Are you allowed to sneeze outside or do you have to scramble to find a way to cover your head with a pillow real quick so as not to elicit a "Bless You"?

Here's an idea....invite them over and get them interested in airguns. Problem solved!

 

[donwalk]

my springers are all, for the biggest part, backyard friendly.

my 54 has more "spring" noise than muzzle noise.

my Airforce, sans LDC, is as bad as a powder burner...

 

[Clancy]

I don't believe it makes a great deal of difference from the shooter's perspective, but for an observer it's definitely a bit quieter.

I've also heard it claimed that it diffuses the sound a little, makes it that bit harder for game to pinpoint its source, but I don't know how true that may be.

 

[Scrufhunter]

I wouldn't bother with a moderator on a break barrel, they are quiet enough. You have neighbors complaining? Is it legal to shoot on your property? Many city's have no airgun shooting in city limits. Some places you can shoot only on your property. If your legal, who cares what your neighbor thinks. Let him/her call the cops. The cop can explain your within your rights......

You trying to be stealthy for hunting? I've used break barrels forever, and game I'm shooting at if they hear the gun, it's to late anyways, they just got smashed. That birdies buddies flew away cus birdie Jim's head just blew up not because they heard a mouse fart 40 yards away, or a big ass human fart for that matter

 

[ranedouglas]

 . sometimes it is worth it, but i find most of the spring / piston noise comes from the cocking slot . although , i think my .22 steel eagle np2 is probably the most quiet break barrel i have and it has a good silencer inside the shroud at the muzzle. i've been through several webley valuemax guns, and hatsan seems to be always changing their designs (which is good that they are listining to someone, but bad for tuning kits). the vmx rifles i've had that have the jointed cocking arm, like older gamo 220 / 440 rifles are quieter because the cocking slot is shorter - and they are easier to cock, too. there at the very end, i bought a few .22 webley valuemax xs rifles. they had brittish tags and such, but were shooting in the 760-780 fps range with crosman pellets (18-19 ftlbs). the xs on webley products usually means 'xtra silent' . the vmx xs (same as stiker 1000) had the hatsan model 85 sniper silencer permanently attached on the barrels. they did not have the jointed cocking arms , but it seemed to help. i had always heard that the brittish kinda demand that their airguns have silencers. - and, i noticed that the trigger tags said '3 yr warranty'. i know i would not mind having one of those .177 hw 50s hunters , tho ! lookie here : https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/spring-piston/weihrauch-hw50s-hunter/  - rane on.

 

[Bigragu]

@ INTENSEATY- in that pic of your barrel with the moderator, close to the barrel and breech connection I see this black paddle lever looking thing. What is that?

 

[intenseaty22]

@ INTENSEATY- in that pic of your barrel with the moderator, close to the barrel and breech connection I see this black paddle lever looking thing. What is that?

Sure thing BR, that is the Lockup Release Lever, not sure if that's the proper name, but that's what it is. The LGV, being a breakbarrel has a positive lockup system that brings it very close to a fixed barrel's consistency. You can't simply "slap" the barrel and break it, you must depress the paddle and then break the barrel. It's one of the features that drew me to this platform, you load your pellet just like any breakbarrel without worrying about the "pellet window" or getting your fingers crushed or even the ratcheting noise of the anti bear trap.

 

[Bigragu]

@ INTENSEATY- in that pic of your barrel with the moderator, close to the barrel and breech connection I see this black paddle lever looking thing. What is that?

Sure thing BR, that is the Lockup Release Lever, not sure if that's the proper name, but that's what it is. The LGV, being a breakbarrel has a positive lockup system that brings it very close to a fixed barrel's consistency. You can't simply "slap" the barrel and break it, you must depress the paddle and then break the barrel. It's one of the features that drew me to this platform, you load your pellet just like any breakbarrel without worrying about the "pellet window" or getting your fingers crushed or even the ratcheting noise of the anti bear trap.



Ok, then, thank you. Nice feature to have, for sure

 

[Jonnes]

Is it worth it... Well, I tuned my AA TX200 HC with a Tinbum delrin tuning set (reduces metal-on-metal noise), polished all it's internals to a mirror shine finish, and fitted it with a Huggett silencer. And believe me, this .22 FAC rifle has become extremely quiet. I also own a HW77 that hasn't been tuned internally, and this one does produce way more noise than my TX200. So it all depends on, and how you tune your rifle IMHO. In my experience it is the sum of all work you put in it. And in the case of my TX200, it was well worth it.