This is a comparison of the 4 moderators that I own. Been waiting for my new Huggett just purchased from Penchetta to arrive. The moderators are FX 25cal 5 unit stackable, Huggett 25cal, NC 22cal and a Weihrauch 22cal. Also from Penchetta. The gun tested on is a 22 Wildcat. Obviously 2 of these are 22 and 2 are 25 so it is what it is. The Huggett and the Weihrauch both have internal baffles and sound deadening. The FX is just baffles and The one from Neil is just a can with sound deadening. No baffles. There was a problem with alinement earlier that has been dealt with so there is NO clipping. All 4 move the POI from POA around to different spots from 3/8 to 1/2 an inch at 50 yards, but then all 4 stack pellets consistently at their POI. I have no idea why this is. Maybe someone more enlightened can explain it. Have not run them all over the crony to see if each has it's own effect. 15 deg outside. In sound deadening there is not a lot of difference, but it is discernible. The quietest is the Huggett followed by the Weihruch and then FX and NC are a toss-up. With the FX I tried starting at 5 cups down to just the ends with no cups. I could not really tell a difference between 3 and 5 cups and with just the ends and no cups I would estimate a 50% reduction in noise. For finish and just cool looks the Huggett takes it hands down. The biggest bang for the buck is the Weihruch from Penchetta at 115.95. But it has 1/2 inch female threads so some guns will need an adapter. I have been shooting the 22 Wildcat with just the ends of the FX moderator and the sound is completely acceptable. This keeps the gun really short, but I think I'm going to start using the Huggett and move it between the 22 and 25 Wildcat. The only other observation that I noticed was the moderators with the baffles had more of a dead thud sound and Neils unit without the baffle had more of a ping sound. Hope this helps
Moderator Comparison Review
- Thread starter Kitplanenut
- Start date
Cool post Kit, I think posting the length and OD would give us a better picture of these moderators.
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How come your NC has no baffles?
The one he made for me has baffles. I have never heard him talk about a design that just used an empty tube.
NC makes a custom product and he makes it based on what you ask for. The one he made for me is 8" long and 1.5" diameter. It's significantly more effective than the Huggett I tried.
Did he make it specifically for the gun you are using it on?
The one he made for me has baffles. I have never heard him talk about a design that just used an empty tube.
NC makes a custom product and he makes it based on what you ask for. The one he made for me is 8" long and 1.5" diameter. It's significantly more effective than the Huggett I tried.
Did he make it specifically for the gun you are using it on?
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I was thinking the same Zebra, the ones I have of NC have baffles. However, you really don't need the baffles to make the LDC effective. For example if you take the Weihrauh's internals out, it is still pretty darn quiet. I've made LDCs without baffles as well for personal use but when you make them for clients, they kinda expect to have them. We'll see what Kit says whether it was a custom design or not.
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From what I've heard about Neils is that he has done so many different guns and tested so many that surprisingly some are quieter without baffles than with.
Great comparison! Will look into the Weihrauch one if I ever need a 1/2-20
Great comparison! Will look into the Weihrauch one if I ever need a 1/2-20
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I will post the length and OD. I have NO idea why the one from Neil has no baffles. It was one of that 100.00 special he offered the AGN group. Told him it was for my 22 Wildcat and being unfamiliar with his moderators to just make me what he would use. It's what I got. Well worth the $ and I'm by no means complaining.
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I never had a Huggett but have a couple NC. On my Galatian the only thing I hear is the mechanics of the gun and no air displacement at all.
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My advice to anyone thinking of buying an LDC would be not to think of an NC device as being one thing you can compare to other off-the-shelf LDC's. 10 different NC LDCs will all look and perform differently- often based on the common sense of the one who ordered it originally. I.e. If he insisted that it had to be 2" long on a 50fpe 25cal, it won't be as effective as is if someone said "make me the most effective device based on what you think is best Neil".
It sounds like this one was not bought in the typical way he sells (or for the same price).
My experience with Neil was that I called him, told him what gun it was for, what sort of noise reduction I was looking for and my priorities in terms of length, width, weight and effectiveness. He then built a custom device using the carbon fiber tubes I chose and some expertly machines aluminum baffles, end caps and threaded inserts.
I tested a number of off-the-shelf LDCs as well as a few other custom LDC makers and nothing else came close for the gun it was used on. I didn't buy from him straight away because I was impatient and didn't want to wait a month for a custom job, or pay the premium for it. I ended up wasting a bunch of cash on devices that didn't even touch the sides with the noise level I was dealing with.
My experience has been that for less powerful air guns in 22 cal and below, most LDCs available off the shelf have been sufficient to make my air guns backyard friendly. For anything unusually powerful or loud to start with, or for anything 25 cal and above, I have benefited from getting something made custom with enough volume and a suitable design to dissipate the volume of air it is dealing with.
My conversations with Neil and what I have read from him here is that he favors a three chamber design which has fewer baffles than a firearm device but it still has baffles. He just leaves some empty space as well to allow the air room to expand.
I have never ever found an empty tube to be effective. Canada allows now noise reduction devices at all but they allow empty shroud tubes but they don't significantly reduce the noise.
I know now there are some designs that don't use typical baffles but I don't think they are just plain empty tubes either. Maybe a tube with some noise blocking material or a particularly thick wall.
It sounds like this one was not bought in the typical way he sells (or for the same price).
My experience with Neil was that I called him, told him what gun it was for, what sort of noise reduction I was looking for and my priorities in terms of length, width, weight and effectiveness. He then built a custom device using the carbon fiber tubes I chose and some expertly machines aluminum baffles, end caps and threaded inserts.
I tested a number of off-the-shelf LDCs as well as a few other custom LDC makers and nothing else came close for the gun it was used on. I didn't buy from him straight away because I was impatient and didn't want to wait a month for a custom job, or pay the premium for it. I ended up wasting a bunch of cash on devices that didn't even touch the sides with the noise level I was dealing with.
My experience has been that for less powerful air guns in 22 cal and below, most LDCs available off the shelf have been sufficient to make my air guns backyard friendly. For anything unusually powerful or loud to start with, or for anything 25 cal and above, I have benefited from getting something made custom with enough volume and a suitable design to dissipate the volume of air it is dealing with.
My conversations with Neil and what I have read from him here is that he favors a three chamber design which has fewer baffles than a firearm device but it still has baffles. He just leaves some empty space as well to allow the air room to expand.
I have never ever found an empty tube to be effective. Canada allows now noise reduction devices at all but they allow empty shroud tubes but they don't significantly reduce the noise.
I know now there are some designs that don't use typical baffles but I don't think they are just plain empty tubes either. Maybe a tube with some noise blocking material or a particularly thick wall.
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Zebra. I hear what you are saying. And I understand your saying it was not ordered in his normal way. Consider this though. I have never bought from Neil. He made a generous offer to the AGN group and I decided to take him up on it. I contacted him, told him what gun it was for and not knowing I HAD any options told him I would rely on his expertise. Now your telling me that he prefers CF Tube with 3 baffles and machined alum ends? I didn't get any of this. Didn't know it was available. I'm not interested in pointing fingers, but a little communication would have gone a long way. Makes it kind of hard now to be as satisfied as I was, knowing I have missed out on a superior product because I didn't know to ask.
Said I would get the measurements of the different moderators.
Huggett---1 3/16 x 6x1/2
Weihruch---1 3/16 x 7
FX 3 Cup---1 1/16 x 5 1/4
NC-----------1 7/16 x 7
Said I would get the measurements of the different moderators.
Huggett---1 3/16 x 6x1/2
Weihruch---1 3/16 x 7
FX 3 Cup---1 1/16 x 5 1/4
NC-----------1 7/16 x 7
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I have a couple of custom NC LDCs and I got one used. They are all very effective. I think the customization comes in more for appearance than performance. when you want a special design such as an over the barrel shroud or something else he builds to order. His basic LDCs are going to be effective based on the power level of your gun and air displacement.
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Guys, there was never any question that Neil's moderator was not effective. It does a vary good job. And as stated above I am by no means complaining. I compared 4 moderators and what little difference there is in performance is mice nuts. Interesting how things get out of hand some times. Neil contacted me and offered to exchange the unit. A generous offer. I respectfully declined as this one does just fine and I have NO complaints. Sylvan
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No worries Kit, I didn't see your post as complaining. We were just curious about the no baffle and wanted to verify. NC makes quality LDC and I think everyone in the sport have at least one of his units.
Zebra, not all tubes are created equal. If you happen to have a HW100 LDC, remove the internals and take a few shots. Still very quiet. However, if you remove the internals of a CF tube and tried to do it, it definitely has a louder sound than if it were to have internals. I believe the thicker wall as you mentioned above of the HW100 dampens the internal harmonics.
Thanks for the measurements Kit, I converted the fractions to decimals
Huggett— 1.187 x 6.6
Weihruch—1.187 x 7
FX 3 Cup—1.0625 x 5.25
NC———–1.43 x 7
Zebra, not all tubes are created equal. If you happen to have a HW100 LDC, remove the internals and take a few shots. Still very quiet. However, if you remove the internals of a CF tube and tried to do it, it definitely has a louder sound than if it were to have internals. I believe the thicker wall as you mentioned above of the HW100 dampens the internal harmonics.
Thanks for the measurements Kit, I converted the fractions to decimals
Huggett— 1.187 x 6.6
Weihruch—1.187 x 7
FX 3 Cup—1.0625 x 5.25
NC———–1.43 x 7
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