FX Not allowed suppressor - which FX DRS Tac calibre and barrel length will be quietest?

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darrenAus

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May 24, 2025
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In my country (Australia) we are not allowed suppressors.

I'm about to purchase an FX DRS Tac, for shooting rabbits within 50m.

What would be the best calibre and barrel length combo, for the FX DRS Tac, for the two priorities below?

Main priority: as quiet as possible (without a suppressor).

Secondary Priority: smallest chance of ricochets (have neighbours properties about 400m away, and during summer, the soil on my property drys out and is almost as hard as rock)

Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
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darrenAus said:
In my country (Australia) we are not allowed suppressors.

I'm about to purchase an FX DRS Tac, for shooting rabbits within 50m.

What would be the best calibre and barrel length combo, for the FX DRS Tac, for the two priorities below?

Main priority: as quiet as possible (without a suppressor).

Secondary Priority: smallest chance of ricochets (have neighbours properties about 400m away, and during summer, the soil on my property drys out and is almost as hard as rock)

Any help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Good morning, the long barrel will allow you to set up with a lower regulator and hammers spring setting aiding in quietness.
 
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JaceSpace1369 said:
Good morning, the long barrel will allow you to set up with a lower regulator and hammers spring setting airing in quietness.
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And the long 700mm barrel (with "Superior Heavy" liner, instead of the 500/600 "Superior STX" liner) will still be okay for pellets?

(Just want to make sure the 700mm barrel is still good for pellets)

Thanks!
 
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darrenAus said:
And I assume .17 calibre will be the quietest? (Most number of shots per fill, therefore less air per shot, and loudness (without a suppressor) goes up with the air volume being discharged per shot?
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Actually i am told .177 takes more air / higher pressure as it is a smaller bore to push air through to obtain the same velocity ?
 
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I do my pesting and hunting (rabbits and squirrels at sub 50 yard range) with.22 caliber 30ish fpe PCPs and that's probably an excessive amount of power. The British shooters are taking rabbits at 40-50 yards with .177, 12 fpe rifles!

No suppressors allowed here in Canada either. I bought my 30 fpe .22/600mm DRS specifically as a light weight squirrel hunting gun. In factory tune, it's got quite a bark and I plan to down-tune it to shoot lighter pellets at 15-20 fpe to quiet it down and (hopefully) increase the shot-count a bit.


A couple of thoughts for you...

Look at something like a Weihrauch .22 HW100 FSB (Fully Shrouded Barrel). It's a European airgun designed to shoot a lower power levels, my FAC (high power) version is around 28 fpe and is still fairly quiet.

Another idea is to down-tune a larger caliber PCPs. My .25 FX Royale 500 is shooting around 40 fpe, velocity is moderate, and it's very quiet. The trajectory is a bit more pronounced but using a rangefinder will mitigate that.

Newer PCP designs are oriented to high power and slugs. An older model designed specifically for pellets might be better suited for your needs. I'm very fond of my. 22 FX Crown MK2 and also my. 22/700mm FX Impact MK2. Both these PCPs have a wide latitude in power adjustments and might suit you needs well. There are other PCPs similar to the two I mentioned as examples, I'm not familiar enough with them to make suggestions.

Good luck with your search!

Cheers!
 
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darrenAus said:
And I assume .17 calibre will be the quietest? (Most number of shots per fill, therefore less air per shot, and loudness (without a suppressor) goes up with the air volume being discharged per shot?
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No, .177 tends to be the noisiest. Highest pitch as far as i have noticed.

surprisingly the .25s have all been a gentle "SPLTFFFFF"
 
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ranon said:
No suppressor allowed... Choose another model... doesn't matter which DRS you choose, they are all very loud.
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I'm pretty much in this camp as well. DRS = no shroud. No shroud = more noise coming out of the barrel (for same settings and power, as compared to a shrouded barrel).

Would Austrailian laws also prevent the ownership/use of something which only looked like a suppressor? FX used to put empty cans onto the muzzles of the Crown - wasn't a suppressor but an extended barrel shroud which only served to increase the overall volume of the shroud. Surprisingly effective in noise moderation. But then again, I don't even know whether you can purchase them separately.
 
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TMH said:
I'm pretty much in this camp as well. DRS = no shroud. No shroud = more noise coming out of the barrel (for same settings and power, as compared to a shrouded barrel).

Would Austrailian laws also prevent the ownership/use of something which only looked like a suppressor? FX used to put empty cans onto the muzzles of the Crown - wasn't a suppressor but an extended barrel shroud which only served to increase the overall volume of the shroud. Surprisingly effective in noise moderation. But then again, I don't even know whether you can purchase them separately.
Click to expand...
Trenier has them for $59.99 (i think)
 
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beerthief said:
Actually i am told .177 takes more air / higher pressure as it is a smaller bore to push air through to obtain the same velocity ?
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at the same power level, .22 is more efficient on air usage - see: 12 ft/lbs tunes/shot counts. However, most people outside of FAC limit areas don't keep their .22 at the same power level as their .177s - so in those cases, .177s use less air and tend to be quieter. A .25 at 12ft/lbs would be even quieter, but pretty useless FOR MY USE CASES - your use case may vary.
 
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"Secondary Priority: smallest chance of ricochets (have neighbours properties about 400m away, and during summer, the soil on my property drys out and is almost as hard as rock)"

The chance of a ricochet making it that far is better than your country becoming sane again. i.e. don't worry about it, pellets are very soft lead and will deform. The velocity at those distances are minimal, you can check it in a ballistics program. I you can get StrelokPro, do it. The real key is....don't miss.

Note: I have a whole lot of first cousins in Oz, some of their bubbles aren't exactly centered.
 
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From memory I dont even think functional shrouds are legal without a special permit in Australia. Of course check with your local legal authorities, as I dont live there.

If it were me I would choose a 22Cal 700mm and tune it down as far as I could with decent speeds. If you dont need a lot of fps or fpe a tuned down 25Cal can also be on the quieter side, but all of them are going to snap or bark without a shroud or moderator. With a 700mm heavy liner you can probably still get good accuracy with some pellets, particularly the heavier options. Worst case you can swap out the liner or send it out somewhere and have it done if you dont feel comfortable. But really all things considered I bet there are better options out in your part of the world than a DRS?
 
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.22, longest pellet barrel available with the highest reg pressure for wanted velocity. That’s how I keep them quiet here in canukistan.
Here’s an example of one of my set ups , .22 HW100 , 110 bar regulator pressure, 30 FPE with 18.1 grain JSB pellets using the 600mm barrel. I have the hammer spring backed out to give 4% below the max velocity , 860 FPS give or take.
 
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As Vana2 mentioned, an FX Royale 500 (.25) is a beautifully simple, smooth, dependable & extremely accurate & QUIET. There might still be one in classifieds (Mikelo123). They are an amazingly satisfying gun to own, getting harder to find. Mine is shooting JSB Hades or 25.39gr Jumbo at 905fps or the 33.95gr at 878ish fps. Too bad they're overlooked by most. Very low maintenance too. MAYBE once a year cleaning!
 
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DRS is a great rifle. My .25/500 isn't quiet but it isn't terribly loud either. I live in town with a marina across the canal from me. I can shoot (discretely) out of a window, at a target under my bridge and not get any attention. I wouldn't recommend it but how do you know what you can get away with, unless you try.

I hear the Marauder is super quiet.
 
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TMH said:
But here in the States we are all used to the Royales coming with moderators - illegal for the O.P. And that's all I've ever seen.

But Vana2 has one in Canada... where one also can't have a moderator?

My head hurts...
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It has a shroud, not really a moderator, integral to the gun & not added on. Should be as legal as a Marauder or any other shrouded (from the factory) gun. Just looked at 2 airgun dealers in Australia. The Royale is sold there, like here, with the same shroud.
 
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