DIY Moderator Installation ?

[swamp thang 16]

I've just been drooling over the pictures of the awesome gun collections some of you guys have posted here, and I got to wondering just how one goes about installing moderators to get an all bite and no bark weapon.

 

Having been a shotgun owner all my hunting life, I just recently purchased my first and only rifle - a Steyr Pro Hunter in 308, fitted with a Kahles Helia C 8x56mm telescopic sight. Bought the rig used from a German hunter out here, and I must say I was amazed to discover on the net that this Kahles scope cost $2,400.USD new – about the same as the rifle cost new. And there I was thinking that a $500 scope was top of the line ha ha.

 

Before this purchase, the closest I’d ever been to owning a true rifle was when I converted one of my pair of old but reliable Winchester model 1200 pump shotguns into a slug gun by replacing the smooth bore barrel with a rifled one, and affixing a Bushnell cheapo scope on it, BUT I'd always longed for a real rifle with a good 300 yard reach, so I leapt at the chance to pick up the Steyr when it came up for sale. Even though the area I hunt is mostly brush country better suited to quick-draw shotgun work on running targets at relatively short ranges, I couldn't be happier with my new rig.

 

Anyways, back to my question on moderators. I would l really like to acquire one for this rifle, BUT, I would like to find out here if there are in fact rifle moderators on the market that can be fitted over the barrel by the user, as opposed to having to get the barrel end threaded in a gunsmith’s for a screw-fit moderator.

 

I ask this because there are no gunsmiths out here in the sticks where I live and hunt, and I am curious to learn whether or not that means a moderator is out of the question for me. Also, if over-the-barrel, user-installed moderators do exist, would such an installation trap moisture and cause the gun barrel to corrode on the surfaces covered by the moderator ? The climate is generally quite humid here, and rust is a constant concern.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be offered.

Edited January 22, 2011 by swamp thang

[dave1372 83]

I ask this because there are no gunsmiths out here in the sticks where I live and hunt. The climate is generally quite humid here, and rust is a constant concern.

 

I haven't heard of any moderators that don't need a screw cut barrel...here in the uk at least. Where are you from ?

[SNAP SHOT 194]

Over the barrel mods still need to be screw cut, its just that it is what it says on the tin,

 

most of the moderator is behind the muzzle and not extending the barrel much, normally about 6 inches or so...

 

This is a professional job only and needs to be done by someone with the skill, the threads need to be cut parallel to the bore

 

at not the barrel...

 

Snap.

[swamp thang 16]

Over the barrel mods still need to be screw cut, its just that it is what it says on the tin,

 

most of the moderator is behind the muzzle and not extending the barrel much, normally about 6 inches or so...

 

This is a professional job only and needs to be done by someone with the skill, the threads need to be cut parallel to the bore

 

at not the barrel...

 

Snap.

 

I appreciate the advice, guys and I definitely won't go the moderator route, with what I have learned here in mind. A set of ear-muffs will have to do. Going off on a slight tangent here, it strikes me as odd that moderators seem to be largely undiscovered in the US, even though they are apparently legal there.

 

I'm currently in a remote area of sub-Saharan Africa, Dave, where the legality of owning firearms can change with the wind direction, despite my being "duly lisenced", hence my need to be a bit reserved on specifics. Visit the UK often though. Got family in the countryside of North Wales where I have many fond duck-shooting memories from over a small pond in the hills where the wind bites cold . Too bad I can't bring my rifle over to have that moderator fitted, though. With my luck I'd lose it to customs and get fitted with a pair of matching bracelets for the trouble.

[halamrose 24]

You can get a visitors licence to bring your rifle to the UK I expect. Factsheet here: http://www.basc.org.uk/en/utilities/document-summary.cfm/docid/E7955620-E93E-4694-AFD4216B49E693AD

H

[swamp thang 16]

Thanks for this link, Halam.

 

I imagined that there might still be a perfectly legal manner in which to transport a firearm into or out of the UK, since I did have a short stopover in the UK many moons ago when I first brought my Winchesters over here from California, but times have changed now, and even if I did summon the gonads to enter the UK with my hunting gear, my goose would surely be cooked on my return to Africa where what is legal can often depend on who happens to be on duty at airport customs.

 

Too bad for me. I've wanted a moderator ever since I read here the description of its report being not much louder than a can of fizzy drink being opened. Oh well, I can always dream...

[dave1372 83]

Got family in the countryside of North Wales where I have many fond duck-shooting memories from over a small pond in the hills where the wind bites cold .

 

 

North Wales...... the land where men are men .... and so are the women

[matt_hooks 188]

Too bad for me. I've wanted a moderator ever since I read here the description of its report being not much louder than a can of fizzy drink being opened. Oh well, I can always dream...

 

Hmmm, someone has been telling you porky pies! Any full bore, full velocity rifle will creat a considerable sonic crack at the muzzle, which no amount of moderation will stifle. You can get rid of the "muzzle blast" caused by the expanding gases, but the sonic boom from the actual bullet you can do nothing about. Any truly quiet rifle round needs to be subsonic, for example the .22LR.

 

I have heard of "slip on" moderators, but only for the smaller calibres. The full bore calibres I think creat too much pressure for any fixing other than a proper screw thread. Anything slip on would almost inevitably slip off again rather quickly after a few shots!

 

It shouldn't be too difficult to get your barrel screw cut, surely you know someone around abouts who has a lathe and knows how to use it?

[swamp thang 16]

The German hunting community out here might have the answers I seek, now that you mention it, Matt. They are better connected than I'll probably ever be, and if anyone knows a gunsmith out here in the boondocks, they will fer sure. I'll do a bit of asking around and see if I can't change my luck on this quest. Now that you mention it, the guy in this forum who described a very silent rifle shot may have been referring to one of the smaller calibers and not anything close to a 308.

 

Dave I haven't spotted any dodgy looking women on my visits to Wales yet, but I'll remember to be on guard when next I'm there... just in case there's some truth to your theory about them.

[danebrewer10 6]

I think moderators are illegal in some states, and are highly regulated, they do have serialised parts which is like the serial no on the reciever of a rifle, as I say, they can be easier to get hold of in some states, but largely they are like that rare metal unobtanium, for the regular guy on the street, they are as far as I'm aware illegal for use in hunting, for range and target use only.....

 

others may be able to better advise.