HMR Moderator Damage

[dadioles 68]

I have a few SAK moderators and on the .22LR very good, no problems.

My Anschutz .17HMR has a 14 inch barrel and the SAK moderator fitted to that is being eaten away inside due to the high temperature powder burn. The sharp baffle edges are becoming "chewed".

 

Just recently I have noticed my groups opening up very slightly, more fliers, and wondered if the moderator could be having an affect. I did try shooting a group with the moderator removed and interestingly the shots landed quite a bit higher so a moderator does reduce velocity. There was no great improvement in group size though. (Hearing now returned).

 

Have others found that their moderators get a bit burned away inside?

 

The gun was originally supplied with a "plastic" moderator which was eaten away quickly.

The SAK is a sensible price but being made of alloy of some kind it is not surprising that the heat and blast, especially with a short barrel, causes problems.

Am I being a bit paranoid or anal (scary to be both).

 

Should I be looking for a dedicated .17HMR moderator made of stainless steel which presumably would last longer. What?

Is it more economical to simply replace the SAK every year, it has been good until now, maybe swap around with the ones on the .22LR

 

I don't mind spending, say 100 pounds on a new moderator (and that seems ridiculously expensive) but would flinch at anything much more (200 pound plus seems crazy - it is HMR not 50cal).

 

Read nice things about DM80 and it seems not to have those internal thin edges that get eaten, is it also alloy or steel?

Also aware of ASE Ultra but again, no first hand knowledge.

 

Advice please...

 

Oh, and in case you wondered, at 100 yards 4 shot groups are still always less than 1.3 inches (worst case) but used to be rather better (less than 0.9 inch)

Edited February 21, 2011 by dadioles

[kingnewport 19]

My fiend has the same problem, I think it's down to the speed of the hmr, the sak baffles carnt take it. I got my mod from a shop in Swindon it was around £90 and has metel baffles.

but still that's not bad grouping

[sibaldib 6]

I'll be watching this thread with some interest, as I am jst about to buy a .17HMR.

 

Hopefully someone will be along shortly, to give some advice.

 

Cheers

 

Sib

[danebrewer10 6]

a moderator does nothing to the velocity of the round, it will only change the harmonics of the barrel, so changing the POI, my HMR does the same thing, when I take the mod off, the POI jumps up and to the left about an inch, others will shift the POI somewhere else. I also have a SAK, with an 18" barrel on my annie, the flame cutting is pretty normal I'd say, I'd be surprised if the mod was affecting accuracy, unless the wear was uneven creating pressure in one half of the mod and causing the shots to veer off course, I have put about 500/525 rounds through my annie and the SAK mod I have on it, and have encountered no accuracy change, you may want to have a look at the forend, see if it touches the barrel, it does on mine (something I think I'll rectify at some point... probably via a new stock ) I'd think the SAK would be good for 1000 rd, then it might need replaving, the ASE mods area all steel, but look like a pain in the arse to strip and clean, not sure about the DM80

[Finkley 1]

a moderator does nothing to the velocity of the round, it will only change the harmonics of the barrel, so changing the POI, my HMR does the same thing, when I take the mod off, the POI jumps up and to the left about an inch, others will shift the POI somewhere else. I also have a SAK, with an 18" barrel on my annie, the flame cutting is pretty normal I'd say, I'd be surprised if the mod was affecting accuracy, unless the wear was uneven creating pressure in one half of the mod and causing the shots to veer off course, I have put about 500/525 rounds through my annie and the SAK mod I have on it, and have encountered no accuracy change, you may want to have a look at the forend, see if it touches the barrel, it does on mine (something I think I'll rectify at some point... probably via a new stock ) I'd think the SAK would be good for 1000 rd, then it might need replaving, the ASE mods area all steel, but look like a pain in the arse to strip and clean, not sure about the DM80

 

Correct, if anything a mod is more likely to increase MV.

 

I have a DM80 MK3 .17 specific mod and although it's much, much quieter than a SAK and produces tighter groups, it is still being eaten. They are still alloy inside unlike Dave's centrefire mods which are stainless.

 

Top bit of kit and imho worth the extra cash over a SAK for the HMR. SAK does just fine for a 22 with subs though.

[kev1986 0]

have a look at the hogan decimeter they are a lot more quite than the sak and only cost £60 and very easy to strip and clean if needed also the internals are not as close to the bore and there is actually a fire proof mat wrapped around the baffles inside , great buy in my opinion

atb

kev

[cragman 2,770]

I have an Ase Ultra,(£90) on my Hornet and it does the job fine. It's not as if I'm putting plenty through it, as it's for fox, maybe one a night if I'm lucky!

Edited February 21, 2011 by cragman

[dadioles 68]

Thanks for that information

 

a moderator does nothing to the velocity of the round, it will only change the harmonics of the barrel, so changing the POI,

 

I had not really given it much thought but I guess it's quite obvious really. Always learning....

There have probably been about 1000 rounds through the SAK and I am very tempted by the DM80 and it will fit my short barrel with about half inch to spare. A bigger nuisance is the scope, it will need higher mounts, more money.

 

When I was a lad, one of the village rogues had a .22 with a home made silencer (sounds more exciting than moderator) and it comprised a simple screw on tube filled with washers. Alternate washers had big holes and small holes. A simple arrangement of baffles. It was very effective.

[niffkin 1]

I used to have a ASE Utra on my HMR, great silencer very quiet, a pain to clean and heavy but very robust.

I exchanged the ASE utra for a wildcat whisper about £120 which is a a very similar design to the DM80

an over the barrel design light weight and very easy to clean.

 

To conclude, very pleased with the whisper

[sureshot11 1]

Hi I also have a wildcat on mine (as Andy is just down the road) and very good but mine has a little wear on the inside now about 1000 rounds though it no difference in POI.

[bigrifle 24]

I would be looking more towards your barrel than the mod, thats unless it came from the factory this length, as since the birth of 17Hmr ive never seen a prob with a sak mod