Pedretti Review

COUNTRY & SHOTGUN

Bruce Potts tests the Hushpower .410 single barrel shotgun

For people who enjoy rough shooting with a shotgun, but would like to avoid the anti-social noise the guns can produce, the answer is close at hand. The Saddlery & Gunroom are now the owner of the famous ‘Hushpower’ name, and can now supply silenced versions of .410 and l2bore single barrelled shot guns, as well as a ‘universal’ 9” silencer for .410’s (which fits to the barrel of your own gun), and they can even add a moderator to your own semi auto or pump shotgun.

Lifting the shroud

The .410 and l2bore are both single barrelled folding Italian shotguns, which have been converted by the Saddlery & Gunroom to take a full barrel length sound moderator - which is claimed to reduce noise by 90%. This is some claim, so I decided to try one out, and the chance came when I saw one in my local gun shop, F A Andersons at East Grinstead. I duly collected the gun and set about taking it apart to see exactly how it worked, how inaudible/audible it was after shooting, and how it patterned with a selection of readily available .410 ammunition. The first impressions are of a purposeful looking tool with little elegance, but with a definite air of authority, and only weighing 6 lbs. The classic folding .410 design is standard enough, the difference lying in a fully shrouded barrel with a full Length aluminum outer sleeve of 1.5 inches in diameter. The design is very simple and effective, which becomes evident when the shroud is removed. This is done by unscrewing it clockwise, until it is free from the large fixing plate welded to the chamber of the gun. When it is removed, the exposed barrel reveals the heart of the system 6 holes precisely drilled 1.5 inches apart along the 25 inch barrel and penetrating both sides. All the vent holes are chamfered, so as not to interfere with the smooth travel of the shot up the barrel. This honeycombed effect serves to cool the expanding gases behind the projectile of shot as it moves up the barrel, and thereby escapes into the shroud enclosing the barrel via the above-mentioned holes. As the shot leaves the barrel it passes through three further baffles -much like a conventional .22 sound moderator. The cooled gasses then exit to the atmosphere a split second later at reduced velocity, to impart a muffled report without any of the crack’ inherent with an unsilenced shotgun. This is the theory, so I trotted off to the farm to put it into practice. And to test a variety of different length ammunition, therefore testing the silencer efficiency at differing ranges. Incidentally, the barrel can be folded right back to the stock for ease of carriage.

Hushpower in action

To cock and open the action, it is the familiar top lever shotgun style which breaks the action and exposes the non-ejector chamber. A cartridge can then be slipped effortlessly into the chamber, and the action snapped closed and made ready to fire. There is a cross-bolt safety which, although a little stiff in operation, does a fine job of locking the trigger thereby disabling it until required for firing. Firing impressions were odd at first, as the trigger was squeezed I could hear the firing pin strike the cartridge, before the gentle lift of the shotgun and a very muffled report from the front end -followed by a plume of white smoke gently escaping from the muzzle. Not only had the moderator stifled the crack of the .410, but it had greatly reduced felt recoil and muzzle flip, altogether a great improvement over the standard gun. That was using .410 Eley two inch cartridges with no.6 shot, next I tried Winchester two & a half inch and three inch magnums to see if there was any great difference. As expected with the longer case lengths, each factor stated above - regarding the gun’s noise, recoil, and movement from aim -all increased proportionally. Although this was still far superior to the same cartridge combinations without a sound moderator fitted. Down range tests at 10 yards show good shot dispersal and density from the full choked barrel - this will equate to an effective range of approximately 30 to 40 yards maximum. It was interesting to see a tighter pattern with the two inch Eley cartridges than the Winchester two & a half inch cartridges. I was very impressed with the gun. and decided to see if the claims that the .410 was inaudible at 50 yards was true. Having a colleague fire the shotgun with each length of .410 case, I retired 50 yards down range and took protection behind a clay pigeon trap set-up for safety. The Hush Power was then fired with each cartridge length and to be truthful it was only audible as a muffled pop -rather like that of an unsilenced air rifle. This was over dead ground, but when firing against a woodland edge there was a small increase in noise caused by echoing back from the trees but nonetheless, still very quiet.

Conclusions

I can see why these weapons have become firm favorites with professional vermin controllers, game keepers, and people who value minimal sound disturbance and privacy. The real proof of the pudding was when my colleague and I returned to the farm house to be questioned by the owner, who wondered if we'd had a wasted journey, because he had not heard any shots! Suffice to say he was well pleased when we Showed him the 8 rabbits we had harvested, and right there we had a convert to the Hush Power. If you have an existing .410, and cannot afford the price of the converted shotgun, the Saddlery & Gunroom also produce a universal fitting sound moderator, which is 9 inches long and locks to the taper of the barrel. Owners of pumps or semis can have them silenced at the Saddlery & Gunroom workshops from around £180.00 depending on the make of gun.

SHOOTING SPORTS MAGAZINE
Bruce Potts tests the Hushpower 12 Bore Moderated shotgun

Having tested the .410 Hushpower moderated shotgun earlier in the year I was eager to get my hands on its big brother in the form of their 12 gauge system. Nothing really prepared me for the size of the can that forms the guts of the Hushpower system. At a full two inches in diameter it really gives it that artillery piece prowess, but uncannily it is light and pointable as well as swinging nicely on the shoulder. This is primarily due to the aluminum outer casing and honeycomb of the forward baffles and open expansion chamber that contribute little to the overall weight. As with the .410 variety, the base gun is the classic, folding barrel 12 gauge Pedretti, which is almost unbustable and forms a good solid base from which to perform the conversion. If you like you can have your own shotguns converted and the supplier - The Saddlery and Gun Room also provide a moderator for semiautomatic shotguns, which I will test in a later issue. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy then a 9”, .410 unit can be fitted to the end of the barrel which works well but adds to a gun’s overall length

Can Can

Not so the Hushpower. the full-length moderator is one continuous tube from breech to muzzle with only the inner baffles adding any extra length at the end. The guts of the system can be seen once the outer sleeve is removed by unscrewing it from the permanently attached base block that mates with the chamber. Once unscrewed, the outer body easily slides off to reveal that the barrel has two sets of five holes drilled in parallel approximately 1.5” apart. along its 24” length. They are positioned at 12 and 6 o’clock to each other. At the end of the barrel is a collar that ensures it sits central to the outer sleeve. This makes sure the actual tube aligns with a further eight baffles - much like that on a conventional .22 Rimfire moderator which adds further to its sound muting qualities.

So how does it work? Simple - as the shot charge passes down the barrel the expanding propellant gases are bled off via the ten primary ports. This allows a quantity of gas to escape into the full length outer sleeve to slow down and cool off. As the shot column leaves the barrel as it passes through the eight further expansion chambers still within the sleeve that forms a ten-inch extension to the overall length. Finally the column enters the free air followed by all of the propellant gases. which by this time have cooled sufficiently by their diverted travel around the labyrinth of expansion chambers to emerge into the atmosphere. It is this cooling action that reduces the usual, un-silenced, booming crack of a normal 12 gauge to that of a Hushpower whimper.

Mike, the gunsmith of The Saddlery and Gun Room explained - that to take full advantage of this system in a 12 bore gun it is advisable to use subsonic ammunition. And kindly supplied a couple of boxes of Gamebore’s #7.5. subs, which run at a velocity of lO5Ofps so keeping below the sound barrier. It therefore does not have that sonic boom characteristic of standard velocity ammunition. Couple these with the Hushpower’s efficient silencer system and you have a muzzle report that sounds like a hamster sneezing. The data that came with the gun stipulates that at 100 metres a standard 12 bore produces 90.0 dB of noise, which only drops to 80dB at 300rn Whereas the Hushpower firing subsonic ammo produces half that at 100 meters. (45.°Db) and is inaudible at 300m. Ambient/background noise was set at 44Db so you can see that even at 50m the Hushpower is nearly inaudible to an onlooker. This has great advantages if you run a clay shooting ground that has problems with noise pollution. Especially as a standard 12 bores retort can be heard at up to 1.5 kilometers. More importantly, it allows me to efficiently conduct pest control in semi urban areas and stabling without drawing too much attention to myself or belying my position to any wary game. This is especially useful when elevated shots have to be taken at say a squirrel were a .22LR not possible due to the excessive carry over.

This is the theory, so to prove it, I went to a friend’s paddock and stabling area which had become almost unusable due to the rabbit excavations. Rimfires rifles are no go. due to outlying buildings and air rifles have taken their toll on numerous lamping sessions, and running snots where a 12 bore shines could not be attempted.

The basic chassis is a single-shot Pedretti and typical of its breed is a simple gun to use. The Hushpower versions loses nothing in handling or performance. Push the top lever, which also cocks the trigger, to the right and the action will swing down to open. it’s a non-ejector so the empties have to be removed by hand, but this isn’t a problem. Like the un-silenced version the barrel can be fully folded back to meet with the stock to form a very compact Package.

All you now have to do is drop in a shell and snap the barrel shut and you’re ready to fire. A simple cross-bolt safety manually secures the trigger and the low comb beech stock with plastic butt pad ensures proper sighting down the barrel albeit a tad larger than normal! The trigger itself is a bit stiff but it broke cleanly enough. I only say this because, instead of the ear splitting crack of a normal shotgun you are more conscious of the trigger noise on the Hushpower due to the decibel reduction. Reduces it? Yes it does. With the Gamebore subs you are instantly aware of the lack of felt recoil. I reckon almost 40% at the shoulder, which in turn stops muzzle flip. It’s difficult to accurately describe the report, its a bit like a pre charged airgun with a hollow tin can resonance to it. All in all very quiet, and you can actually hear the passage of the shot up the barrel, and in flight. If aiming at flying game the noise is less, than say into a solid background such as a wood as there’s a certain amount of rebound shockwave but still a considerable reduction from a standard 12 gauge. Using normal velocity cartridges through the Hushpower quite obviously increases the level of noise, but compared to an un-moderated 12 bore all the sonic boom is removed leaving a hollow muted report. This is what is evident to the shooter, but a more accurate test is to listen to the report down range. After all that is where your game is going to be hearing it from anyway. Safe behind a wall of straw bales at 50 yds, I got my colleague to fire five rounds. Their signature offered no lasting, carrying noise only a very hollow ‘phut’ with a characteristic ring from the outer sleeve followed by the air disturbance caused by the shot in flight. At 100 yds and behind a stable block it was difficult to hear the report above the ambient noise of cars etc. And only the white plume of smoke which gracefully exits the barrel reveals that firing had taken place. Shot patterns were tested on a 30" circle at 25 yds and showed tight density equates to a fully choked barrel Point of aim was a bit low, caused, no doubt by the increased diameter of the moderator. The solution - aim a bit higher.