MAE Compact Moderator

It’s surprising that a small country like New Zealand has a thriving firearms moderator industry. One make that stands out is MAE (ex-PES), imported by JMS Arms Ltd.; the design ethos has not changed and in terms of centrefire firearm use flies in the face of current trends. They use stainless steel for longevity and corrosion resistance and in general a non-strippable build to keep things simple and strong.

SHORT & SWEET

I have tested PES/MAEs over the years and also own some and feel as a design they are near indestructible as well as doing the job! But in this day and age size matters, certainly in terms of moderators and what I have here is the latest MAE design the Super Short 38 Compact B-L, which is based on their T series. The reflex (over-barrel) build is all-stainless and shows a drawn, one-piece body with the rear closure to the expansion chamber welded on, so a sealed unit. Body diameter is 38mm, it’s 8 3/8” long and a weighs 1 lb, so just on the limit of what many consider heavy these days.

I tested using the new 20”, Savage UK AccuStalker in 243 Winchester; the Compact adds 5.25” to overall length. Though the weight is more noticeable than an alloy can, the short length tends to keep the rifle well balanced. The B-L nomenclature stands for ‘bushless’, though a reflex there’s no rear barrel support bushing as you find today on many over-barrel cans. Whether you need a bush is debatable, but one thing is for sure the rifle shot fine without one! Plus it could speed cooling as heat can escape easier from around the barrel!

TWO BANDS

The rear aperture will accommodate barrel widths of up to 23mm, so good and generous enough. Plus the dished shape at the rear is designed to not reflect light if you are using a lamp and also loses a tad more weight – never a bad thing! Calibre- wise there are two options; up to 6mm/243 and up to .30” including 300 WM; not bad! The Compact is rated for 5000-rounds, which given calibre choice is the life of one if not two barrels and also offers a 3-year warranty. The finish is brushed stainless though blacked is also available.

I was expecting no dramas. Firing a cross section of 243 Win from ultra fast 58-grain loads to the heavy 100-grainers gave agreeable results. Easy on the ear, I have found that MAEs produce a ringing noise on discharge, which I put down to the material. However, after a number of shots fouling build up tends to reduce this. But that is neither here nor there just an observation. Overall a decent and effective design! JMS offers a number of standard thread forms in both Imperial and metric.

PRICE: £280
CONTACT: JMS Arms, 01444 400126 www.jmsarms.com

FOR: Well built Compact and effective
AGAINST: Heavier than some alloy designs
VERDICT: A tough and effective design that will last a long time 8 0 SHOOTING