PES Sound Moderators & Quick Load, Quick Target and Quick Design

I first saw a PES sound moderator some eight years ago at the Midland Game Fair - and I was impressed… not only by their obvious build quality and design but also by the knowledgeable chap, Julian Savory, who was trading them. Today nothing has changed, except the PES range of suppressors has more than doubled and they have earned their enviable reputation through thousands of satisfied customers, and that includes me.

Heralding from New Zealand, these southern hemisphere moderators cater for all sportsmen’s needs, offering superior sound suppression with hard wearing stainless steel construction. Both muzzle mounted cans and ‘over the barrel’ designs are available for rifles from rimfires to full bores. They also cater for custom ‘one-offs’, fully suppressed rimfires and shotguns, so the whole market is covered.

With over thirty years of suppressor technology supplying the public, the police and military organisations, PES offer great overall decibel reduction at a very fair price. No gimmicks, just good old fashioned quality.

I have used PES moderators on every rifle from .17 Mach 2 through the various small game calibres such as Hornets, .222 and .223 as well as a few wildcats; .17 PPC, .20 Satan and .20 BR, right up to deer calibres from .243 up to .300 Win Magnum. All performed brilliantly and without fault, offering a low profile, good balance and excellent, dependable, noise reduction. I have recently been testing some new muzzle mounted cans designed for extreme noise reduction and stealthy operation but first the more conventional range of PES moderators.

Bare Bones!

Model Length Length forward Diameter Weight Calibre
Range Price
T12 350mm 115mm 38mm 775grams .17-300 Win Mag £250
T12 Scout 280mm 115mm 38mm 650grams .17-.308 £250
Large Muzzle Can 220mm 220mm 38mm 530grams .17-300 Win Mag £154
Small Muzzle Can 200mm 200mm 32mm 350grams .17-.308 £145
.17 Muzzle can 130mm 130mm 32mm 280grams .17-.22 Hornet £130
P/H Rimfire 180mm 180mm 22mm 170grams .17-.22 Rimfire £75.00
Mighty Mouse 150mm 150mm 22mm 71grams .22lr £30.80

This is the bare bones list of moderators available as the over the barrel models are custom made to fit your rifle precisely. Each moderator can be specified with a particular baffle bore size to match a particular calibre if desired and a choice of finishes on the standard stainless steel cans now allows a mil spec black or camo surface. Talking to Julian will enable you to be guided effortlessly through the PES products to ascertain the best moderator for your needs. Not every one likes the over barrel designs and favours the more traditional muzzle cans, especially if your rifle has a shorter barrel than normal, or perhaps you are just after the best noise reduction - regardless of weight - and favour the T12 design. Whatever you have in mind, PES will have a moderator to suit all your needs.

Over the Top

The T12 over barrel models are strippable, as the rear expansion chamber section can be removed for cleaning or thread exchange whilst the muzzle cans are a sealed unit. I used to like totally strippable cans but with all the pressure of the combustion gases most of the crud is expelled from the moderator on firing, unlike rimfire moderators which have a tendency clog up with wax and unburnt powder. So the PES designs offer the best of both worlds; strip to allow the water and crud to be removed from the rear sections and let the baffles look after themselves!

Available in both 32mm and 38mm diameters the differences is not only the girth but also the 32mm version is supported at the rear section not by a synthetic bush (as on the 38mm cans) but via twin high pressure ‘O’ rings. This system utilises no inner section, rather the gases forced back from the blast baffle fill the space between the outer tube and the barrel itself. This makes for an ultra slim and very effective moderator but you do need to clean the barrel surface after shooting, which is no great problem.

Stainless steel construction ensures virtually maintenance free operation and the solid structure further enhances noise level reductions. The problem with some lighter cans is that there is a vibration through the thin walled aluminium that translates to more noise, just like in your house, the thinner the walls the more you hear the neighbours!

All PES cans have a characteristic roll crimp across their mid section and at the muzzle. This is the best way to ensure total security and non movement of the primary blast baffle, internal baffles and end cap, ensuring zero internal movement and thus perfect alignment and no unnecessary vibrations.

All tubes are now seamless in design and the whole construction is preformed on the latest CNC machinery for total uniformity through out the range. This means if you ordered a tight baffle stack i.e., as small a hole to match your calibre, then you are safe in knowing that concentricity and precise alignment is assured.

In the Can

The muzzle cans are really my favourites, often dismissed for the larger over barrel designs, one should not forget how really good these cans are. Especially when a rifle has a shorter barrel, say 18 inches, the simplicity of an addition of a 7” muzzle can without any rear supporting bush is quite appealing. Weigh is kept to a minimum, often only replacing the weight of the absent barrel length.

PES muzzle cans, either in 32mm or 38mm guise are seriously good at decibel reduction. I have baffled many a fellow shooter with the quietness from my PES muzzle can, when a much larger over barrel design that they are using is louder.

Muzzle cans are also cheap and offer superb noise reduction. They are sealed units but I have been running mine for eight years with no problems at all. A quick tap on a hard surface removes any loose carbon and that’s all it needs.

The muzzle cans also offer the best suppression for the pesky .17 HMR rounds which are really tricky to suppress; their size is disproportionate the noise they make. PES make a dedicated .17 can which is excellent but I use the larger 32mm can with a dedicated .17 baffle stack that offers the quietest HMR can on the market. Depending on overall length of your rifle, you will not be disappointed in either type – muzzle can or over the barrel.

All PES cans are stainless steel except the small .22lr Mighty Midget which is aluminium. If you are worried about too shiny an external surface do not worry, the stainless model is brushed matt or you can order the new black Mil-Spec coating. This not only eliminates reflections but further enhance the PES non-corrosive properties; they are very tough and used by the New Zealand military.

Julian’s firm, JMS Arms, is now engraved on the outer tube with the addition of the initials MAE. This is there because MAE are a major gunsmiths in Auckland and now produces the PES range on their CNC machinery.

PES can also cater for custom items such as specific fit rear sections, dedicated calibre baffle stacks and one offs. As I mentioned I love the PES muzzle cans and as such ordered a couple of extra large models with 38mm tubes to fit on several short woodland deer and truck gun fox rifles. One has a double set of blast baffles and 12 addition baffle chambers whilst the second has the 24 baffles. At 12 inches they are long, but boy oh boy are they quiet. In fact they are the quietest moderators I have ever tested - and I have tested a fair few in my time. These big models may not be for everyone, but they are seriously good and now dubbed the PES Extreme.

Brilliant Ballistics and Quick Too…

JMS Arms is also the official importer for the brilliant ballistics programs, Quick Load, Quick Target and Quick Design. These have a very user friendly format; the novice or advanced reloader will benefit from the accurate predictions for both internal and external ballistics from their own rifle.

Just set up your criteria in the programmes’ ‘fill-in’ boxes and choose from a vast array of cartridges and bullets, whilst selecting an appropriate powder and Quick Load will shoot that load for you and then produce an accurate external trajectory chart. It saves a heap of time and wasted reloading components and for the more adventurous the Quick Design program allows you to make that new Wildcat load which you have always dreamed of.

Conclusions

To sum up, Julian started this business eight years ago from scratch and now offers sportsmen a premium product at the right price, with excellent noise reduction and longevity, by a manufacturer who have been making silencers for decades.  In my job I’m lucky in that I can choose any moderator to test or shoot for myself, and first and foremost I choose PES.