noise of moderated .222 and .243

Mungo

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have experience shooting both .222 and .243, moderated?

Would they be able to say what the difference in noise was like?

Is the .243 a lot louder, or is there not much of a difference?

I appreciate this is going to be very subjective, and depend on all sorts of other things (like exact type of mod, speed of load etc, etc) - but any impressions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks
 
PH 1100 .243, standard barrel length with PES T12 (6.5mm bore) shooting 100gr Interlocks and circa 39gr of N160 C2800fps
vs.
BRNO Fox Md2 .222, 20" barrel, same PES T12 shooting 50-60gr SP and AMax with anywhere from 20-23gr N133 C3000fps

.243 left my ears ringing without hearing protection. significantly louder even considering the comparatively light load and that the bore to calibre tolerance was optimal for the .243 and..... IMO the T12 is one of the best mods for noise attenuation

.222 I shoot without hearing protection and even in woods, stadiums, close to buildings etc is much more tolerable


its the reason I got the .222 for urban foxes over the .243 I already had

no contest
 
ooo...now thats a nice thought....a side by side .222 rifle! would be great!

I have a .243 in a state of refurb so not a shooter at the moment
my mod is 1/2"UNG and 6.5mm bore so if your .222 and .243 are the same thread you are welcome to standardise the mod element
 
.243 is currently unthreaded, but thinking about getting it done.

Side-by-side treble would be a fine thing! I wonder how much it would cost to get made!
 
And in answer to the original question, I have been close moderated 243 and 308's when they have been fired and they are not quiet and still definately need good hearing protection. Your mderated .222 is just a crack.
 
I have both 222 and 243 Sakos with ASE Utra mods. The 222 moderated is about as loud as a 22 rimfire standard velocity round fired un moderated. The 243 on the other hand is considerably louder with a far more pronounced crack. The moderators make a significant reduction in noise on both rifles but only in proportion to their un moderated volume. For discrete vermin control out to 200-225 yards the 222 is superb.
 
PH 1100 .243, standard barrel length with PES T12 (6.5mm bore) shooting 100gr Interlocks and circa 39gr of N160 C2800fps
vs.
BRNO Fox Md2 .222, 20" barrel, same PES T12 shooting 50-60gr SP and AMax with anywhere from 20-23gr N133 C3000fps

.243 left my ears ringing without hearing protection. significantly louder even considering the comparatively light load and that the bore to calibre tolerance was optimal for the .243 and..... IMO the T12 is one of the best mods for noise attenuation

.222 I shoot without hearing protection and even in woods, stadiums, close to buildings etc is much more tolerable


its the reason I got the .222 for urban foxes over the .243 I already had

no contest



I would agree with this. .

I have shot my .222 besides most other common cartridges, a light loading in my old .223 with a T8 could almost match the .222, but 22-250, 243 etc were all significantly noisier.

My .222 set-up is probably as quiet as the cartridge gets, heavy barrel with Jet-z compact.
Despite having a nice .308 set-up at my disposal, it's always the .222 which comes out the cabinet for roe.
The .308 is only there as a necessity, I take no great enjoyment from shooting it.
 
interestingly I have an .17 HMR and .22 WMR

the .222 is quieter than the .17 HMR using the same mod (admittedly the bore is large for a .17 but the powder charge is nominal compared to the 22gr the .222 uses)

I have a sound meter if you really fancy a back to back test!
 
Shot both with the same moderator (P8)

.243 is quietened right down, but is nothing like as quiet as the .222 which , quite frankly , is tamed down to a point where you here the bolt click.
 
I have a ASE Utra on a .243 Tikka T3 - I find the noise when fired outside not unpleasant and do not need to wear ear protection. The last deer I shot was across an open field on a cold afternoon - and both I and my guide commented on the quietness of the report, not a lot louder than an unmoderated .22 HV. Cannot comment on a moderated .222
 
I have both and the .222 is very tame and mellow in comparrison to the .243, the sound bouncing back off woodland is a lot more with the .243. As per the previous comment about the .17 HMR, my mates with a Sak mod on is maybe louder with a sharper bark to my worn out ears than my .222 but everything is how the individual perceives it to be fair.
 
.243 is currently unthreaded, but thinking about getting it done.

Side-by-side treble would be a fine thing! I wonder how much it would cost to get made!

Hello Mungo,

I'm going to be fitting a new scope to my 243 so will be zeroing in the next few days, if you want to try it with a mod,

J
 
243w burns twice as much powder as the 222 so it it follows that it is noticeably louder. It also uses powder with slower burn rates which also tend to give a louder muzzle signature.
 
243w burns twice as much powder as the 222 so it it follows that it is noticeably louder. It also uses powder with slower burn rates which also tend to give a louder muzzle signature.

Thats true but doesn't explain why an HMR appears louder than a .222 running the same moderator
 
Thats true but doesn't explain why an HMR appears louder than a .222 running the same moderator

its probably something to do with a smaller bore causing a higher pitch which just sounds louder / more painful. Absolutely saw this when shooting my 243 alongside mungos 308 - same barrel, pretty much same rifle, same amount of powder, both unmoderated just a 243 hole compared to 308. 308 just a big boom, 243 much more of a sharp crack. Suspect similar with .17 and .222
 
its probably something to do with a smaller bore causing a higher pitch which just sounds louder / more painful. Absolutely saw this when shooting my 243 alongside mungos 308 - same barrel, pretty much same rifle, same amount of powder, both unmoderated just a 243 hole compared to 308. 308 just a big boom, 243 much more of a sharp crack. Suspect similar with .17 and .222

Although the .243 is going quite a bit faster - probably somewhere around 2950fps versus 2800 for the .308.
 
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