Stalon Moderator Damaged

[Arboristonmagners]

Anyone had any issues with Stalon or any other moderators despite being screwed down tight? A friend has a Stalon on a 22/250 Tikka that has recently been damaged when fired. Moderator tight at start of session, one fox shot succesfully shot, second shot resutled in moderator being bent like a banana ad the exit hole is clearly enlarged by the bullet.

 

[Zstalker]

Never had an issue with mine but I do check tightness a lot. Any chance of a cross thread? Although you would expect the first shot to cause the issue.

 

[User00040]

Anyone had any issues with Stalon or any other moderators despite being screwed down tight? A friend has a Stalon on a 22/250 Tikka that has recently been damaged when fired. Moderator tight at start of session, one fox shot succesfully shot, second shot resutled in moderator being bent like a banana ad the exit hole is clearly enlarged by the bullet.

Interesting as work has just condemned one, severly gas cut at the threads and expansion chamber!

 

[jb1]

I've got one on a 17 rrem, it's slightly gas cut, but unless your mods Stainless steel they will.all be gas cut. Its got to have come loose either muzzle end or mid thread.

 

[James0586]

My 22.250 blew out on my Tikka T3 and when they looked at it in the gun shop (several people in the shop also looked) it was decided (majority decision from the shop) that the rear washer on the moderator had became too hot and had changed shape slightly resulting in the moderator not sitting exactly straight causing the bullet to smash it’s way through the internal baffles and out the front. This was after 3 shots checking zero and the moderator was tight and checked between shots. I only new something was wrong when I heard the noise change after the last shot was taken.

 

[jb1]

I fluffed up a jet z compact while shooting long range, 100% my fault bullet clipped the internals after coming loose very clise tolerance ut was 6.5 and a .25 mod( should check regularly) cost me dearly.

 

[Ajax]

Had the same with a wildcat evo, screwed on correctly approx 10 min later Charlie walked out, squeezed the trigger and had a blinding flash! The projectile completely smashed the internals.
Got a replacement FOC but sold it immediately as I had lost faith in that make.

 

[Lloyd90]

Sexy looking mods but this ain’t the first story about them blowing up :O

 

[gixer1]

Yes, @Reidzer had this issue with a Stalon, mod was eccentric and rounds were contacting the side of the mod.

Regards,
Gixer

 

[wytonpjs]

Interesting as work has just condemned one, severly gas cut at the threads and expansion chamber!

Not the first make to suffer this and will not be the last - all mod are consumables, the only difference being that some last longer than others although care in fitting, inspecting, maintenance and use (esp home load powder burn) significantly affects individual mod life.

 

[gixer1]

Not the first make to suffer this and will not be the last - all mod are consumables, the only difference being that some last longer than others although care in fitting, inspecting, maintenance and use (esp home load powder burn) significantly affects individual mod life.

View attachment 340822View attachment 340823View attachment 340824View attachment 340825View attachment 340826

That’s not just a small thing, that’s a catastrophic failure and makes you wonder where the round fired ended up!

Was the mod in the photos ever inspected by the user? It does beg the question at what point do you say “right, this mod is now junk”……which could be difficult to answer.

Regards,
Gixer

 

[wytonpjs]

It does beg the question at what point do you say “right, this mod is now junk”……which could be difficult to answer

Exactly, and with newer (especially 3D printed titanium mods such as Oceano, Wildcat and F&D) being non-openable, getting that “heads-up” that it’s on it’s way out just isn’t going to happen. Suspect we will collectively see more in-use failures

 

[User00040]

Exactly, and with newer (especially 3D printed titanium mods such as Oceano, Wildcat and F&D) being non-openable, getting that “heads-up” that it’s on it’s way out just isn’t going to happen. Suspect we will collectively see more in-use failures

I don't see strippable moderators being an advantage, it opens the door to incorrect re-assembly.

 

[Reidzer]

Yes, @Reidzer had this issue with a Stalon, mod was eccentric and rounds were contacting the side of the mod.

Regards,
Gixer

My one kind of flow/gas cut, that made 308 shoot like a shot gun. Less than 400 rounds through it!

 

[gixer1]

I don't see strippable moderators being an advantage, it opens the door to incorrect re-assembly.

Surely if you can’t screw 5 threads together you shouldn’t be on a firearm anyway!

I would much prefer strippable so I can examine the ID for corrosion, pitting and flow cutting.

Regards,
Gixer

 

[wytonpjs]

I don't see strippable moderators being an advantage, it opens the door to incorrect re-assembly.

I agree but we do have to credit users with some intelligence - on balance, I’d prefer to be able to monitor and form an assessment of the condition by being able to inspect it but I’m a CEng

 

[User00040]

Surely if you can’t screw 5 threads together you shouldn’t be on a firearm anyway!

I would much prefer strippable so I can examine the ID for corrosion, pitting and flow cutting.

Regards,
Gixer

Cross threading, dropping one half or having the threads separate are all possible.

I agree but we do have to credit users with some intelligence - on balance, I’d prefer to be able to monitor and form an assessment of the condition by being able to inspect it but I’m a CEng

How often do you inspect the exhaust pipes of your car?

 

[gixer1]

Cross threading, dropping one half or having the threads separate are all possible.



How often do you inspect the exhaust pipes of your car?

Possible, however surely they can spot a cross thread on a mod!

And most inspect their exhaust every year (MOT)

 

[User00040]

Possible, however surely they can spot a cross thread on a mod!

You would have to accept it as an additional point of failure when risk-assesing it.

And most inspect their exhaust every year (MOT)

I suspect some on here don't even clean their rifle once a year...

Unless they are shooting for an agency or under contract, there is no obligation for an annual 'gunsmith inspection' (which many could fill out themselves as an RFD).

 

[wytonpjs]

How often do you inspect the exhaust pipes of your car?

Actually, quite often as I’m off-road so much I used to spend too much time under the car emptying out the fuel tank guard where it had filled up with grass seeds and was smouldering away on the exhaust pipe rather too often

I’m fully onside with @gixer1 on this one that if are using a firearm you must have a certain degree of intelligence to understand how it works and most importantly, what you shouldn’t do if you are to prevent a hazard from being realised. The more we end up with a “closed box” over which users have no understanding of what is going on in the box the more we are dumbing down and praying that the system designer’s have got the design intent right so that it can be operated safely under all foreseeable conditions. In the case of moderators where we are subjecting a mechanical item to variable pressure flows at extreme temperature where users can vary those parameters by ammunition or hand-loading choice, who may not check tightness during use or who may not follow the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendation, on balance I’d prefer that we have the option to do some periodic inspection to give early warning of both failure and condition.