Does the Hastings barrel extension act as a silencer???

[Preacherman]

Hi, shotgunning friends. I was speaking today with some bird hunting friends of mine. One of them was telling us about a recent hunt in Texas, where one of his companions was using the Hastings Metro 32" barrel extension. (A picture and more details are on the Cabela's Web site: I tried to link to it, but their link includes a session ID that seems to expire, leaving only a blank page... If you go to their home page, select "Hunting / Optics" from the side menu, scroll down to "Shooting Accessories" and select "Replacement Barrels / Chokes", then select "Hastings® Shotgun Barrels and Choke Tubes", then scroll down and select "Hastings® "Metro" Barrel Extension", you'll see it.)

He told us that it reduced the shotgun's report to about that of a .22 rifle, and that it also greatly reduced felt recoil. This seems similar to what is claimed on the Cabela's Web site.

Has anyone here used one of these things? If so, can you comment on noise and recoil reduction? How about patterning and accuracy? Did the extraordinary length make swinging the shotgun difficult? (I estimate that a 28" barrel plus the 32" of this thing would give you a 60" barrel length overall - folks, that's 5 feet of barrel! Makes the whole gun over 6 feet long - heck, most shooters are shorter than that!!!)

If this thing does significantly reduce the noise level, it might make it possible to use a shotgun for pest control in a more built-up neighborhood. Yes, I know there are laws against it in some areas, but assuming that it's legal to use a shotgun (or that you can hide yourself while using one! ), this might be a very useful accessory for putting down roaming skunks, raccoons, feral cats and dogs, etc. that are causing a nuisance.

 

[only1asterisk]

I gotta get me one of these!


David

 

[Dave McCracken]

What I've heard and seen is....

These, combined with sub-sonic ammo, are designed to be low noise for use in urban areas on nuisance animals, including those resident geese that infest many areas here in Md. Ground shots only,they don't want shot raining down in say, a schoolyard.

The thing weighs a lb plus a little, there's the kick reduction. Supposedly, use with that slow ammo reduces noise to the level of a telephone book slammed down on a table.

One source says Federal is producing the ammo.

The idea has merit, but I see little sporting application. Hang a 1 lb weight off the muzzle of your favorite shotgun and do 50 practice mounts.

See?...

 

[Cal4D4]

I see this as the new "weapon of choice" for L.A. drug gangs. It should immediately be banned just like the .50 cal rifles. It could easily be disguised as a length of sewer pipe and mounted on a truck.