Story time...
I have used a Hogan Decimeter on my primary field target gun since 2017. The Hogan is the size of the typically best-performing moderators, right in that 7" x 30mm OD size. It has always been, not only the quietest moderator that I've tried, but also the most accurate. Adding a 7" moderator onto a non-bullpup with a 23" barrel makes for a looooonnnngggg gun, and I've long wanted the gun to be shorter. The barrel on this gun is magic, so cutting it down has not ever been an option. That meant a shorter moderator was on the menu. And has been for most of a decade. Problem there, is that I've tried multiple "small" moderators and none of them could hush as well as the Decimeter, and some of them even made the gun less accurate...louder AND less accurate? Hell no! So the Hogan has somewhat been the gold standard that the other moderators have been measured against.
For reference, the gun is < 20fpe, using the .177/10.34grain JSBs. It is non-regulated, and running at 1450-1250psi. With just the bare barrel, it is quite loud.
Over the years, these are some of the moderators that I've tried against the Hogan on this gun. Some of them are comparably sized, others shorter/fatter/etc.
Moderator construction trends of what works (hushes) on this gun are:
I was interested in this moderator when I first heard about it b/c it checks a lot of the design boxes for what generally just seems to work, but ESPECIALLY b/c of the length. It measures out at 114mm long (4.48"). That would cut off 2.5" from the OAL, compared to using the typical 7" long moderators that tend to work so well. For diameter, the Hawk is almost obscenely fat, coming in at 50.8mm (2 inches). And finally, as a bit of a con, it weighs 272grams ( 9.6ounces). And I believe that weight is how I ended up with it. Airgun buddy @SAZ bought a Hawk to try, and didn't explicitly state that the weight was the main factor in wanting to move it on, but I know how he feels about a heavy FT rig. He knew I was interested in the Hawk, and he had decided he wasn't, and he offered to mail it to me to try out. It arrived late last Thursday night, and I was leaving for the AZ State FT match the next morning. I threw it in the gun case, hoping I'd have a chance to at least test it out a bit, but not expecting to end up using it for the match. I'm almost superstitious in my reluctance to change any variables that close to a match.
After the pistol ft match on Friday afternoon, and after cooking myself some late lunch/early dinner, I had a few hours to practice and test out the Hawk. First thing was to decide how it compared to the Hogan, in terms of report. And that checks out. The Hawk is the quietest 3-5" moderator that I've tried. Almost as quiet as the Hogan. Quiet enough that the biggest sound I hear is the hammer hitting the valve stem, which is how I like it. So, quiet? Check. Next, does it mess up the accuracy of the gun? In the first few shots I realized that it was causing my POI to be about 0.2mils (2 clicks) lower than with the Hogan. So I added in the two clicks and then shot this comparison. This is 40 yards from a stool and sticks. Groups were shot in the order of the red numbers I added. The three groups above the line were with the Hawk, and the three groups below were with the Hogan. On the top right group I forgot to dial back in those two clicks of elevation, so that upper right group is slightly low. This is trying to hold for wind. I don't remember exactly but the circle around the dot is something like 3/8"
Decided right then and there that I might try to validate all my distances with the Hawk and just go ahead and shoot the match the next morning with it. It took til after dark to work through the distances and then throw some offhand and kneeler shots downrange to get confident, but that wasn't anything that a small flashlight out at the pellet trap couldn't solve. 10-55 yard dope ended up being all identical to that the gun produces with the Hogan, as long as I had those extra two clicks of elevation added in.
Shot it the next morning and scored a 52/54. My two misses were two of the 6 kneeling shots. That was the overall high score for the day, by 5 hits on my course, and by 4 hits on the other course. So, nothing lost in accuracy, relative to what the Hogan does.
So, the Airgun Capital Hawk passed the test....quiet AND no loss of accuracy when using it. It now has a home on my primary field target rig.
I happily paid @SAZ for the Hawk the next morning after the match.
(All of the components of the Hawk are anodized aluminum, including both end caps, and the three cone shaped internal air stripping cones. The minor nigggles I have with it are the branding- I'd prefer it not have any logos/etc- and the weight. Although I acknowledge that the same all-metal construction I like is exactly why it weighs what it does. The difference in weight between the Decimeter and the Hawk is 125grams (4.4ounces, 0.275lbs). I struggle to see how a difference of less than 1/3rd of a pound could make a 16mm OD barrel sag, but there is a definite difference of 2/10th of a mil. So, be it a change of harmonics, or barrel sag, it exists. And that's why I don't like changing variables right before a match. Luckily in this case I had time to validate the moderator swap.)
Size comparison to the 7" Hogan Decimeter...
On the gun...aesthetics are subjective, but to my eye, it looks right at home next to that fat airtube...
Slightly different angle...
This high elevation tarantula gave me a jump-scare when I went out to move a target trap. He crawled over the back edge of the bucket into sight right as I reached down.
I have used a Hogan Decimeter on my primary field target gun since 2017. The Hogan is the size of the typically best-performing moderators, right in that 7" x 30mm OD size. It has always been, not only the quietest moderator that I've tried, but also the most accurate. Adding a 7" moderator onto a non-bullpup with a 23" barrel makes for a looooonnnngggg gun, and I've long wanted the gun to be shorter. The barrel on this gun is magic, so cutting it down has not ever been an option. That meant a shorter moderator was on the menu. And has been for most of a decade. Problem there, is that I've tried multiple "small" moderators and none of them could hush as well as the Decimeter, and some of them even made the gun less accurate...louder AND less accurate? Hell no! So the Hogan has somewhat been the gold standard that the other moderators have been measured against.
For reference, the gun is < 20fpe, using the .177/10.34grain JSBs. It is non-regulated, and running at 1450-1250psi. With just the bare barrel, it is quite loud.
Over the years, these are some of the moderators that I've tried against the Hogan on this gun. Some of them are comparably sized, others shorter/fatter/etc.
- Hugget Snipe
- Hugget Atom
- Donny Tatsu
- Donny Tanto
- Odb 110
- HW ? (The old one they've been making for years.)
- 3d printed home-brewed stuff from 3 different makers
- STO Pugio
Moderator construction trends of what works (hushes) on this gun are:
- internal baffles made of metal (aluminum or steel)
- multiple chambers, ideally of varying sizes
- optional combination of steel mesh and/or sound dampening felt
- aluminum body and end caps
- large and open internal volume NOT taken up by gimmicky crap
- small (relatively) exit hole
I was interested in this moderator when I first heard about it b/c it checks a lot of the design boxes for what generally just seems to work, but ESPECIALLY b/c of the length. It measures out at 114mm long (4.48"). That would cut off 2.5" from the OAL, compared to using the typical 7" long moderators that tend to work so well. For diameter, the Hawk is almost obscenely fat, coming in at 50.8mm (2 inches). And finally, as a bit of a con, it weighs 272grams ( 9.6ounces). And I believe that weight is how I ended up with it. Airgun buddy @SAZ bought a Hawk to try, and didn't explicitly state that the weight was the main factor in wanting to move it on, but I know how he feels about a heavy FT rig. He knew I was interested in the Hawk, and he had decided he wasn't, and he offered to mail it to me to try out. It arrived late last Thursday night, and I was leaving for the AZ State FT match the next morning. I threw it in the gun case, hoping I'd have a chance to at least test it out a bit, but not expecting to end up using it for the match. I'm almost superstitious in my reluctance to change any variables that close to a match.
After the pistol ft match on Friday afternoon, and after cooking myself some late lunch/early dinner, I had a few hours to practice and test out the Hawk. First thing was to decide how it compared to the Hogan, in terms of report. And that checks out. The Hawk is the quietest 3-5" moderator that I've tried. Almost as quiet as the Hogan. Quiet enough that the biggest sound I hear is the hammer hitting the valve stem, which is how I like it. So, quiet? Check. Next, does it mess up the accuracy of the gun? In the first few shots I realized that it was causing my POI to be about 0.2mils (2 clicks) lower than with the Hogan. So I added in the two clicks and then shot this comparison. This is 40 yards from a stool and sticks. Groups were shot in the order of the red numbers I added. The three groups above the line were with the Hawk, and the three groups below were with the Hogan. On the top right group I forgot to dial back in those two clicks of elevation, so that upper right group is slightly low. This is trying to hold for wind. I don't remember exactly but the circle around the dot is something like 3/8"
Decided right then and there that I might try to validate all my distances with the Hawk and just go ahead and shoot the match the next morning with it. It took til after dark to work through the distances and then throw some offhand and kneeler shots downrange to get confident, but that wasn't anything that a small flashlight out at the pellet trap couldn't solve. 10-55 yard dope ended up being all identical to that the gun produces with the Hogan, as long as I had those extra two clicks of elevation added in.
Shot it the next morning and scored a 52/54. My two misses were two of the 6 kneeling shots. That was the overall high score for the day, by 5 hits on my course, and by 4 hits on the other course. So, nothing lost in accuracy, relative to what the Hogan does.
So, the Airgun Capital Hawk passed the test....quiet AND no loss of accuracy when using it. It now has a home on my primary field target rig.
I happily paid @SAZ for the Hawk the next morning after the match.
(All of the components of the Hawk are anodized aluminum, including both end caps, and the three cone shaped internal air stripping cones. The minor nigggles I have with it are the branding- I'd prefer it not have any logos/etc- and the weight. Although I acknowledge that the same all-metal construction I like is exactly why it weighs what it does. The difference in weight between the Decimeter and the Hawk is 125grams (4.4ounces, 0.275lbs). I struggle to see how a difference of less than 1/3rd of a pound could make a 16mm OD barrel sag, but there is a definite difference of 2/10th of a mil. So, be it a change of harmonics, or barrel sag, it exists. And that's why I don't like changing variables right before a match. Luckily in this case I had time to validate the moderator swap.)
Size comparison to the 7" Hogan Decimeter...
On the gun...aesthetics are subjective, but to my eye, it looks right at home next to that fat airtube...
Slightly different angle...
This high elevation tarantula gave me a jump-scare when I went out to move a target trap. He crawled over the back edge of the bucket into sight right as I reached down.
