Axe Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I've just been advised that I should be giving my Sak moderator a good clean and inspecting it for wear every 500 shots. Does anybody else do the same or at greater/lesser intervals? Apparently Sak mods are known to burn away when used with .17HMR is this so? Cheers in advance. Axe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodmedod.one Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I've just been advised that I should be giving my Sak moderator a good clean and inspecting it for wear every 500 shots. Does anybody else do the same or at greater/lesser intervals? Apparently Sak mods are known to burn away when used with .17HMR is this so? Cheers in advance. Axe. I clean mine more regularly than that. It's amazing how much **** is deposited in a rimfire moderator. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to get off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apbuild Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Ditto. Clean it regularly or it is a pig to get clean! Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead-Eyed Duck Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I've never cleaned any of my rimmy silencers, and have put 1,000's of rounds thro' some of them. I am not saying don't clean them - just that I have not. My silencers have varied from the good old Parker-Hale to my latest carbon fibre one. Having looked at the SAK, I think that it is mainly manufactured from aluminium. If this is so, perhaps this is vulnerable to attack from the corrosive deposits? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted June 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Well i'll be having a good look tonight too see whats happened to it after 600-700 rounds mixed of .22LR and .17HMR through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 iv never cleaned my . 22 parker-hale mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibby Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 No problems yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I havent cleaned my Ph mod ither since iv got it, but told aswell its best to clean it, as it looses its moderating effect. Is this true anyone? Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quist Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I leave my mods on and just pull the bore snake through the lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I've just been advised that I should be giving my Sak moderator a good clean and inspecting it for wear every 500 shots. Does anybody else do the same or at greater/lesser intervals? Apparently Sak mods are known to burn away when used with .17HMR is this so? Cheers in advance. Axe. This probably depends on barrel length. A short barrel will mean very hot expanding gas at over 100fps will hit the plastic mod, mixed with spent powder will abrade very quickly. The longer the barrel is, the more time/volume there is for the gasses to expand, decreasing the speed and heat of the gas, which causes less damage. On your Sako (I think its the same as my finnfire with 24" barrel?) it should not be much of a problem. But cleaning is always good. Just let me warn you, the crud in there is VERY toxic, being lead powder it gets every where and will cause serious health effects including cancer and/or reproductive harm. Cleaning mods requires rubber gloves, and boiling water. Take the mod apart as much as possible, being a Sak, it will most likely be jammed, as the plastic baffle will stick, so put it in an old pot, and pour boiling water into it. This will dissolve the wax solution that holds the lead powder (produced after firing) and also burnt poder residue and should free it up. Otherwise use a screw driver after a short soak, to prise the baffle out. Dont force it! after this, if you can, wipe the inside with a little oil, and the thread for the end cap. Clean the end cap well to stop it from jamming in the thread next time. You will notice the liquid that comes out from the dirty mod is light green. Make sure this gets poured away safely down a drain and the pot put away, so it is not used for cooking. It will remain toxic untill it is either treated, or cleened with lead solvents. Never under estimate lead as it will do damage to you if you or someone else thinks 'ahh its just once im touching it'. Sorry if I seem so tight on this, but I have learnt quiet a bit about lead whislt studying for the industry. I also have seen several people go down with cancer due to harmful metal contamination, and wouldnt want to see anyone here get it I am considering just shooting my mod untill its clogged to the baffle edges, then buy a new one. Its not really worth getting yourself covered in the stuff. The actually bullets are safer as they are covered in wax, but once fired will give off lead dust. Mods are a useful health and safety aid in confined shooting space as they catch a lot of the lead dust after each shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I took my SAK apart just to see what was inside if you remember Axe, and it was a bit of a nightmare to get back together again as they are made with very tight tolerances. You have to line the screw holes up before you slide the outer over the inner (if that makes sense) as it wont twist once you start inserting it. I can only assume the dirtier they get the harder they are to strip? I hadn't shot much through mine, maybe 5-600 and there wasn't much in the way of deposit to talk about, but they were all .22 subs so that my explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted June 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Thanks for the replies. I stripped the mod last night for the first time. I did find powder deposits but it wasnt overly bad. Thankfully I didn't notice any errosion of the baffles. To remove the casing that was stuck fast, after removing the three retaining grubs screws, I remounted the mod back on the rifle. Once in place and gave a good firm and sharp twist towards the thread, which broke the seal. Then continued to twist and pull the casing from the baffles. Next time I will follow Hunter's advice and drop the mod in a pot of boiling water. Once the casing was free and with the baffles still on the rifle, I used a stiff brush and the hoover to remove the loose deposits. After which I cleaned the inside of the outer casing with '009' and wiped clean. I did the same for the mating surfaces of the baffles and any 'easy to get to' areas. Where the baffles are drilled there are burrs which will be removed with a file next time I clean the mod. This will make cleaning easier and safer. The outer casing was then re-sleeved over the baffles still in situ on the rifle. This made it very easy to re-align the casing with the retaining screws. All three grubs screws were re-sighted loosley before finally pinching them up tight with the Hex key. Having taken the time to have a look at the build up, I can honestly say I will be stripping the moderator more often. Whilst i'm sure the build up burnt powder, lead and copper may not harm the moderator, i'm pretty sure it will have an effect on its performance. Hunter, the baffles are actually an alloy of some description and not plastic. The barrel length of my Quad is 21" not 24". Thanks for the advice for cleaning and safety precautions. I only wish I had read your post before cleaning the mod! Once again, thanks to all for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted June 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 For those intrerested to learn of Lead toxicity: http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic293.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Having seen this and a couple other references to mod coaking up, I took mine apart earlier (taking the necessary precautions) and found a fair amount of crud inside. In fact it wouldn't come apart until I had soaked it in WD40 and even then it was a struggle. This is off a .22 BRNO 452 full length (so 20 or 21" or whatever they are) and has had almost exclusively Winchester subs through it, maybe handfull of Remington Yellow Jackets no more. I haven't always kept a track of rounds (I do now) but I guess it must have had well over the 500 or so through it I originally thought There was twice as much crud as this but it finally came apart outside that is where the rest landed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 What about the Parker Hale Mod? Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 The only time I had problems dismantling my Sak mods was the first time I took them apart. A light smear of oil on the bearing surfaces took care of that, and I've had no trouble since. Please be careful with the lead dust. I use an old 12 bore phosphor bronze brush to clean the cylinder, and baffle holes, but I'm VERY conscious of the dust!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjimlad Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Thanks for posting all of this, especially the pictures. I'm thinking of getting a SAK mod and this is so useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 You can have mine it's in 2 pieces now and I don't know how to get it back together again Only joking, it's fine now, honest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 If you do have trouble getting it all back again just line up the two holes, remove one of the grub screws to see into the threaded hole, screw it in and the other holes should be nicely lined up. I also drop a little oil into the screw holes. Lots of screwing, holes and lining up there!! Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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