Making the .25 Edgun quiet, easily and inexpensively…
The key to the Edgun .25 making less noise is reducing the air pressure at the muzzle. There are a few ways to do this without engaging in exotic baffle designs, or spending money on an aftermarket shroud or moderator.
Here’s how it’s done:
The first step is to remove both the baffle cover, which is unscrewed counter clockwise, by hand, then removing the bottom shroud by removing the barrel bushing/vent nut. Then you can easily enlarge the existing vent holes at the rear of the Edgun shroud with a variable speed hand drill. I made my lower shroud vent holes 2.0mm in diameter:
You can go larger if you wish. If you go too large and begin to hear air “whoosh” out of the vent holes when firing, just wrap some felt around the inside of the shroud, behind the vent holes, to slow the air down. You can touch them up with the tip of a permanent ink black felt tip Sharpie. This is how they look when done, but before the Sharpie touchup:
The next step is to increase the air flow from the front of the Edgun to the rear of the shroud. Now on the R3 this is a bit more complicated because the shroud comes in two parts, so I will concentrate on the R3. Unscrew the top shroud, baffle cover, taking care to remove it easily because the O-ring can be damaged on the threads. Be sure to put silicone grease that O-ring before putting it back on. Note the bottom shroud, and barrel, are held in place by a 19mm nut with vent holes in it. It unscrews easily, counter-clockwise, with a common metric wrench:
After it is taken off, you then enlarge the holes in the nut with a variable speed drill. I went 2.5mm, you may choose to go smaller, but not much larger, as the hole diameter affects the strength of the nut.
After this is done, you simply replace the bottom shroud, then the barrel bushing, being certain that the bottom of the shroud is properly placed OVER the rim of the permanent cone shaped breech attachment. If you ignore this step, you will bend the bottom of the shroud when you tighten the nut…note the bottom of the shroud sitting flush against the cone shaped breech attachment in this picture. The hidden rim inside the shroud is about 1/8″ or so tall, but it must have the shroud placed evenly over it before tightening the nut. When you lift up and remove the bottom shroud, you will easily spot it, as the cone shaped breech attachment remains in place:
Finally, there has been much discussion regarding how much torque must be used to tighten the nut that holds the barrel and bottom shroud in place. This is not a difficult process. First you obtain a Russian Torque Wrench…see below picture:
Placing the 19mm wrench in this handy grasping tool, you tighten the nut to where it is snug against the shroud, then you go roughly 1/2 turn further. That’s all it takes. Remember, this is thin and fairly soft aluminum and will strip threads or bend rather easily. AND…if you have placed the bottom of the barrel shroud over the lip of the cone shaped breech attachment, you will not have bent, or dented, the bottom of the shroud.
Replacing the top shroud (baffle cover) is easily done, just be careful sliding the cover over the O-ring using a light downward pressure and clockwise screwing motion until it gets past the threads on the cover. Snug it up hand tight, no more.
That’s it! You can expect at least a 50% reduction in muzzle blast, which on the Long Edgun makes the hammer slap the loudest noise emitted when shooting the gun. It costs nothing, takes about 1/2 hour, a couple of metric bits, and a variable speed hand drill. Take your time. The existing holes will guide the bit if you proceed slowly, especially when starting the new hole.
Now, for that hammer slap…I’m still working on that one.
Regards,
Kindly ‘Ol Uncle H 😯 😯 t
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My shroud is a tight fit on the barrel and the frame of the gun and holds it in place, the barrel is not going to move anywhere. It is screwed into a block held in place with 2 allen
screws at the breach and will also be held firmly by the shroud, the barrel doe not need tension. I think this will be answered after Horace has had time to check them for accuracy. I still say with all conviction that there is no where for the barrel to go. If it was a sliding fit at the breach I would agree with you but it screws into a block attached with Allen screws so it can not go anywhere. Neil.
Paranoid?
Not even.
If you look at the way the Matador disassembles you will see that the barrel tension thing (compression tube) provides a way to hold the barrel against the forward breech block. With the compression tube removed the barrel is only held in place with the action. The scope tower doesn’t provide ANY barrel clamping pressure, the Cricket and the Matador 2.0 & 2.5 have scope towers that clamp the barrel in place.
This video will show how the barrel is removed once the action is disassembled.
Syn,
The whole assembly including the forward scope tower. Scope tower is a better description though…., Thanks dude 😀 I couldn’t put it into words….
As it is now, Neil’s one-piece aluminum shroud would not butt squarely against the forward scope tower on my gun.
Gabe
I make the one piece shroud slide into the front of the breach block, the shroud is made to fit the barrel and not have the rubber o-ring, there is no way the barrel is going to move with the way it is attached to the gun. I have no idea why you are all paranoid about the barrel tension, free floating barrels are used in a lot of high end air guns and are extremely accurate. I am 100% certain that the set screwed shroud is all that is needed. I have made dozens of them for the Crickets and not one of them has got back to me with anything other than perfect accuracy. If you insist on keeping the tension I have no problem with that but you will loose efficiency of the set screwed shroud and it will cost more out of your hard earned money because of the complexity of the build. All the best, Neil.
Gabe, that “spacer” being the forward scope tower? Or the piece between the scope tower and the breech?
Hoot, Ed’s going to give you a good Russian spankin to since you removed the barrel tensioner… 
Does anyone know if the tension nut is used to hold the barrel in place? 😯
Sorry I am late to the party guys… Wow Hoot, it looks exactly like how I pictured my gun to look like. I am going with the two piece model with the can at the end. It adds 10 more points to it’s badass status. Now a lot of guys are on the list for the R3M .25 cal STD because there is a shortage of longs. Does Neil already have the measurements for that? Or do we need someone who has a .25 R3.5 STD to send him the info? I am putting my money on the shroud/LDC not effecting accuracy tomorrow 🙂
I want to clarify my last post. By “spacer”, I mean the part with the green dot. The part between the bushing (yellow dot) and the breech (not pictured).
Sorry if I confused the shit out of you guys.
Gabe
Hoot, great post and it really does answer many question I had….Thank You! Looking forward to your accuracy results testing.
Best regards, Mike
When I took my shroud apart, the part with the yellow dot in the picture below does not have a lip which slides onto the spacer. The bushing on my gun sit flush against the spacer. I’m assuming the newer edguns have a lip on the bushing, therefore the need for NC to include it on his one piece shroud (see second pic). I have the R3 model. The model with the steel breech. This might be something to consider if anyone is interested in ordering a one-piece shroud.
I wish I would have taken a picture of the bushing, I will next time I have the shroud apart. It’s flat on the breech side. One other thing, the bushing slides on and does not have an oring.
Gabe
Thanks a bunch, Hoot for posting all the information about making the .25 Edgun quiet, as well as the Cricket. Very helpful for the rest of us newer & future owners of those great bullpups. Much appreciated.
The Neil Clague shrouds completely replace the Edgun two piece shroud and baffles.
The one piece aluminum shroud has it’s own baffling system, and an internal barrel support, but not a barrel “pre-tensioning” nut. The carbon fiber/LDC unit has an internal nut that screws onto the barrel of the Edgun.
Both are extremely quiet. Re-read the review, there’s a lot of information there.
Accuracy results tomorrow.
Thanks Hoot!!!!
The carbon fiber shroud w/LDC looks great on your gun. I crossing my fingers that accuracy will not be negatively affected because I’m ready to have Neil make me one.
Gabe
1) Clague Shroud/LDC combo, without a doubt. As quiet as you are going to get without getting ridiculous on length and diameter.
2) One piece, aluminum, slide-on shroud. For roughly an 1″ over OEM length, it is going to be tough to beat as a stand alone shroud.
3) Clague one piece carbon fiber shroud. It is quieter than the OEM shroud, but does not equal options “1” and “2”. If you already have a
1/2 X 20 adapter, and threaded LDC, then this is what you should purchase.
4) OEM “vented” shroud. Vent the OEM shroud at the base, about two inches from the breech. Six to eight holes, equally spaced, start small with diameter…2.0mm is good. It does make a very noticeable difference…at least it did to me. If you can’t afford a Neil Clague piece of equipment right now…this is a real world option at no cost.
Accuracy: That’s for tomorrow to tell. I’m out of time. I’ll post results, and pictures, with both new shrouds.
Awesome Hoot,
Looking forward to the accuracy report. Quiet is nice but if it don’t go straight… 🙄
I really like the one piece aluminum slide on shroud. Can you tell me, does the NC aluminum shroud slide over the barrel and the baffle? If so, this would completely replace the two piece shroud that I have on my .25 standard right now I am assuming this would still allow for the barrel tension to be part of the equation, yes/no?
Lucky man Hoot you are, looks good and looks even more fun! :8:
First, the images of the two types of moderator Neil Clague has produced. The one I was visually most impressed with, and which was most effective with the screw-on LDC, is the carbon fiber model. This shroud has a nut in the middle that screws onto the barrel as does the OEM shroud, except Neil’s is one piece. This holds the barrel tightly, as would please some forum members. Workmanship is meticulous.
OAL, with LDC screwed on, is right at 40″, a length I found to be quite manageable. Right at 4″ longer than OEM.
Kindly note the aluminum cap on the carbon fiber shroud…well it unscrews off to reveal the threads for the carbon fiber LDC.
No adapter needed. Threads are 1/2 X 20.
The theaded LDC simply screws on where the cap screws off. This saves space needed by an adapter, and dresses up the shroud
when not using the LDC.
Nicely machined, top and bottom. Fits to perfection.
Now, the all aluminum, one piece, slip-on, held in place with one grub screw, Neil Clague shroud. It is about 1.0″ longer than the OEM Edgun shroud.
Here’s where it gets a bit interesting…it is ALMOST as quiet as the carbon fiber and LDC shroud! Neil advised he could do more if the shroud was a slide on,
rather than the screw-on type, and he was correct. Nice powder coated surface.
Now, inquiring minds wish to know why I didn’t photograph the aluminum shroud on the fully assembled Edgun with stock. There’s a reason.
The Edgun, at the breech, has a fitting that goes on the barrel, between the breech and OEM shroud. It has an O ring inside of it, and it is
NOT easily removed. Oh, it’s a slide off/on adapter, but that O ring does not go over the threaded end of the barrel easily. I took it off once
and I wasn’t about to take it off again after I got it back on.
And again, finely machined shroud, with no ragged edges or fittings. It has the “OEM shroud/breech adapter” built into the bottom of the shroud.
If considering this particular model, one must be aware that it does NOT have the mid shroud nut that screws onto the barrel threads. There is no
“pre-tension” aspect to this model. However, since the barrel “floats” inside the shroud, Neil has a barrel alignment fitting where the barrel normally
screws onto the shroud. This keeps the barrel aligned with the baffles and prevents “clipping”.
One grub screw does the attachment duties. Easy on/Easy off! Plus, as previously mentioned, it is a hair’s width short of being as quiet as the
carbon fiber shroud/LDC model. I mean REALLY close!!!
Thoughts: I would choose the carbon fiber/LDC model because I want serious, serious quiet! With the LDC on, you can shoot this gun inside and not
wake up the kids. Now that’s dependent on how sensitive they are to hammer slap and pellet impact. I’d suggest a closed door, or two, would take
care of that problem.
The aluminum one piece is very very close behind in sound suppression. I’d say this is also an indoor gun, just a tiny bit louder.
Using the carbon fiber shroud alone, it is quieter than the OEM shroud on the Edgun. How quiet? Here’s what I came up with…I put my decibel meter
right next to the muzzle of each shroud and the shroud/LDC combo. The OEM shroud measured 69 dB on my meter at 12″ from the microphone. (Now,
remember I have “vented” the bottom of this shroud, and the top, so this factory shroud is quieter than the unmodified OEM shroud!) The carbon fiber
shroud measured 67 dB without the LDC attached. With the LDC attached, the measurement was 65 dB. Interestingly, the one piece, aluminum
shroud by Clague measured 65 dB…but in real life, my ear said it was a tad louder.
The dB measurements mean nothing as numbers. The reason being it’s software and dependent upon the microphone of the measuring device. I do not have
professional equipment, so the numbers are merely to give you a field of measurement to go by. The numbers, however, prove there IS a difference between
the equipment being measured.
Practical considerations…the one piece, aluminum, slide-on is likely going to be less expensive, because of less labor, and less expensive aluminum being used. It has no “pre-tension” nut screwed to the barrel, just a barrel alignment support midway up the shroud.
The shroud/LDC is going to cost more, whether you have it in carbon fiber, or aluminum. You are getting two pieces of equipment with a built in screw-on adapter. It does have a nut that torques the barrel, and some would swear this is necessary. Personally, I have no idea either way.
In order of quiet:
1) Clague Shroud/LDC combo, without a doubt. As quiet as you are going to get without getting ridiculous on length and diameter.
2) One piece, aluminum, slide-on shroud. For roughly an 1″ over OEM length, it is going to be tough to beat as a stand alone shroud.
3) Clague one piece carbon fiber shroud. It is quieter than the OEM shroud, but does not equal options “1” and “2”. If you already have a
1/2 X 20 adapter, and threaded LDC, then this is what you should purchase.
4) OEM “vented” shroud. Vent the OEM shroud at the base, about two inches from the breech. Six to eight holes, equally spaced, start small with diameter…2.0mm is good. It does make a very noticeable difference…at least it did to me. If you can’t afford a Neil Clague piece of equipment right now…this is a real world option at no cost.
Accuracy: That’s for tomorrow to tell. I’m out of time. I’ll post results, and pictures, with both new shrouds.
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I have watched the video many times and did so before I even said I would make a prototype, tension on the barrel does not hold the barrel against the front of the breach block, the tension holds the shroud on and helps keep everything aligned. The barrel does not even touch the front part of the block it has a rubber o-ring there to allow it to float, the shroud I made for Horace removed the O-ring and was a tight fit holding the barrel and shroud in perfect alignment. There is no need for tension on the barrel, the barrel is strong enough to stay straight, all it needs is to be held in place so it can not move and that is accomplished quite simply, it will not go anywhere with the shrouds I have made. Just because a design is made a certain way does not always mean that is the only way it can be made. I have been working in design and technology just about all my working life and I can see what is needed to make something for this gun. Feel free to believe what you want, just because a maker says something is so does not make it the only way it can be done. I have a great respect for the maker of these guns, they are awesome air guns, but sometimes improvements can be made and simplicity introduced.