Loudness: Steyr Compact vs. Standard?

[Mtl_Biker]

I love my new Steyr EVO-10 and yesterday I had the chance to shoot with a friend who just got a brand new LP2. We were both very surprised at the difference in sound level between the two guns. The LP2 was MUCH quieter than the EVO-10. The LP2 was a standard length pistol while my EVO-10 is a compact version.

So we're trying to figure out (simply curious) whether the LP2 is really quieter than the EVO-10 in general, or if it's because one gun is regular length and the other compact. Any ideas? Both guns are shooting about the same 510 fps.

If you had two of the same model... one regular and one compact, does anyone know if they are the same loudness? Would a longer/shorter barrel affect the loudness? And is the EVO-10 (compact or regular) louder than the LP-10 or LP2?

I wish we could compare the same model pistol in standard and compact lengths.

Thanks!

[Andre]

I do not have any evidence to say the compact is louder, but it would make sense that to propel a pellet to a certain velocity with a shorter barrel it would need more air to accelerate the pellet than the standard barrel counterpart. Or, maybe the compact version is shooting faster?

Does the hammer bounce on the LP2 causing it to sound louder? Do they have identical air strippers and top-of-barrel ports?

[kevinweiho]

Would a longer/shorter barrel affect the loudness?

The compact version with its shorter barrel is louder than the standard long barrel version because there is less time for the compressed air to expand and use up the energy. If you crank down the power, you will notice less noise. Moreover, the three holes drilled on top of the barrel, (LP10/EVO10) along with the compensator will make the pistols noisier.

[nick marshall]

I too own a Steyr Evo in the standard length. ie. Not compact.
I find it quite load.
But no different to any other of the LP10's I have owned that were also fitted with the Steyr 8 hole compensator.

[Mtl_Biker]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

The LP2 (re: Andre) is NOT loud, so I doubt if there's any hammer bounce affecting the sound.

It looks like the consensus is that a shorter barrel makes for a louder pistol, and that any pistol with the Steyr 8 hole compensator would be louder than one without.

I'm fine with the sound on my EVO-10 Compact, but we were both curious about this when we found a huge difference in sound between the LP2 (standard) and EVO-10 (compact) while shooting side by side.

[j-team]

The compact versions are definitely louder, as mentioned in earlier post you can adjust velocity down a bit to help (if you drop 10m/s your groups will still be good enough). Also you get the added benefit of more shots from the short cylinder which is a good thing as they don't get that many in the first place.

[Mtl_Biker]

The compact versions are definitely louder, as mentioned in earlier post you can adjust velocity down a bit to help (if you drop 10m/s your groups will still be good enough). Also you get the added benefit of more shots from the short cylinder which is a good thing as they don't get that many in the first place.

My EVO-10 is shooting about 530 fps... 10m/s is about 30 fps... so I should be able to safely reduce the velocity down to about 500 fps without sacrificing any accuracy or consistency? Gaining more shots per cylinder and perhaps a slightly quieter shot certainly has some appeal.

Thank you!

[seamaster]

Adjusting velocity screw to decrease velocity does not mean air is saved, and will generate more shots per filled cylinder.
It just allow some air to be wasted while lowering velocity.

It will be less loud, but will not save air usage.

[j-team]

Adjusting velocity screw to decrease velocity does not mean air is saved, and will generate more shots per filled cylinder.
It just allow some air to be wasted while lowering velocity.

It will be less loud, but will not save air usage.

Umm... If you strike a spring loaded valve with a lesser strike and less air gets past each time, how does that not use less air?

And, Mtl_Biker, 30fps will not make a noticeable difference in accuracy (maybe if you are a 590 shooter!). Sound reduction will only be tiny though.

[deadeyedick]

My EVO-10 is shooting about 530 fps... 10m/s is about 30 fps... so I should be able to safely reduce the velocity down to about 500 fps without sacrificing any accuracy or consistency? Gaining more shots per cylinder and perhaps a slightly quieter shot certainly has some appeal.

Don't bet on it!
Every pistol has a sweet spot regarding accuracy and 530 fps seems to be it for a lot of the Steyrs I have owned. I personally wouldn't mess with it as the few extra shots gained are irrelevant.
When you are more experienced ( A grade at least ) and have the services of someone experienced in adjusting Steyr velocity....and have a Ransom rest....you may wish to experiment with pellets and fps.

The supplied one hole 5 shot test target lets you know that accuracy is not a problem. What is that saying. " If it ain't broke don't fix it ! )

Turn your brain off ...you will shoot better and the noise will not be a problem.

[rmca]

The supplied one hole 5 shot test target lets you know that accuracy is not a problem. What is that saying. " If it ain't broke don't fix it ! )

Turn your brain off ...you will shoot better and the noise will not be a problem.

Best pieces of advice in the hole tread!

Leave it alone...

[therider]

I have often noticed that the Matchguns mgh1 is the quietest of all, followed by Morini 162ei. So I guess that using little air (mgh1) (air quantity and not speed as my mgh1 was set at 168m/sec by Cesare himself) and having no holes in the barrel (both mgh1 and 162ei) play an important role.

[hundert]

the reason simply are the vent holes in the barrel that the LP2 doesn't have. They make the pistol much more loud.

[Rover]

Just to be obnoxious....the SSPs we shoot at PRGC are MUCH quieter than ANY of the PCPs.

I realize this may be a real concern to many.

[Ricardo]

The vent holes and compensator might make it seem louder to the shooter -more air pressure is released in a direction not towards the target. The loudness while facing the muzzle might be correspondingly lower.

[seamaster]

Who has both Mornini and Steyr, long and short, vented/ no vent? Throw a SSP in there.

iphone has a decibel meter. Could someone do an objective measure close up and at a distance? and dispel those subjective myth?

[Rover]

We have no short APs where I shoot, but several SSPs as well as the "standard" PCPs.

The SSPs at around 480-490 fps (7ish gr. pellets) are very noticeably quieter.

[j-team]

I have long and short Steyr LP2, the short is louder. Barrel length makes more difference than ported barrel as I also have LP10 long and it sounds the same as LP2 long.

[Gerard]

To my ears the Moroni 162ei has been one of the loudest with factory settings, followed closely by the Steyr LP-10. Those were set to between 530fos ajd 565fps. My Pardini K12 was fairly loud as supplied to me, shooting at about 535fps with 7.56gr pellets. I turned it down to about 490fps (making it Canada-legal by the way - it seems 10m air pistols are often supplied here at restricted weapon power levels shooting both above the 500fps and the 5.7joules limits which should require an RPAL and shooting only at a registered firearms range under the law) and it became much quieter, and gave me about 10% more shots per fill. So definitely using less air. I also found that the anti-recoil weight, which was already very effective at 535fps, reduced any felt jolt to zero at 490fps.

From my various experiments tuning PCP rifles I've found that efficiency goes up (either more shots per fill or more power per shot - cant have both) with a longer barrel. Noise similarly drops, the longer the barrel given other parameters remaining identical. I'm not sure how big a difference this effect would make between a compact and a regular sized Steyr... definitely a difference, but if the difference is very significant I'd look at adjusting the hammer spring to slightly less tension and velocity testing, as it could be that excess air is being dumped. If you turn the adjust our a little at a time and test velocity you might see it remaining the same for a few partial turns of the screw, then dropping off. At that point adjust it slightly as you see fit. I doubt you'll experience a significant change in accuracy between 490 and 535fps, though obviously the point of impact goes down at lower speeds, necessitating adjustment of the rear sight.