Suppressors First shots with 30BA - thoughts and a question

[gunshinestate]

First off, this is my first time shooting suppressed. I was shooting .308 hornady 168gr bthp and was about .75 moa at 100 yards. Put the can on and was shooting about 1 mil high.
The groups also opened up a bit.
My questions - is a mil high about normal? For some reason I expected to shoot low with the can on
Also, it seems like everyone else sees tighter groups when shooting suppressed. Can I expect the can to "settle in" and eventually see tighter groups? Or am I probably doing something wrong? Alignment seemed perfect and I made sure it was hand-tight.
Thanks in advance for any insight!

Please excuse typos, sending from iphone.

 

[pprochnow]

I would call or email thunder beast. They should give your quick run down on trouble shooting.

 

[bhunter]

please keep us updated on your situation. From the people I have talked to everyone says that you typically shoot a little higher as the suppesor acts as more barrel length thus increasing velocity!?

 

[Zak Smith]

Hi,

Not normal. Please give us a call on Monday and we'll figure it out. We are at the SHOT Show until the weekend.

 

[Jig Stick]

I'm so glad I went with a thunderbeast 30p1 for my first can. Any issue or question, and zak is all over it pronto. That's a nice piece of mind.

 

[Pappasniper]

I would shoot it again and make sure it was truly off a bit. I've seen cans raise POI. But would definitely shoot more groups and see if it settles in, or you settle in.

 

[gunshinestate]

I would shoot it again and make sure it was truly off a bit. I've seen cans raise POI. But would definitely shoot more groups and see if it settles in, or you settle in.

I took it on/off several times and it was repeatable. W/o can, it was pia-poi. W/ can, it was 1 mil high. I guess the good news is that it's repeatable?

Zak, I'll give y'all a call Monday. I appreciate you chiming in.

 

[wirehand]

It's also going to depend on what barrel contour and if shooting hand loads.

The longer and skinnier the barrel the more possibility for shift.
Adding weight to the end of a barrel will change the frequency to which it vibrates at, thusly changing the accuracy node possibly.

 

[Bracamonte]

Mine shot low and groups were tighter when I first shot the 30BA.

Just a thought: did you use the peel washers and the right thickness to have the brake screwed on flush and perfect?

 

[gunshinestate]

Mine shot low and groups were tighter when I first shot the 30BA.

Just a thought: did you use the peel washers and the right thickness to have the brake screwed on flush and perfect?

Reputable smith put the brake on because after spending the coin on the can, i wanted to make sure the threads were concentric, brake on square, etc.

The barrel is heavy contour and the ammo was Hornady factory.

rifle specs in case one detail is the tell-tale
remington 700 aac-sd 20" barrel 1:10
mcreee g5 chassis
tbac 30ba
ammo - hornady match 308. 168gr

 

[Shane C.]

Reputable smith put the brake on because after spending the coin on the can, i wanted to make sure the threads were concentric, brake on square, etc.

Did he cut the rear surface of the brake to time it?

 

[gunshinestate]

No, they used washers to time.

Question from my first post - is the 1 mil high a concern or is the groups opening up a bit the bigger concern (regarding possible issues with the rifle) ?

 

[pprochnow]

Groups opening up is the indicator. Shift Up could be an increase in velocity. Do you have a large contour barrel? Is your barrel fairly short? Free floated?

 

[gunshinestate]

heavy contour barrel (remy aac-sd 20") free floateded in a Mcree chassis.

ETA - my biggest concern here when i first posted was the 1 mil high poi shift. I guess i was assuming it, if anything, would be low. The increased velocity making the bullet have a higher flight path makes sense. I just figured that i wouldnt see a poi shift, or at least not that much.

the groupings opening was a secondary concern of mine because i was more focused on how high i was hitting. I want to make sure that when i say "opening up", that i am saying the groups went from just under 1" to probably 1.5" to 2"
- I'd tend to listen to pappasniper's advice and settle in to see if the groupings were my fault.

Again, to me, the 1 mil high surprised me enough that i was more focused on the vertical shift and not doing my best to shoot tight groups.
So, if the vertical shift isn't an issue (is 1 mil normal for a 20" heavy barrel?) then I'll go ahead and say that i need to go at it again and see if i can do my part to tighten the groups up.

 

[Zak Smith]

An approx 3 moa POI shift is unusual but not a cause for concern if there were no other issues. The group opening up should not happen. This is usually due to a thread/shoulder problem or some other rifle change that happened concurrently.

 

[gunshinestate]

Im hopefully shooting in my first match in a couple of weeks and would love to ask one of the more experienced shooters out there if they'd shoot a group or two behind my gun.
Id have a better idea of what the gun is capable of, possible problems, etc., while being able to eliminate me as the cause.
Zak, I'll give you a call on Monday and check in about this.