Suppressors Short barrels and suppressors

[AMP!]

So the holidays are coming around and I have amazing in laws who always shower us with gifts and money. I’ve been wanting to build an AR pistol since about a month after I sold my last one. Difference this time is I have a suppressor... finally..

Question is, are shorter barrels really that much harder on suppressors? I get the fact that there will be more gasses since it is a shorter barrel, but then again, aren’t suppressors made to handle it?

Im looking to get either an ~8” 300 blk or around the same to 10” 5.56. This is not a “how effective is the 5.56 out of a 10” barrel” question. However, I have read with a direct thread can a ~10” barrel is hard on them. Being as I waited 15 months and out over $1,000 down for the can, I do not want to ruin it.

It is a 30 cal can, rated up to 300 Win Mag, so I figured it could handle a shorter 5.56 with ease due to the volume and rating. But I’m no expert by any means, and this is my first suppressor. I run it on my AR10 usually, and I don’t mag dump any of my rifles the can is on.

Any of you guys think this is a bad idea? Or think the can would be fine for general range time on a ~10” 5.56 barrel?

 

[JW329]

What can is it?
What is your goal for suppressing it?

I also think that 8" for 300 and 10" for 5.56 is a little short JMO. One of my machine guns is built on a 11.5 5.56 and I am running a SF 5.56 socom mini on it, this set up is FAR from hearing safe and even with a long can like a RC it is still loud as hell. My 300blk (also FA) is built on a 10.5 and is great, current set up is an OSS but I have ran it with the omega and SF 7.65 RC as well. Just because a suppressor is rated for a larger cal. does not mean that it will "work just fine" with a smaller SBR. In a SBR their is a lot of unburnt powder that is igniting inside the can and causes stress that the larger faster round doesn't. It is not the "gasses" as much as it is the powder that is burning in the can. I used to test fire into a bullet trap and have experienced this first hand. I was shooting a 7" at pistol in 5.56, the first round was loud, the second almost blew the gun out of my hands. The unburnt powder from the first round was ignited by the second round and created a huge fireball. Now imagine that inside of a suppressor.

It really depends on what your goal is with this pistol, if it is to have a hearing safe short package gun then I would suggest looking into a slightly longer barrel on the 5.56, the 300 might be ok at 8" but would also benefit from an additional inch or two.

 

[A5scott]

Yes, SBRs are harder on suppressors. Like JW329 said, more unburned powder exits the barrel and is consumed in the body of the suppressor. The suppressor will heat up quite a bit faster an an sbr than say on a 20" barrel host or a 16" host.
There are at least a couple considerations when suppressing an SBR. The bullet needs to stabilize to avoid baffle strikes, and the can has to be able to handle the unburned powder exploding inside the suppressor. Bullet selection will help avoid baffle strikes, so lighter bullets are better for this. So most of my 556 cans are full auto rated down to 10.5" 5.56 and I have one for 7.5" barrel 5.56. I figure with an SBR, I'm kind of trigger happy, so I want a full auto rating, even though I don't own a full auto host.

Not all suppressors are gtg on short barrel rifles, especially with long strings of fire. I have a Griffin Armament Spartan 3 and I've used it on a 10.5" piston ar and an 11.5" DI gun and it sounds great on both rifles. My Sig SRD556 has a slightly larger bore than the GA Spartan3, so that's probably to help avoid baffle strikes on a 7.5" host

yes, I think suppressed SBR's are tons of fun and worth it. I also form 1 SBR'd an 308 lower, so one day, that's gonna happen. For that I have a Griffin A Recce 7and a Dead Air Sandman. I'll probably go with the Sandman.

Just nail down what rifle or pistol you want, then select a few cans you like and pick a can with the features you want, that works for your barrel length.

Scott

 

[cleric]

Check your can specs. Different cans will have different capabilities. For example a silencerco harvester and saker are built in very different ways so have different capanilities

 

[Badfinger]

As said above you need to check the manufactures recommendations on the use of their can. I shoot a Specwar can on my 10.5" .223 and a 9" .300 Blackout with no problem, it's a tank!

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[AMP!]

Thanks for the input. I’ll check out the rating as I cannot afford another can just yet. In the process of trying to finish my degree so not a ton of extra money just yet.

 

[WirgmanUSMC]

Suppress all the SBRs.
This is a YHM Ti Phantom .30 on my 10.5” 556 and I’d say it’s on the edge of hearing safe outdoors. It’ll still ring you a bit indoors.
Same can on my 8.5” 300blk SBR is fantastic. You’ll find the 300blk sub loads to be a blast to shoot suppressed.
As far as wear and tear, if the manufacturer has both muzzle brake and muzzle flash QD options, always go with the brake. It’ll help disperse some of that initial blast in the blast chamber of the can and cut down on blast baffle wear and tear.

 

[Strykervet]

Here's my usual advice:

Call the mfg.

Different cans, different materials, different ratings. In short, it's best to use a brake on SBR's, it takes away some of the beating and can be replaced. Then from the same people that mention excessive wear also mention that over time the pitting and wear slow down to a near stop. We're talking tens of thousands of rounds here to see visible damage. None of it affected performance. Yes, the blast baffle is usually Inconel and can handle it, many cans are made of solid Inconel or even Stellite. Titanium cans are more finicky when it comes to heat and barrel length, but Zak told me my 8.2 and 8.5 .300BLK barrels will work fine with the Ultra and the 30CB9. They do. I have an 11.5" Grendel I plan on using a 6.5 Ultra 9 on. too (it's short, yeah, but the can is also designed for a Creedmore).

The "military" cans like Saker and SDN6, etc., generally can take a lot of abuse and are designed for use on SBR's. .300BLK is super easy to suppress and does well that way. .300BLK has so little powder that I'd be surprised if it all didn't burn up even in a 6"bbl. It's really like a long pistol cartridge, truth be told, especially with subs.

Where SBR's become harsh on cans is generally outside the scope of what people usually do. Like suppressing an 8" .308. Suppressing a .50BMG I suppose is rough, I have one but haven't used it yet. I also suppose the barrel and can will probably be toast about the same time anyway, but even here you can see the designs at work. The blast baffle is almost 2 inches thick and the can is built like a tank. They're made for what they're made for, and modern US cans are the best made worldwide.

Call the mfg. and know that modern cans made by quality mfg.'s generally can take a lot of abuse and most are designed for use on SBR's. Just make sure to call and ask.

 

[Early Cuyler]

+1 on Strykervet's recommendation. Call the manufacturer to see what barrel length and caliber restrictions they'll warranty. I have a 223 ARK can from the SH group buy a long time ago and contacted Templar Tactical (now Crux) when I made my 10.5" SBR. They said no problem and it was tested with a shorter barrel on full auto so I'd be just fine. That conversation put my mind at ease.

Now is it harsher? Hell yes. The above mention of unburnt powder is absolutely true. The few rounds I have fired unsuppressed spit a flame like a dragon eating ghost peppers. I just can't imagine that's easier than a 16".

 

[JW329]

figured I would add some pictures of my sbr's with cans on them

 

[AMP!]

I'm actually surprised we don't have an SBR photo thread in this section. Some of the sexiest weapons out there.

 

[combat45acp]

Pretty much any 30 Cal can that is worth a crap will handle a 10" 5.56mm. Been shooting 10" AR platform about 25 years...what silencer are you going with?

I 2nd the sbr thread!

 

[AMP!]

I have an SAS resistor. I've emailed them so I have a paper trail of what they tell me concerning the topic.

 

[Zak Smith]

FYI, the uncorking pressure of a 10" 5.56 is approx 35-40% higher than the the uncorking pressure of a 16" .308.

 

[AMP!]

I was informed it is good down to an 8" 5.56 so long as I'm not doing mag dumps and getting it crazy hot. I guess I know what my next project will be!

 

[sgtkeebler]

I use a SilencerCo Saker 556K on my 7.5” and 10.5” without any issues. I run a muzzle brake on the 7.5” and flash suppressor on 10.5”. I’ll post up some pictures up later. Still waiting on 762 Saker as well.

 

[sgtkeebler]

Top is my 7.5" Battle Arms lightweight upper & Lower, Battle Arms PDW stock, SLR adjustable gas block and SLR handguard.
Bottom is 10.5" Seekins Precision upper & lower, B5 sopmod stock, SLR adjustable gas block and Geissele handguard.

 

[AMP!]

Beautiful sgtkeebler! I love the PDW stocks. For smaller guys like me there just amazing.
Very clean builds.

 

[Jcranfield]

Here are 2 of mine. Osprey on 9mm SBR and a Dead Air Silencers Sandman S on a 8.5in 300 BLK.

Ill echo what others have said above. Do the research on the cans you are wanting and how they are rated. Obviously shorter barrels can put a beating on your suppressors but there are things you can do to mitigate that, muzzle brakes etc.

With that said if I had to do it over again I wouldn't do it any other way. My 300 BLK with 220 grain is STUPID quiet.

 

[AMP!]

That’s what I’ going for. My suppressor is good to go, just need to start the build now. I’m thinking 8-9” 300 BLK.

 

[sgtkeebler]

Here are 2 of mine. Osprey on 9mm SBR and a Dead Air Silencers Sandman S on a 8.5in 300 BLK.

Ill echo what others have said above. Do the research on the cans you are wanting and how they are rated. Obviously shorter barrels can put a beating on your suppressors but there are things you can do to mitigate that, muzzle brakes etc.

With that said if I had to do it over again I wouldn't do it any other way. My 300 BLK with 220 grain is STUPID quiet.

Here is my 9mm SBR, I have a 5" barrel and 10.5" barrel upper for it and run Octane 45K with them.