Ok, revisiting this. Thanks for all your help guys.
Per
@kthomas, I think I need to redefine a few things give some additional information.
First off, I think for the time being we can omit the 5.56 from the discussion and focus on a single can that will be strictly for my 6.5CM and 300NM
Here is what is most important for me:
- Precision - I don’t care about POI shift but I absolutely need to maintain precision. I’m not schooled enough on suppressors to know if there are some cans that do this better than others.
- Recoil - I’m assuming a brake will do better at this than a can but I still want there to be as much recoil reduction as possible. I’m trying to tame my 300NM a little bit as it’s not build as heavy as it should have been. Surprisingly, my 300NM with an Area 419 Sidewinder brake has more kick than my 375CT with a Terminator brake. (Side note on this one - I've seen some suppressors like the TBACs that thread onto a brake. Does this type of setup increase braking?)
- Sound suppression
To round out some of the other questions:
- My 6.5 has a 26” barrel and my 300NM has a 28” barrel. I think a 6” - 7” can would be appropriate without being too big
- Weight is not an issue as I only shoot prone, so long as it doesn’t mess up harmonics to bad and I’m able to maintain or increase a high level of precision.
- My 6.5CM is 5/8-24 and my 300NM is 3/4-24. As mentioned above my 300NM already has an Area 419 Sidewinder on it so it has one of their universal adaptors already installed on it. I’m thinking it would be nice to use their adaptors for quick threading on between the two rifles, but I’m not locked into this method. If there is a better system for mounting, I’m all ears.
- Price is not a huge factor
I think that about covers it. Thanks again for your help.
Thanks for all the added details.
I don't think there's any secret to precision with suppressors, it comes down to quality manufacturing and mounting to the barrel. Most suppressors are good at this these days.
Some suppressors are starting to incorporate designs that help mitigate recoil. Area419 has their Maverick (designed for PRS), KGM has suppressors with tunable ports at the end of the suppressor, Abel Co. Biscuit is designed in a way that the recoil impulse is really nice, etc. I personally don't have any experience with the above, and how they compare with "regular" suppressors. I do have an Abel Co. Biscuit in ATF jail, which at some point in time I'll be able to compare to a SiCo Omega on the same rifle for an anecdotal comparison.
With sound suppression, you'll want a can that has volume to deal with the .300NM. If it was me, this is what I would be looking at, to cover your objectives:
- TBAC Magnus (9")
- TBAC Ultra .338 (10-11")
- Dead Air Nomad LT (~8.5")
- KGM R30 (7.3" - more in line with your goals for length)
- KGM R30 XL (~8.9")
- KGM R30K (5.8") - Not sure how well it will suppress .300NM with its smaller volume, but more inline with your length desires
- SiCo Omega 36M (4.90"-6.85"), though at 1.57" OD, I'm not sure how well it will suppress .300NM
I got an Abel Co. Biscuit to do 5.56 to .300NM, though my priorities were suppressing 5.56 and 6BRA/6.5 Creedmoor over the .300NM. The .300NM with its ~85 grains of powder is going to be a lot more demanding of a suppressor than other cartridges. Going with a shorter can, you will be sacrificing sound suppression, especially in larger volume cartridges.
It's all a tradeoff. And with sound suppression, there's really no replacement for volume (though quality baffle design helps to an extent). Shorter cans will be more "maneuverable", but with less suppression. If you do go with a shorter can, go with one that has a larger OD (like ~1.75-1.85" OD over traditional ~1.5"). If you are shooting mostly prone, that extra length may not matter anyways.