Which cartridges benefit the most using a suppressor

[leomort]

As I am exploring the world of suppressors, I starting thinking about which cartridges benefit the most of using a suppressor.

Currently I only own a 22lr suppressor and so far I think it has the greatest benefits form use with a suppressor. It makes it hearing safe, it's not overly long or overly heavy, and relatively cheap compared to centerfire suppressor.

What are some other cartridges that you think benefit from use of a suppressor and why? From my brief research on centerfire rifles they seem to add 6"-7" of length and add close to a pound of weight to the end of your rifle. Thus I see why the preference for sbr when using a suppressor. Although I wonder how much ballistics and performance you're sacrificing in exchange keeping the overall length manageable. Plus another tax stamp for the short barrel rifle, can't seem to catch a break, lol!

 

[ohen cepel]

45acp is nice as most of that ammo is sub off the shelf, and 300BLK in my mind.

 

[rsideout]

.22, 9mm, & 300BLK.

 

[Sage954]

22 and 300BO. The 30 cal can can be used on your AR in 556 as well. Not hearing safe on that platform but significantly quieter.

 

[outrider58]

.22, 9mm, & 300BLK.

This^^^

 

[DaemonAssassin]

45ACP, 9mm, 22LR, 223/556, 6.5 CM, 300BLK, 308, 458 SOCOM, 50 BMG.

 

[Biggfoot44]

What's your context of " benefit the most " ?

Do you mean Very Freaking Loud , such that any reduction is a big help ?

Or capable of being reduced to Very Quiet ?

 

[Boats]

In all honesty, all cartridges benefit from a can. Because it allows us who enjoy our second amendment right to do so, with as little brother to the citizens who think that the 2A shouldn't exist.

The fundamental truth is: 99.9% of gun owners are fairly law abiding. The fundamental disconnect is: there are those who think that constitutional rights should only benefit them.

The compromise is: make suppressors legal, so that those who want to exercise their constitutional rights make the least impact on those who think guns are scary.

the truth is: the gun grabbers will not be satisfied with a compromise. ever. if it is gun related then it is inherently evil so that they can usher in their utopia of correct think.

To answer the OPs question: 22, 300, 9mm sub sonic. .45 is inherently subsonic but the size of the round is hard to suppress.

 

[dbledoc]

Almost all calibers can benefit. Not just by decreasing the level of sound produced, but also felt recoil and control of the firearm. Being hearing safe and super quiet is an added fun factor.

 

[rbird7282]

Almost all calibers can benefit. Not just by decreasing the level of sound produced, but also felt recoil and control of the firearm. Being hearing safe and super quiet is an added fun factor.

THIS. I’d shoot everything suppressed if I could.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[erwos]

Yeah, pretty much everything works. If you want the Hollywood quiet thing going on, you need a caliber that has subsonic options (22, 9, 45, 300 BLK). If you just want less blast and flash, that's mostly universal. Host also makes a big difference here - AKs are notoriously gassy and hard to quiet down, for example.

I will say that weight is a serious consideration. Suppressors have a levering effect on your gun (magnified on longer guns), and if you're going to be wearing ear protection anyways, something like a K can may actually be a more pleasant overall experience, even if the sound reduction isn't as much.

IMHO, .300 BLK is the short barrel king when it comes to doing real work. It's not perfect, and suffers from some real ballistic trade-offs, but if you want to have a 7.62x39-esque supersonic option and a super-charged PCC-esque subsonic option in the same SBR, it's about the only way to go.

 

[leomort]

Bigfoot44,

I'm still trying to figure that out myself. On a firearm enthusiast site such as this, I'm expecting everyone to stay all cartridges benefit from being suppressed. To an extent that is true, it helps tame some of loudness/noise of the round, can help with recoil, and perhaps even help accuracy in some cases.

Each cartridge has its performance standards where it performs best and sacrificing them for use with suppressor to keep the overall length manageable and weight down has me pondering if its worth the trade-offs? Ultimately, it probably an individual's decision,

However, I think some cartridge would suffer less ballistic and performance-wise than other cartridges when making those trade-offs when using a suppressor. For example, magnum cartridges usually perform best with 24"-26" barrel.

Whereas the 9mm shooting 147gr load are already subsonic would benefit a lot more for use with suppressor than say a 338 laupa. The 45acp with it's subsonic load would also benefit form use with suppressor. But this isn't really a fair comparison because I've use pistol cartridge vs rifle cartridge.

So I'm trying to pick the brains of the more experience suppressor users to see what cartridge they think benefit the most of use of suppressor.

Like I mention, I'm not against suppressor as I have a 22lr suppressor. But unlike the Hollywood movies (big surprise there), centerfire suppressor don't turn your rifle into some super silent sniper rig, lol!

Hopefully, I don't sound like a babbling idiot and this post made some sense.

 

[leomort]

erwos, we were both typing/posting at the same time, lol! Thank you for your post!

 

[r3t1awr3yd]

8.6blk if you're rolling in the dough (apparently).

I think everyone should try 5.56 with a can and seeing how it sounds with no ears on about 10' behind the gun. It's exciting and not in a good way lol. 300blk, 9mm, and 22lr are my go to for suppressing at the range. I just leave my 5.56 can on but know I'll be wearing ears no matter what. I do want to get my 308 threaded and try rolling 308 subs but haven't gotten around to not being lazy yet.

 

[lazarus]

I think based on your question, what works well with a can hanging on it and suppresses well.

22lr and 300BO. Either work fine with 16" barrels, or you can even do 14.5" with a permanently attached muzzle device and you are losing very little velocity.

For fun shooting, 22lr, subsonic 9mm, 300BO subs, .357 lever gun shooting sub 38spc.

The bigger the round, the hard to suppress it is. 45acp 230gr doesn't have that much more energy than a 147 or 158gr 9mm subsonic round, but in terms of at the ear suppression, a good 45acp can on either handgun, and you'll get under 130dB on the 9mm and probably mid/low 130s for 45acp. You are talking 3-5x louder for the 45acp even though it is carrying only a little more energy.

 

[alucard0822]

Agreed, every caliber can benefit from suppression, but IMO the firearm and purpose matter, and a suppressor can contribute to an awesome firearm, or be kinda pointless. 22 benefits the most flat out, hands down. Smallest/lightest cans, the caliber gets peak velocities at SBR lengths, and it's stupid quiet with simple blowback operation so almost all are very reliable without changing anything other than a threaded barrel. You can build a rimfire SBR where the rife ends up without really any downside.

Subsonic SBRs are the next, 300BO, 9mm, 45, etc. Louder than rimfire, compact designs end up at a very reasonable OAL, and the calibers don't really need barrels over 8-10" to get peak performance.

Precision rifles. Size and weight aren't as much of an issue, consistency, minimizing flash/recoil and the source of the shot can be important. Bolt actions don't have port pop, but even larger caliber semis can be tuned to sound pretty good. You won't be running around, maneuvering past obstacles or shooting while standing much, so the added weight/length don't matter.

Hunting rifles. Perhaps the best use for some, and good for smaller/lighter K cans being you might only need a couple rounds, and most just need a bolt action to be hearing safe at the ear.

Supersonic SBRs. Sacrifice some performance, but weight/size are still reasonable. Takes a tough/heavy can as short barrels and a lot of powder burning in the can are harder on it than subs or longer precision barrels. A lighter/smaller K can with lower backpressure is a good compromise being gas op semis tend to be loud anyway with port pop and gas to the face.

Supersonic non-NFA military/tactical rifles. The 16" M4gery, M14 pattern, 16" AKs. They are already kinda long, and some can be heavy for the role of running around shooting at close range. Adding a suppressor at the end of the barrel can make it worse. Older milsurps might have issues with muzzle adapters, might have a gas system that needs to be modified or in the case of AKs, they can take work to get a concentric muzzle device to avoid a baffle strike. Small K cans can help, but for some, they add recoil compared to running a muzzle brake. In the case of tactical competition rifles aka 3 gun builds, the added recoil and tuning required to work with low mass BCGs and buffer systems makes it tough to suppress without tuning, and then they need to be tuned again to run without the can. IMO the least benefit, and kinda works aggainst the purpose outside of perhaps a small K can on a rifle built and tuned for it.

Handguns, I had high hopes, afterall it's cool to shoot a pistol with a can like assassins in the movies right? Well not really, and IMO centerfire handguns have the most drawbacks, and are the least fun. Now suppressed 22 pistols are fun, the smaller/lighter can that is actually quiet with subs makes rimfire handguns fun. For centerfire pistols, you need taller sights or a red dot, it adds a LOT of bulk and weight, makes the pistol balance poorly. A booster device makes it work with most pistols, but some with alternate op systems like gas delay can be tough to work reliably. In the end a "concealable and compact weapon" ends up being neither, all while being fairly loud, possible less reliable, with more recoil, and usually a big change to impact point on target.

 

[dbledoc]

8.6blk if you're rolling in the dough (apparently).

I think everyone should try 5.56 with a can and seeing how it sounds with no ears on about 10' behind the gun. It's exciting and not in a good way lol. 300blk, 9mm, and 22lr are my go to for suppressing at the range. I just leave my 5.56 can on but know I'll be wearing ears no matter what. I do want to get my 308 threaded and try rolling 308 subs but haven't gotten around to not being lazy yet.

Took my first test of 308 subs to the range yesterday. Out of an 18 inch bolt action is was quieter and more accurate then my 300 blk SBR. Same bullets and same velocity.
I just don’t want to buy a 300 blk bolt action.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Gotcha , I think your inquiry is about which cartridges are least effected by short bbl length .

The bigger the round, the hard to suppress it is.

The above is simultaneously true on two very different levels :

Bore size - Everything else equal , the larger the Bore diameter ( cross sectional area actually) , the more muzzle blast that passes unimpeded straight down the Bore.

Case capacity - Everything else equal , the more volume and pressure, the more muzzle blast . Example - for .22 Bore size .22lr < .223 < .22-250 .

For larger than rimfire , the .300 BO is very much a sweet spot of performance and quiet .

[ To give proper credit, the .300 Whisper , was the product of the brilliance and extensive R&D of J.D. Jones of SSK Industries , and he subsequently developed a whole product line of Whisper cartridges . The " Blackout " is a blatant knockoff of the Whisper, with just barely enough change of neck length to not get sued by Jones . ]

 

[r3t1awr3yd]

Took my first test of 308 subs to the range yesterday. Out of an 18 inch bolt action is was quieter and more accurate then my 300 blk SBR. Same bullets and same velocity.
I just don’t want to buy a 300 blk bolt action.

I've got both in bolt action but only the 300 is threaded lol. We've got a good problem to have imho

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Gotcha , I think your inquiry is about which cartridges are least effected by short bbl length .




The above is simultaneously true on two very different levels :

Bore size - Everything else equal , the larger the Bore diameter ( cross sectional area actually) , the more muzzle blast that passes unimpeded straight down the Bore.

Case capacity - Everything else equal , the more volume and pressure, the more muzzle blast . Example - for .22 Bore size .22lr < .223 < .22-250 .

For larger than rimfire , the .300 BO is very much a sweet spot of performance and quiet .

[ To give proper credit, the .300 Whisper , was the product of the brilliance and extensive R&D of J.D. Jones of SSK Industries , and he subsequently developed a whole product line of Whisper cartridges . The " Blackout " is a blatant knockoff of the Whisper, with just barely enough change of neck length to not get sued by Jones . ]

Whisper didn't get put up for SAAMI spec, Blackout did. Which one survived because of SAAMI spec?