Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 5.56 suppressor users

Looking to buy my first can, birthday present to myself and wanting to get it going this month. I’m seriously considering the Griffin Optimus Micro, I like the idea of swapping it between my varmint rifles and rimfires. I’m also keen on the size of it at around 8oz and 5.5”x 1.25”. I don’t like how cumbersome a rifle feels with a large can screwed on the end.

But I’m also skeptical of the effectiveness of it having such a small volume. I certainly don’t want to go through the time and expense to be disappointed in the sound.

I’m also considering the Griffin GP5 and the Gemtech Trek. The sales rep that I talked with at Silencershop said the GP5 would be more effective for centerfires but also that it isn’t user serviceable and therefore shouldn’t be used on a rimfire. Both of these are roughly twice the weight of the Micro if only an inch or so longer.

Primary use will be on an 18” .223 AR, a 20” 222RM in a bolt action, and a 24” 17Rem. Of course down the line I may add others but don’t foresee anything crazy insofar as super short barrels or anything. Of course if I end up with the Micro I would either thread my 77/22 or buy a couple of threaded rimfires. I think I want to stay direct thread for simplicity sake since I have a lathe and wouldn’t have to bother with expensive adaptors or brakes. Of course I could buy one or two taper mounts for the Micro if necessary but still retain the ability to direct thread it to something rimfires or smaller calibers.

Anybody have any experience with any of these? If not do you have a suggestion for something similar?

This is one of those situations where there is a "one size fits all" option, but it's not an ideal one. I strongly suggest going with a dedicated rimfire suppressor and then another suppressor for centerfire rifles. Those cans are usually overkill for rimfire and not quite enough for centerfire (size and sound).

Agreed with WarEagle. Buy 2 suppressors, one for rimfire and a separate one for centerfire. You’ll thank me later... about 11 months from now.

I agree as well, I highly recommend buying a separate rimfire suppressor instead of trying to use one can for both. The only thing a 22LR and 5.56 have in common in the suppressor world is similar bore diameter; pretty much all the other details and requirements are different. Most importantly, it sucks having to use a centerfire rifle can on a rimfire, but a good rimfire suppressor can be only 1" OD and ~3 oz.

Against the grain here... I have an Innovative Arms heavy 5.56 can and use it for AR's , Bolt guns and rimfires...

Rimfire cans aren’t that expensive to buy. I’ve seen deals lately where you buy a centerfire can and get a rimfire can for free. Why put a heavy centerfire can on your light rimfire, if not necessary?

I guess I’ll probably just have to go with the GP5. Read up on the manual and reviews for the Gemtech and wasn’t impressed. Of course Gemtech does say the Trek can be used with rimfires it washed out after use.

Darn as I was really hoping the Micro would be the way to go for versatility but I had a feeling it was too good to be true. The DB rating is almost identical per the manufacturer but the guy from the silencer shop said in his experience there was about a 6DB difference on a 16” 556.

Centerfire suppressors will self clean when firing centerfire cartridges. 22 rimfire will dirty up a suppressor very fast. The biggest mess is the lead build-up. I would not want to get that lead mess in a centerfire suppressor. I would stick with a dedicated 22 can for the rimfire and a centerfire can for the centerfires.

I would go ahead and get a .30 cal suppressor for your centerfire guns and you will be more able to make more use of it in all your other rifles.You can get most with quick attach flash hiders or compensators in 1/2" and 5/8" threads. Decibel reduction will be about the same for 5.56 and .30 caliber suppressor on you 5.56 rifle. Get a rimfire suppressor for your rimfires. Centerfire suppressor are mostly welded and not as easy to clean as rimfire suppressors that come completely apart. Rimfire suppressors are also lighter and more balanced for a smaller rimfire rifle. Rimfire suppressors will get filthy. The quick attachments stay screwed on and detented in place better and don't back off which may led to baffle strikes, which is very bad. There isn't as much difference in weights between centerfire suppressor brands as you might think, at least there wasn't when I was looking to buy my first one. That may have changed as of late, I don't know.

Check out Thunderbeast. They are extremely highly regarded in the precision shooting community. I’m such a sucker I have 5. Their Ultra 7 is a great balance of sound suppression and reasonable length. They are titanium, so super lightweight.

Consider a 6.5mm can or a .308 diameter can if you own rifles in larger calibers. The difference in sound suppression from a .223 diameter can to a .308 can is inaudible to my ears. I’d rather have the flexibility To run it on other guns.

I actually don’t have a 7 inch. I have two 5” cans, two 9” cans, and one of their .22 cans. I think a 7” is next.

I mostly agree about having a .22 can. I have a couple, but both are pretty new to me. I’ve put many thousands of rounds through my 9” and 5” cans. Since they are titanium, you can use “the dip” to clean them when they get gooped up from shooting.22s. It’s not the end of the world. Surprisingly, a dedicated.22 can is noticeably quieter than and center fire can. I would’ve thought that the extra volume of the centerfire can would make it even quieter than a tiny 22 Can, but such is not the case.

https://thunderbeastarms.com/

Thundet beast is out of Wyoming. Met one of the 3 owners who is a very nice guy. They were awarded a contract with Secret Service and make great cans. I shot a 7" on a 300 win mag and it was quite pleasant. I also shot it on a 5.56 and did a good job but havent compared it to any 5.56 cans dedicated for the 5.56 cartridge. Im also looking at dead air mask for a .22lr can.

Well doing a little more looking and thinking it’s looking like a 30 cal can as mentioned above maybe the best bet. I have a 700 I rebarrelled years ago to 7TCU, might be fun on that for pigs and deer. I take from reading some that the 17HMR is okay since it uses jacketed bullets that won’t cause the lead and lube buildup that makes 22lr a no no. I could buy an HMR with a threaded barrel instead of a 22 as a squirrel and plinking rifle and to start my boy on in a year or two.

The YHM Resonator is looking good to me based on YouTube and reviews online. It’s really not much larger than the two dedicated 5.56 cans I was considering, about the same price and effectiveness as well it seems. Anybody have one of them?

I have used and sold some Thunderbeast cans in the past. Good units as far as I could tell but out of my price range right now.

I've got a YHM suppressor and like it so far. It is modular to the point that you can get a .22 caliber end cap to replace the .30 endcap and also a compensator endcap also. I just use the .30 cal endcap on everything, afraid I might try and shoot 6.5 or .30 cal thru the the.22 if I forget to change it someday. I bought a Sig rimfire suppressor for $180, less than the tax stamp and it is rated up to .17 HMR and .22 magnum. It's a hoot to use it, only hear the action working for most part. I've called YHM and talked to them before, good people to deal with.

You might want to look at a Lane. If you plan on shooting LR through it you'll want to be able to disassemble and clean it.

I have a .30cal/9mm can (with steel baffles) ands a .45 can with aluminum baffles---having these two cans allows me to shoot almost anything--so I suggest if you're buying a can,get 2--its better in the long run.
worry about the rimfire at another time

I have a 5.56 can, wish I'd got a .30 cal much more versatile!

Mike

I have the Optimus Micro and a Resonator.
Anything with a flash hider has the YHM system and gets the Resonator.
Anything direct thread gets the Micro...Griffin's taper mount system is a bit more expensive, and I wasn't willing to add it to all of my rimfires because it precludes use of dedicated rimfire cans.
If I only had one can for only those rifles you listed, I'd probably invest in the Griffin taper mount system. But I prefer the Resonator for all centerfires.

Also... you can fire a few 5.56 rounds through your can to clean out the rimfire nasty...

The Resonator K is on sale right now and is closer size wise to what I want. My only issue is that YHM’s specs list it as really close to the effectiveness of the full size Resonator on a 20” 308 but way louder on a 5.56. Misprint? Lack of a 22cal end cap?

I could wait for the full size to come back in stock if the end caps make that much difference.

I have been told that you can ruin a 22 LR specific can by over pressuring it with 223 or 5.56 ammo. Was I misinformed?