Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Which can?

I've got the forms sitting here and now I'm wondering about my choice of suppressor. I'm looking at the Gemtech OutbackIID or a TAC65 from Tactical Inovations.

Looking at light weight for my 22lr AR as well as using it on a pistol.

Or should I spend the extra money and get a 223 rated can? I've read where some say never shoot 22lr through a 223 can due to the lead soldering a can together, while others say go ahead. 223 cans also weigh at least 10 oz. heavier and those run $800 higher, not really ready to spend that much.

Any ideas?

I would keep the extra $800 in my pocket and buy the dedicated .22LR can. I own both but rarely run the .223 can.

Which 22lr can do you have, how many rounds are they good for and how often do you clean it?

My .22LR can is a S-N-S Tomcat. It's a monolithic baffle design suppressor. I probably have over 10,000 rounds through it and have never "cleaned" it. After I shoot it awhile I soak it in a mixture of 50% mineral spirits and 50% automatic transmission fluid in a Gatoraid bottle. The ATF has a detergent in it that loosens the carbon fouling and lead. I think it also treats the aluminum so very little attaches in the first place.

As far as which brand to get, I personally don't think it matters that much. I've shot the .22LR S-N-S Tomcat, Gemtech Outback, Coastal, Gemtech Pirranah (.223 can with .22LR's) and a 10/22 with integal suppressed barrel. The only one that stood out as being any quiter was the integral barrel 10/22. It wasn't much quieter but it doesn't have the first round "pop" the others have.

I had so much fun with the .22LR can I bought a Gemtech .223 can. IMO, I think I wasted my money on it. Even suppressed the .223 is a loud round. The sonic crack is loud enough that I still wear hearing protection when I shoot it. The only way to quieten it down is run it subsonic. Running a .223 subsonic is about as effect as......... well, a .22LR IMO, if I ever wanted to suppress a centerfire again I would look for a round that is still effective running at subsonic speeds like a .308 with heavy bullets or maybe one of the .44-.45 caliber wildcats. Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

A .22LR can will add a lot of fun to your shooting and offers the most bang for the buck.

I'm in process.. thunderbeast will get my money at this point in time anyway after doing a lot of reading....30-P1 something IIRC... but I'm still doing my own trust paperwork first....

From what I gather you don't want to run a rimfire in a centerfire can... too much lead shavings, dirt etc...

Having watched a few clips of a 30 can shot on a 223... I'll probalby be looking towards a 338 can for that and down... and then a dedicated 22lr can. And finally a can for 50 beowulf down to 45 acp including 45-70ish rounds like socom and so on...

Thanks Terry I'll look at the Tomcat.

The sherif signed off this morning but I have to wait till next Thursday for fingerprints. That gives me another week to decide which one.

Jeff I figure I'll wind up with a 308 can, I shot an LTR with one and it was sweet but being able to use one on a 223 would be nice as long as it doesn't weigh 2 lbs. I started to go the corporation way but our local dealer has never done one. He had trouble on the trust route with people sticking a buddy or two on there so if you add anyone make sure they have your last name. I guess we're lucky our sheriff signs off and supports NFA purchases.

Ours signs too, I just don't want the nephews to have issues when we die, so the trust WILL list other names LATER in life so the cans remain viable and not subject to more taxes...

IIRC the 30P1 was 16 oz up to 300 win mag capable... I may be wrong.

Here is a picture of the S-N-S Tomcat. With it's monolithic one piece baffle it's a pretty interesting design. no stacking required.





I'm sure you'd be just as happy with the Gemtech or T/I can though.

One thing to keep mind about using cans with smaller calibers than they where designed for (example: .223 ammo in a can made for .308) is they will be very ineffective. When I bought my Gemtech .223 can I had a rifle chambered in .17HMR threaded so I could use this can on it along with my AR-15's and Rem 700 LTR .223. With the can screwed on the .17HMR it was hardly a noticable improvment over no can at all. Same thing even when using this .223 can with 5.45X39 ammo. The tolorances between the baffle holes and bullet are very tight for a reason. This is a major contributor to the effectiveness of the can. Open that hole up with a smaller caliber bullet and the whole system goes to hell.

One thing that's seldom mentioned in these disscusions is centerfire cans absolutely destroy any good handling traits a firearm possessed before the can goes on. They are heavy and the weight goes on the worst possible place on the rifle, the muzzle. For me, if it's only slightly more effective than before the can went on, I'll pass. I think the multicaliber can idea is great for talking yourself into the purchase but leaves a lot to be desired in actual use.

Best of luck!

Terry

RE multi calibers, being that the word silencer is totally wrong, its a suppresor only, then one more understands you don't get rid of noise but minimize it.

Thats where, at least in a number of clips I've watched, a larger can does enough for me for a smaller caliber.

Of course they wont' be as effective as a .224 on a .223 but much better than none, and much cheaper than another 1000 or so down the can so to speak.

My theory at this point in the game, grab a rimfire for a 22... then grab a 30 cal because I'll shoot 30 or eihter 338 with a can the most, but if it helps and I want some reduction on a 223 I can use it. FWIW I just dont' realy see the need of the can on the 223 at this point, I'd rather have a larger caliber more suitable for all types of game.....

Different strokes as they say though.

I have a 223 and 308 LTR/(XCR Tactical) that I'd love to thread and have one can for both but it sounds like in the real world, it doesn't work out that way. That's good to know now instead of later.

AR's in 223 really don't interest me suppressed, especially when a titanium can runs a grand or more and they still aren't light weight. But now that I've done the paper work, I can see an SBR in my future and maybe an Ops Inc M4S to take the bite off the bark.

But a 22lr suppressor that weighs 2.5 oz. makes so much sense I can't see not doing it.

I think even "minimize" is an overstatement. Silencer is a hollywood thing and has no place in a discussion of suppressors. They are 100% legal in some European countries and most of those guy's refer to them as "moderators" which I personally think is a better description than suppressor.

It's virtually impossible to to get any idea of how a can is going to sound from a video. Trust me, shooting a subcaliber bullet out of a can built for a larger caliber isn't real effective.

Terry

Jeff as I understand it, in the event of my death, my heirs can transfer any NFA item freeof charge.

Terry, the 9MM can on an MP5 I shot was the best of the bunch.

on the contrary, my .17 Fireball is quesiter than a 17 hmr, with my S.A.S. suppressor on the Fireball. It's not even a contest.
The statement may be true in some circumstances, but myself and a few friends that I shoot prairie dogs with all agree 100% that the suppressed .17 Fireball is quieter than the hmr.

I shoot heavy barreled AR's and when I put the 10oz. suppressor on them, I cannot feel the difference when handling the rifle.

If you consider a .17HMR quiet then ok, I stand corrected. Enjoy. You must have one of those titanium cans. My Gemtech Piranha weighs 16oz and yes, it very much affects the handling.

Never been the type that feels the need to defend something just because I spent my money on it.

I disagree that shooting sub calibers are ineffective. There might be a couple of decibles difference between a caliber specific round and subcaliber rounds, but your ears won't be able to tell. I run a SAS Ti Arbiter (rated .300 Win Mag)on a 7mm Mag, 6.8 SPC and my .223. I have no problems with them being hearing safe. For my applications, I see no reason to get caliber specific suppressors unless you have a lot of money to spend.

I also shoot SAS's .22LR suppressor on a Buckmark and love it too.

Enjoy

Brian

I bet it's more than a couple of decibles and I promise you I can tell the difference in shooting subcalibers and the caliber the can was made for. For me the difference is substantial.

"Hearing safe" means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I also know it's hard to be objective when you've spent upwards of a $1000 for the wrong size muffler

I've owned mine now for about eight years and my opinions have been derived from shooting them long enough that what I paid for them no longer effects what I hear.

Terry

I was nosing around my local AR store today and THREE STRAIGHT CUSTOMERS came in inquiring about silencers (cans); They were inquiring about what brands Curt's carried and the procedure for getting a tax stamp. I truly never realized the popularity of suppressors and how easy it was to get a stamp ... actually, it sounds like the worst part is the wait.

Yeah, I bought another AR ... [bleep], it was so very fuggin' cool and I simply could not resist the price.


Call me an AR WHORE

Resounding chorus ... "Steve, YOU are an AR WHORE!!!"

Heaven help me.

God Bless,

Steve

PS. For those in the area of Portland, especially if you live near Gladstone, I would highly recommend Curt's Discount Shooter's Supplies. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Curts-Discount-Shooters-Supply/186110514827979

Curt's prices are RIGHT, the guys absolutely know what the Hell they are talking about and the stock cool [bleep] ... like Noveske and S&W and Colt ... you know, COOL [bleep]

I have two SWR Spectre suppressors. They're not "lightweight" but on my Ruger Mark IIs with TacSol uppers, and 10/22s with TacSol barrels, they feel perfect. I really don't think you'd notice the difference in weight between different suppressors and, if you did, you might just like the extra ounces out front.

That being said, these are SS and you can disassemble them for cleaning so they'll outlast a sealed can. Plus, they're super quiet which is the most important factor anyway.

When you're shooting these with subsonic ammo, the sound of the action and the impact of the bullet are really the only sounds you'll notice. Here's a video of my son shooting one on a Ruger Mark II w/ TacSol upper.....he's using federal bulk-pack, hi-velocity ammo but, in a pistol, it's still quiet because it's often subsonic anyway (notice how loud the birds are in comparison to shot).

Click on the pic....

I'm sure on my LTR and SPR, a 12 oz. can would be no problem but I run light weight pencil barrels most of the time and POI shift would be a huge concern with almost a pound hanging off the very end. Handling is very touchy when you start hanging weight out there... Besides who wants to hang a 1 pound can on a 5 pound 22?

just how many rounds does it take to wear out a sealed can? I've not heard of it even happening.