Hard use suppressors for M-16

[cajun 22]

What suppressor are you guys using for hard use on an M16? Looking for a new one at the moment and gathering input.

Thanks

 

[Renegade]

Newest is a DeadAir Nomad

 

[attherange]

Mines is in jail but have used a demo: energetic armament vox https://youtu.be/z17UQUYzPhQ

 

[mattnh]

The specs and build on the vox look awesome
No barrel length restrictions & FA !!!

 

[attherange]

Strength and durability are unmatched

 

[Deerhurst]

Rugged suppressors are "belt fed" rated. Don't think you can get any more hard core than that!

Short barrels and heavy firing schedules eventually wear out blast baffles anyways.

I've been running a sico hybrid pretty hard for a few years. It's been fine. Mostly SBRs below min barrel length and sub guns. It's big, heavy and FA rated. Lots of volume makes it pretty quiet.

 

[MG34_Dan]

Gemtech HALO.

 

[chili17]

Well, not sure it really matters to much. I have worn out 2, 5.56 suppressors. Neither blew up or anything. Blast baffle opening just became extremely large and was getting baffle strikes pretty regular. First one was an early steel YHM 5.56 phantom. It was pretty worn at about 25k. 99% of all shooting was FA on 11.5" barrels. YHM replaced with their newest can. 2nd was a SWR R2A2 (i think). Same deal about 25k and started to get numerous baffle strikes. SWR replaced as well. In both incidents they could have rebuilt the cans, but since we are an SOT it was just easier for them to replace as opposed to rebuild. Typically would shoot 300rds or so in burst. Occasional mag/beta mag dumps. Anyone can destroy a can by just dumping mag after mag through it. With semi fire on a longer barrel I would expect round count of 50k or more. From what I have seen wear increases greatly when you get below a 14.5" barrel and even more so under 11.5"

 

[Jmacken37]

Chili is spot on as per usual. I had an AAC M42K that developed a triangular shaped hole in the baffle stack and eventually had a baffle weld come loose after 10K plus FA rounds through a 10.5" Noveske. The triangle shaped hole was interesting as I was using an AAC tuning fork FH on the Noveske.

The Vox is interesting given the way they are making the baffles. No first hand experience, but I would look hard at their can.

In the end, I think "FA rating" is a bit of a marketing gimmick. Nice to have, though.

 

[attherange]

Agreed Jake and Chris, everything has a self life. I guess when it comes down to a selling point, durability is key. Outside of mil/Leo use, the average shooter (class3) will most likely not intentionally beat the snot out of a $600-$900 can. However, from my limited exposure to the vox, I will say I’ve seen some rather extreme abuse from a dealer sample……and it was impressive. Mine will be limited to some FA fun, but more so for hog control. On a side note, I was attracted to the common sense TPI/adapter options and multi cal rating……warranty didn’t hurt either.

 

[cajun 22]

All good advise. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

I have an SDN-6 that I am loosing faith in the 51T mount on it. It came loose on the last two range sessions. I'm currently on the list to get the 51T removed and updated to the omega thread pattern. In the meantime I am looking at the Vox S also because of the mount compatibility and a dealer is giving me a smoking deal if I choose to accept.

 

[Gaujo]

I think what I learned from this thread is get steel baffles, but also work with a company with a good warranty!

 

[chili17]

For a hard use rifle can, I would avoid titanium for sure. I have seen more damaged Ti cans than anything else. Mostly from people using them on FA

 

[amphibian]

Gemtech HALO.

Speaking of the HALO, I've had one since 1998. I never really ran it that hard but for a short time I did run a full auto Norrell 10/22 on it and clogged it up..
BTW, the idea of dumping full auto 556 through it to 'clean out' 22LR doesn't work... I finally broke down and sent it to Curtis Tactical to have them jail break it and part the baffles. I know orientation is important with this design but I don't plan on using 556 on it anymore.

Here is a picture I took of the baffles after they have been cleaned up and soaked in silicone oil to prevent build up.

 

[rentprop1]

BTW, the idea of dumping full auto 556 through it to 'clean out' 22LR doesn't work...

goes the same for clearing out a gas tube, I had one clog up from shooting a .22 FA conversion and thought a few hot rounds of 556 would be enough to blow it out, it sure did, right out the top of the hand guard, luckily most of it stuck in the A2 front sight and no one got hurt.

back to the silencer post :

The YHM stuff is all built tough with the inconel blast baffel, the Energetic Armament stuff is top notch, but as an 07/02 if you are just trashin a can on a post sample the YHM stuff is a lot cheaper to be sacrificial than an Vox, just sayin

 

[Deerhurst]

For a hard use rifle can, I would avoid titanium for sure. I have seen more damaged Ti cans than anything else. Mostly from people using them on FA

I havnt seen issues with Ti tubes or To baffles down the line but Ti doesn't handle being a blast baffle exceptionally well. Incolonel or stellite is better there. Even 17-4 is better for blast baffles.

 

[nklf]

My hard use can is a Saker 556k. So far no issues other than cooking off the finish. I made the mistake of getting the Trifecta mount and muzzle devices. I’m in the process of converting everything to ASR mounts.

 

[SecondAmend]

goes the same for clearing out a gas tube, I had one clog up from shooting a .22 FA conversion and thought a few hot rounds of 556 would be enough to blow it out, it sure did, right out the top of the hand guard, luckily most of it stuck in the A2 front sight and no one got hurt.
...

I've used 3-5 rounds of semi and/or full auto fired 5.56 rounds to clear the 5.56 barrel port many times on several different 5.56 barrels without any problem. But I've only shot, at the most, 250 or so rounds of .22LR (both semi and full auto) before performing the 5.56 ammo clearing shooting. I have read of 5.56 gas ports getting so badly contamination filled by high round .22LR use that the gun had to be manually cocked to fire 5.56 rounds until the gas block was taken off and the port cleaned.
MHO, YMMV, etc. Be well.

 

[mattnh]

The story above is a good reason to have a dedicated 22LR upper + suppressor...

 

[amphibian]

The story above is a good reason to have a dedicated 22LR upper + suppressor...

Totally agree....and for 22LR must be serviceable. Back in the early 2000s most manufacturers didnt want to sell serviceable cans.

I was hesitant to buy the Gemtech Hornet pictured below. Dr Dater did not seal one side for me so I could remove the laser welded stack but I still couldn't properly clean it.
Note that this can was advertised to take full auto fire from an AM180 and was even pictured mounted on an AM180 in their catalog.

Well you can see how fouled mine got...to the point it was loud and so I had Curtis Tactical part the baffles for me and clean it.

I also asked Gemtech before they were bought out by SW about servicing it and they told me they couldn't do anything for me.