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now we are talking.
I was thinking of suppressing it. What can are you using? And who did the work?
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When I was planning this, I asked around all over. Almost nobody had seen one. I found one picture of a suppressed .50 on the interwebs. Once I got my barrel chopped & threaded, they seemed to come popping out of the woodwork. I saw one at Knob Creek, and there was a post about someone else that had done one.
I'm using a Bowers CAC-45 on it which is why the Bowers brake was the natural choice. It uses the same mounts, is the same diameter, etc. I had a tool & die maker thread the barrel for me. I think he was just doing it when he had time on the machines after work. I've since talked to Mike Klos in Missouri about it, and he had said it would be no problem to do one like that.
As far as how it does, it's not the quietest host out there. I believe the gas system is to blame. When the slide opens, some amount of gas bleeds off out the gas port beneath the barrel. This gas of course does not go through the silencer, and so it makes some noise as it decompresses rapidly. I'd have to rate it as slightly above hearing safe. But much, much quieter than shooting unsuppressed. That's running supersonic ammo, or subs loaded with H110. Recently I've found AA#9 to be quieter in some other cartridges, so I'm going to have to work on a subsonic load with that powder.
I found I had to go to 300 gr. bullets to get the gun to cycle reliably when the bullet is subsonic. I have been able to get 240s to run some of the time with the can attached for added back-pressure. But one day they'll run, and another they won't. For now, I'll keep the 240s for fast loads and the 300s for subs.
Even so, it's a fun gun to shoot. I can nail a 6" plate at 100 yds. offhand about half the time, and it's no challenge at all when shooting from a rest.
I've got a couple of ideas about how to mount a stock and make a carbine, but that may be some time off, if it ever happens. Too many ideas for cool ideas kicking around in my head, and me in need of a mill and lathe.