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Posted: 12/23/2010 6:53:56 PM EDT
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If you have an AR-15 with a 5.56x45 rated suppressor, and you use a .22LR conversion kit, can you safely use the suppressor with either ammo?
I do realize that you would want to use copper plated ammo when shooting .22LR, but Im just curious if its safe, or if it would work particularly well. Thanks! |
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As long as your .22 lr round is stabilized, it's perfectly safe. A lot of people recommend using a dedicated .22 upper if you're going to shoot .22lr suppressed. .22's, even coated, are filthy though. If you plan on putting a ton of .22lr through a 5.56 can, I'd just buy a rimfire can personally so you don't fill up your centerfire can with lead.
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I have a sealed centerfire 22 cal can. On average, I shoot less than 500 rounds of 22rf through it in a year. Most of them are for demonstration/teaching purposes. Many people have the vision of a suppressor being "Hollywood Quiet." Shooting subsonic 22rf shows them the difference between sub and supersonic. To me, high velocity 22rf and 223 are about the same, except for the gas . A little education goes a long way.
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Quoted:
If you have an AR-15 with a 5.56x45 rated suppressor, and you use a .22LR conversion kit, can you safely use the suppressor with either ammo? I do realize that you would want to use copper plated ammo when shooting .22LR, but Im just curious if its safe, or if it would work particularly well. Thanks! You can do it, but personally I wouldn't recommend it. We've had a few customers get baffle strikes in their 5.56 cans and when we tried to work with them to figure out the cause, many of these gentlemen were shooting .22lr through their cans as well. While we can't be 100% sure that the strikes were due to the use of .22lr, I personally believe that when they went back to 5.56 use the high pressure rounds were causing the lead/carbon buildup (from the .22lr) in the can to break loose and at least partially occlude the bore inside the can (causing a baffle strike). I have no way of knowing 100% for sure if the .22lr carbon/lead fouling was the cause, but I'm fairly confident that it was. Bryon |
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Quoted:
I've always wondered if you fill your can with .22lr lead, then shoot full power ammo, what is the concentration of vaporized lead that gets blown back directly into your face? That can't be healthy. Most 5.56 ammo is open lead based, so there will always be some vaporized lead in the gas. I don't know how effective heat is in removing the lead from the suppressor, but I would expect the larger portion to be exiting the muzzle of the silencer. I heard of a military trial where every silencer was dropped on account of durability issues except one and that silencer was dropped for sending some gas leakage from the mount in the direction of the firer (harmful for shooters respiratory concerns according to the testing authority). Many silencers leak gas from the mounts toward the firer. About the only way to prevent that is to use a conventional 60 degree thread mount interface. Aguila SSS 60 grain .22lr fired from 1/16" conventional twist 22lr barrels will cause baffle strikes. I don't see a reason why 5.56 cans couldn't be used on .22lr weapons- but I think it would be smarter to limit .22lr use to about 50% of the use of the suppressor with no more than 50-100 rounds of .22lr fired before firing 5.56 ammunition (like hunting use only). The 5.56 ammunition has errosive particles that should help to remove softer lead/carbon fouling. If you go out and fire 3000 rounds of .22lr in a weekend and then shoot 5.56 you might have an issue with lead chunks breaking off of the baffles and occluding the bore. |
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