So I finally got my 1st suppressor.
It's a Silencerco Specwar K 5.56
I got a chance to go shoot with it last weekend.
Here's what I've experienced shooting suppressed.

Now, I've shot a few thing suppressed before.
But I've never owned one.
I have an understanding of how they work, and how it affects the host weapon.

This thread is for NFA noobs, such as myself, who maybe have a can in jail, or are looking to purchase their 1st can.

Here's my host weapon, (for now).


It's a complete BCM lower with an "H2" buffer and standard spring.
Everything in it is stock from BCM.
The upper is a complete DDM4V3 with a BCM Mod4 charging handle.

The ammo that I used was Federal M193 55gr. 5.56
It's the stuff that is packed on stripper clips and comes in a .30cal ammo can.
I only shot 110 rounds.

The weapon was clean and lubed.
I lube my internals by running a thin bead of Slip EWL on all surfaces that are shiny from wear, and a light coat on everything else, (so it's shiny).
I don't have a soaking wet rifle, but I don't run it dry.

So, something that had occurred to me was i would probably have to rezero the rifle once I put the can on it.
Well, I was very surprised and impressed that this wasn't the case.
The rifle is zeroed at 50yrds.
I confirmed that zero and then I shot these groups at 100yrds.



Not bad for M193 at 100yrds. with just an Aimpoint!


The groups were shot with the 30cal ammo can being used as a rest.
I was standing behind the "bench", (it's more of just a table about 3 1/2 - 4 foot tall.)



The rest of my range trip was spent running pistol drills from concealment, (which is per usual).


So, I went to clean the rifle that evening.
I took it out of it's range bag and immediately noticed the smell.
The burnt gunpowder smell was pretty heavy.

I noticed the crude around the charging handle 1st.
This was interesting because there wasn't a problem with hot gas in my face, (much to my surprise).



When I opened the rifle up I found that the upper was dry.
The inside of the upper was dry, and so was the BCG.
The chamber was much dirtier than it should have been for only shooting 110 rounds.
Everything was cover in a thin, dry soot.



Notice the charging handle and the latch on the optic mount.



The DD logo is completely obscured, and only the back of the carrier is still shiny, (sort of).




The BCG broken down...
The bolt itself was dry up to the ring just behind the extractor, then it got dry again at the gas rings.
Interesting that the lube stayed just in the middle of the bolt.

The firing pin had a light coat of oil on it.
The cam pin was dry on the top, but had a little oil where it is inside the bolt.

So where did all of the lube go?
Did it burn off?
Maybe some of it did, but when I moved on to the lower, I found the buffer tube assembly was very well lubed.




Notice the outline of soot from the upper.



I apologize, but I didn't get a picture of the inside of the tube.
But it was pretty sloppy in there.

So it seems that the suppressor just blasted everything back into the buffer tube.
Like I had mentioned earlier, gas in my face wasn't an issue when shooting.
I suspect that suppressors where gas to face is an issue, there would be more crap in the buffer tube. (That's just a guess on my part, so don't flame me on it.)

The rest of the lower was fairly clean.
A little soot in the mag well, and around the top of the lower.



So clean up was pretty easy.
Everything just wiped off.
A nylon brush got into the little nooks that I couldn't reach with my rag.

I lubed the rifle heavier than I normally would.
I don't like getting hit in the face with excess lube.
I don't know if this will be an issue suppressed.

Finally, here is a before and after of the suppressor itself.




Thanks for putting up with my thread!

Looks like my BR308 after I shot it for the first time with a Specwar 7.62.  Bone dry, and very filthy.  Approx sixty rds of Monarch steel cased 145gr fmj.

Had to wear double hearing protection, due to other shooters using sbrs with muzzle brakes.  Couldn't really tell how well the Specwar was working.

Was glad to have invested in a Slash xtra heavy buffer.  Even with the weak Monarch stuff, the cases were slung at 1 o'clock.

H buffer should help a bit.

Mine ejected pretty consistently at 2 o'clock.

Why would I want a lighter buffer?
The suppressor way overgasses the rifle.

It has an H2 in it.

Gotcha, missed that you clearly spelled that out after second look.

Cool pics but I didn't really read everything. Are you SBRing soon?

Yeah.
I'm going to paper the BCM lower from the OP.

I'm working on parts gathering for an 11.5" upper.
I'm not in a rush though.
I've got to send in a F4 on a Warlock this weekend, (there goes another $200!)

Then I'm also looking at pistol cans.

I'll probably E-File the lower.
Just not sure if I'll do it before or after the pistol can purchase.

I appreciate threads like this. I want to get in the suppressor game soon and this stuff helps and make sit easier for us newbs to ask questions.

The Lube thing is normal.  There is a large thread on Fireclean which is mostly negative, but is the only thing that stays on that I have every tried.  Two drops on the bolt and you are good.  Decreasing the gas blowback is most beneficial thing you can do for everything.  I use a RCA adj key on a BCG (so I have one "suppressor BCG").  You can do the same with a Gemtech BCG or adjustable gas block or upper.

The biggest reason that that thread is so negative is because Vickers' involvement with Fireclean.
I'll probably pick some up.

I'm going to get a LMT enhanced carrier for my SBR once it's finished.

The Specwar K is an awesome can for the money.  I'd put a rush on the  Form 1 for the sbr. It really changes the feel  and handling Of the weapon.

The biggest reason for negative feedback of Fireclean is that they are selling a 2 oz bottle of what is essentially canola oil for the price of 2 gallons at the grocery store.

Don't derail my thread with this shit.
This ain't GD.

Yeah.
It's definitely front heavy.

Just shot my Specwar K for the first time last weekend and had very similar results; filthy weapon, lube dried up quick, and the can performed awesome. I did on the other hand get some gas to the face. Gonna try the RTV on the CH trick. I'm running mine on a BCM 11.5" and actually used a Spike's T3-weight buffer without issue. Nice detailed write-up and pics.

Thanks for the thread. Very interesting...I just ordered a Specwar K this afternoon.

I figure I wasn't getting the gas to face because of the mid-length system on my upper.
For my 11.5" I will be using an LMT enhanced carrier.

What to expect is that you will be buying more suppressors!  

If you go several hundred rounds without taking the can off, you might as well assume it's on there forever.  It took two grown men, a vise, and a 3ft cheater bar to break one of the rental cans loose.  That ASR mounting system is solid though.

Good purchase OP, SiCo makes good shit.

Was the mount pinned?
I would expect it to come off with all of that torque.

I'm jealous. I should have my specwar k any day now.

Did you do any rapid fire?  I dont normally get gassed too bad unless I shoot fast or full auto.

The 1st stripper clip of 10 rounds were pretty quick.
I couldn't help myself.


I usually don't dump ammo like that unless I'm shooting a drill.
Which I rarely do for rifle anymore.

Oh the mount came off the gun easy compared to the can coming off the mount.  We scraped the prongs of the flashhider down to bare metal to get the shit off.

There's some build up on the flash hider already.
The mount was well oiled before I started shooting.
Stuff still stuck to it, and the nylon brush doesn't take it off.

I should have got a picture of the flash hider before I cleaned the gun.

Great read, thanks for this.

My suppressor is in jail right now and I won't be getting it until early next year, oh well.

When I bought my latest rifle which the can is going on the gentleman told me that if I suppress it to be ready for a lot of gas in the face. Sadly it doesn't have an adjustable gas block. I think he mentioned buying another charging handle like from bcm or something and it's supposed to help.

20rnd mag dump with a mil-spec trigger.
ETA: specwar regular, not a K

Invest in an adjustable gas block or one of the vents that replaces your forward assist.