Supressor Question

**bac0nfat** · April 14th, 2011, 01:12 PM

You can shoot .22lr out of a .223/.556 can. YES it will dirty up your can, so many people refrain from doing it. However, you can clean your can, just like you can clean your guns. It's like saying "don't shoot .22's at all, because they will make your rifle dirty!"

You bought your rifle and suppressor because you want to use it and have fun, right? So use it! Just buy something that can come apart to make cleaning easier.

ETA: Even if your suppressor wont come apart, you can always soak it in a solvent and blow it out with an air compressor. If you shoot quality .22 ammo, there really wont be that much lead build-up. I have a few thousand rounds through my .22 can, and when I took it apart a few weeks ago, it only had a thin film of lead. I shoot CCI standard velocity almost exclusively.

**arrrrgh15** · April 14th, 2011, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by bac0nfat

You can shoot .22lr out of a .223/.556 can. YES it will dirty up your can, so many people refrain from doing it. However, you can clean your can, just like you can clean your guns. It's like saying "don't shoot .22's at all, because they will make your rifle dirty!"

You bought your rifle and suppressor because you want to use it and have fun, right? So use it! Just buy something that can come apart to make cleaning easier.

ETA: Even if your suppressor wont come apart, you can always soak it in a solvent and blow it out with an air compressor. If you shoot quality .22 ammo, there really wont be that much lead build-up. I have a few thousand rounds through my .22 can, and when I took it apart a few weeks ago, it only had a thin film of lead. I shoot CCI standard velocity almost exclusively.

Yeah, what he said. ^

Probably the only thing I'd really be worried about is baffle strike from bullet that hasn't stabilized yet. Dirt in the can is probably lower on the list. Besides, the hot gas from the 556 will clear out some of the debris as well.

**hooknladder** · April 15th, 2011, 12:59 AM

Before I bought my YHM Stainless Phantom 5.56 I emailed YHM and asked them about rimfire through their cans. Their reply was limited use was ok. I don't make a habit of doing it, but I shoot subsonics through it mostly for demonstration purposes on how near-silent a suppressor can be. I have had many people that were disappointed that a full power 223 round still sounds like a 22 high velocity from an unsuppressed weapon.... The movies ruin everything.

**ungawa** · April 16th, 2011, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by B_Markewinski

OK time to clear this up... i know someone as been scratching there head, probably to the point of bleeding.

It is in fact not a silencer because there is still a sound when you fire he weapon. It is in fact a suppressor because it suppresses the sound of the weapon firing.

That's why if you want one, you put "SILENCER" on your Form 1 or Form 4 to the ATF.

Because they are silencers. The distinction to use the word "suppressor" is for political, legal, and public relations purposes.

**ungawa** · April 16th, 2011, 04:21 PM

To the OP:

I've shot a LOT of .22 through my full-auto rated 5.56 can. I just cleaned the thing for the first time in 3 years by dipping it in WD40 for two days and blowing it out. If there is leading, I can't see it. Now that it is clean, I can also say that this thing is going to die from baffle errosion from 5.56 long before it dies from leading from .22.

If you plan to shoot .22, buy a .22 suppressor. Don't be cheap and buy a 5.56. The results will be better with the .22 suppressor and it will cost less. If you plan to shoot both 50/50, get the 5.56.

**MikeB0** · May 7th, 2011, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by ungawa

To the OP:

I've shot a LOT of .22 through my full-auto rated 5.56 can. I just cleaned the thing for the first time in 3 years by dipping it in WD40 for two days and blowing it out. If there is leading, I can't see it. Now that it is clean, I can also say that this thing is going to die from baffle errosion from 5.56 long before it dies from leading from .22.

If you plan to shoot .22, buy a .22 suppressor. Don't be cheap and buy a 5.56. The results will be better with the .22 suppressor and it will cost less. If you plan to shoot both 50/50, get the 5.56.

I've shot a lot of .22 and some .223/556 through my AAC Ranger 2. I also have the AAC Pilot that I have shot even more .22 through. I Bought the Ranger for .223/556 obviously, however we also use it as a second .22lr suppressor when we have an event with guests and want to have two people able to use suppressors at the same time.

I'm not seeing any major leading or erosion on either yet. I can understand the concern of using a more expensive .223/556 suppressor but I'm just not seeing it personally with a couple thousand rounds so far. Maybe I'll start to see the difference at 10,000 or 20,000 rounds, but so far, meh no difference.

**Azzy** · May 7th, 2011, 06:28 PM

I bet you would see more of a difference from a higher end .223 suppressor if you had an SBR, which would give more hot gas and do a lot more to your baffles.

**ungawa** · May 13th, 2011, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by MikeB0

I've shot a lot of .22 and some .223/556 through my AAC Ranger 2. I also have the AAC Pilot that I have shot even more .22 through. I Bought the Ranger for .223/556 obviously, however we also use it as a second .22lr suppressor when we have an event with guests and want to have two people able to use suppressors at the same time.

I'm not seeing any major leading or erosion on either yet. I can understand the concern of using a more expensive .223/556 suppressor but I'm just not seeing it personally with a couple thousand rounds so far. Maybe I'll start to see the difference at 10,000 or 20,000 rounds, but so far, meh no difference.

You know, I want to change something I said earlier. Shows my limitted experience dealing with suppressors.

I recently started shooting CCI standard out of my AR .22 upper. Perhaps I could have learned this from bac0nfat if I paid attention. But, because I had problems at first getting my upper to work, I stuck with what I knew and ignored ammo recommendations until recently.

Anyway, my Gemtech HALO (full auto 5.56 can) is quieter with CCI standard than at least one suppressed .22 pistol I had the recent opportunity to test side-by-side. So, perhaps I was wrong to say a .22 can would be more effective, at least with respect to a rifle. I know I'm comparing apples to oranges, with pistol vs. rifle. But, the rifle can't get anymore quiet from additional suppression that I can tell. There doesn't seem to be any sound from the actual discharge. I used to think that of suppressed .22 pistols, but realized that the one I shot recently did make a tiny noise.