How long does a suppressor last?

[tsmysak1]

Some yahoo at the range the other day told me a can lasts normally about 3000 rounds. I am sure that depends on a ton of things.. Just wanted to know from real experience what people have found.

And then of course, if it were to wear out, can they be rebuilt?

 

[chuckp]

Depends on how it is treated and such. If it is a 22lr can it should last forever if you take care of it. 22lr is a dirty round to shoot and will eventually fill up a suppressor with mainly silica and lead. My avatar is an x-ray of my AWC Archangel III after a cleaning after filling her up with about 10000 rounds. If a suppressor is allowed to unscrew a bit it could have some baffle strikes. I have struck my stainless cans and I just shake out the remaining chunks of projectile and keep shooting. No damage to them at all. Now an aluminum can would have some damage and might need addressed.

Rifle cans have some erosion from the high velocity gasses mainly on the blast baffle. Depending on the material of the blast baffle it can wear at a faster/slower rate depending on material. Now if you are shooting full auto and heat it up it will wear at a faster rate. If I remember right the Gemtech Halo is rated for 60000 rounds.

Basically if you buy a decent suppressor it will last a very long time. They should be able to be rebuilt.

Chuck

 

[ryknoll3]

Being rebuilt all depends on the suppressor. If it is a fully-welded can like the AAC M4-2000, it will not be able to be rebuilt. Other cans that can be opened up at the factory can be rebuilt.

A suppressor is likely to last a very long time.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Being rebuilt all depends on the suppressor. If it is a fully-welded can like the AAC M4-2000, it will not be able to be rebuilt. Other cans that can be opened up at the factory can be rebuilt.

A suppressor is likely to last a very long time.

It depends on the damage. It may still be possible to do a partial rebuild on a fully welded can depending on design.

My form 1 can is fully welded and because of the blast baffle design I can rebuild the blast baffle if necessary. It would require removing the threaded mount out of the can and welding a new blast baffle in, then re-threading the mount, but it would be possible.

 

[Slow Hand]

Being rebuilt all depends on the suppressor. If it is a fully-welded can like the AAC M4-2000, it will not be able to be rebuilt. Other cans that can be opened up at the factory can be rebuilt.

A suppressor is likely to last a very long time.

Anything made by man can be made again. It may be expensive, but you could have a proper 'smith cut it open, remanufacture and replace baffles and reweld it back together.

 

[curraheeguns]

Anything made by man can be made again. It may be expensive, but you could have a proper 'smith cut it open, remanufacture and replace baffles and reweld it back together.

I tend to agree with Doug. It is pretty unbelievable what some people can do right now with machinegun and can repair.

As long as it doesn't hit ATF's golden line of manufacturing a replacement "tube" or "recevier" it can be fixed but it will be $$$$.

In the case of a catastrophic suppressor failure (Not that I know anyone that may have had one of those in the last month or two.....ahh, ummmm) I am guessing a new can is a cheaper alternative.

Back to the OP question, most cans will go 10k's of rounds before they need rebuilt and if you buy it from a company with good customer service they will rebuild it cheaper then buying a new one and it will be as good as new.

 

[fullauto 45]

Maybe about 3000 rounds between cleaning. I have put over 25,000+ rounds out of my TAC-65 supprressor. I try to clean about every 3-4 thousand rounds.

 

[curraheeguns]

(Not that I know anyone that may have had one of those in the last month or two.....ahh, ummmm)

And before anyone asks........witnesses have been sworn to secrecy and a gag order has been put in place pending manufacturers autopsy!!

 

[Gpfury86]

Just a tad off subject, but to do with suppressors. I was on Ar15.com forums and some guys were talking about how a suppressor creates more gas pressure (which is obvious), but they were saying in turn this changes your POI slightly at a given range. I was just wondering if anyone that has backed to back their rifles and if thats normal?

 

[ryknoll3]

Adding a suppressor to your gun changes your POI in a majority of cases. It has to do with barrel harmonics changing due to the mass and weight added to the end of the barrel. The amount of POI shift varies based on a lot of factors, including barrel length, barrel thickness, individual firearm, threading concentricity, different models of suppressors, etc....

 

[ryknoll3]

Anything made by man can be made again. It may be expensive, but you could have a proper 'smith cut it open, remanufacture and replace baffles and reweld it back together.

That's correct, I should've said, it can be done but will NOT be economically feasible to have it rebuilt.... unless new suppressors were banned.

 

[harrissr]

i have a sionics that i have shot on my .45 mac and with a 9mm conversion. it had been running fine for over 30 years ! i also have a tac 65 that has had many thousands of rounds f/a thru it out of an am180 and a couple of other .22 mgs. did have a .308 can that has to be all replaced inside after a baffle let go inside ( manufacturing tolerances were too tight ) and it stacked up several .308 bullets on f/a inside. can was sealed . they cut the welds replaced the guts and rewelded . outside of can showed no damage . i use the rebuilt can on my hk51 in f/a and on my hs precision sniper rifle . and yes it does change impact but the change is consistant between can on and can off . alot of it depends on the barrel, the can , the round used , the crown , etc.

 

[buckfever34]

The guy at the range didn't know what he was talking about.


A good rifle can will last into thousands and thousands and thousands of rounds.

 

[PremierArms]

On sealed cans you can use a spray gun cleaner like Break Free Powder Blast to blow the crud out after shooing it. Use the plastic extended tube that comes with the can and but a bit of a kink in the last 1/16 of an inch of the tube to cause the spray to shoot out at more of an angle. Or you can soak it in a gun cleaner overnight then use compressed air to blow the debris out.