55 Gallon Drum Silencer????

[Johnch]

I saw a report on accurey problems where they shot rifles thru smaller than 18" ( I think , memery is sliping ) hard surfaced tubes at ranges .
Something to do with shock waves from the bullet .

They recomemded to line the inside of the tubes or drums with old carpet .
Them remove and wash with a hose every so long to remove the unburnt powder .


For shooting from the barn , when the weather is nasty
I built a 36" x 36" x 8 ' long plywood box and lined it with 2" blue board .
I placed 3 plywood dividers with a 18" hole inside
There is a 12" hole on each end
1 side folds down to clean
This was made from scrap I got free at building sites

I find it reduces the noise at least 50%

Johnch

[StarMetal]

I disagree with you Leftoverdj, the purpose of the fiberglass is it provides an irregular surface that traps the sound. If it was a matter of steel drums ringing then one could use plastic drums. You're right about slowing the turbolence down, making it go different directions.....but in a silencer, not a sound muffler like the drums. I would rather shoot throught the large drum openning then a 10-12 inch pipe anyday of the week.

Joe

[Tigger]

I like the truck tire idea. We have lots of them at work that are disposed of at a cost to the company. I'm sure they would be glad to give some away. You could use 24.5 semi truck tires bolted together and drill a 2" hole in the bottom of each one. Then from time to time run the hose with spray nozzle down thru and flush out the unburnt powder.

[Scrounger]

I like the truck tire idea. We have lots of them at work that are disposed of at a cost to the company. I'm sure they would be glad to give some away. You could use 24.5 semi truck tires bolted together and drill a 2" hole in the bottom of each one. Then from time to time run the hose with spray nozzle down thru and flush out the unburnt powder.

Better yet, just cut across the bottom with a saw. Its shape will hold it together well enough for your purposes and when you want to clean the powder out, just spread it and let the powder fall out.

[CollinLeon]

I saw a range once where they had shooting stations with concrete culverts in front of them where the barrel of your rifle was placed prior to you shooting. It definitely changed the sound that was generated. You still noticed the sound from the rear (or probably the front), but it was noticeably less from the sides. Best I can remember, they were probably 24" diameter concrete culverts, probably 8 ft at most in length.

[frkelly74]

JohnH, watch out for unburned powder collecting inside the drums or tires. One indoor
range that I used to shoot at daily swept the areas in front of the firing line to remove all unburnt powder. The amount can be truly amazing that was cleaned up. Frank

The grass is always greenest immediately in front of the firing line.

[Janoosh]

Concerning shooting thru truck and car tires, the range I help at now used to have tires to shoot thru. It is amazing the amount of debris and junk that accumulates inside them. The system is supposed to direct and delay the sound of the shot. Cutting holes defeats this to some degree. Also, muzzle blast comes out of both ends. You do get a facefull. This system does work but...... I do believe there is better. Johnch has the right idea. Smaller pipe is unusable with large scoped rifles. The whole idea is to slow the sound down.

[3006guns]

I've seen tire sound traps used in various places and they can be very effective. Most of them used 6-8 (or more) tires and were held together securely with cables or long threaded rods.

As for putting a little water in the tires to mitigate powder accumulation, that's great until someone fires a big honkin' magnum rifle. The muzzle blast usually showers the shooter (and his gun) with a dirty water spray. I think I'd bore a hole in the bottom of each tire and use a removeable plug of some sort so they could be swept out once in a while.

[pdawg_shooter]

I use a 5" in and out, 10" diameter 54" long truck muffler. Two wraps of carpet scraps held on with duct tape on the outside. Got it used at a truck salvage yard for 20 dollars. Works for me.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I was in a gunshop in Chinool Mt, some years ago, He worked mostly on 45 auto IIRC. Mike Johnson I think was his name. He had a sound chamber made from a barrel lined with something that looked like "egg crate" foam but was black. Not sure what it was but when he fired a weapon in it for testing is wasn't any louder than a cap gun

[nicholst55]

I have pix on my work computer of "silencers" made for the 120mm tank gun and the 155mm M109-series howitzers, by the Germans, of course. You drive the vehicle up to the "silencer," coz you sure as shooting aren't going to move those things! I'll post them tomorrow when I get back to work.

ETA: Oops! I stored them at Photobucket. Here ya go:

[375RUGER]

I remember the article. I thought that he filled the drums with machine shop shavings, long shavings not chips, and held them in place with an expanded metal core to shoot through. Would be much more durable than fiberglass, especially in the area right next to the muzzle.

[CollinLeon]

I remember the article. I thought that he filled the drums with machine shop shavings, long shavings not chips, and held them in place with an expanded metal core to shoot through. Would be much more durable than fiberglass, especially in the area right next to the muzzle.

Perhaps some of the rubber landscape mulch (recycled from tires) would be a good choice also?

[CollinLeon]

Good point, thats why I think Jamison made his with the drums and fiberglass so he would change out the fiberglass. Much easier then emptying tires. Don't anyone dare try to vacuum that powder up or out either...dangerous.

I remember a device awhile back that was designed so that you could use a shop vac for emptying the ashes from your fireplace. It basically consisted of a bucket with water in it with an inlet and outlet connector that you hooked your shop vac to. The inlet connector was connected to a tube that went into the water and you hooked your shop vac's hose with attachment head onto this portion. The hose from the shop vac hooked to the other connector on the device and this connector did not have a tube going into the water. Basically what happened was that the ashes would get sucked into the submerged tube, mix with the water, and stay there while the air would bubble up and then go into the other connector and into the shop vac. At least that was my understanding of how it should work. As someone who tried to use a shop vac to clean out a fireplace ONCE and who then found the entire living room coated with a fine layer of ashes, the design LOOKED like it might have promise. If so, something like this might be an option for vacuuming up un-burnt gunpowder.

[KCSO]

We use old tires on a rack bolted together about 12 or so of them in a row. A plywood cut out to shoot into and the front open and it does a pretty good job.