Shooting lead bullets through suppressors?

[creature]

Has anyone had experience with shooting cast bullets through suppressors? I was trying to figure out if there was a cheap/easy way to copper plate or coat the bullets so they wouldn't lead the baffles in the suppressor. Does anyone have ideas?

[nicholst55]

Probably shooting plated bullets is the only really practical method of doing this.

[JeffinNZ]

I shoot cast boolits exclusively through the suppressor on my Martini .32-20. Don't do anything different. Works great. If there is lead on the baffles then you load is all wrong. I found Alox lube was hard to remove from baffles and baked on but my own lube works great.

[x101airborne]

I do it all the time. Have yet to find any issue with residues or leading. I see no reason why after a boolit exits the barrel it should give off lead.

[dbosman]

Surpressed Ruger .22s use lead bullets. Ok, some are copper plated lead bullets.

[Artful]

I have used lead in most of my can's up to and including full auto
- Best to have a can that can be disassembled for cleaning and clean every 500 rounds or so.
For STEEL can's that are sealed you can DIP but must be careful of the toxic byproduct (Lead Acetate).
Worst offender for leaving lead is 22LR.

[dudel]

I use lead 22lr with a suppressor. It gets much dirtier than when shot with plated. It disassembles for cleaning.

I also have a suppressor for .223. Mostly it gets a diet of jacketed, but when I do use lead (as when mounted on the H&R Handi), it's dirtier. This suppressor also disassembles for cleaning. I've found that soda blasting works well for cleaning lead from baffles.

Not sure I'd shoot lots of lead through a sealed suppressor.

[prs]

WHY does a lead boolit lead a suppressor! Is the internal diameter that close. Why not make the suppressors a little larger internal diameter? Inquiring minds and totally ignorant of suppressor use.

prs

[jhalcott]

I've had lead deposited on the porting or breaks on some of my guns. NOT ALL loads will do this. If I let it it can build up to be a real chore to remove. Usually a change of alloy,speed or lube corrects the problem.

[Artful]

WHY does a lead boolit lead a suppressor! Is the internal diameter that close. Why not make the suppressors a little larger internal diameter? Inquiring minds and totally ignorant of suppressor use.

prs

Typical can's run at least .050 larger some much larger not many closer - as to why it's condensation from the gases being held back from exiting - when the gun fires you normally have lots of stuff expelled from the gun but with a can on - it's not allowed to eject but recirculates in the can until pressure has dropped - thus making the gun quieter.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPqa3teOQkA

[303Guy]

One can expect a cast boolit load to be dirtier than a jacketed load because of the amount and pressure of the gasses produced and the velocity through the baffles. Why a lead 22lr would be dirtier than a copper plated 22lr is a mystery. Obviously the assumptions that lead is fine is not always correct. Maybe the plated 22lr's use a different or no lube and it's the lube that fouls the suppressor. I've been using lead in my 22 with a non-removable suppressor for years and it looks pretty clean as far as one can see which is the muzzle and the baffle throats.

[Artful]

303Guy - have you weighed it?
http://www.tacticalinc.com/tac65-22lr-suppressor-p-38.html

Anyone that's shot .22 rimfire ammo knows how dirty it is. In additon to the dirt, with a suppressor, every shot sends a mist of molten lead out the barrel with the bullet. When the molten lead hits the suppressor, it hardens. An ultrasonic cleaner or home brew solvent will get the carbon out of the suppressor but it will not remove the lead. We have had suppressors that ship brand new at 4.1 ounces and are returned for service at over 12 ounces based on lead build up. The ONLY way to remove lead is to disassemble the suppressor and either wire brush or bead blast it off the baffles. We continue to maintain that .22 LR suppressors have to be cleaned. Think about it? Would you expect your firearm to continue to work at its peak performance if you never cleaned it? Our TAC65, like all of our .22 LR suppressors, can be completely disassembled by the user to include the removal of both endcaps and all the internal baffles, and then cleaned and reassembled. If you don't believe that .22LR ANYTHING can be "sealed and self cleaning", then the ability to disassemble and clean your TAC65 is a feature that will keep your suppressor operating at peak performance for many years to come without costly returns to the manufacturer for service.

[lksmith]

If you are considering getting a suppressor, I strongly suggest getting one that can be disassembled.
I have a HTG M30-A which can be taken apart and in my gun if I go more than 100rds between cleaning it it problematic.
Due to how a suppressor works, capturing the gasses they are inherently dirty in my experience. On mine I can shoot a round without the can and the brass comes out shiny, next shot with suppressor and the brass is black.

[303Guy]

Interesting. Well, I have no way of checking mine without damaging it so until it stops working I'll just keep on using it. I'm surprised that there should be any molten lead in the muzzle gasses though unless it's from the primer compound.

[Elkins45]

Interesting. Well, I have no way of checking mine without damaging it so until it stops working I'll just keep on using it. I'm surprised that there should be any molten lead in the muzzle gasses though unless it's from the primer compound.

In NZ you don't have to pay for a prohibitavely expensive tax stamp to own a silencer, correct? One of the reasons that a US shooter might worry about this more than you might is because of the tax issue. Here if your silencer is somehow damaged to the point where the serial numbered part (normally the outer tube) must be replaced the govt. considers that to be acquiring a new silencer and you must reapply for the stamp and pay $200 all over again. So US makers have a tendency to overbuild because the customer can't just stroll into any local shop for replacement parts.

[mikeym1a]

Probably shooting plated bullets is the only really practical method of doing this.

Why? As long as the boolit doesn't touch the baffles, there shouldn't any lead transfer. Hopkins and Allen made a .22 'Noiseless' ('Falling Blocks & Other Single Shots from Hopkins & Allen', Charles Carder, pg 47), and .22s are lead. Neat suppressor, looks like simplicity to make.

[303Guy]

It's a shame that you folks are so heavily penalized in the US. Mine is one I made - my first actually. It is both small and quiet - and lightweight. One day I might pull it off, slice it open and see how I did it - or not. Not if I can replicate it by just figuring how I did it. So if the can body carries the serial number, is it possible to get replacement innards?

[Artful]

Yes, but from a Manufacturer only.

[leadman]

I know I get copper wash on the muzzle brakes of some of my Encore barrels.

[PhatForrest]

Takeapart cans are a godsend. Check out the Liberty Mystic for 9mm, 22lr, 38, 357. Cast leads it up kinda quickly, but a few quick blasts with a sandblaster cleans it up very nicely.