Suppressors and Powder Coated boolits

[murf205]

I couldn't find a place that this might have been a better fir so if the Mods want to move it to the proper nest, go ahead.
In my curious reading about suppressors, I have seen a countless warnings about lead build up in baffles and other internals of a can. My question today is, will powder coating and gas checks reduce this enough ti warrant shooting cast through a .360 or larger can. I don't have any experience with suppressed guns by with Lyman's prices, that could change. I know that suppressed 22 rimfire guns were the first ones I encountered and most of the sub sonic ammo was not plated, that I know of. My first choice would be a .360 can on a SSK 357 Max barrel, loaded down to sub sonic of course. What are the experiences of those who have tried this?

[Meatpuppet]

I’m shooting 300gr, 357 Maximum through a Liberty Infinity X. Powder coating definitely reduces leading. But you still have residue that builds up. I usually clean the baffles every 6 months or so (I’d estimate 300 rounds) and it’s not difficult. If you are going the suppressor route with PC bullets, make sure is user serviceable.

I don’t use gas checks with suppressors. Afraid of a gas check coming off in the suppressor.

22LR suppressed is nasty. I clean after every other range trip.

[Balrog006]

I’m shooting 300gr, 357 Maximum through a Liberty Infinity X. Powder coating definitely reduces leading. But you still have residue that builds up. I usually clean the baffles every 6 months or so (I’d estimate 300 rounds) and it’s not difficult. If you are going the suppressor route with PC bullets, make sure is user serviceable.

I don’t use gas checks with suppressors. Afraid of a gas check coming off in the suppressor.

22LR suppressed is nasty. I clean after every other range trip.

Agreed, 22LR is leagues worse than any PC lead boolits in a can.

I think the buildup in a can with PC boolits is *mostly* powder and burned PC buildup and can probably be ‘shot out’ with a few high pressure jacketed rounds between sessions with cast PC boolits.

Ideally yes, you want user serviceable cans for cast PC, but with ultrasonic means and ‘blast’ cleaning them, it’s pretty much a non issue if you use one that is sealed.

[atfsux]

Here is a newly discovered trick to treat the internals of your cans to make cleanup easier and prevent buildup.

Go buy some welding anti-spatter compound. There are untold numerous brands and versions, comes in spray cans, gallon jugs, squeeze bottles and various other ways, and because this is a new thing suppressor owners have just recently discovered to use, there is not yet a known preferred concoction that works best. HOWEVER,...be aware that older formulations are petroleum-based and can be flammable, while newer formulas are water-based in a quest to be less toxic. I do not yet have enough experience myself to tell you if there is a performance difference, whether one formula adheres and sticks to the internals longer than another or anything like that. But what I can tell you is that cleaning up my .22lr cans has become MUCH less a chore and less often. .22 cans are subjected to less blast and pressure than 9mm or .45 cans, so those types may need re-treatment more often or not retain the internal applied coating as long.

I went and bought a full 1-gallon of this stuff here off of Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRYXDBP3...ect=mhFallback and have transferred it into a cleaned 1-gallon glass pickle jar so I have a wide lid opening through which I just dunk my entire suppressor after cleaning and reassembly, let drain, then store for later use once again.

You don't have to do it that way. You can just use a spray can or bottle on the internals while you have it apart and do it that way. There's no right or wrong way yet, as guys are still experimenting with this stuff for this purpose. I'm just the kind of dude who figures more is better, so I do the dunking treatment thing. You mileage may vary.

[FISH4BUGS]

I coat my baffles with Frog Lube after cleaning.
That makes the cleanup far easier - mostly just a wipe down of the baffles then re-coat.
Avoid shooting lead bullets in the can and gas checks are absolutely forbidden - baffle strikes are guaranteed.

[murf205]

Just my luck! My new NOE 180 gr 35 cal LBT clone is gas checked. But I have a 160 gr Accurate that is plain based. As soon as I get over the darned back surgery, I think a Lyman can is on the horizon. The price of their suppressors is just too good to pass up and they can be disassembled to clean. Accurate makes a 36-185F that would hit pretty hard at subsonic velocities ,me thinks, without the GC ruining a can and since I have a new SSK Contender frame, a 16 1/2" 357 max barrel might be a fun rabbit hole.

[405grain]

Gas checked design bullets usually shoot better with the check installed, but you don't actually have to use a check if you don't want to. For subsonic loads you're not putting a massive amount of pressure on the bullets base. Plain based bullets work OK at suppressed pressures/velocities. If you want to shoot cast bullets suppressed, but you only have gas check designed molds, try powder coating them and just don't install the gas check. The worst that can happen is that they won't be as accurate, but if they are, then you've got a winner. You won't know for sure unless you try it.

[Zadokite]

THousands upon thousands of PC'd 9mm through a can and I only see carbon build up. Type 5 DOT brake fluid is pure silicone oil...I coat my baffles in that and they wipe off fairly easy.

[Larry Gibson]

Regards the use of gas checked cast bullets. Thin home made slip on GCs may cause a baffle strike problem. I can't say one way or the other because I don't use thin GCs or even older Lyman slip on GCs on cast bullets use in my suppressors. However, I have shot thousands of Hornady Crimped on GC'd cast bullets out of my 223, 30 cal and 45 ACP suppressors.

Now with that being said I'm sure some are saying how do I know. Well, we never know for sure about many things that could happen but we still do them anyway. Think not? How about simply driving a car? You can get into an accident but you still drive the car. Anyways, back in the early '80s when I got a 30 cal suppressor, I was told never to use GC'f cast bullets because a baffle could come off, the sky would fall, the world would end, etc. So I gave it a test. Loaded Hornady GC'd 100 311291s over Unique to 1050 fps in 308W. Had a place where I could shoot rocks on a dark hillside about 500 yards away. The direction of fire so in the late afternoon with the sun to my back I could watch the "glint" of the sun off the GC all the way to the hillside. The rifle was a heavy match one so recoil was nil and through the 10X scope I actually see the GC'd bullets w/o difficulty. I shot the 100 GC'd bullet rounds and saw the GC every time. Subsequently I have done the same sort of test with other GC'd cast bullets the other suppressors w/o observing a single bullet that lost the GC.

Suffice to mention that with proper alignment of the suppressor bore with the barrel bore the bullet/GC should not touch the baffles, ergo the GC cannot be peeled off. Also, even with subsonic loads there is sufficient pressure on the base of the GC throughout the length of travel inside the suppressor to keep the GC on the base of the bullet. Additionally, with Hornady crimp on GCs I have never had one come off a bullet except when the bullet we shot at 3000+ fps.

As mentioned, I have shot thousands of GC cast through various suppressors and will continue to do so. Done correctly with crimped on GCs I've not found doing so to be a problem. However, we are all free to do as we please regarding this.

[murf205]

Thanks Larry, that is reassuring and now I can fully appreciate the 1000 Hornady GC's a friend (who doesn't reload ammo) gifted me in a house he rented. I would think that a 180 gr boolit would be stable in a 1-14" twist as it exits the muzzle enough to not scrape the check off inside the can, especially with thousands of lbs of pressure in it's butt.

[Rapier]

I bought a can made by a maker, that can not be taken apart and cleaned, first time. lesson well learned. Then I built mine with a Form 1. Very important to have the right to repair.
But I found that shooting cast through a can with powder coating was better with a plain base bullet with the base coated. Then baked base up in a hardware cloth box. The accuracy is good and velocity can be super sonic and stay under 1/2" at 100 with a 358 cal at 200 grain or a 30 cal at 220 as pictured with Eastwood chrome black coating

[murf205]

I bought a can made by a maker, that can not be taken apart and cleaned, first time. lesson well learned. Then I built mine with a Form 1. Very important to have the right to repair.
But I found that shooting cast through a can with powder coating was better with a plain base bullet with the base coated. Then baked base up in a hardware cloth box. The accuracy is good and velocity can be super sonic and stay under 1/2" at 100 with a 358 cal at 200 grain or a 30 cal at 220 as pictured with Eastwood chrome black coating

1/2" at 2k is nothing to sneeze at brother.

[Balrog006]

Regards the use of gas checked cast bullets. Thin home made slip on GCs may cause a baffle strike problem. I can't say one way or the other because I don't use thin GCs or even older Lyman slip on GCs on cast bullets use in my suppressors. However, I have shot thousands of Hornady Crimped on GC'd cast bullets out of my 223, 30 cal and 45 ACP suppressors.

Now with that being said I'm sure some are saying how do I know. Well, we never know for sure about many things that could happen but we still do them anyway. Think not? How about simply driving a car? You can get into an accident but you still drive the car. Anyways, back in the early '80s when I got a 30 cal suppressor, I was told never to use GC'f cast bullets because a baffle could come off, the sky would fall, the world would end, etc. So I gave it a test. Loaded Hornady GC'd 100 311291s over Unique to 1050 fps in 308W. Had a place where I could shoot rocks on a dark hillside about 500 yards away. The direction of fire so in the late afternoon with the sun to my back I could watch the "glint" of the sun off the GC all the way to the hillside. The rifle was a heavy match one so recoil was nil and through the 10X scope I actually see the GC'd bullets w/o difficulty. I shot the 100 GC'd bullet rounds and saw the GC every time. Subsequently I have done the same sort of test with other GC'd cast bullets the other suppressors w/o observing a single bullet that lost the GC.

Suffice to mention that with proper alignment of the suppressor bore with the barrel bore the bullet/GC should not touch the baffles, ergo the GC cannot be peeled off. Also, even with subsonic loads there is sufficient pressure on the base of the GC throughout the length of travel inside the suppressor to keep the GC on the base of the bullet. Additionally, with Hornady crimp on GCs I have never had one come off a bullet except when the bullet we shot at 3000+ fps.

As mentioned, I have shot thousands of GC cast through various suppressors and will continue to do so. Done correctly with crimped on GCs I've not found doing so to be a problem. However, we are all free to do as we please regarding this.

Well said and demonstrated Larry, I just don’t understand where this irrational fear of gas checks harming suppressors comes from-it’s simply Internet Fudd lore that gets spouted and repeated incessantly without any real occurrences to back it up.

[giblaw]

I have over 6,000 cast rounds through a dead air nomad on a 300 AAC. All PC’d, most gas checked. I’ve had a single end cap kiss from a 235g sub, which left a mark, but the strike was a result of the QD mount backing off, not because of the cast projectile. I’ve had a half dozen gas checks come off inside the suppressor, with no damage. Zero leading in the suppressor. Lots of carbon build-up, but no lead.

[Balrog006]

I have over 6,000 cast rounds through a dead air nomad on a 300 AAC. All PC’d, most gas checked. I’ve had a single end cap kiss from a 235g sub, which left a mark, but the strike was a result of the QD mount backing off, not because of the cast projectile. I’ve had a half dozen gas checks come off inside the suppressor, with no damage. Zero leading in the suppressor. Lots of carbon build-up, but no lead.

Thanks for sharing, great data.