Remove flash suppressor

Hawk 3/21 · Dec 20, 2013

Hope someone is out there.....I have a black rain ar 308. I love the quality, but hate this flash suppressor. I want to remove it and have worked too long in a bodyshop, ie "get a bigger hammer" mindset. So the barrel is SS fluted and the flash looks to be installed with a crush washer, although I could be wrong.
So, is this as easy as finding a tool that won't mar the washer and unscrewing the flash supp or is there a danger of tweaking, twisting...the barrel?

I'll take it to a gunsmith if necessary, but I can't drive anymore and it may take awhile to arrange a ride. Waiting isn't a good option due to the holes in the couch.....girlfriend is more than a little upset about that. Laid rifle on it for a second to readjust the gun vise. Needless to say that was a bad idea. Personally I don't see why they used this product, but that's another can of worms.

So, I don't want to compound bad ideas and just wing it.

MtnCreek · Dec 20, 2013

Is the barrel 16" + the flash hider?

On a 5.56 AR,
If it's not welded on (like a non-sbr 14.5"), then it will just thread off (counter-clock if you're looking at the muzzle). Armorers tool is handy on a standard A2 because the flats on the flash hider are about the same as the dia of the barrel. A tool thin enough to not reach the barrel would insure no barrel scratching. The crush washer should probably be replaced, but if it's not squeezed all the way down and the timing of whatever FH you use next allows, you may be able to re-use it.

Guntoter · Dec 20, 2013

Mmm..holes in the couch. From a gun. Gonna suffer for that one for a while I suspect. I feel for you

.
Have you tried calling Black Rain about removing the FH? Probably wouldn't hurt. They might even have used some super thread sealant/locker when it was installed.
As strange as that FH looks, if it's the same one I saw in pics, I wouldn't be surprised at anything. Good Luck!

Blade First · Dec 23, 2013

Good suggestion to call Black Rain...they make fine products and customer service is good. Having replaced a flash hider or two myself, suggest that you'll need a new crush washer to get the new FH to index properly. No worries on torqueing the barrel too much if you don't get carried away. Use a wrench with a face thin enough, as MtnCreek suggested, so that you don't cosmetically damage the barrel.

RE: holes in the couch...sorry. Had a nephew who once spilled an almost full bottle of Hoppe's on the dining room table just an hour or so before my niece pulled the turkey out of the oven on Thanksgiving Day. He was intimately familiar with their living room couch for several days thereafter.

mtrmn · Dec 24, 2013

Upon removal of the flash hider on my old Bushmaster BAR10, I discovered that there had been a hole drilled through the flash hider and into the threads. A short pin had been inserted and the hole welded up so you couldn't tell. When I broke it loose the weld popped out and you could then see what was going on---too late. It boogered up the threads, but I turned the flash hider back to it's original position and removed the pin. Then had to wait for Brownells to send me a 5/8 x 24 die to repair the threads. Just a headsup to another possible trap laid by the manufacturer.

Hawk 3/21 · Jan 3, 2014

Many must be permanently installed to make the rifle legal. For instance if that barrel is only 14.5", you now need to purchase a $200.00 (approx) tax stamp for a SBR to make your rifle legal with the feds. Add to that local & state regs.....think of crazy Cali.

If it's pinned/welded & the rifle has always been local.......you probably better get it to a gunsmith quick. At least they'll be able to tell you what's legal in your neck of the woods

mtrmn · Jan 4, 2014

Hawk 3/21 said:
Many must be permanently installed to make the rifle legal. For instance if that barrel is only 14.5", you now need to purchase a $200.00 (approx) tax stamp for a SBR to make your rifle legal with the feds. Add to that local & state regs.....think of crazy Cali.

If it's pinned/welded & the rifle has always been local.......you probably better get it to a gunsmith quick. At least they'll be able to tell you what's legal in your neck of the woods

In my case a 20" bbl. Just giving a precaution in case they had difficulty in getting the flash hider off. I have no idea why anyone would pin/weld a flash hider on a 20" bbl, but they did. I had to remove it so I could put an adapter on it for my YHM QD suppressor.

Remove flash suppressor

Hawk 3/21

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MtnCreek

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Guntoter

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Blade First

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mtrmn

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Hawk 3/21

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mtrmn

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