MatthewVanitas
Member
Took a good drive today from Austin up to Coleman, TX. For those living in the East, and other foreign countries, Texas is a very, very large state. Though Coleman is in the same region of the same state, it took three hours to get there, through strange lands where the main form of sustenance is chicken-fried state (abbreviated "CFC" on practically every restaurant sign).
The reason: to go listen to an integrally suppressed Ruger MkII at John's Guns. Good thing I'm single, that'd be a hard one to explain to a wife.
I did indeed end up putting my cash down ($550 to build an 8" integral suppresssor into my Ruger), and also checked out all the other options. Thought I'd list some of my impressions on the wide variety of products I saw demo'ed.
Integrally-suppressed 10/22: looks like a very heavy barreled 10/22. Sounded about as loud as a Baikal airgun. With the bolt held shut with the thumb, it was quieter than the Baikal. Colibris were almost totally inaudible.
Quick-detach .223 suppressor: was considering one of these in a year or two, but not anymore. Though I'm sure it makes a difference to a LEO or door-kicking fireteam, it was still loud enough that I wouldn't want to plink with one without ears on. It changes the AR's noise from "AAAH!!! MY EARS!" down to "dang! that hurts!"
.308 suppressor w/ expansion chamber: screw-on can, slightly larger than the QD. Night/day difference! The .308 from a 16" boltgun was barely louder than the suppressed .22, no discomfort at all. The impact of the bullet hitting the wood was the loudest thing. Ditto for the integrally-suppressed Ruger .44 boltgun. If I ever buy a suppressed rifle, I'd be interested in an AR version of this, rather than a QD. I believe some ARFers have these with tubular handguards, looks like a really fat bull-barrel carbine.
I'll do some playing with my MkII and write a report in late Jan or early Feb, once I get the Most Expensive Postage Stamp I Will Ever Own. In the meantime, I'll go find some nice grips to contrast with the bead-blasted stainless (purpleheart?). Also will find a holster; might go with some kind of Yaqui belt slide, rather than try and accomodate the heavy bull barrel and sights. There are some hi-speed nylon holsters out for these, but I'd rather go old-school/classy for this one, rather than Mallninja.
I had considered buying directly from Brent (current owner of John's Guns), but will gladly pay the transfer fee in Austin rather than drive 6 hours next month. Brent was great about answering my questions and explaining the gear. I considered over a dozen different cans before narrowing to six different integral MkIIs, and the JG integral won out on price, weight, and most importantly user-serviceability. Having seen pics of the crud scraped out of .22 cans, I definitely wanted one that I could take apart and scrub the guts.
Still have to do the paperwork. Still, $550 for the work and $200 for the tax is still less than many new .45s cost, so this isn't quite the rich man's game I thought it was.
Will keep you posted as this goes on.
-MV
The reason: to go listen to an integrally suppressed Ruger MkII at John's Guns. Good thing I'm single, that'd be a hard one to explain to a wife.
I did indeed end up putting my cash down ($550 to build an 8" integral suppresssor into my Ruger), and also checked out all the other options. Thought I'd list some of my impressions on the wide variety of products I saw demo'ed.
Integrally-suppressed 10/22: looks like a very heavy barreled 10/22. Sounded about as loud as a Baikal airgun. With the bolt held shut with the thumb, it was quieter than the Baikal. Colibris were almost totally inaudible.
Quick-detach .223 suppressor: was considering one of these in a year or two, but not anymore. Though I'm sure it makes a difference to a LEO or door-kicking fireteam, it was still loud enough that I wouldn't want to plink with one without ears on. It changes the AR's noise from "AAAH!!! MY EARS!" down to "dang! that hurts!"
.308 suppressor w/ expansion chamber: screw-on can, slightly larger than the QD. Night/day difference! The .308 from a 16" boltgun was barely louder than the suppressed .22, no discomfort at all. The impact of the bullet hitting the wood was the loudest thing. Ditto for the integrally-suppressed Ruger .44 boltgun. If I ever buy a suppressed rifle, I'd be interested in an AR version of this, rather than a QD. I believe some ARFers have these with tubular handguards, looks like a really fat bull-barrel carbine.
I'll do some playing with my MkII and write a report in late Jan or early Feb, once I get the Most Expensive Postage Stamp I Will Ever Own. In the meantime, I'll go find some nice grips to contrast with the bead-blasted stainless (purpleheart?). Also will find a holster; might go with some kind of Yaqui belt slide, rather than try and accomodate the heavy bull barrel and sights. There are some hi-speed nylon holsters out for these, but I'd rather go old-school/classy for this one, rather than Mallninja.
I had considered buying directly from Brent (current owner of John's Guns), but will gladly pay the transfer fee in Austin rather than drive 6 hours next month. Brent was great about answering my questions and explaining the gear. I considered over a dozen different cans before narrowing to six different integral MkIIs, and the JG integral won out on price, weight, and most importantly user-serviceability. Having seen pics of the crud scraped out of .22 cans, I definitely wanted one that I could take apart and scrub the guts.
Still have to do the paperwork. Still, $550 for the work and $200 for the tax is still less than many new .45s cost, so this isn't quite the rich man's game I thought it was.
Will keep you posted as this goes on.
-MV
Still funny, though. 
)
