Suppressor question

[mugsie]

I was at the range this morning and the kid next to me was shooting a 1911 with a suppressor mounted on it. Aside from it being so large it blocked the front sight, (he said he had to purchase taller sights), it looked very impractical. Long story short, I wasn't particularly impressed.

During the conversation, I asked him about cleaning it, how often should it be done. He surprised me and said the manufacturer (who I failed to remember), told him it didn't need cleaning, that the carbon build up would create more "nooks and crannies" for the gas to disperse in. I let it go, but somehow I think at some point it will most definitely require cleaning.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is he right, no cleaning?

 

[Surly]

I like my hearing and hate wearing ear pro. The four cans I have are very practical to me.

Depending on the manufacturer, the can may be sealed and won't need cleaned. I have shot a sealed .22 can to the point that it was losing its suppression abilities. I jail broke it and cleaned it. That's a .22 though...centerfire with jacketed bullets are cleaner shooting.

 

[mugsie]

I may have forgotten to include the caliber, it was 45acp.

 

[Surly]

Same applies...lead rounds will foul up the can faster than jacketed.

.45 is a good caliber to suppress, as most of it is already subsonic.

 

[LocoGringo]

He's right...most suppressors for centerfire cartridges don't need cleaning as long as you're shooting jacketed ammo. The carbon usually gets blown out anyway. It's the lead buildup that is the problem. That's the problem with .22 cans. They collect lead and need to be cleaned out.

 

[Ironman]

He's right...most suppressors for centerfire cartridges don't need cleaning as long as you're shooting jacketed ammo. The carbon usually gets blown out anyway. It's the lead buildup that is the problem. That's the problem with .22 cans. They collect lead and need to be cleaned out.

Incorrect. It's centerfire RIFLE cartridges that don't need cleaning. Centerfire pistol cans need to be cleaned.

 

[Sam1911]

Some cans are built to be user-disassembled for cleaning. (Many .22 cans.)
Some are not. (Centerfire rifle, especially.)

They can be dipped in various chemical cleaning solutions as needed, to reduce the amount of fouling in them, and can be run through ultrasonic cleaners as well.

 

[LocoGringo]

Incorrect. It's centerfire RIFLE cartridges that don't need cleaning. Centerfire pistol cans need to be cleaned.

You sure???



I'm kidding. Learned something else new.

 

[wally]

GemTech says their Multimount 9mm suppressor is good for 200K+ rounds without cleaning as long as you don't shoot lead bullets through them. But if you want to clean it you need to so every 200-300 rounds or it'll be very easy to damage it during disassembly.

The .22lr cans need to be cleaned as the lead builds up fast. Use the search I posted photos of my Sparrow after its first 1000 rounds -- had enough lead in it that you could make several bullets from it.

I figure when the time comes I'll send mine back to the maker for "repair".

 

[Ironman]

GemTech says their Multimount 9mm suppressor is good for 200K+ rounds without cleaning as long as you don't shoot lead bullets through them. But if you want to clean it you need to so every 200-300 rounds or it'll be very easy to damage it during disassembly.

The .22lr cans need to be cleaned as the lead builds up fast. Use the search I posted photos of my Sparrow after its first 1000 rounds -- had enough lead in it that you could make several bullets from it.

I figure when the time comes I'll send mine back to the maker for "repair".

Gemtech is full of BS. Always have been, right next to their thin walled 9mm cans that rupture leaving the end user screwed and without a tax stamp. They also point fingers when you call in for a warranty claim instead of just dealing with it. There is a reason those in the know call them Gem-Crap.

All centerfire pistol cans should be cleaned before the 200rd mark to ensure baffle stack removal and the prevention of extreme leading (open base FMJ). You should also detail clean the booster assembly to ensure function. As far as 22 cans I just stick with dropping the monocore or baffles into my USC after it's good and build up with gunk. No scrubbing and comes out clean.

 

[Gtscotty]

What solution do you use to clean your cans in the USC?

 

[highline_56]

50/50 Purple Power and water

 

[wally]

Gemtech is full of BS. Always have been, right next to their thin walled 9mm cans that rupture leaving the end user screwed and without a tax stamp

I had a tube failure with my Multimount and Gem-Tech replaced it for free and ate the cost of the replacement transfer. Took ~8 months but that was not their fault.

A pistol can that is only good for 200 rounds before cleaning is not worth buying for me as most outings have more shooting than that.

 

[MCMXI]

Gemtech is full of BS. Always have been, right next to their thin walled 9mm cans that rupture leaving the end user screwed and without a tax stamp. They also point fingers when you call in for a warranty claim instead of just dealing with it. There is a reason those in the know call them Gem-Crap.

Since you are clearly in the pocket of SilencerCo with your website designed to generate revenue for yourself while promoting their products, I'll assume that you're less than objective. I have no financial stake in GEMTECH and don't promote their products on an amateur website. However, I work with them on a few projects. Not only are they great folks, they make excellent products and they stand by those products.

 

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

It's going to get good, pass the popcorn.

 

[Crawfish1]

500 rounds through 22 Silencerco Sparrow in between cleanings. I went as far as 1000 rounds but disassembly was tougher. That can has over 20K through it.

3000 rounds through Octane 45 all Xtreme copper plated bullets. On the Octane I have not even needed to clean the booster yet.

FYI, I stay away from the dip. Lead acetate is bad news. Ultrasonic or tumbler is safer.

Silencer Co makes top tier products I couldn't be happier. If I could start over every firearm I own would be able to be suppressed.

 

[Theohazard]

Gemtech is full of BS. Always have been, right next to their thin walled 9mm cans that rupture leaving the end user screwed and without a tax stamp. They also point fingers when you call in for a warranty claim instead of just dealing with it. There is a reason those in the know call them Gem-Crap.

Since you are clearly in the pocket of SilencerCo with your website designed to generate revenue for yourself while promoting their products, I'll assume that you're less than objective. I have no financial stake in GEMTECH and don't promote their products on an amateur website. However, I work with them on a few projects. Not only are they great folks, they make excellent products and they stand by those products.

While his post is little hyperbolic, I'd have to agree with his general point. Gemtech has become notorious for their pistol cans rupturing, and I've heard too many bad stories of their customer service, though I have also heard lots of good ones too. Inconsistent customer service involving ruptured cans is better than constantly bad service, but I worry more about the fact that so many of their cans ruptured in the first place.

But my main problem with Gemtech is how they didn't design any new cans for so long, and they allowed themselves to be completely left behind by other silencer companies. Now, after years of selling obsolete silencers as if they were cutting-edge designs, they've finally come out with some new cans. These cans haven't been out long enough for us to get a good idea of their overall quality, but their aluminum monocore baffles aren't very impressive to me.

Gemtech made a name for themselves many years ago, and they've been surviving on name alone for too long. After years of offering obsolete cans next to other companies' superior designs, it's going to take a little while for Gemtech to redeem themselves in the silencer community.

 

[wally]

3000 rounds through Octane 45 all Xtreme copper plated bullets. On the Octane I have not even needed to clean the booster yet.

I'd wager that taking apart the Octane will be a bear and probably not worth it for the risk of damaging it. I don't plan to take apart my OctaneHD for cleaning.

I've an Osprey45 as my first suppressor that has seen a lot of usage with 9mm, .40S&W & .45ACP using jacketed and plated ammo. It doesn't come apart for cleaning. IMHO this is a feature not a bug

Other than for .22lr or if you want to shoot cast lead bullets I don't see cleaning suppressors as a virtue. Cleaning the Sparrow is a necessary evil, with the others I'll follow the GemTech no cleaning option rather than shorten my outings to accommodate being able to take apart.

I've no dog in the GenTech vs. SilencerCo hunt -- I've been happy with products from both.

I've also got a Thompson Machine ISIS-2 9mm. After shooting 100 rounds of hard cast lead and taking it apart for cleaning I've given up on that idea and after cleaning and replacing the O-rings I plan to not take it apart any more either and only run jacketed or plated bullets through it.

My wife it totally on-board with suppressed shooting so our Trust eventually needed pairs of each caliber

 

[Crawfish1]

I guess my can will be the the beta tester as far how much you can shoot and still disassemble or not. I am going to run it for 5k rounds. The manufacturer claims the baffle stacks are designed to keep debris locked up for ease of cleaning so I guess we will see.

Per manufacturer, "The Octane 45 HD has a unique design for easy disassembly and user serviceability. The CTA baffle stack makes it the easiest .45 silencer on the market to clean. The unique click together design keeps debris from reaching the tube of the suppressor, which allows it to be disassembled with ease. CTA baffles are very important when shooting full auto on a submachine gun or shooting lead bullets."


If I can't get it apart I will let everyone know. One time I shot over 2k through the Sparrow and could not get it to break loose. I called Silencerco they told me to soak it in WD-40 overnight and if I could still not get it apart to send it to them and they would fix it for me. Luckily with a little work it came loose. I am amazed at how much lead byproduct from .22's there is. I wanted a Osprey but plan on shooting cast in the future so I went with the user serviceable Octane.


Hopefully I will be able to get it apart.

 

[wally]

The manufacturer claims the baffle stacks are designed to keep debris locked up for ease of cleaning so I guess we will see.

My Octane 45HD package insert (manual) recommends cleaning intervals of 500 rounds or after whenever it is shot "wet".

My original Multimount was sealed, its replacement is a newer design that appears to have the same "click together" baffles as the Octane, I could account for the shorter recomended interval on the 9mm as being because the 9mm is higher pressure so there will be more forcing of crud into nooks and crannies. Once these fill up and make disassembly really difficult the build up it seems is much slower.

I was really disappointed at how little fouling was in my ISIS-2 for the difficulty I had with disassembly:

This was after 100 rounds of hard cast lead, very little lead as far as I could tell, but lots of carbon and was quite hard to disassemble.


This is after ~300 rounds of jacketed/plated, and given the difficulty of disassembly I'm just not going to bother with cleaning anything other than the booster as this is too short an interval to be much fun, and much more shooting and I don't think I could get it apart without risk of damage.

The Osprey manual suggests occasional cleaning with WD40 or or mineral spirits and then blowing dry with an air gun. This is what I plan to do if the build up becomes significant for all but the Sparrow. I'll clean the boosters after every outing.

 

[Surly]

Like I said previously, lead rounds will foul a can long before jacketed rounds do. Some cans are sealed and are not user serviceable. I do not recommend putting lead through sealed centerfire cans.

 

[Ironman]

Since you are clearly in the pocket of SilencerCo with your website designed to generate revenue for yourself while promoting their products, I'll assume that you're less than objective. I have no financial stake in GEMTECH and don't promote their products on an amateur website. However, I work with them on a few projects. Not only are they great folks, they make excellent products and they stand by those products.

Well you couldn't be more wrong. So I'm in the pocket of Silencerco yet review cans from them, Liberty Suppressors, AAC, Thompson Machine, innovative arms(pending), Amtac (pending), Dead Air Armament(pending)? Your post is invalid. I run a review channel and don't favor one over the other.

The only gemtech product I have is their 3 lug mount that I use on my Mystic X and it's a PIECE OF SH*T. The piston assembly and spring(weak) in it are cheap as hell and always stick to the back of the housing which effectively lets the can just wobble around and fall off.

I don't appreciate you running your mouth when you have no clue how my review channel is setup or who I am as a person.

 

[MCMXI]

I don't appreciate you running your mouth when you have no clue how my review channel is setup or who I am as a person.

And I don't appreciate you running your mouth off either when it comes to GEMTECH. As a rifle engineer (previously an ammunition R&D engineer) in the firearms industry I work closely with a number of companies including GEMTECH. I stand by my comments that they make quality products and are a great group of guys who have been pioneers in the suppressor industry and genuinely care about their customers. If you're going to the SHOT show perhaps you should swing by their booth and tell them what you think about them and their products. Be sure to let me know so that I can be there too.

 

[redneck2]

You kids better learn to play nice or you're gonna get your knuckles whacked

 

[Art Eatman]

Y'all are getting low-road belligerent, hostile, personal, rude and insulting. Take this as a first and only warning.

I allus figger that grownups oughta be courteous and polite. If they ain't, I don't figger they oughta be around me.

And I ain't leavin'.