Shooting, heating and cooling and Suppressors

[Morpheus]

I've been digging around the web and just can't find any good answers on this question.

How many rounds can you shoot through a Suppressor before you should let it cool?

Scenario:
High quality AR-10, high quality suppressor, you sit down at the bench and begin firing. Assume safely shooting keeping an eye on your target and swapping 20-round mags every few minutes.

How many mags (rounds) before you stop and allow the suppressor to cool down? I know that a quality AR-10 barrel should be able to shoot for a long while before having an issue. But what about the suppressor?

Has anyone seen any good data on this anywhere?

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[tarster]

I have watched a number of guys heat the suppressors up until they glow and then let them cool.. plenty of videos of that.. For me.. when I am shooting with my bolt gun I can only get about 20 rounds in slow fire before it starts getting to hot and starts to mirage,

if you want to take the suppressor off after dropping 20 rounds down range.. you better wait 5 - 25 minutes.. I have come to realize that the cans hold heat for quite some time.

Silencerco Omega on a Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD 308

After a mag dump in my AR 15... Dont touch it for a solid 10 minutes.. It will be very hot.
I use a Bowers griptastic Suppressor cover on mine, its rubber which is nice because it doesnt trap water unlike the more cloth style wraps, it gives good grip and stays in place even when hot.

http://www.silencershop.com/bowers-griptastic-suppressor-cover.html

 

[edslhead]

They make a handy gauge for suppressor heating.

 

[Morpheus]

While humorous, not really the gauge I'm looking to learn about.

 

[tarster]

 

[tarster]

under the average user, I doubt you will ever get it hot enough to care, I figure if its to hot to touch then i should let it cool down, but the steels you have in a high quality suppressor take a considerable amount of abuse from heat and concussive forces before ever giving away, and I know that Silencerco lets you mess up once and replace the can for free and if you completely toast the can... aka shoot through the sides or something, I believe they allow you to buy the next one at like 40% of retail or something like that. I would have to look it back up.

 

[pacnw]

Holy sh!t, Batman!!!!!!!!!

He seemed to be having issues well before that out of battery round detonated. He kept hitting the forward assist, and multiple times in some cases.

Wonder if it may have gone more rounds with another rifle?

 

[PDXSparky]

Full auto will put way more rounds thru a can that a semi-auto will which is no problem for a full auto rated can. If you get heat waves, mirage, messing up your target vision, then it's time to either stop shooting for a while or get a can cover. The griptastic cover is what I have on my Bower's Vers 9S. I can hold the can after shooting five 30 round mags thru it on full auto.

 

[jbett98]

Some cans need tightening after a few mags and a good cover allows you to hold on and check for any loosening issues.

 

[tarster]

Some cans need tightening after a few mags and a good cover allows you to hold on and check for any loosening issues.

I have heard that the aac 51t QD mounted cans can back of after a few mags, that's just internet chatter I have heard, my silencerco omega holds nice and tight, I have not had any issues with it backing.. But that's also using the QD mount and not direct thread. I have also heard with direct thread they will start to back out sometimes..

 

[Modeler]

I think it depends on your can. My understanding (although I can't remember where I heard this) is that different materials hold heat for different lengths of time, with titanium holding it longer than other metals.

If you don't want to fork over the cash for a good cover you can always bring an oven mitt along for tightening and removal after a few mag dumps.

 

[308]

My understanding (although I can't remember where I heard this) is that different materials hold heat for different lengths of time...

It is thermal conductivity where different materials transfer heat through convection more efficiently than others. Aluminum transfers the heat faster than steel which is why it is used in heating, cooling systems, heat exchangers etc. An explosion of powder (stored energy) generates heat/btuh/kW which transfers to adjacent materials where it is the absorbed and then re emitted to the atmosphere. My steel /titanium can takes much longer to cool that the aluminum one for this reason.

 

[Stomper]

They make a handy gauge for suppressor heating.

Guns and bacon... Only thing missing for perfection is boobs.

 

[PDXSparky]

If you don't want to fork over the cash for a good cover you can always bring an oven mitt along for tightening and removal after a few mag dumps.

Ove-glove FTW. I have one in my range bag for handling my .22 cans when moving them between hosts. They do get hot shooting them on semi-auto hosts.