First suppressor... which host?

[os2firefox]

So, I have been looking into suppressors lately and was wondering which of these would be a good host for a newbie:

Springfield xdm 3.8/5.25" barrel 9mm
Piston ar 11.5/16" barrel 5.556
Vepr/ak with 16/20" barrel .308

What I am looking at is:
Not being ammo picky
How often it needs to be cleaned
How often parts need to be replaced
Reliability
Sound suppression

[Conqueror]

There are a lot of issues with suppressing AKs, not the least of which is that they are still loud due to the piston venting.

XDs and ARs both make excellent suppressor hosts. 9mm will sound a lot better than 5.56 through a silencer. But they would both make fine hosts. You just need to decide if you want a truly quiet pistol or a "quieter" rifle.

[os2firefox]

I have been reading around the forums and it seems that .308 will have issues with certain twist rates, supersonic, and light rounds possibly striking the baffles. Are there similar issues with 5.56? Not seeing the same issue reported with 9mm...

[Artful]

.308's come usually either 1:12 twist or 1:10 twist (faster) - the slower you want to shoot a bullet the more the twist rate comes into play as it's what provides the stability - the faster twist will stabilize a longer bullet at the same velocity over the slower twist. You will find the stability is linked to the length of the bullet - the longer it is the more rpm's needed at a slower speed. NOTE: it's not the weight per se but length, you can have a flat base round nose 200 grain that is stable but change nothing about the load to a boat tail sharply pointed 200 grain bullet and it will go unstable due to change in length of projectile.

Do some searching on this board or thru google and you'll find that 308's are used with much success for subsonic loading.

Most 5.56 or .223 rifles come now with faster twist barrels 1:7, 1:8, 1:9 so can handle longer bullets better. But anytime you shoot a combination without testing the stability first you have a danger of damaging your suppressor - So when trying new ammunition take the suppressor off and shoot thru some paper/cardboard targets to make sure that at close range (5-10 yards) and longer ranges the holes in the targets are nice and round before putting you suppressor on the rifle.

Remember most rifle's are designed for shooting super sonic ammo - which will always be noisier than subsonic pistol ammo. You can think of a well suppressed 223 as sounding like an unsuppressed 22LR shooting HV ammo - but you can think of a 308 normal rifle round that's well suppressed as sounding like several 22LR going off at once - much noisier - my suggestion is to do the pistol in 9mm.

9mm subsonic ammo is much easier to find - look for any 145grain or heavier bullet load.
A good cleanable 9mm suppressor can be used on 22LR as well as your pistol.

If you want truly quiet 22LR is the way to go.

[os2firefox]

Thanks for the info.

While I see the point in the .22lr, I don't generally shoot that round, so I don't plan on investing in it.

So, I guess that takes out the VEPRs as an easy first time host... The .223 ARs would still need hearing protection to be safe, which leaves the 9mm as the simplest ear-safe option.

[Artful]

as most 9mm hosts are threaded the same as 22LR (1/2x28) in America you still have the option open
check these out for sub-caliber in a suppressor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrintWN43jc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz5qYxiX404
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0cMuEpVOuQ

[Joshua@CapitolArmory]

The XDM or AR would be my top two choices. It just depends on which you would rather quiet down. (Between the two, I would go with the AR, and that's complete personal preference)

That being said, you could also look into a 762 can... still run 5.56 through it (and possibly more quiet) if you don't mind the extra weight... if you do decide to venture down the scary road of a suppressed AK, you could do it. (Or always put it on a .308 bolt gun at some point)

[scrogrw]

I have a Mystic old style not the new X version. I am thinking of getting it upgraded to the X but needless to say it would work for all three of the hosts you show. The AK and the AR would require 16" barrels and slower rates of fire but they are nice.
I also shoot my Mystic on an XD and one thing to be careful about is the barrel shoulder correctly shouldering against the booster piston. I had an issue and sent my barrel to Liberty where they corrected the shoulder and sent it back all for free.
Liberty is hard to beat.

[aries14482]

I find myself shooting with a suppressed Ruger 22/45 pistol more often than anything else simply because it is quiet enough to shoot without drawing attention, which makes me feel more comfortable taking it with me for plinking while camping. Suppressed .22LR is like a pellet/BB gun, suppressed 9mm is louder, almost exactly like shooting a paintball gun. Suppressed rifles sound like an unsupressed .22LR, but with louder bullet travel noise.

For no particular reason, my favorite can to shoot with is my Ranger 2 on an AR15. After shooting in competition for almost ten years and being used to the "bark" of a rifle, there's just something neat about hearing a crisp "snap-hiss" instead. Bolt action rifles can be hearing safe from the shooter's position, even with super sonic ammunition, assuming the shooter isn't near a wall or under a roof that would reflect the bullet flight noise back at him.

A 9mm can with stainless steel baffles that can use convenient lead removal methods (ultra sonic, vinegar/peroxide mixture) might be a choice to consider. It would allow use with 9mm, .22LR, subsonic 300 blackout, and subsonic .308. It might be a little heavy for use on a .22LR pistol, but I haven't got any first hand experience there.