Aluminum 5.56 Suppressor

[psdan000]

Hey everyone, new to the board here. I just picked up my first suppressor. I kind of purchased on a whim. The guy making them is local, I will keep his company name unmentioned for now. It's a 5.56 suppressor and the whole thing is aluminum. I didnt think much of it until doing some reading after I got it. For what its worth, I've put about 100 rounds of 5.56 through it with no issues and it works great. I have been running it on an AR and it's gotten pretty hot. My concerns I guess are what should I limit this suppressor to? Is there such a thing of an aluminum suppressor holding up on a .223/5.56? He claims that their test suppressors have thousands of rounds through them with no issues. He also warranties them for "life". I just dont want the thing blowing up in my face.

[glocker17]

I wouldn't beat on it too much. Heat is the enemy, and aluminum won't handle as much as some of the preferred alloys. That said, it would probably be OK but I don't see how the service life would be as long, especially on a semi auto cranking out lots of rounds.

[JeffWard]

Low volume use, like hunting (where the weight is an advantage) aluminum is fine. But if you're taking a training class, or shooting multiple stages in a high-volume match, or wading into a fire-fight in Durkadurkastan... Aluminum could have issue with the heat.

JW

[tmc4065]

As far as strength is concerned (from low-volume, semi, shooting), if you haven't blown it up already you should be fine with the same firing schedule.

I've blown up an aluminum monocore before that a guy made and it was on the 3rd or 4th shot.

But like everyone has mentioned so far: heat build-up will kill it quickly.

[colimr]

All in All a Mfg not wanting to be named... just picked on a whim? no stamp? and because you can doesn't mean you should be using an aluminum suppressor on a 5.56 .Here in the US with the strict licensing cost it seems silly to spend $200 on a stamp pluse materials to build a suppressor that may or may not self destruct considering the cost to repair or replace plus restamping fee unless your avioding the law by not registering it then you can do as you wish and replace it at will but your really foolish posting it on a web site considering the legal cost in time and money... unless it's legal where you live this just my opinion please dont get pissed at me

[psdan000]

I guess on a whim wouldn't be entirely correct. This is a local shop that i frequent. He's been making suppressors for a few years now. Everything is legit, he did the form 4 there and sent in my tax stamp and all that good stuff. Came back about 4 months later. I didn't think much of it., we just stopped at his shop one day and started bs'ing about suppressors, he showed me how he made them and even let me try one out. I was sold then and there and hadn't done any research before hand. The price of the suppressor was $450 which seemed reasonable from what I've seen elsewhere. I've shot some more through it, just been taking it easy on it and it seems to be doing fine. Thanks all for the input. My next purchase will involve some more research.

[yondering]

I'd say just avoid rapid fire, expect some amount of baffle erosion, but otherwise don't worry about it, just enjoy your suppressor. Sure, you could have got a better suppressor for more money, but if it sounds decent, you didn't get hosed either.

[Fulmen]

Pretty much. I like aluminum for the weight and suppression (no "ping"), but it wouldn't be my first choice for a ammo-guzzling semi. With slow fire and frequent cool-down it should work fine, but shoot fast enough and you'll even blow up steel cans. A friend of mine has killed 2 or 3 B&T's that way

[L1A1Rocker]

As I recall from the research I did before starting on my 300 blk project, aluminum gets weaker as it is heated. The big problem is that this weakening is cumulative. It's not a matter of IF it will fail, but when.

[Fulmen]

All metals weaken if heated (ignoring oddball cases like steelite), it's just a matter of how much. Aluminum is bad compared to steel, but there are a significant number of commercial cans that prove it can be done safely. You yanks live in this strange delusion that you're the only one that knows how to make silencers and that they must be made from materials designed to survive inside a nuclear reactor. I can pop down to the shop and buy a dozen center-fire cans in anything from aluminum to titanium, steel or carbon fiber, starting price is appr. 200 bucks. All work flawless within their design criteria.

As for permanent changes it depends on the temperature range and the alloy. Assuming a 6000-series alloy it starts to anneal at somewhere above 300°C, but there is of course a limit to how much (it doesn't change into butter if held long enough). There is also an aging process that works from room temperature up to it's annealing point, this should restore some of the hardness (T2 would be my guess).

Now will an aluminum can last forever? No, but with a slow rate of fire it will take many times it's cost in ammo to wear one out. However if you're prone to high capacity semis and mag dumps aluminum would be a poor choice. If the mfg knows his stuff he'll provide some guidelines to it's intended use.

[Abiqua]

You yanks live in this strange delusion that you're the only one that knows how to make silencers and that they must be made from materials designed to survive inside a nuclear reactor. I can pop down to the shop and buy a dozen center-fire cans in anything from aluminum to titanium, steel or carbon fiber, starting price is appr. 200 bucks.

No, it's because we can't as easily buy them and there's no real resale in the US that we build them to last a lifetime. Because for us it is a lifetime purchase.

[Fulmen]

That's fine, with a 200bucks tax and all the hassle I can understand those that choose like that. But that's not what L1A1 is saying, he's from the "anything but tempered neutronium is doomed to fail"-school, and that can get a bit tiresome in the long run
Now I don't consider aluminum the right choice for a can meant for plinking with a semi, but on a hunting rifle it can make sense. A heavy can can screw up the balance completely, and if you're doing a lot of walking that extra weight can quickly become more than a minor nuisance.

[L1A1Rocker]

what L1A1 is saying, he's from the "anything but tempered neutronium is doomed to fail"-school,

I did not say that. Just why do you want to start some kind of pissing match?

[Fulmen]

Relax, there was a smiley in there for a reason. We're all friends here, aren't we?

When you say "It's not a matter of IF it will fail, but when" it's easy to interpret it as "blowing up", and that's quite misleading. Sure, if you do mag-dums you're risking a range rocket. And it will erode over time, so unless it's a serviceable can it will sooner or later become useless. But it's not a project that is doomed to fail as long as you know what you're doing.

Besides, when did a 200$ tax become an unsurmountable obstacle? You don't expect a gun or barrel to last forever, so what if you wear out a can eventually? Isn't that just an excuse for getting another toy?