Accuracy?

[BlackdogGS]

How does a silencer affect the accuracy of a rifle? In this case a Ruger 10/22 but I might fit it to a 17 Savage also.

[a_canadian]

There are a few factors involved, making this not such a simple question. Given perfectly bore-concentric threading and a good square shoulder to butt up against, a perfectly made suppressor, the correct clearance for the projectile, and a stable projectile going through the baffles, point of impact may be shifted but group sizes may stay the same or even in some cases be slightly improved. A lot of home made suppressors are poorly aligned, either in the threading or the baffles, or both, and as such cause baffle clipping and absolutely horrible accuracy. Then again, some home machinists are able to turn out absolutely accurate work and use tolerances closer than manufacturers dare, resulting in unchanged accuracy and very efficient suppression. So your question depends upon a few variables, primarily having to do with quality work and materials. Buy a very good suppressor and have your barrel threaded properly for it and you should see no problem with accuracy.

[Capt. Link.]

Accuracy is normally improved.By removing the high pressure gases following the projectile it allows it to fly free without disturbance.I always re-crown any barrel I thread and that contributes to the accuracy as well.

[Artful]

No problem with any of my guns - so far
I shoot 1000 yards with my 243 with AAC 30 caliber cyclone on it.
I shoot golf balls with my 22LR bolt gun with can installed at 150 yards.
My 10/22 shoots pretty much the same as it did before I changed to a threaded barrel and can,
Not up to the accuracy of my bolt gun but pop cans in danger at 100

[Tony M.]

There's theory, which says that suppressors will have an impact, likely negative due to increased tolerance stacking etc..

Then there's practice, which generally shows that the true mechanical accuracy rarely changes (point of impact likely will) but because the guns are more pleasant to shoot, balance differently etc. many people find that they shoot more accurately with the suppressors installed.

[BlackdogGS]

Ok, thanks. I'm thinking of the Sparrow for my 10-22. I'm in the process of sourcing a lawyer to make my gun trust. There are so many popping up on a google search it's confusing. Have any of you used an on line lawyer with good results? I'm still searching here as well.

[MJF1911]

On my 10/22 I didn't notice anything with my AAC Pilot, but I know I picked up a few tenths with the Spectre II on. I'd say my other suppressed rifles stayed about the same.

[Brittsc]

Blackdog what state are you in? Never mind, I just got to your other post.

[curtistactical]

There is actually a lot involved in this, I can shift bullet impact on the MKIII's and 10/22's with the integrals I build by changing the orientation of the mouse holes. I have several hundred hours testing this with different size mouse holes and different orientation. When I came to my final design it ended up being the quietest configuration that gave me zero point of impact shift, I use the same configuration in my rimfire and 5.7 direct thread suppressors. So not to ramble on, yes a suppressor can have a pretty dramatic effect on point of impact and accuracy to a lesser degree, I have even got the turbulence bad enough to cause the bullet to key hole at 15yds. out of the MKIII integral during testing. One thing I found that is cool is the faster the bullet velocity the less of an effect all of this has on the bullet.

[jehu]

There's theory, which says that suppressors will have an impact, likely negative due to increased tolerance stacking etc..

Then there's practice, which generally shows that the true mechanical accuracy rarely changes (point of impact likely will) but because the guns are more pleasant to shoot, balance differently etc. many people find that they shoot more accurately with the suppressors installed.

THIS

[Fulmen]

By removing the high pressure gases following the projectile

If anything, the can should increase this effect. With an open muzzle the pressure can dissipate freely in all directions, contained in a silencer it has no way to go but forward (albeit at reduced pressures). This is why one can see a slight increase in muzzle velocity with a silencer, usually completely insignificant but it's nevertheless a real phenomena.

My recommendation is to avoid extreme tolerances in combination with asymmetrical baffles, especially with long bullets and small expansion chambers. Other than that cans seems to have little detrimental effect on accuracy, if anything it seems to improve it at the cost of change in impact (short and stiff barrels being least affected).

Other than that I can only give Tony M a +1

[doubloon]

... contained in a silencer it has no way to go but forward ...

Forward, sideways, around ...

Not at all a machinist, never built a silencer, only watched a few videos of them and read a bunch of stuff ...

Misshapen crowns can nudge a bullet off course ... a little dent in a crown that doesn't even touch a land or a groove or the bullet can change the flight of a bullet as it leaves the muzzle by changing the pressure at odd points around the base.

In my mind this is what happens a half dozen times or more inside a suppressor depending on the tolerance of the aperture in each baffle. I could easily be wrong.