22 Nosler Suppression?

[BlackHogDown]

Hey there, guys. First time poster here. Just bought my first AR15 and have been doing whole lot of reading. I didn't realize how much I didn't know regarding the AR15 platform, in general. Admittedly, I know even less about suppression and after browsing the forum, I'm again realizing that I could use some help. so I'm turning to you guys. Thanks for the help in advance and bear with me regarding a few potentially silly questions.

I just recently bought an AR 15 in 22 Nosler. Honestly, I wasn't too familiar with the round but was very pleased about what I had read. I could not find much info on suppressing the 22 Nosler though. The plan would be to shoot suppressed full-time.

1) Would the round require the same caliber can as the 5.56/.223?

2) What are your thoughts on velocity through the sup? I will be using the gun primarily for hog hunting and I'm concerned with sufficient "oomph" down range.

3) Another velocity question: Would I sacrifice too much velocity/energy by putting a short barrel on the rifle AND suppressing? From what I've read, there would be minimal V loss going from an 18" barrel down to an ~11". I would love to have the barrel/suppressor be a total length of 18" or so for getting into/out of the truck.

Is there something that I am overlooking?

Enlighten me. Thanks again for helping this "noob"
-Tim

[John A.]

I don't know a huge lot about the 22 nosler, but it was designed to be the most powerful 22 that would fit into an AR magazine, which to me means it's just a souped up .223 more or less.

1. That would require a .223 rifle can. While it would fit through a 22lr can, they usually aren't built strong enough to fire rifle cartridge pressures through them.

2. Sonic crack like the 223. I would imagine that it would sound similar to a suppressed 223 as well. I have heard that barrel life is only expected to be around 2000 rounds due to the heat/pressure/velocity. (reference: https://www.nosler.com/22-nosler/ )

3. Don't know. Depends a lot on the powder they use.

Some powders burn slower than others, and build up more pressure with longer barrels due to the time the bullet spends in the barrel after being fired and need the longer barrel. Some powders burn fast and in a relatively short amount of space and builds their velocity up in a short amount of time.

Sorry that I can't answer that question, but I don't know enough about it to answer with any degree of certainty. But from the sounds of their description, they're using slow burners that need more room to achieve the kinds of velocity and heat to burn a barrel out in a couple of cases of bullets. But that is just an educated guess on my part.

[BlackHogDown]

Good info, john. Did not think about barrel life. Good looking out.

Anybody have any info on 22 Nosler velocity through a SBR?

[fishman]

If you want a short barrel AND top performance. Consider a 300 blackout or 6.8spc upper for your ar

It's this a hunting rifle? Range toy? Home defense gun?

[BlackHogDown]

If you want a short barrel AND top performance. Consider a 300 blackout or 6.8spc upper for your ar

It's this a hunting rifle? Range toy? Home defense gun?

Pig hunting gun. I figured that down the road, if I want the 6.8, all I'd need is the barrel. Correct? I'll already have 6.8 mags...

[John A.]

I figured that down the road, if I want the 6.8, all I'd need is the barrel. Correct? I'll already have 6.8 mags...

Pretty sure the 22 nosler uses a standard ar15 bolt. And if so, the answer to your question above is: No.

The 6.8spc requires its' on proprietary bolt, magazine and barrel.
------------------------

300 Blackout would just need a barrel. And regular AR15 (556/223) mags.

[Mageever]

1. I recommend getting a 7.62 suppressor for the 22 Nosler. Any good 5.56 can will work, but they're typically very high back-pressure (for better muzzle numbers for marketing purposes). The 7.62 can will still give you good muzzle numbers, but you'll really enjoy shooting the rifle more due to the lower ejection port noise.

2. & 3. were covered well by others.

Regarding pig hunting and the recommendation for a bigger bullet like 300BLK or 6.8SPC, I've been looking into .277 Wolverine because a friend is a bad influence on me. I'm still researching it but I'm really intrigued and have a barrel coming now. This is what I'm seeing on 277 Wolverine:

--More "ballistically balanced" bigger bullet option for the 5.56 case. I've always been a little disappointed that 300BLK wasn't as close to 7.62X39 performance as I was originally lead to believe. The subs are cool, though.

--Energy-wise, it fits between 300BLK and 6.8 SPC in supersonic. Matches 7.62X39 energy from what I've seen and could also be very similar to 22 Nosler if loaded on the upper end. It uses bullets from 85 gr. to 110 gr.

--Like 300BLK, it just needs a barrel change. Bolt and magazines are still 5.56.

--Parent case is 5.56. You can make it as easily as 300BLK and dies from major manufacturers are available.

--You can still load subs, just make sure you have the faster twist barrel. 200 gr. is the heavy bullet I'm seeing discussed.

[TROOPER]

A short-barrel 22 Nosler does not make sense.

The cartridge is fundamentally a 223 magnum.

You might do better with 30 caliber suppressor, and don't shorten the barrel.

A suppressor will bring down the noise level, but an AR and a full-power centerfire cartridge isn't going to be hearing safe at all.

[BinaryAndy]

I'll second everything Trooper said.

Generally speaking, smaller bullets and larger cases are more sensitive to barrel length. So a 45 ACP would have practically the same velocity from a 5" barrel or a 30" barrel, but a 22 Eargesplitten Loudenboomer would be significantly faster from a 30" barrel than from a 28" barrel.

That's why 300 BLK makes a good SBR, it's a big bullet in a small case. 223 loses a great deal of velocity in a short barrel, and your 22 Nosler would lose even more. It will still be faster than 223 from an 11" barrel, but it's definitely not the round to use for an SBR.

The 22 Nosler is basically the same size as 6.8 SPC in the middle, and 223 on both ends: it's necked down to .224 obviously, and it has a rebated rim. So it uses 6.8 SPC mags and a standard 223 bolt. If you want to change your 22 Nosler to 6.8, you'll need a barrel and a bolt. Of course if you just get a whole new upper then you have both, and a 6.8SPC SBR makes some sense.

A 30cal suppressor would work well on 22 Nosler, 6.8SPC, 308, etc., so that's what I'd recommend getting, although most 223 cans would work for the Nosler.

Adding a suppressor to a gun will slightly increase the muzzle velocity, though not nearly as much as adding barrel length.