Has anyone tested various bullet types with suppressors?

[Dolomite_Supafly]

Here is my Form 1 silencer I made a few years ago. The 13 cone baffles are lined up as they are stacked inside the inner tube. The inner tube houses the baffles and is what the two end caps screw into. One end cap has holes drilled in it, this is so gasses may enter the space between the inner tube and the outer tube. The space acts like a large blast chamber and I believe it minimizes back pressure and gas in the face. The titanium outer tube is at the bottom and is sandwiched between the two end caps, sealing up the silencer.

I welcome any and all questions.


It was used on a 8.5" AR, 16" Thompson Center Encore and some, less than 200, were shot through a Savage bolt gun with a 16" barrel. The powder for the AR was IMR 4227 100% of the time and for the single shots it was either a fast pistol powder or Trail Boss. I have also used this silencer on a 10.5" AR in 5.56 as well as numerous bolt guns in 5.56/223 but less than 100 rounds total on those guns. If I had to guess I would say it has over 2,500 rounds fired through it by now. Almost exclusively lead bullets cast by me then coated with Powder Buy The Pounds powder coating powder. I know it has less than 100 rounds using jacketed. I will say that when I heated the silencer to help with disassembly some molten lead was seen but not much.

I call this my "Slingshot silencer" because it is as quiet as my slingshot. On my 16" Encore shooting HEAVY bullets at subsonic velocities with fast pistol powders you can hear the hammer fall and a "tink" from the gas hitting the titanium outer tube. If I wrap the silencer in canvas there is no more "tink" and you can hear the bullet flying through the air, unless you are using SMKs. Using a 90 grain XTP with a lightweight charge of Trail Boss it becomes magical. It is so quiet that all you hear is the hammer fall.

When at the range I wait for a lull then I launch one of the super quiet rounds at a steel target. Because it is so quiet, and because everyone is wearing ear muffs, all they hear is the steel target ring. All the other shooters start looking around with a confused look on their faces as they try to figure out why a steel target rang without anyone shooting. And anytime I let someone shoot it they think it misfired because it is so quiet.

These are some pictures taken before I started cleaning it today.

This is the end cap with the holes in it.


The deposits at the end cap with the holes in it.


And the cones. The bigger the number the closest to the blast chamber. 10 and 7 seem to be the dirtiest.


One of the end caps. It has dimples because I was told it would change the tone.


And here are the pictures after cleaning.

You can still see some of the build up inside the blast chamber.


Clean baffles.


Clean end cap.

[Dolomite_Supafly]

The melting point of powder coating or whatever "hi tech" coating is can't be higher than the melting point of lead. No?

No but the bullet acts like a heat sink to keep the coating below its melting point. The heat and pressure are only applied for a split second.

Some powders definitely burn hotter than others and could contribute to the coating's failure as well.

[Freedom1973]

How easily can you open it up? What materials did you use for the baffles and core?

[Dolomite_Supafly]

How easily can you open it up? What materials did you use for the baffles and core?

It is super easy to open up because the threads are covered. The baffles come out pretty easy as well but I do have to tap them out with a mallet and punch.

The outer tube is .035” titanium. The end caps, including the blast chamber, and baffles are made using 17-4 stainless. The center tube is made out of 303 or 304 stainless.

[Freedom1973]

How easily can you open it up? What materials did you use for the baffles and core?

It is super easy to open up because the threads are covered. The baffles come out pretty easy as well but I do have to tap them out with a mallet and punch.

The outer tube is .035” titanium. The end caps, including the blast chamber, and baffles are made using 17-4 stainless. The center tube is made out of 303 or 304 stainless.

Thanks for getting back to me. I wish I had the machinery to build something like this. I really like the design and ease of service. I have a bunch of projects going at the moment with limited free time. BTW really liking the DS specials.

[Dolomite_Supafly]

How easily can you open it up? What materials did you use for the baffles and core?

It is super easy to open up because the threads are covered. The baffles come out pretty easy as well but I do have to tap them out with a mallet and punch.

The outer tube is .035” titanium. The end caps, including the blast chamber, and baffles are made using 17-4 stainless. The center tube is made out of 303 or 304 stainless.

Thanks for getting back to me. I wish I had the machinery to build something like this. I really like the design and ease of service. I have a bunch of projects going at the moment with limited free time. BTW really liking the DS specials.

Thanks for the compliment. We are getting ready to start producing them again. There was a hiccup and we are finally getting around to solving it.

[Freedom1973]

It is super easy to open up because the threads are covered. The baffles come out pretty easy as well but I do have to tap them out with a mallet and punch.

The outer tube is .035” titanium. The end caps, including the blast chamber, and baffles are made using 17-4 stainless. The center tube is made out of 303 or 304 stainless.

Thanks for getting back to me. I wish I had the machinery to build something like this. I really like the design and ease of service. I have a bunch of projects going at the moment with limited free time. BTW really liking the DS specials.

Thanks for the compliment. We are getting ready to start producing them again. There was a hiccup and we are finally getting around to solving it.

Glad to hear it. I have multiple projects going right now so I haven't been able to focus much on that one. Hopefully this coming weekend.