I have been busy filing form 1 applications this year. So far I have about 10 filed and a handful back. I made a large can for my 22lr from an old maglite I had laying around. Next up is a can for my 22-250. If anything needs it, it that. Anyone else messing with cans? Here is my 22lr can.
It’s going. I got some more stamps back, including one short barreled rifle. I have been gathering supplies for my 22-250 suppressor. I am determined to make it from mostly aluminum. Stainless blast baffle and a few after it, but the rest will be aluminum. I have been crunching numbers like crazy and aluminum wins every time unless you have a metal 3d printer. The tensile forces in the tube can be easily managed with a larger blast chamber and aluminum soaks up twice the heat for the same temp rise as stainless or titanium so it will stay cooler.
Are you able to articulate why I 'can' fire a .38spl through a 9mm silencer but not .357 magnum? This has been a bit of a menace for me. Is it all to do with the blast chambers, or does volume of gasses come into play? Bit o both? Been trying to convince my boss to let one of his fancy cabinet machines start cranking this stuff out. He doesn't feel he has time to fart with. I feel it's a huge 'waste' of 5 axis equipment to be making machine parts instead of gun parts.
Most likely has to do with pressure but I am a novice & haven’t stayed at a Holiday Inn Express lately either. 100% agree with the 5 axis machine being wasted on machine parts.
Some 9mm cans are rated for 357. Have you talked with the mfr? 9mm usually has a baffle stack with little or no blast chamber, so there isn’t any room for gas to expand and reduce pressure before it hits the baffles. 357 has a lot more gas which means more muzzle pressure. The bullets are essentially the same size, so that doesn’t matter. The mfgr will let you know if tge baffles can stand up to it. If the 357 was a rifle, I’d say go for it. Otherwise ask before trying.
Here is my rough sketch for my 22-250 can. Total weight is estimated to be 14 oz. I could probably get it down to 10 oz, but that would require progressive testing. It’s the stainless that adds the weight. I would love to use titanium in place of the stainless because that would give me my goal of 10 oz. Titanium is spendy stuff. It is 1.77”x8” The large blast chamber drops pressures down below 1,500 psi.
They don't rate it for 357. The model they produced after the one I have is rated for it. Can are almost identical in dimensions. Here is the stack in the one I have... And here is the newer 357 rated unit's internals...
I called AAC and asked specifically about this issue and they said the older models use only aluminum. The new ones are upgraded to hard metals to handle the extra heat and pressure. He said it might handle it, or it might not. No guarantee at all. That’s why they changed it. They also stopped doing upgrades on already purchased cans
Sometimes the 'ratings' seem very arbitrary. I guess that's the whole root. If they are unsure then they don't have an exact formula for calculating? They also stopped making parts for them. I've been trying to hunt down a 1/2-28 piston with little luck. It would just be a spare/backup as I have spare springs, o-rings and fixed spacer for it. The HD model goes to a 45 sized piston with thread for 9mm and is not backwards comptible. I think I may find that other manufacturers have copied their pistons and can go that route but I have not been able to nail down with certainty which ones fit exactly as there are variations. Also...there's a few of them for sale on GoinBroker used with either a 13mil piston or no piston at all. The ones without pistons are going fairly cheap. No sin tax means used surppressors are fair game to me now.
How is the sound suppression on your 22 can ? Did adding the can change your point of aim ? Looking forward to hearing how the 22-250 can works out.
It works great. It meters at 114-118 db, which is in line with the better commercial cans. I have seen readings as low as 110 db, but not very often. I have been testing on the deck, so lots of hard surfaces around. It sounds much quieter out in the yard. It sounds like a twig breaking. That is exactly how 5 people have described it. “Sounds like a twig breaking” I can’t say there was any poi shift with my can. There was a tiny adjustment when confirming zero, but that could have been from cutting a new crown, reinstalling the barrel, or the previous zero was not quite perfect. I am pretty sure the previous zero was the culprit for any shift. I had missed a couple of rats before threading, so my zero may have been off a bit. The groups are VERY tight and consistent. No gripes here. I did the calculations for the weight of my 22-250 can and it should be around 13-14 oz. I am really looking forward to getting it done. It should be pretty good at cutting the sound.
isaaccarlson So do you need to go through the application process to build your own suppressor? If not then it sure would be a big win!
I finally picked up the material for my 22-250 suppressor. Almost 10 lbs of material to make a 14 oz suppressor. And it was “only” $30. Metal prices are through the roof. They originally wanted $60! I picked up aluminum tube for the shell, a piece of stainless for the blast baffle and first 2-3 regular baffles, and some aluminum round bar for the rest of the baffles and end caps. I put the (304) stainless in the lathe to see how it cuts and it seemed to do ok. It is supposed to be stormy tomorrow and Monday so I have a good excuse to work in the basement.
I loathed working with 304 , 303 was not to bad & 416 was decent stuff. What type of aluminum are you using ? How is the heat transfer from stainless to aluminum ?
I’m a bit nervous about the 304, but we will see how it goes. I have carbide and hss. I took some light cuts with both and they both did fine. Digging the cones out will be the real test. If it doesn’t want to cooperate, I will use it for only the blast baffle and use aluminum for the rest. I am using 6061 aluminum. It is in stock locally and is plenty strong. I am allowing a safety factor of at least 2 by keeping tensile forces under 20k psi. Aluminum soaks up twice the btu for the same temp rise as steel/stainless, so I should be fine in the heat dept. Heat transfer is not great. Stainless likes to soak up heat and hold it. Aluminum will soak it up and let it go pretty fast. The same reason they use it for radiators. The shell is aluminum and it is a hunting can, so the heat shouldn’t get too bad. I shot my neighbor’s 22-250 with a nomad 30 on it and was absolutely shocked. It was dead quiet except for the crack down range. NO pressure on the ears at all. None. My suppressed 22lr with supers is louder than the 22-250 with that can. I told him I want to buy it. Having one commercial can might be a good thing if I want to do more shooting in a short time. It got pretty warm with just 2 shots, to where I didn’t want to hold onto it, but it cooled quickly and I was able to remove it by the time we got to the house. The design of the nomad really pulls energy out of the gas and puts it into the shell for rapid cooling. It WORKS. I could shoot that can all day with no ears and not feel a thing. It really is that good. I got an x-ray image of the can just to see what made it “tick”. Look closely and you will see what I mean about working the gas and putting it against the shell. It’s a great design. I expected it to be louder because it is a 30 cal can, but it was absolutely amazing. I have shot 300blk with a can and it hurt my ears. That’s why I was nervous.
My TBAC got pretty darn warm after 4 shots but I am not too concerned since the sound suppression was phenomenal. The 300 Blackout probably had a shorter barrel than the 22-250. All the stainless I worked with was in a knee mill & verticle machining center. We always used carbide on stainless but could use HHS on aluminum. Looking forward to seeing how your project comes out.
