All Your Suppressor Questions, Answered

To help answer these questions and more, I reached out to Lukas VanLaecken, the director of engineering and manufacturing for Silencer Central. Silencer Central sells suppressors from many manufacturers, but they also make their own, and Lukas oversees the engineering and R&D work for their new and existing products. I can’t think of a better person to answer some of the most frequently asked suppressor questions, and I was excited to sit down with him for a wide-ranging interview.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Before we get to some FAQs, what are some terms we should know when we’re talking about suppressors?

The side that attaches to the firearm is called the breach end, so you might hear the term breach cap or breach mount. That’s the part that installs onto the firearm. The part at the end of the suppressor where the projectile exits is called the muzzle end, just like the muzzle of the gun. Those can get confusing because people think the muzzle end of the suppressor should attach to the muzzle of the gun, when it’s actually the opposite.

Other than that, you’ve got a main tube on most suppressors. That’s just the outer tube portion. And then the baffle system within the suppressor. There are different designs and types of baffles, but they’re all doing the same thing: suppressing sound.

What does it mean for a suppressor to be “user-serviceable”?

Anything you can take apart, we call user-serviceable–if you can remove the baffles, remove the end cap, muzzle cap, things like that. The ones that are not user-serviceable are called just that, though you might also hear terms like fully welded or 3D-printed.

Why are some serviceable and others aren’t?

When you’re looking at .22 Long Rifle suppressors and any pistol caliber, the preference across the board would be to be serviceable because of how dirty those rounds are, how much buildup you get. You want to make sure you can clean out all that carbon and maintain the correct weight of the suppressor.

But as soon as you get outside of .22 LR and pistols, really any high-powered rifle suppressors, you’ll see both user serviceable and non-user serviceable. I’d say the industry is trending more towards non-serviceable because most of the carbon is going to get blown out as you’re shooting over time. You’ll still get carbon buildup if you’re shooting thousands of rounds, but as long as you clean it in regular intervals, you shouldn’t build up too much weight.

The other advantage of serviceable suppressors is if you do have a baffle strike or endcap strike, it’s a lot easier and cost effective to replace those damaged parts rather than replacing a whole section of the suppressor that’s welded together. You can just replace one baffle or one end cap that’s damaged.

What causes a baffle strike?

The main cause is from suppressors shooting loose. With the majority of direct-thread and even some quick-detach mounts, the different metals in the suppressor and the barrel expand at different rates as they get hot. The suppressor starts to loosen up and not be aligned properly, and then you’ll get grazing or strikes throughout the suppressor, which is usually more common with longer suppressors than shorter ones.

Other specialty cases might be if you’re running certain ammo. On some subsonics, you get tumbling that can potentially cause a baffle strike, but that’s not as common.

How does a suppressor impact the velocity of the bullet?

It actually speeds it up a little bit. It’s 10 or 15 feet per second, which isn’t drastic, but it’s almost acting like an extension of the barrel.

What about point-of-impact shift?

Since you’re adding weight to the barrel, you’re going to usually see a point of impact shift from suppressed to unsuppressed. Just make sure you sight it in with the suppressor on because there could be a few inches of movement one way or the other. But once it’s sighted in, you’re good to go.

Do suppressors reduce recoil?

Yes. It adds weight on the end of the gun, and it also acts as a brake. It’s pulling that gun forward as that air is hitting those baffles. So, it’s reducing the recoil. Some suppressors, like the MeatEater Banish, also can mount an anchor brake to the end of the suppressor to further reduce recoil.

Do suppressors impact accuracy?

Not usually. Once you’ve got the scope dialed in to account for the point of impact shift, your accuracy should be just as good as it is unsuppressed. Depending on the gun build, some users can see barrel harmonic issues, which can impact the accuracy. It’s pretty uncommon, but we come across it every once in a while, especially with bigger, heavier suppressors.

What is “first round pop” and why is it louder in some suppressors?

Before the baffles, you’ve got the blast chamber. This is the section of the suppressor before the bullet gets to the first baffle. The size of that blast chamber plays a big role in “first round pop.” On the first shot, the suppressor is full of cool oxygen, and the unburnt powder is coming out and exploding in that blast chamber. That’s why the first round will be a little bit louder. But a larger blast chamber is going to help with sound suppression just because you have more volume there.

Why are some suppressors quieter than others?

Length and diameter are big factors. The more volume you have, the quieter it’s going to be, generally speaking. So, if you took the same baffle system from a smaller suppressor versus a bigger suppressor, you’re going to get better suppression from the bigger one.

It also depends on how the baffles are designed to cause cross-jetting. As the bullets pass through the bore of the suppressor, you want to get as much cross-jetting or turbulent flow going sideways. The more turbulence that you can induce into that air, the longer it will stay in the suppressor. So, if you can get that air or that pressure wave to dwell in the suppressor longer, then it’s going to be quieter by the time it exits because it’s just taking that much more energy out of it.

What are some suppressors designed for pistols and others for rifles?

If you look at a pistol suppressor versus a high-power rifle suppressor, you’ll see different styles of baffle design. That’s mainly due to the velocity of the round that’s going through it and how the geometry of the baffle allows the pressure wave to flow through the suppressor. If we compare a pistol suppressor to a rifle suppressor, a lot of common baffle designs on a rifle suppressor are going to be a tall, steep cone shape. On the other hand, pistol suppressors will have shorter and flatter cone-shaped baffles. And that’s just due to how they’re handling the pressure of the rounds.

What are “flow-through” suppressors?

A lot of the newer suppressors designed for semi-automatic guns use different flow paths or bypassing paths that allow some of that pressure to bypass some of the baffles, which doesn’t create as much back pressure into the gun.

Are those going to be louder?

Typically, they are just because you’re not suppressing the full blast. You’re allowing, say, 10 or 20 percent to bypass and flow through. So, generally, they’re a little bit louder. But on gas guns, it makes it a lot more enjoyable to shoot because you don’t have all that blowback coming back through the action.

What about caliber-specific suppressors? If you shoot a 5.56 NATO in a .30-caliber suppressor, is it as quiet as using a suppressor designed for 5.56?

Typically, no. A suppressor with a 5.56mm bore is going to be a little bit quieter on that 5.56 NATO compared to a .30-caliber suppressor because the opening on the bore is a lot closer to the bullet size. So, the larger the bore on the suppressor is allowing more air to flow straight through without being stopped by the baffles.

What makes a suppressor “full-auto rated”?

It’s based on durability testing. If you’re shooting full-auto, your suppressor is going to get over a thousand degrees. So, that dictates what materials it can be made out of. Most full-auto suppressors are either stainless steel or Inconel due to the temperatures they have to withstand.

But it really depends on what the manufacturer considers “full auto.” You can run five rounds full auto, or you can run 300 rounds full auto. The question is whether the suppressor can hold up to full-auto firing, whatever that schedule is, and not sustain any damage, no baffle erosion, things like that.

For example, the SOCOM firing schedule is a full-auto firing schedule that’s posted by US SOCOM. It’s basically eight 30-round magazines in succession for a total of 240 rounds. The suppressor is then allowed to cool, and then that cycle is repeated another eight times. A lot of companies say their suppressor is SOCOM rated. But others will have a more limited full-auto rating, like 90 rounds before you have to allow the suppressor to cool.

What kinds of materials are used to build suppressors?

Aircraft-grade aluminum is typically used on .22-caliber cans and some pistol cans. It’s not as strong a material, but it’s very light, so as long as you’re shooting low-pressure loads through it, it’ll hold up just fine.

Then you’ve got titanium, which is very light and can be used with high-pressure cartridges, but doesn’t work as well in the full-auto space because it can’t handle those very high temperatures above about 800 degrees.

Past that, you’ve got 174 stainless steel, which is about twice as heavy or twice as dense as titanium but a lot more durable at high temperatures. It’s lower-cost, too. Stainless steel is very common in a lot of your full-auto stuff, but the trade-off is obviously weight.

One of the newest materials being used is Inconel, which is a nickel alloy similar to stainless steel. It’s about the same weight, but it sustains its properties at very high temperatures. Stainless steel will sustain itself to a high temperature but then it drops off quickly whereas Inconel sustains its properties at that high temperature for a longer period.

Should hunters worry about running a titanium suppressor too hot on a bolt-action rifle?

Typically, on a bolt action, you wouldn’t be able to heat it up too much. We’ve run 40 to 50 rounds as fast as you can load a bolt-action, and the suppressor didn’t hit damaging temperatures. It’s hot, you can’t touch it, but it hasn’t reached a temperature that’s going to start degrading the metal. So, that’s not really a concern if you’re just running bolt action. It’s really just when you get over to ARs.

Why are some suppressors rated for barrels of a certain length?

It depends on the pressure of the loads that you’re shooting and the pressure that’s being exerted on the suppressor. If you’re shooting a 300 Win. Mag. on a 24-inch barrel, it’s going to have a lot less pressure on the suppressor than if you’re shooting it on an 18-inch barrel. It really just depends on the construction of the suppressor, the durability of it, if it can handle those higher pressures on the short barrels.

But SAMMI [the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute] actually just published their recommendations, which follow what we’ve done internally. They say that whatever barrel length you recommend, the suppressor should be able to withstand pressure from a barrel 40% shorter. If there’s no damage on the suppressor, it can be rated for that barrel length.

Do suppressors make rifles hearing safe?

The industry standard says 140 decibels is considered hearing safe, but that’s really one round over an eight- or twelve-hour period, which isn’t realistic when you’re shooting at the range. The goal in the suppressor industry is to have them be hearing safe, which means under 140 decibels, but every two decibels is twice the sound difference. So, even going from 140 down to 138, you’re cutting that sound in half. The further you can get below 140, the longer you can shoot without any damage. I don’t know the exact number, but anything that’s in the low 130s or below is likely fairly safe to sustain for a longer period.

To see how different suppressors perform with various cartridges and barrel lengths, VanLaecken recommends checking out the data published by ThunderBeast Arms, here.

Where do you see the industry going in the next 10 to 15 years?

Right now, there’s a lot of push on the gas gun side of suppressors to try to reduce blowback and make shooting a lot more enjoyable. There’s also a move towards additive manufacturing, 3D printing. I could see that continuing to grow over the next five years and taking over some of the traditional manufacturing. You can do so much more with 3D printing within the baffle systems. You don’t have to have just a simple, cone baffle. You can do a lot of intricate channels and things like that that change how it suppresses.

What’s your advice to a hunter looking to purchase their first suppressor?

Thirty caliber is the way to go. That way, you can run it on anything from your 6.5mm all the way up to your 300 Win. Mag., 300 RUM, whatever. It’s a good one-size-fits-all.

If you’re a guy who’s deer hunting out of a blind and you only walk in a quarter-mile, maybe weight isn’t a big thing, but length is, because you want to be able to move around in your blind. If you’re more of a backcountry style hunter and you’re hiking in a few miles, then length and weight might be the biggest thing you’re concerned with.

In terms of sound suppression, a bigger cartridge is obviously going to be louder than a smaller one. If you’re shooting a .300 Win. Mag., you might need to go with something a bit bigger and heavier to get the suppression you want. But if you’re shooting a 6.5mm or a .243, it’s already going to be quite a bit quieter, and the suppressor can be smaller and lighter.

Much more could be said on each of the topics above, but I hope the info was helpful whether you’re looking to purchase your first can or can suppress every rifle in your arsenal. I know I learned a lot, and big thanks to Lukas for taking the time to talk to us.