It’s no secret to many of you that I am a huge fan of suppressors. But for those who aren’t enmeshed in the market they may wonder what makes one suppressor different from another. Why is one superior or inferior? While those are very long discussions, I thought we could have a more focused talk this week about sound suppressors and the Size vs. Volume dilemma.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, think about it like this. Sound suppression works by trapping and muffling the pressure of a propellent heading out the end of a barrel. For the most part, the more space or volume the more suppression capability a suppressor has and therefore the better performance as it applies to sound suppression.
So what in the heck am I talking about? Let me show you one of the compact suppressor models on the market by KAC. This “Can” is amazingly compact and tiny, but therefore it has less volume inside of the suppressor and sounds louder than other options in my arsenal. All considered this is still one of my very favorite suppressors and the one that I run on my daily carry rifle event though it is not the quietest suppressor I have.
Now why would this suppressor lack anything when it happens to be a top of the line product in this market? It’s compact size creates the exact dilemma that sparked this article, there is simply less volume inside of the system.
The next suppressor I’d like to showcase is my AAC MG-30 which is a 30 caliber full-auto belt-fed rated suppressor. When firing a 5.56 through this can it is immediately apparent that the volume debate is valid. This can is quiet as all get-out but, it’s heavy and bulky. I prefer to run this can on something that is on a bi-pod, especially a belt fed weapons like my M249 S SAW.
So you may be wondering if the only factor is the volume? The answer to this question is “Yes” and “No”. The suppression achieved in these cans is limited by the technology of a stacked baffle system. This simply means that there are a stack of baffles within the outer casing of the suppressor which “trap” the pressure as the projectile passes through it. There is a new technology on the market that I think is very promising and it’s coming from a company called OSS.
OSS has developed a passthrough technology that, instead of trapping the gasses behind a baffle, forces it through a helixical vortex cooling the gasses and forcing it out the forward end of the suppressor. What this means is that any back pressure that may be added to a weapon platform when using a traditional baffle stack is virtually eliminated by forcing the previously trapped gasses out of the muzzle instead of back into the action of the firearm. Very cool indeed!
If you would like to purchase a suppressor or book one of our Shooting Experiences please contact us today at Info@CalClub.info. The Prescott Caliber Club has a large selection of suppressors available at PrescottCalClub.Com. Additionally, we can obtain nearly any make or model you may be looking for.
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