Velocity gain from a supressor?

September 09, 2018, 12:47 AM

Hey all-

I am curious to know if any of y'all have chronographed your loads suppressed and unsuppressed.

I have a 7.5" 5.56 upper and a SiCo Omega 30 cal supressor.
What kind of velocity gains should I see with the supressor attached?

The question came to mind because I know how anemic the 5.56 becomes when shot out of really short barrels. I wonder if I gain much pop for SD use if the supressor is attached when firing supersonic rounds.

What sayeth the congregation?

Bruce

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September 09, 2018, 10:44 AM

sigfreund

The only testing I’ve done using a 5.56 SBR with and without a suppressor was with Lake City M193 from a 11.5 inch barrel. Without the suppressor the average velocity was 2752 fps; with it was 2786 fps. That 30+ fps increase is far less than the loss of velocity by going to the 11.5" from 16 inches (3039 fps).

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September 09, 2018, 12:15 PM

fritz

In practical terms for rifle muzzle velocity, think of a suppressor as adding 1/2" to 1" in barrel length -- a lot depends on the can, rifle, and ammo.

For precision rifles this means point of impact will shift a little higher at really long targets. Of course the weight of the can might shift a 100 yard zero down slightly.

For SD use, you won't see any practical difference in MV or bullet performance.

September 10, 2018, 12:28 PM

RNshooter

Interesting. With how "overgassed" some guns are supposed to get, with suppression, I figured more gas would be pushing the bullet faster.

The more you know...

Bruce

September 10, 2018, 03:04 PM

WARPIG602

quote:
Originally posted by RNshooter:
Interesting. With how "overgassed" some guns are supposed to get, with suppression, I figured more gas would be pushing the bullet faster.

The more you know...

Bruce

I believe they are referring to overgassing the recoil system. I dont think it adds much to the velocity of the bullet as the bullet passes the gas port before the excess gas does.

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September 26, 2018, 06:30 AM

hooah09

Like others have said the results are negligible. For me, across several different host/suppressor combinations, you are looking at 20 fps, max. In some, there is no appreciable difference at all.