I recently took possession of a new Thunder Beast suppressor. It is threaded for direct attachment. In the 9 months of waiting for the stamp the intended use of the suppressor has changed. When I tried to thread the suppressor on a new rifle, the suppressor does not make to the barrel shoulder.

An email to TBAC resulted in an immediate response that the suppressor is made to thread on muzzles that are no longer than .60". My threads are .750". TBAC suggested as a temporary solution to use peel washers which work fine but I'd like to address the problem which is the threaded muzzle length.

I have not used a gunsmith before. Is this an easy fix to shorten the muzzle? I know the crown is an important part of the barrel and would hate to create a worse problem.

Thanks for your help,
Henryrifle

I'm no gunsmith. But I would think any competent smith should be able to cut & re-crown.

It's no big deal IMO. I have the same gap between the barrel shoulder and the base of the can. I have thousands of rounds through my .308 and .223 TBAC direct thread cans. The guns shoot well and the cans work.

FWIW -- Bartlein, Krieger, and Wilson Combat barrels.

fritz - Are you using a spacer or peel washers? From your description, it sounds like you are threading the suppressor on until it stops and not worrying about the gap. Am I reading that right?

Thank you,
Henryrifle

No spacers, no peel washers. Just thread it until it stops. I've seen this on some other rifles with TBAC direct thread cans.

I feel compelled to point out that this issue is not solely related to TBAC cans, and the correct answer is to have the muzzle threading fixed.

It is a simple operation that any competent gunsmith should be able to accomplish in less than an hour and charge no more than $100 for.

'76. I know you are right and that is my plan. Never having used a 'smith wanted to understand level of difficulty/risk from the guys with experience.

As a side note, the last two barrels I have purchased, one .308 and one 6.5 CM both have 5/8-24 threads and both are .700 or longer. Perhaps that is a new trend/fad but I wish TBAC would accommodate that.

Thanks for the confirmation & understanding,
Henryrifle

To be fair, you should probably state that the last two RIFLES you bought are threaded that way. I highly doubt you bought barrels and sent them to a smith and got them back threaded in such a manner. If you did, I'd send them back and force them to do them properly, at their expense.


It has been my experience that all factory manufactured rifles with threaded barrels are on the long side. I know my old Remington was long, and it created quite an issue for me. With the particular TBAC can that I had, the extra barrel would simply protrude into the can. Me, being new to suppressor ownership, saw no problem with this.

Until I went to a local match with that rifle, and fired 100+ rounds over the course of an 8 hour day. The rifle sat for a few hours while I watched the last few competitors finish. When the time came to pack up and go home, I was unable to get the can off the gun. The extra carbon had built up on the threads that protruded into the can, and after it cooled, became hard as a rock.

The solution was luckily quite simple - fire the rifle a number of times again, and then the can came off - but not without a bit of elbow grease.

I was glad to see that rifle go.

Why factory manufacturers choose to thread things long is lost on me. However, with TBAC in particular, they are a precision can manufacturer. They aren't too concerned with someone who buys a $600 factory Remington, because then the likelihood of that same person dropping $1000 on a can is somewhat slim. TBAC is somewhat of a niche manufacturer, and they fit that niche well.

While I do understand your complaint, I don't see TBAC changing their schematics and manufacturing process to accommodate factory rifles since that's not their market segment anyway.

I would perhaps check less expensive manufacturers for the threads they recommend. There should be thread diagrams on their websites, I know TBAC has one on theirs.



As for the level of difficulty/risk with having it fixed, it's a really simply job. Action/barrel comes out of the stock, trigger is removed, barrel is stuck through the chuck and indexed, then the muzzle is turned down to shorten the threads to the desired length. New crown is cut, the leading thread is cleaned up, and you're good to go.

First, thank you for the good info about the relative ease of the job. We'll have to split the difference on what, exactly, I purchased. One is a barrel purchased from Fulton Armory and, you are correct that the other is a complete rifle from LaRue.

For full disclosure, the Fulton Armory barrel, was not finished to my specifications [because I am no where near that sophisticated] but rather one they regularly stock. In that case, you get what you get.

I did, however, ask LaRue if they would only thread the muzzle to .060" and they said "No, no customizations."

Thanks again,
Henryrifle

If it's a 1/2 x 28 you can get a .25" thick spacer for around $10 to $12. Silencerco and Gemtech make them as well as others I am sure. The Gemtech one has flats you can tighten it down with a wrench. Rocksett it on there and you will be good to go.

https://gemtech.com/spacer-for...hreaded-barrels.html

The washer solution will work fine.

Any competent 'smith can cut the barrel and re-crown it. It truly is a very simple and easy thing to do. But make sure you have a competent 'smith.

quote:

Originally posted by henryrifle:
First, thank you for the good info about the relative ease of the job. We'll have to split the difference on what, exactly, I purchased. One is a barrel purchased from Fulton Armory and, you are correct that the other is a complete rifle from LaRue.

For full disclosure, the Fulton Armory barrel, was not finished to my specifications [because I am no where near that sophisticated] but rather one they regularly stock. In that case, you get what you get.

I did, however, ask LaRue if they would only thread the muzzle to .060" and they said "No, no customizations."

Thanks again,
Henryrifle

There could be a few different reasons for the LaRue thing. For instance, I know that KAC threads their barrels in a very specific manner - designed for use with *their* cans. KAC had outsourced a run of barrels to Krieger. A friend of mine has a relative that works over there, and when Krieger accidentally overran the order, offered one of the barrels to my friend at a significant discount. He, of course, snapped it up, and then had a hell of a time getting a can mounted. I don't recall the exact differences, but he did have to get a smith involved iirc.

The Fulton armory thing, not sure what to say about that one. However, my previous statement about barrels/rifles - I've got bolt rifles on the brain. The fact that you were talking AR barrels or other barrels that can be purchased pre-cut and ready never even crossed my mind for whatever reason. The fact that we are talking about TBAC cans really sort of led me that direction, since the direct-thread cans are very popular with the bolt gun crowd.

What model TBAC is it? They are doing a recore program, and you can have it switched from direct thread to cb mount at the same time. Might be worth considering?

Either way, what I should have said, and was more accurately what I was thinking - was that if you had bought BLANKS and sent them to a smith, I'd send them back. But buying off the shelf... Well, not sure? I have 2 barrels that I bought "off the shelf" that I use with cans. Both are used with Aac 762-sdn-6 cans, which use mounts (brakeouts, in my case). One is a Lilja, the other is a Seekins. I didn't measure the threads on either, but I had no issues whatsoever getting the mounts onto them properly.

That sucks that you may need to pay a smith to correct some barrels that you just bought. I'd not be happy, but maybe I'm a little particular.

The TBAC is an Ultra 9. I really like it so far. I have an 762-SDN-6 that works well (does not diminish accuracy) when it mates tightly to the adapter. I now have about 15 adapters with 6 that work really well. I have had no luck with any of the brake types. Only the Blackouts work for me. The other 9 allow the SDN-6 to wobble a slight amount. Maybe it is all psychological but accuracy is off for me with a wiggly can.

TBAC has offered several times now to change my direct thread-on to the adapter type. Maybe I am being foolish but I feel like the direct thread is easier to manage and keep tight.

I am undoubtedly tainted by my experience with the AACs. I have sent the AAC in a few times to replace the pawl. I am very careful not to let it click-click-click when tightening it on.

I'll get the barrels done soon.

Henryrifle

The tbac mount doesn't do the click thing, it just threads on.