When folks tune their guns to function a bit better with a silencer, how do y'all usually attack it? I know people use combinations of buffers and springs, but I have yet to have any combination of those outperform a vented carrier, in my setups. I recently tried an LMT enhanced BCG in one of my guns, instead of a vented carrier, thinking the altered cam path may give me a performance edge in terms of cleanliness. The LMT carrier is also vented, but only slightly. The recoil, gas, and filth were terrible, even with a heavy buffer and spring, when compared to the generously vented carrier with a regular spring and carbine buffer. What do others do?

Just curious, is your vented carrier a Gemtech or a Bootleg Gen 2?

The carrier in that particular gun is just a regular mil-spec that I vented myself. It's a dedicated-suppressed gun, so I don't need the ability to switch the carrier back-and-forth.

I also have a Gemtech carrier that gets used regularly. I have used a Bootleg in the past, but don't own one. I have one put-back at the LGS, for when I have the money for it. What's the difference between gen1 and gen2 Bootleg?

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is cleanliness your requirement? Gas in the face is about my only concern, outside reliable function that remains paramount.

I use a combination of buffers, springs, charging handles, other suppressors, and if none of that works I get rid of what must be a terribly overgassed barrel that has no business being suppressed.

Guns that I run suppressed get a wet application of lube that's thicker than oil, lighter than grease. You can make it in bulk by blending a good oil and grease, and tune it to your preferred viscosity depending on temperature and use. The gun fouls quickly, but will continue to run reliably for more rounds than I care to fire. If your ammo dumps a lot of grit and not just carbon/gasses this doesn't work well as the lube can become abrasive. Cleanup is as simple as wiping off the lube and reapplying it for most range sessions.

I'll have to mix up some of that lubricant you're describing. I have never had a reliability issue out of this gun. Cleanliness is a desire, not necessarily a requirement; if I can get it running a bit cleaner, then why not? The gas block is not adjustable, but I believe the gas port and location to be favorable (it's a WW 16" barrel cut down to 10", with a carbine gas length). I was experimenting with the EBCG, in hopes it might show some promise in terms of cutting down a bit on filth, considering it doesn't exhaust the bore into the receiver so soon. And it may be great, with a more generous vent, but I am not keen on modifying that carrier just yet.

Like I said, I have used a Bootleg carrier. I have thoroughly compared both; they are very similar. The main difference is the Bootleg is adjustable through the ejection port, which I guess is a perk, and has four positions. The little vent baffle looks a bit different on the Bootleg too, IIRC. They vents may be in slightly different locations, to facilitate the port adjustment on the Bootleg, necessitating a slightly different design. I'll have to inspect them better side-by-side, when given the chance.

Overall, given my experiences with my guns, I think the vented carrier is a very effective solution to some of the problems presented by a silencer.

Rustpot, I was hoping you'd divulge some secrets of your suppressed setups in the other thread I recently started.

One drawback to my current setup is I doubt it'll run reliably with underpowered ammo. It'll do 193 and 855 perfectly, but I am unsure it'll work well with other stuff; I'll have to try.

I am aware that ammo quality plays a big part in cleanliness, and I admittedly don't know as much as I ought to about ammo. However, I historically almost exclusively shoot PMC Xtac, which I consider to be "good" FMJ 5.56 ammo. I would guess that seeking out and shooting cleaner ammo could prove cost-prohibitive, as compared to offerings like Xtac, so I'll stick with what I have been shooting.

I think venting to the atmosphere, via either the carrier or the gas block, is worth pursuing. It seems, in my experience, that the majority of your conventional silencers just won't allow the gas to exit the muzzle-end of the bore before the bolt opens the chamber-end, exhausting any extra gas and ammo waste into the receiver. I know Superlative arms makes a gas block that vents, and I have their piston system on a gun, but I haven't tried their DI block, as I prefer a FSGB. Venting out the block would be preferred to the carrier, as it gets that stuff out of the system sooner but, for now, considering the setups I currently prefer, the vented carrier is what I am tinkering with. As stated above, using a vented carrier with my current build, I can avoid increasing reciprocating mass and the use of an adjustable block, and still get a system that works well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KSGM,