[hanzy4200]

I only tell this embarrassing tale to educate and gain insight. This is hard for me to admit.

Went to the range today. I always go alone. Always. Today, I invited a friend from work to try out some of my firearms. We were shooting a variety of calibers and different platforms. We were shooting several 5.56 AR's and then came back to the table to change up. We were chatting it up as I prepped my Glock 17 and attached my Hybrid 46 suppressor. I was shooting handloaded, powder coated cast lead 147 gr subsonic ammunition. I opted to run a few rounds first. Mind you, another shooter was firing from nearby, so we had Earpro on. I fired once, and didn't hit paper. Nothing else out of the ordinary. Second shot, same, third round, my friend taps me. "You know your shot hit like 10 feet in front of you in the dirt?" Panic washed over me.

I immediately knew. I never swapped my endcaps. I was firing .356 diameter bullets out of a .224 hole. I knew the can was trashed. I had to sit the gun down for a minute as my heart was racing and my hands shaking. This could have been VERY bad. Missing eyes and fingers bad. With a sinking feeling I picked up the suppressor. I unscrewed the end cap. It unthreaded! I poured out probably 100+ grain of shaved and powdered lead. The endcap was completely undamaged! Not one crack. It wasn't bowed out, nothing. Baffles were totally intact aside from some lead splash on the last baffle.

I was relieved, surprised, and very, very embarrassed. I tested the can and it functioned without issue. I am very happy to have a working suppressor, and to still have 10 digits. My only theory is that since these were relatively soft alloy cast bullets, the endcap absorbed the blast and vented the bulk of the pressure through that little hole. Had this been a cheaper suppressor, a jacketed round, or a rifle round, this would have been very different. I feel very fortunate and blessed. The Silencerco Hybrid. Built like a tank!

 

[ajole]

Dude....chill. You’ve been listening to people that don’t know.

Think about it. A kaboom in an AR is probably over 65,000 PSI, and generally just blows out the magazine, maybe breaks extractors or a locking lug. The jacketed lead bullet striking the end of your suppressor can’t possibly create that sort of pressure, it MIGHT throw some lead bits back at you, but eye pro will make that a non-disaster.
A cheaper suppressor may have broken...but probably wouldn’t do more damage to you.

Now, a rifle may be more destructive...but still not loosing fingers bad.

 

[justin22885]

youre using one suppressor for .357" and .22 cal? im guessing this is a problem created by stupid suppressor laws that probably would have been completely avoided without regulations that would have allowed you to buy specialized suppressors for both sizes

 

[charliemeyer007]

To quote P.O. Ackley ... bullet swageing pressure is nothing compared to chamber pressures.

Not recommended but a Korean war marine corps sniper friend of mine shot 9mm Sten gun ammo out of his 30 Mauser broomhandle Yes 38 cal swedged down to 30 cal. He shot 1000's of rounds with no issues. Locked breach is my explanation.

One of my shooting buddies tried 45 ACP out of an 30-06, it worked at least several times although not sure what the accuracy was as it was fired by a lanyard.

 

[hanzy4200]

Yes, and yes. I would own a dozen suppressors if not for the BS.

 

[hanzy4200]

Ever see a video of anyone trying this? I've seen people melt down suppressors, unthread them to the point of baffle strike, fire them underwater, every thing you could think of to emulate a bad situation. Why not this situation? Because it's dangerous. Anytime you have that kind of a issue, there is potential for serious injury. I know a man who lost his right eye from a .22 round firing out of battery. Shard of brass cut thru his eyeball. I was primarily shaken because I made such a drastic mistake. Anytime you are working with reloading and firearms, stupid mistakes like these can wreck you.

 

[hanzy4200]

To quote P.O. Ackley ... bullet swageing pressure is nothing compared to chamber pressures.

Not recommended but a Korean war marine corps sniper friend of mine shot 9mm Sten gun ammo out of his 30 Mauser broomhandle Yes 38 cal swedged down to 30 cal. He shot 1000's of rounds with no issues. Locked breach is my explanation.

One of my shooting buddies tried 45 ACP out of an 30-06, it worked at least several times although not sure what the accuracy was as it was fired by a lanyard.

.38 cal? The Sten fired standard 9MM Luger, .355. The Mauser fires a .308 projectile. I could see it functioning, but the 9MM is operating at WAY high pressure than a .30 Mauser. No knowledgeable person would ever attempt that. As a side note, the C96 was chambered in 9MM Luger by the Germans and 9MM Mauser by the Chinese, and lots were shot out and re-chambered to 9MM Luger by importers. He could have had one of those odd models.

 

[justin22885]

Yes, and yes. I would own a dozen suppressors if not for the BS.

same, the regulations, paperwork, taxes, having your name on some stupid registry just to screw on a glorified oil filter is ridiculous.. if not for that, all my guns would have them, and heck, some might even have them built in (who wouldnt love an MP5SD5?

but on the topic of the incident, im guessing the bulk of your bullet went out the hole, shaving off a layer of lead around it that at that point was hot enough and soft enough that it just splattered inside the suppressor (the bits you say fell out) given bullets are going to pick up a lot of friction-heat from the barrel by time they get to that suppressor

 

[273andme]

SICO has a good warranty "We'll even fix stupid once". They make endcaps are replaceable specifically because of endcap strikes. endcap strike meh...... baffle strike thats a problem.

 

[hanzy4200]

SICO has a good warranty "We'll even fix stupid once". They make endcaps are replaceable specifically because of endcap strikes. endcap strike meh...... baffle strike thats a problem.

I have heard that also. It's still a sickening feeling you may have destroyed a $1,200 piece. That was one reason I went with the higher end cans, Sico and Dead Air. I had a stuck baffle on my DA Mask, and I had a rep in contact with me in less than a hour. Very laid back guy. He basically said, "beat it with a hammer." If it pops free, you're GTG. If it breaks, send it in for a replacement.

 

[MagnumWill]

I'm getting a Hybrid and don't plan on getting any end caps other than the .46 for this exact reason. I'm after the volume + mounts, and my friend's Hybrid has been plenty quiet without dedicated caps.

I'm glad to hear everything's OK. As I was reading it, I was like "as long as the tube's OK, shoot off all the end caps you want"

 

[hanzy4200]

I'm getting a Hybrid and don't plan on getting any end caps other than the .46 for this exact reason. I'm after the volume + mounts, and my friend's Hybrid has been plenty quiet without dedicated caps.

I'm glad to hear everything's OK. As I was reading it, I was like "as long as the tube's OK, shoot off all the end caps you want"

I felt the same way, aside from the .223/5.56 end cap. The other calibers are pointless, but this one really does make a difference. Probably a 7-8 db difference, which doesn't sound like much, but it gets it just under hearing safe.

 

[MK]

I felt the same way, aside from the .223/5.56 end cap. The other calibers are pointless, but this one really does make a difference. Probably a 7-8 db difference, which doesn't sound like much, but it gets it just under hearing safe.

Indoor non private range, just put the 46 end cap on before you leave the house. You will be wearing ear pro anyway so an extra few dB doesn’t really matter.

I also have a fear of this happening to me so I feel for you. Luckily it does not appear to have done any permanent damage. May want to take some caliper measurements on the OD of the suppressor to ensure it hasn’t bulged out any at the end cap thread area.

 

[hanzy4200]

Indoor non private range, just put the 46 end cap on before you leave the house. You will be wearing ear pro anyway so an extra few dB doesn’t really matter.

I also have a fear of this happening to me so I feel for you. Luckily it does not appear to have done any permanent damage. May want to take some caliper measurements on the OD of the suppressor to ensure it hasn’t bulged out any at the end cap thread area.

I may do that, but I would be very surprised considering the end cap un threaded with no extra pressure and snugs backup the same. I initially figured the endcap would be deformed, and nigh impossible to remove.