lesvoth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 86
AB Suppressor Conundrum
By Les Voth
Two approvals by the ATF on Monday. The first was an 8 Stack 7.62 Raptor from AB Suppressor. Jumping in my junker I made the 110 mile round trip to the dealer to retrieve it. All the parts were in the box.
When you buy a Raptor you get the suppressor, a tool to remove the endcap, a flush mount, and a "reflex" that suits your needs. For anyone unfamiliar with the "reflex" it's an addition that screws onto the suppressor instead of a flush mount or QD mount, and fits over the barrel, increasing the blast chamber volume. Makes it more quieter, but does not make your rifle longer.
With the Raptor retrieved and home it was quickly secured to the 5/8x24 muzzle threads of a 6mmBR, extending the overall length of a 27.5" barrel by 6ish inches. The first task at hand was to make sure the rifle maintained its zero with an additional 8 ounces - plus reflex - hanging off the end.
It did. It seems that 6mmBRs are very tolerant of most variables thrown at them. The rifle even grouped in its customary tight pattern with both 70 grain BT Noslers going 3450 fps and 105 grain Berger Hybrids following along at 2860ish. Those two different bullet weights impact within ½ an inch at 100 yards.
Big smile!
At 3:50 p.m. of the same day I checked my email to find another approval. This time it was for an AB Suppressor 7.62 Warthog. A quick call to the dealer was made to discover the "suppressor guy" had to pick up his progeny before 5:00 p.m. so I couldn't pick up the Warthog until the next morning - unless I drove like Butze or Harris, and my junker would have left it's junk on the Interstate if I'da tried that . . . So, tomorrow morning, then.
As everyone's filing in for work the next morning I'm smiling like an idiot, sliding into the curb in a cloud of smoke with my bucket of dented sheet metal, just joinin' the queue!
Happy that the Warthog is finally outta jail and going to its loving home, I'm quickly headed back out their door after the paperwork.
The. Conundrum. Begins.
Which rifle's gonna wear which suppressor? You can't leave a suppressor unmounted cuz you're gonna use one every time you go packin' from now on. So do I put the Warthog on the 22" carbon wrapped Bartlein 6.5 SAUM and leave the Raptor on the 27.5" #3 Bartlein barreled 6mmBR? Or, should I put the most effective suppression - The Raptor w/reflex - on the SAUM, and muzzle the BR with the Warthog?
This is as bad as trying to decide which rifle to take on a hunt! Maybe worse!
I remembered using a Warthog at a demo about a year and a half ago, screwing it on the BR and being more than satisfied. Yup. I took the brake off the SAUM, put the Raptor on it, and put the Warthog on the BR. The difference in overall length between the two rifles with suppressors installed came to just over 2" with the BR's stock collapsed for transport.
Because of recent rain I didn't go prone, but used the hood of my Jeep to good effect. The purpose of this excursion was to check zeros on both rifles with the suppressors installed. And I needed to throw some ATips downrange with the 6.5 SAUM after a good cleaning. I'd learned that you should clean your barrel between running monolithic bullets - Hammers in this case - and conventional type bullets, so the SAUM was squeaky clean. I'd just run out of fun running Hammer's 80 grain HHTs flying well over 3700 fps, and was switching back to Hornady's 135 grain ATips until my supply of 80s was replenished.
The 135s did what they were supposed to do, and did it quietly. One way to judge how quietly was to have a neighbor drive by wondering if you're okay because you've been parked "over there" for a while. After you say you're okay, he sees the rifle you've been shooting not far from his yard, and says, "Oh, yer shootin!" and drives off smilin', cuz he knows shootin's fun, but he hadn't heard me shooting at all. Just one of the results I was hoping for when I began The Suppressor Quest!
The conundrum has worked itself out. The most effective suppressor is now hanging off the rifle that burns the most powder. The cool little Warthog muzzles the BR. 'Course, if I throw the Creed barrel on the Stiller, or get the cut-down Ruger VT threaded, or thread the 260 Encore, or put the 22-250 barrel back on the Archimedes, or buy that 223 barrel back from Keaton . . . Oh, dang! I'ma gonna have to get another AB Suppressor suppressor!
Another pair and a spare! That's what I need!
By Les Voth
Two approvals by the ATF on Monday. The first was an 8 Stack 7.62 Raptor from AB Suppressor. Jumping in my junker I made the 110 mile round trip to the dealer to retrieve it. All the parts were in the box.
When you buy a Raptor you get the suppressor, a tool to remove the endcap, a flush mount, and a "reflex" that suits your needs. For anyone unfamiliar with the "reflex" it's an addition that screws onto the suppressor instead of a flush mount or QD mount, and fits over the barrel, increasing the blast chamber volume. Makes it more quieter, but does not make your rifle longer.
With the Raptor retrieved and home it was quickly secured to the 5/8x24 muzzle threads of a 6mmBR, extending the overall length of a 27.5" barrel by 6ish inches. The first task at hand was to make sure the rifle maintained its zero with an additional 8 ounces - plus reflex - hanging off the end.
It did. It seems that 6mmBRs are very tolerant of most variables thrown at them. The rifle even grouped in its customary tight pattern with both 70 grain BT Noslers going 3450 fps and 105 grain Berger Hybrids following along at 2860ish. Those two different bullet weights impact within ½ an inch at 100 yards.
Big smile!
At 3:50 p.m. of the same day I checked my email to find another approval. This time it was for an AB Suppressor 7.62 Warthog. A quick call to the dealer was made to discover the "suppressor guy" had to pick up his progeny before 5:00 p.m. so I couldn't pick up the Warthog until the next morning - unless I drove like Butze or Harris, and my junker would have left it's junk on the Interstate if I'da tried that . . . So, tomorrow morning, then.
As everyone's filing in for work the next morning I'm smiling like an idiot, sliding into the curb in a cloud of smoke with my bucket of dented sheet metal, just joinin' the queue!
Happy that the Warthog is finally outta jail and going to its loving home, I'm quickly headed back out their door after the paperwork.
The. Conundrum. Begins.
Which rifle's gonna wear which suppressor? You can't leave a suppressor unmounted cuz you're gonna use one every time you go packin' from now on. So do I put the Warthog on the 22" carbon wrapped Bartlein 6.5 SAUM and leave the Raptor on the 27.5" #3 Bartlein barreled 6mmBR? Or, should I put the most effective suppression - The Raptor w/reflex - on the SAUM, and muzzle the BR with the Warthog?
This is as bad as trying to decide which rifle to take on a hunt! Maybe worse!
I remembered using a Warthog at a demo about a year and a half ago, screwing it on the BR and being more than satisfied. Yup. I took the brake off the SAUM, put the Raptor on it, and put the Warthog on the BR. The difference in overall length between the two rifles with suppressors installed came to just over 2" with the BR's stock collapsed for transport.
Because of recent rain I didn't go prone, but used the hood of my Jeep to good effect. The purpose of this excursion was to check zeros on both rifles with the suppressors installed. And I needed to throw some ATips downrange with the 6.5 SAUM after a good cleaning. I'd learned that you should clean your barrel between running monolithic bullets - Hammers in this case - and conventional type bullets, so the SAUM was squeaky clean. I'd just run out of fun running Hammer's 80 grain HHTs flying well over 3700 fps, and was switching back to Hornady's 135 grain ATips until my supply of 80s was replenished.
The 135s did what they were supposed to do, and did it quietly. One way to judge how quietly was to have a neighbor drive by wondering if you're okay because you've been parked "over there" for a while. After you say you're okay, he sees the rifle you've been shooting not far from his yard, and says, "Oh, yer shootin!" and drives off smilin', cuz he knows shootin's fun, but he hadn't heard me shooting at all. Just one of the results I was hoping for when I began The Suppressor Quest!
The conundrum has worked itself out. The most effective suppressor is now hanging off the rifle that burns the most powder. The cool little Warthog muzzles the BR. 'Course, if I throw the Creed barrel on the Stiller, or get the cut-down Ruger VT threaded, or thread the 260 Encore, or put the 22-250 barrel back on the Archimedes, or buy that 223 barrel back from Keaton . . . Oh, dang! I'ma gonna have to get another AB Suppressor suppressor!
Another pair and a spare! That's what I need!
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