**suppressor/bullet velocity**

[Kaotiktribe]

I was wondering how a suppressor affected bullet velocity. Specifically on a .308.....i know felt recoil would be very noticeable, but does it help or hinder distance for shooting long range. If it hinders velocity would you load it hotter/heavier to compensate?

candidate is a Rem 700 AAC-SD with an AAC SDN6(once its outta jail) 1:10 rate by the way.

 

[Laxguy59]

Doesn't hinder velocity, but the POI may change from suppressor on to suppressor off.

 

[Quiet Riot Firearms]

Some folks claim a little gain in velocity, but some think its false. It will have no effect on a bolt 308's range.

 

[Kaotiktribe]

Some folks claim a little gain in velocity, but some think its false. It will have no effect on a bolt 308's range.

Guess i need to chrono this. Anyone have any hard facts without going into extensive testing myself?

 

[CBeck]

I have that rifle and suppressor. I haven't ever done any chrono testing but my POI shift is always to the right with no change in elevation. Range will be the same but it does seem to tighten my groups up. Maybe because of the lower recoil and noise but either way it helps me.

 

[REDX]

Had that setup before and noticed around an average of 23 fps gain. as noted earlier POI shift was to the right. Main thing to make sure is that your can is time right so it doesn't come loose. Load as normal and let them rip. I shoot most of my guns suppressed now and all of my rifles, helps reduce recoil so you can see impact.

 

[ngcsugrad09]

Only porting a barrel will cause a substantial decrease in velocity; such as the MP5SD. The specs for that subgun were for ball ammo to go subsonic and then the suppressor soak up the rest of the sound. That's why they are quiet with pretty much every type of ammo out there.

Regular suppressors don't have the ability to bleed off velocity due to their short length. I'm sure if you made one that was two feet long or more you might start to see a velocity drop; but usually you will stay around the standard unsuppressed velocity. The science behind a potential gain is the longer duration of pressure behind the bullet; increasing the velocity due to the extra pressure. The bore of a suppressor is not as tight as the barrel and you don't have the seal of the bullet to bore; and a suppressor starts to bleed the gas pressure at each baffle; but there is still contained pressure behind the bullet. However, if your barrel is already at or around the maximum effective length for the burn of your powder then you'll see similar velocity or even a drop in velocity (say a 24-26"+ inch barrel on a .308). Shorter barrels have more potential to see a velocity gain due to the powder not having a full burn; thus adding a suppressor increases the burn time and adds extra pressure for the bullet to have an increased velocity.

There are a lot of variables, but usually you're not going to see much of a change in velocity. Most of the time, you're within +/- 50 fps of your standard velocity.

 

[Twitch2120]

at best you gain 10-20 fps. at worst no change