Thanks. How hot does it get after 3-4 mags? That’s typically the most I will shoot at the range before switching to another gun. I may take a carbine class in the spring and I have no idea how much and how fast the shooting is there.
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Hot enough to burn you and damage your vehicle interior.
No exaggeration, a .223 can will get too hot to barehand hold within 10 to 20 rounds at a fairly slow pace.
It’s a lot faster than a barrel or front sight heating up, I assume due to the much thinner metal thickness of the outer wall of the can.
I assume barrel length factors in too considering a can on 16” .22lr barrel doesn’t get nearly as hot in 10 to 20 rounds as the same can will get in the same number of rounds/same amount of time from a 4.xx” pistol.
I started to give an example of how hot/how fast a cast iron skillet will get vs. something like a thin sheet metal camping skillet, but just thought of a closer comparison of a muffler on an engine.
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Someone once described the suppressor as converting sound into heat. The rapid cooling of the gas popping out of an unsuppressed barrel is slowed down by the suppressor baffles and thus they soak up that heat/energy.
And yeah. 10 rounds at a moderate pace would make a can too hot to touch. I personally would never do a full mag dump. The gas alone would knock me back.
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3-4 mags in rapid succession will get a titanium can red hot.
Even at a slow fire pace on the end of a 24” bbl 6.5 Creedmoor it gets damn hot after about 10 rounds. Keep in mind I’m burning roughly double the amount of powder per round. It doesn’t take much more to get hot enough to burn you shooting 5.56mm, maybe 15-20 rounds.
Inconel or other steels might not heat as quickly.
Your firing schedule has more to do with it than total rounds. The suppressor cover is really advantageous if you are shooting with magnified optics and need something to mitigate mirage. It will take a lot longer to cool down with an insulated cover on it than allowing direct contact with surrounding air.
I will say that running two suppressed bolt action rifles: one with the Cole-Tac cover and one without, I will take the suppressor cover every single time. My buddy who didn’t have a cover went out and bought one. Keeping mirage at bay is 1000% worth it.
For a red dot equipped carbine or something running low power variable I’m not sure how much benefit you would see aside from self protection from burns to skin, clothing, and other gear.
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That’s another good comparison that isn’t suppressor specific since everyone has seen heat shimmer coming off a scorching hot metal surface and what that is like to touch.
Just doesn’t take many shots to get there with a can.
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This sounds like a game changer and it gets in to the heat issue we’ve been mentioning.
to the OP, yes there are some…. watching that video of the Ambiet Arms by Garandthumb, he shows one of the metal heat guards the .mil uses for the mk18.
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Thanks, I think that is only for KAC suppressors. Still waiting on mine to clear.
Finally picked up my suppressor last week and shot it yesterday. Man I wish I did this years ago! Definitely gets hot quick so I will be looking for a cover. Looking at a Cole Tac corset. It’s SBR and full auto rated. Anyone have experience with one?
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I’m not aware of any large usage outside snipers. Don’t think I’ve ever seen one on a MK18. The Surefire one was designed for that use but didn’t seem like it ever got popular. The KAC shrouds do seem to work well enough, I like mine and want another but it does add just enough material on the back side of the collar that it won’t work with all rails if they get real close to the MD. They’re part of the contract gun for the Brits so the concept may see a wider implementation with us as our friends pick them up.
I’m often surprised that people rarely seem to talk about how hot cans get. I had an early variant of the Mechanix suppressor cover on my first can and it melted onto it pretty quick. I also had a blade of grass melt onto another can. Both left marks that have essentially been permanently baked on.
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I thought of these(occasionally alleged to be USMC issue), but noticed they also have limits on firing rates in addition to adding weight.