I am going to keep a running round count on my suppressor. Why?
There has been a lot of debate on the subject of muzzle brakes on SBR’s and baffle erosion on suppressors. I know there has already been one gentleman post pics of his AAC 51T muzzle brake up to 10,000 rounds or something. I am going to do the same. It will take me awhile to get that high of a round count, but I intend to document the wear on both the muzzle device and suppressor the whole way. The suppressor, an AAC SDN-6, will see use on a 10.3" 5.56 with 51T muzzle brake, 12.5" 5.56 with 51T blackout (might switch to brakeout if I can find one), and a 16" 6.8 SPC with 51T blackout. I will only document the suppressor and muzzle brake. I will keep a running total of rounds shot through the can as best I can, both 5.56 and 6.8 SPC, and take pics along the way.
My ammunition will vary greatly for both calibers as I am shooting whatever I can get, so I will not be keeping track of that. Unless somebody just really really REALLY wants me to, then I will try.
I just got the suppressor yesterday, so I haven’t put many rounds through it. I did shoot 15 rounds of .223 55gr FMJ (either BVAC or Red River Ammo remanufactured loads).
3/16/13 - 15 rounds .223
brake
SDN-6
Taking pictures of the baffle inside the can is a pain in the ass, but I will do my best. I have an excel spreadsheet to keep track of the round count and a folder dedicated to the pics. As stated, this is a work in progress and will take time, a lot of time. Please don’t hassle me as I don’t have an unlimited budget to shoot up every day. I will shoot what I can when I can and post the progress here.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Dummy me, I didn’t take a pic of the suppressor or brake before I shot it.
But as for the coating, I’m not sure there was any, or if any is needed. The inconel blast baffle was all shiny to begin with, after the 15 rounds it has carbon all over it so now its not shiny. No visible pitting or wear like the brake. The semi shiny part around the bore on the baffle is what it all looked like, the darker part is the carbon. My SPR/M4 has done and looks the same.
I’m a one trick pony, but this seems to be one of the few topics where I can provide any info of value. This is 1500 some-odd rounds on a Brakeout on a 10.5" Switchblock upper, nowhere near the 10k rounds mentioned above, but it’ll give an idea. Blast baffle is still pristine in my opinion, but I’ve never been able to get a good pic of that. I’ve since sold that upper so I have a new muzzle device that I’m using with my can, so this is in no way as well documented as the OP’s.
Great idea for a thread. Thanks to you and doriwoogie we can see first hand how hard SBRs are on muzzle devices. This should be of interest to anyone that shots ARs, not just those with suppressors. I’m glad people are starting to create informative, original content for this site again. It seems like in the last few months we’ve had to sort through a lot of “What shade of OD green is this” and “why doesn’t my shade tree AR work” threads.
Anyone have a 300 BLK we could use to compare?
I know that some muzzle breaks are made extra hard to resist erosion. For instance I believe Surefires are that way. Do you know if the AAC you’re using is extra hardened like that? I’ll have a surefire break to compare when my SBR paperwork clears some time next millenium.
When I get back from my extended vacation I’ll see what kind of specs I can find on the AAC brake, and any others that I can find.
I almost killed this thread, saw a BattleComp/51T mount for sale… I reeeally wanted it. Just know I’m sacrificing for all of you! Lol. (You all actually saved me three hundred bones so I should be sayin thank you!)
Ok… yeah… the brake does look worse. I’m actually running an AAC brake on my 11.5 now too. So I’ve been watching it. It’s starting to show blast wear on the break after approximately 300 rounds.
Yeah Kevin I noticed that too. Mine is on a 10.3" and his 12.5" iirc. I’m not sure 2" would make that much difference however. I still haven’t looked up the steel the AAC brake is made of. I was hoping somebody else would have done it for me by now. Lol.
Sorry I haven’t updated the pics or round counts. Took a little vacation now I’m working my ass off to catch up. Hopefully this weekend I’ll get some more rounds through it. I have 500 rounds of Tula left so that’s what will be shot. I shot the first 500 soley through this upper but it had the battlecomp 2.0 on it then and no can. No problems with the first 500 Tula.
