Thread: Learned something today about suppressors.

Bought a well used (800 rounds) Tikka T3 223 1/8 last week. It came with a muzzle-forward Dpt suppressor that the seller described as “free” because it was “not suited for long range work”. I started to worry that the barrel might be stuffed but went ahead with the purchase because he was asking a fair price and these are hard to get in left hand.

Put a cheap Pentax 4-12 scope on it and took it out to the paddock with the loads I had left from when I last had a 1/8 223 T3; -24g BM2 and 65g Sierra Gamekings. Fired one shot at 25 yards to foul the barrel and get it close enough to centre to hit the target at 100. First group shot at 100 with the supressor on was rubbish; -2.5 moa vertical string.



Took the suppressor off, fired another 3 shots and..….



I had thought that a stuffed supressor would get noisy but not affect accuracy. So I need a new supressor. Keen to hear if any of you think that a DPT magnum or Hardy Stealth make much of a difference noise-wise compared to the non-magnum or compact models in a little calibre such as the 223.

Cheers….

I would suggest you do some more investigating before you commit to a new suppressor purchase.

Can you take the can apart and check if it’s overly fouled? Is the thread a good snug fit? Concentric to the bore? Is there an issue with the rear bushing clearance?

Can be plenty of issues related to the can without actually being a fault of the can itself.

Have a look down the can and aee if theres any sign of impact or irregularities. You may be able to over bore it to clean it up and get back some accuracy. Or try another can on it and see if it has the same result. Whats the crown like? I used to get mine slightly countersunk so there wasnt an issue changing the dynamics when putting a can on.

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It could simply be a barrel resonance issue

Maybe try another suppressor
Try an over barrel
Take the rear bush off if its too small

Interesting post

What thread do have?
I run a 6.5mm DPT magnum on my t3 .223 that you're welcome to try out, its a 14x1 thread.

There is evidence of a bullet strike at the muzzle. I think it did some time on an AR15 at some point. I don’t love the muzzle forward design, -makes the rifle long and front heavy. Would be ok on a short single shot rifle though. I also fIgure that it is coming to the end of its life anyway.

Originally Posted by rossm-96

There is evidence of a bullet strike at the muzzle. I think it did some time on an AR15 at some point. I don’t love the muzzle forward design, -makes the rifle long and front heavy. Would be ok on a short single shot rifle though. I also fIgure that it is coming to the end of its life anyway.

I have two muzzle forward on single shot contender barrels and they are good for that task

harmonics.

there is a reason barrel tuners are being used.

I'd pull the suppressor apart clean and grease the threads, then I'd be looking at harmonics, leave the can off and check barrel clearance etc then put it back on and check again. Also end on ones tend to loosen of easier when shooting so check between shots, if you've done all that see if you can borrow one to try before you trade out

If there is evidence of previous baffle strike this could be the reason for the poor accuracy even if it is no longer striking. Uneven pressure around the projectile during freebore (left the barrel, but still in/exiting the suppressor) can very well send shots wayward.
I'm a curious person so I would remove the offending baffles and try a few shots to see if that sorts it out even if I didn't intend to use it.
You may get away with simply getting DPT to replace one or two baffles if you want to keep it for something.

Im not a huge fan of end of barrel cans becauae without a second point of contact like over barrels, a decent knock could in thoery knock it out of alignment even if ever so slightly.

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I prefer the muzzle forward design. Bullet strike doesn't affect the efficiency of the supressor in my experience. This one started off on an ar, and now shares time on a zastava and a Ruger. Unless firmly done up they could work loose in a rattle gun just enough to droop slightly.
Vertical stringing and possibly double grouping could be caused by binding on the stock, the added weight of the supressor being enough to cause it.
Being a slow learner not one but 3 strikes but it still works fine

Pretty obvious but is it staying tight on the threads?

Originally Posted by StrikerNZ

I would suggest you do some more investigating before you commit to a new suppressor purchase.

Can you take the can apart and check if it’s overly fouled? Is the thread a good snug fit? Concentric to the bore? Is there an issue with the rear bushing clearance?

Can be plenty of issues related to the can without actually being a fault of the can itself.

Its a muzzle forward can

800 rounds isn’t well used, more like 4-5000. Suggest you check alignment, might have had a knock causing bullet strike. Make sure it’s tight on thread. Never had a problem with muzzle foreword cans, 3 Waitaki Engineering and one DPT.