Thread: Leaving your Suppressor on.....what happens.

Having read @kukuwai's thread on using the space in his safe, and his pic of a rifle with a suppressor on, I was reminded that I have put mine away with it's suppressor on.

Never for more than a few days, and last time I did it, I took care to put a drop of oil on the thread.

Can you consistently get away with doing this, as long as the thread has oil on it?

I believe the theory is that the suppressor holds moisture having a large air chamber which will have condensation on the inside when temperatures change, this can then run down into the barrel

correct this can cause rust on the outside of the barrel under the suppressor.... even on stainless barrels

Also I have heard they corrode onto the thread. I get reminded every time I take one for threading. I use Eezox and thus I am unfamiliar with "corrosion"

Does seem like the threads get a bit wooly if left together though, never had any real trouble.

223nuts suggestion of water running down the barrel is not pleasing.

There is an otherwise very nice Annie 223 in Outdoor World in Invers with a rusty crown and muzzle area from this very problem . . .

Thats the theory burning powder produces water, ammonia, and other bits not enough to cause a river but enough to make a humid environment.
The ammonia will prevent the barrel from rusting (rust wont form in an alkaline environment) but its not good for aluminum or duralum supressors and you could see white spots developing on the inside of the supressor if you can disassemble it.
Solutions lesving it on the rifle
1/ shoot till the supressors so hot you burn your hand leave it muzzle up breech open till cold. Then store.
2/ put it in the hot water cupboard to warm up breech open before putting it away
3/ there is no 3
4/ dont bother about it
5/ fire some crc into it
I personally am of the 2 and 4 school. Constantly winding it off and on is a pita and over time with duralum flogs the thread a bit especially on 1/2 x 28 and a loose supressor is bad.
I do take it off occasionally when i feel the need to clean the bore as using a rod or boresnake through a can has been known to have unforseen complications.

I use the same suppresser on 3 different rifles. I always take it off and wipe any carbon residual off the crown with an oily rag and always put the thread protector back onto the crown.

I would never leave the suppressor on but don't have a scientific reason for saying that. Just my preference. Don't like the thought of risking barrel or crown damage.

A couple of years ago . This happened to me after leaving a suppressor on a barrel after a dry hunting trip. After shooting 2 deer.

It took 3 weeks. Saved the barrel after a little bit of surgery.

If you store your gun with the suppressor on, muzzle down is the best option then any moisture won’t run down the barrel


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My understanding is that the powder residue attracts moisture from the atmosphere. This ends up being present on the crown and threads, and I would suspect you would get a galvanic reaction between the material of the suppressor and barrel. Always remove and store separately.

I have damaged a few crowns by storing with can on-never again

Originally Posted by gadgetman

My understanding is that the powder residue attracts moisture from the atmosphere. This ends up being present on the crown and threads, and I would suspect you would get a galvanic reaction between the material of the suppressor and barrel. Always remove and store separately.

Yup.
It’s a double whammy. The suppressor chucks crap back down the barrel which attracts moisture and the suppressor is full is corrosive chemicals from the powder. I store them separately too.

Interesting, I thought it was just a thread thing, but seems to be considerably more than that.

With rare exceptions, I don't store rifles with a suppressor on.

My suppressors sit on the workshop windowsill, where they will catch some sunlight and dry out.

I always take suppressor off after each hunting trip. oil down barrel and a bit of a spray inside the DPT.

The CO2 and water vapour from combustion forms carbonic acid. With suppressors that have no barrel isolator tube like the old 'Greystone' ones the acid will totally ruin a barrel with deep pitting. Even with an isolator there will be problems.
Take the suppressor off straight away and dry it on a sunny windowsill imo