Thread: Suppressors - one size fits many? - is it 'safe'?

Hi All, can someone comment on using a 'larger' suppressor on a 'smaller' chambering (from a safety perspective) eg. 308 suppressor on a 270

thanks guys

No problem at all, there may be some small loss of efficiency if the difference in calibres is very large but it will work fine. The other way round (small suppressor bigger calibre) however wont be so successful

perfectly safe just not as effective

Currently share a suppressor between 223 and 308 no issues at all, as mentioned it may not be as effective but not enough to be a problem

Originally Posted by dannyb

Currently share a suppressor between 223 and 308 no issues at all, as mentioned it may not be as effective but not enough to be a problem

+1 my 30cal dpt goes on the 223, had the choice of threads when getting a barrel chop and it made sense at the time

I put my .223 OB suppressor on my .22, when I went to get the bushing made up to fit the .22 barrel they said the CF suppressor on a RF rifle would be overkill. My answer:
‘Good, that means it will work.’

I didn’t see the point in spending an extra $50-100 for a suppressor that wasn’t as quiet as what I had.

thanks for the replies guys.

Originally Posted by 223nut

+1 my 30cal dpt goes on the 223, had the choice of threads when getting a barrel chop and it made sense at the time

yeah that 30cal 'designation' kind of confuses me, does it just mean the hole is big enough for every chambering from 30-30Winchester(.308" dia) up to 30-378WtbMag(.308" dia) ?
would '30cal' also include the 303British(technically .312" dia)? is that last one still considered '30cal'? i'd assume that last difference(0.004") isnt worth worrying about but where does it end eg.. 8mm is only .325" dia & where do you stop pushing your luck?
probably much better to rely on the mfr's designation as the guide but you can see above it's possibly open for interpretation..?

sorry if that's getting too picky/technical we're only talking about a hair's whisker, i just like to understand stuff & if it means worst case scenario someone keeps their eye.. bonus.

Originally Posted by Bubble07

Hi All, can someone comment on using a 'larger' suppressor on a 'smaller' chambering (from a safety perspective) eg. 308 suppressor on a 270

thanks guys

Depending on the brand, if it’s designed for a 308, it may not be ok on a 270 because it has more powder. If it’s designed for a 30-06 then it’ll be fine on a 270 or smaller. Suppressors are generally designed for a max powder load, dont go over that and the caliber its suited for and you will be fine.

Originally Posted by Bubble07

thanks for the replies guys.



yeah that 30cal 'designation' kind of confuses me, does it just mean the hole is big enough for every chambering from 30-30Winchester(.308" dia) up to 30-378WtbMag(.308" dia) ?
would '30cal' also include the 303British(technically .312" dia)? is that last one still considered '30cal'? i'd assume that last difference(0.004") isnt worth worrying about but where does it end eg.. 8mm is only .325" dia & where do you stop pushing your luck?
probably much better to rely on the mfr's designation as the guide but you can see above it's possibly open for interpretation..?

sorry if that's getting too picky/technical we're only talking about a hair's whisker, i just like to understand stuff & if it means worst case scenario someone keeps their eye.. bonus.

Not really answering your question but giving something else to think about, a mate of mine who is new to hunting mentioned that when he put a suppressor on his. .22 it couldn’t hit a door at 25 yd. When he pulled it out of the safe I said chances were the bore wasn’t concentric with the suppressor thread (Recent model JW15).
At some stage later he wanted to look into viable options for a suppressor and wanted to understand the problem. I took out the bolt and screwed the suppressor on. Looked down the bore and on the right hand side I could see three of the baffles. Showed old mate who had a revelation on the spot.

I also remember about 10years ago, reading on a gunsmiths website about fitting of .17hmr suppressors and how it was more important to have tight tolerances in the fitting of the .17 suppressor.


What all of the above says to me is that there is more in it than just having a cut off point at which the suppressor ‘bore’ size is big enough for the rifle bore size (and that is before you start factoring in cartridge capacity as DPT has mentioned.


One thing you could try if you wanted to understand it better without blowing anything up is poking a projectile through a baffle that is not attached to the rifle. If it fits through without touching the sides the caveat is that that’s no guarantee that the suppressor is of the correct caliber. However if it won’t fit, well it’s now a given that you shouldn’t shoot that caliber through it.

sliding the cleaning rod through barrel and out suppressor will soon show if its on the piss
I had same suppressor on .270 and a 7.62x39mm it had capacity to handle 270s volume and big enough hole for the .312 projectiles ....

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

sliding the cleaning rod through barrel and out suppressor will soon show if its on the piss
I had same suppressor on .270 and a 7.62x39mm it had capacity to handle 270s volume and big enough hole for the .312 projectiles ....

Was it a .375 H&H suppressor?

nope standard spartan from gunworks....30/06 or smaller recomended and the hole through middle just big enough for the 7.62x39mms .312 projectile

..seems like it's a slightly grey area.

so BOTH SIZE, AND PRESSURES, are important considerations for those of us considering a bit of 'mix & match'.

so to the question.. 'is it safe?' ..the real answer seems to be.. It CAN Be. I guess the takeaway is to proceed with caution, do the homework & consider the above.

last thought: maybe even contact the manufacturer of the suppressor if unsure, and if it is a 'no go'.. they may have something that will work safely for You.

thanks for sharing everyone - if it helps people make it home safely at the end of the day, then this discussion has been worth while.

Disclaimer: I know nothing. Do not interpret this as a green light to mix & match. Consider the consequences at play here if we get it wrong..

safe fun everyone.

I would not say anything grey about it.
The hole size has to be spec'd for the largest Bore/Calibre projectile you will use and the silencer body has to be rated for the largest powder capacity cartridge you will use.

Many manufactures make 2 (or more) spec bodies, 1 for standard size cartridges typically up to 30-06 capacity, then another one for Magnum cartridges.

So if both cartridges have a powder capacity of a 30-06 or less the your only concern is hole size, ie 44 mag and 22-250 could use the same standard body silencer,
but a 6mm Weatherby Magnum and a 308 would need a magnum rated body.
Z

Originally Posted by ZQLewis

I would not say anything grey about it.
The hole size has to be spec'd for the largest Bore/Calibre projectile you will use and the silencer body has to be rated for the largest powder capacity cartridge you will use.

Many manufactures make 2 (or more) spec bodies, 1 for standard size cartridges typically up to 30-06 capacity, then another one for Magnum cartridges.

So if both cartridges have a powder capacity of a 30-06 or less the your only concern is hole size, ie 44 mag and 22-250 could use the same standard body silencer,
but a 6mm Weatherby Magnum and a 308 would need a magnum rated body.
Z

Exactly, in the past I shared a dpt between a 7mm rem mag and a 270win so had the magnum version of the dpt certainly was not an issue there either.
As pointed out you need to cater for max cartridge and understand that it may be slightly less effective on the smaller cartridges, not that I could pick it