Suppressors Thunderbeast 30ba range report

[Hannibalsnipes]

I took my Gap10 to the range along with the Thunderbeast 30ba. I just got the rifle back from GA precision and have to say that all of the wait and other stuff was worth it; great shooter.
On to the can; it did not have as much of a shift in POI as the TB 338ba, but it was still present. It was dead on horizontally and 2.5 inches low.
Several fellow shooters remarked at how efficient the suppressor was at sound suppression. One guy thanked me and said that it had been "very loud before"; I just smiled and imagined what he would have said about the 338lm.
Recoil- There was a small increase in recoil, but it was very small.
Accuracy- I shot 7 5-shot groups, one of which was garbage and the other six ranged from decent to impressive. They were: 0.913, 0.712, 0.702, 0.700, 0.650, and 0.297. I shot 1 3-shot group which was 0.115
Mirage- I used the TAB cover and waited 2-3 minutes between groups and the mirage was a non-factor.
Food- LC brass, Varget, Federal 200 primers, and 175 SMK.

A huge thanks to Dave at Silencer Shop for a great deal on a great suppressor.

 

[Zak Smith]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

Nice shooting!

 

[K_4c]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

thanks for the write up. I should be taking ownership of my TBAC 30ba in the next month and a half... this report shows promise. I was hoping to hear a reduced recoil report but I can deal with this aspect if that's the only negative affect of this can.

 

[Stubb]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

How the ejection port noise on your rig? Is it comfortable to shoot without hearing protection?

—Andreas

 

[Hannibalsnipes]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: K_4c</div><div class="ubbcode-body">thanks for the write up. I should be taking ownership of my TBAC 30ba in the next month and a half... this report shows promise. I was hoping to hear a reduced recoil report but I can deal with this aspect if that's the only negative affect of this can. </div></div>

I think a bit of an increase in recoil is just in the physics of any can. It was a very slight increase. Also, I need to get my gas-block switch tuned to the suppressor also. That should help in the recoil, accuracy, and reliability of the chambering.

 

[Hannibalsnipes]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Andreas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How the ejection port noise on your rig? Is it comfortable to shoot without hearing protection?

—Andreas </div></div>

The Noveski gas block switch has three settings: suppressed, open, and normal. In both suppresed and open it was quiet, when in normal it was noticeably louder. I do need to get the gas block tuned as it failed to feed 90% of the time when in suppressed mode, and I suspect that this will affect the volume.

As far as comfortable to shoot without hearing protection, I didn't get a chance to test this. A guy two lanes over was shooting something that looked like the offspring of a Howitzer and a bamboo pole. I kept my ear plugs in!

 

[Hannibalsnipes]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Zak Smith</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nice shooting!
</div></div>

Thank you sir!
That was my first outing with the rifle so I'm hoping to tighten those groups up.

 

[ColoWyo]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

Suppressors will reduce recoil. Did you have a brake on it before?

 

[Hannibalsnipes]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ColoWyo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Suppressors will reduce recoil. Did you have a brake on it before? </div></div>

Yes. I was using the TB brake.

 

[dbransco]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

I was firing my rifle today both with and without the 30BA and I felt that the recoil was reduced. The recoil felt greater when firing with the 30BA brake and was more sharp. With the can on, the recoil felt tammed to a more smooth recoil. The feeling reminded me of shooting air rifles.

 

[K_4c]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

I figured as much.... the few cans that I have ran have all reduced recoil.

 

[Hannibalsnipes]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

It could be that because my rifle's gas block switch is not properly tuned that I felt that shooting suppressed increased the recoil. It was a small amount of increase, but I definately didn't think that it had decreased. After I get that worked out, I'll clarify.

In the meantime, I was doing additional research on the Noveski gas block switch and ran across this on their website.

COMMON EFFECTS OF SOUND SUPPRESSOR USE
"Increased recoil due to increased bolt carrier group/buffer impact on the rear of the receiver extension"

Also, I emailed back and forth a few times with TB about their 338ba suppressor a while back and this is what Ray said, "When you go from shooting the brake to shooting the suppressor you will notice even more recoil so good form will be even more important." Obviously the 338lm is not the 308, but from an engineering standpoint logic suggests that what is true for a 338lm would be true for a 308, just on a smaller scale.
Of course, I'm not an engineer so I could be completely mistaken about that.

 

[K_4c]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hannibalsnipes</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

COMMON EFFECTS OF SOUND SUPPRESSOR USE
"Increased recoil due to increased bolt carrier group/buffer impact on the rear of the receiver extension"
</div></div>

sounds like the platform is being over gassed...

 

[SRSDriver]

Re: Thunderbeast 30ba range report

Pretty much every gun I have has reduced 'apparent recoil' with a suppressor - It's especially noticeable on bolt guns. (But I don't shoot with brakes, just suppressor or plain).

I'm guessing the bolt is getting too much gas and launching back into your shoulder. Might check that, seems to be hard on springs/buffer components.