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Barrel length for supressor use.........

BigBlue&Goldie

Full Member
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 10, 2011
619
18
Arizona....land of the free
I'm thinking about putting together an upper to be used with a supressor down the road. Knowing nothing about using supressors, I would like some feedback as to what length barrel you prefer. I'm up in the air as far as caliber is concerned, but .223, .300, and 6.80 are all under consideration.

Thanks
 
uh... what do you want the rifle to do, other than be suppressed? 16" suppresses ok, 18" is even quieter. It gets louder as you go shorter. and just for functionality of a gun in 5.56, id go no less than 11.5".

Now, 300BO, 8" is the way to go.
 
I use 10.5"" for my .223 w/ suppressor. I have read an 8-10" is ideal for subsonic 300blk. Not sure on 6.8.
I'll be at 8" for my 300blk build. I like the short package.
 
Charger is right. We need to know what you want to use it for. If you are just looking for short and quiet or precision or whatever. Let is know.
 
Charger is right. We need to know what you want to use it for. If you are just looking for short and quiet or precision or whatever. Let is know.

I jsut realized I failed. I would like to put something together for the 500-600yd range, so probably the longer the better. I just don't know if there is a point in which you start to experience more cycling issues or lose rigidity with the added weight? I was thinking 18", even though that would make for a long package with a supressor.
 
Shorter keeps the weight closer to you and makes it more manageable, especially for those of us with heavy cans. 300 Blackout at 8.5" is pretty slick, since the rifle-length handguard covers part of the can. My 16" .223 is front heavy, but if you plan on a titanium .223-only can it would not be as bad. Longer barrels may also show more POI shift when you hang that weight off the end.

Life, as they say, is full of little tradeoffs.
 
Are you shooting free hand? If you are looking for a precision style set up (prone/bench) my 223 with 18" barrel is a laser out to 800yrds and I run suppressed. Just get an adjustable gas block and you can ensure it cycles with the load you use.

I have thrown my acog on the 18" with a titanium can and it does get front heavy, I could use a heavier stock if I wanted to run like that but it's not what I use it for. I may suggest 16" if just free hand shooting.
 
I jsut realized I failed. I would like to put something together for the 500-600yd range, so probably the longer the better. I just don't know if there is a point in which you start to experience more cycling issues or lose rigidity with the added weight? I was thinking 18", even though that would make for a long package with a supressor.

Your getting some bad info. You need to decide if you want to be sub sonic or louder. You ain't going to shoot anything smaller than a school bus at 600yds with a sub sonic 223! You might stretch the 300BO out of a 8-11" barrel if you are shooting at a small car. If you put a can on an 18" barrel you may as well be shooing a musket with a 26" barrel. It would probably be quieter and as accurate.
 
Your getting some bad info. You need to decide if you want to be sub sonic or louder. You ain't going to shoot anything smaller than a school bus at 600yds with a sub sonic 223! You might stretch the 300BO out of a 8-11" barrel if you are shooting at a small car. If you put a can on an 18" barrel you may as well be shooing a musket with a 26" barrel. It would probably be quieter and as accurate.


The op never said anything about subsonic just that he will be running a suppressor. Yes a 300blk is not the best choice now that he stated he would like to shoot 600yrds. Now a suppressed 18" .223 would be a great choice and add an adjustable gas block and you can solve the cycling issue. Maybe 16" if he is just shooting off hand to try to keep the front end weight down.

This is the same info on my last comment so I hope you were not saying this was "bad info"
 
Nothing at all wrong with the MK 12 Mod 1. I have tried to better it many times but still come back to it. Shoot it to 800 M with MK 262 ammo and my matching loads. Just hard to beat, length, weight and accuracy. BTW, it is 18 inch.

If you even THINK you are going to get a suppressor, get it now. You should buy it and start the paperwork. You will then have plenty of time to decide upon and purchase a rifle. As always, do the hard part first.

Good luck with your project.
 
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Thanks for the words of advice gents. Not looking to shoot subsonic ammunition, but more long range prone using a suppressor. 300blk is probably out of the question now that I have put more thought into it.
 
Your getting some bad info. You need to decide if you want to be sub sonic or louder. You ain't going to shoot anything smaller than a school bus at 600yds with a sub sonic 223! You might stretch the 300BO out of a 8-11" barrel if you are shooting at a small car. If you put a can on an 18" barrel you may as well be shooing a musket with a 26" barrel. It would probably be quieter and as accurate.

Nowhere in here did anyone mention shooting subsonic anything, which you will NOT be doing with any of these calibers. Hell, you are not going to be shooting subsonic 308 at that distance either. Hell, you will NOT be shooting subsonic 223, it won't cycle the bolt and even if it did why would you choose that over building a 22LR upper if that was your goal?
 
And FYI, you would be well served with a 18" barrel with the suppressor based on what you've specified. Plenty of availability of quality match ammo if you will not be loading it on your own.
 
And FYI, you would be well served with a 18" barrel with the suppressor based on what you've specified. Plenty of availability of quality match ammo if you will not be loading it on your own.

That's what I was thinking. I roll my own .223, but I'm not sure if I'd want to get in loading for another cartdridge if I went 6.8.

Either way, I won't be shooting offhand, only on a bipod or bag in the field.
 
This post is getting close to what I have been toying with in my head so I will post my question here. I am about to buy and start the paperwork/wait on a Allen Engineering AE30 in the next couple of months. One of the roles I have in mind for the suppressor is a 308 gas gun. I want to keep the overall length short but not so short to loose performance. I have a Mega MKM extended rifle length upper/lower set. I have been considering buying a barrel(mega 18") with a mid length gas system to keep the gas block under the rail and having the barrel cut and threaded so the suppressor starts at the end of the rail for a clean/tight transition. This should make about a 16 inch barrel and approx 24" overall length.

What kind of performance should I expect along the lines of noise suppression and accuracy to 800 yards? The role of this gun is strickly for play and will be a bench, belly and bipod gun but I want to keep the overall length short.
 
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I've been having a lot of fun with a 16" 7.62 out to 770m (all the range I have) and don't have any issues recommending 16" especially if you roll your own ammo. A suppressor is going to keep it quite but also add a smidge of velocity back so FWIW.
 
Don't worry about noise suppression as much as:

1. Accuracy
2. Repeatability
3. Durability

For gas gun applications, this limits your choices even further.

I've had extraordinarily good luck with Surefire suppressors since they first came out. I have three now and plan to be picking up two more this month. That's what I call "Voting with my wallet".
 
My .308 bolt rig is 22". My MATEN build in progress will be 16". My blackout is 10.2".

Most of the AR's I'll be running a can on will be in the 16" family, with a MK18 in the way off yonder future. I do have a 20" Lothar-Walther that may get a mount for my can. Not sure yet.
 
I run my suppressor on my 18" mega Maten all day. It is heavy if your trying to free hand it, but most people don't stand and shoot precision shots at 800 yards like this.
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