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Suppressors Surefire baffle strike and repair process

lennyo3034

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 18, 2010
3,065
932
39
USA
First and foremost: I'm an idiot and this was completely my own fault.

I was sighting a rifle in for a gas gun match the next day and had a baffle strike. Essentially what happened was I finished shooting and unlocked it, but failed to actually pull it off, letting it stay on the gun to cool instead (riflekuhl in chamber). While packing up I took a work call and was distracted. I also realized I had a few more rounds of ammo I needed to shoot up. So I chambered one and fired...without locking the suppressor. I ended up with a face full of gas and the suppressor launched down range.

The pictures below show the damage. The first baffle is supposed to be round, not slotted. The slot is where the projectile struck. Notice the end cap is completely undamaged. The projectile never made it out of the suppressor. As I picked it up and shook it, bullet fragments came back out. Unfortunately I neglected to take pictures of them. I am very surprised the projectile never made it out, a 5.56 round at the muzzle has a lot of energy. As you can see from the end cap picture, the baffled stack was totally jacked up.

I called Surefire to start the RMA process and told them exactly what happened. They said send it in for evaluation. I assumed it was unfixable and I would have to wait 14 months for a new can. Three weeks later, the suppressor is returned looking brand new. They replaced the baffle stack, however the end cap, tube, and lock collar were unscathed. They also recoated the entire suppressor and test fired for accuracy.

I got it back today and test fired it. Functions exactly as it did before and accuracy is exactly as before as well. Very happy with Surefire CS and very impressed the baffles actually contained the bullet. If they didn't, I would have had to replace the can and wait for a form 4 to clear.
 

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First and foremost: I'm an idiot and this was completely my own fault.

I was sighting a rifle in for a gas gun match the next day and had a baffle strike. Essentially what happened was I finished shooting and unlocked it, but failed to actually pull it off, letting it stay on the gun to cool instead (riflekuhl in chamber). While packing up I took a work call and was distracted. I also realized I had a few more rounds of ammo I needed to shoot up. So I chambered one and fired...without locking the suppressor. I ended up with a face full of gas and the suppressor launched down range.

The pictures below show the damage. The first baffle is supposed to be round, not slotted. The slot is where the projectile struck. Notice the end cap is completely undamaged. The projectile never made it out of the suppressor. As I picked it up and shook it, bullet fragments came back out. Unfortunately I neglected to take pictures of them. I am very surprised the projectile never made it out, a 5.56 round at the muzzle has a lot of energy. As you can see from the end cap picture, the baffled stack was totally jacked up.

I called Surefire to start the RMA process and told them exactly what happened. They said send it in for evaluation. I assumed it was unfixable and I would have to wait 14 months for a new can. Three weeks later, the suppressor is returned looking brand new. They replaced the baffle stack, however the end cap, tube, and lock collar were unscathed. They also recoated the entire suppressor and test fired for accuracy.

I got it back today and test fired it. Functions exactly as it did before and accuracy is exactly as before as well. Very happy with Surefire CS and very impressed the baffles actually contained the bullet. If they didn't, I would have had to replace the can and wait for a form 4 to clear.

what did the repair work cost? Good to know they have good service. Have a Ryder 9 Ti that is fun to shoot.
 
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A few people had questions regarding how it was sitting when fired.

1. I unlocked and broke it free while hot to prevent it from getting stuck. Letting it cool without unlocking and wiggling = stuck can.
2. I did not remove it completely because I had no place to put it while it was still hot. Also I had a riflekuhl running and that cools the can down quicker than sitting on bench.
3. Benches are covered in carpeting which melts onto hot suppressor. Hence no place to put it.
4. Picture below is how it was sitting when I fired. Not the same as a stuck can.
5. I could have claimed to Surefire that my can was stuck and the baffle strike occurred when I tried to shoot it off per their instructions. But that would be lying.
 

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Awesome! Glad they took care of you and didn’t have to wait a year for another can.
 
I had a similar experience with a baffle strike on their SOCOM. Was extremely impressed. Right up there with Silencerco on CS. I gave trying to work with Gemtech on a repair on a different one FWIW