View Full Version : Lightest weight barrel profile you'd hang a suppressor off of?
voiceofreason
09-06-17, 07:42
Given how heavy some cans can be (roughly a pound or a bit under), hanging them off the end of a barrel changes the POI.
What is the lightest profile barrel that could handle a suppressor hanging off the end?
Would an SBR using a shorter barrel make a small or large difference? 12.5" vs 16" for example
A GOV profile SBR barrel is much stiffer than a pencil barrel 16".
The POI shift is only important if you intend to shoot both with and without the suppressor attached.
I have a gov profile 10.5" barrel. Almost no poi shift on that. My 16" bcm elwf profile drops about 4" whith my can on, but it is a consistent drop. I have an m4 profile, but never checked the difference on that one
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The longer the barrel is, the more flexible it is (for the same profile). I suspect barrel length would make a significant difference, but have no personal experience.
Predicting a bunch of ridiculous answers that say Gov is good, pencil is too light.
Gov profile is basically what you end up with when you put a can on a pencil barrel. Both are the same from the chamber to the gas block, with more weight towards the muzzle.
The shorter the barrel, the stiffer it is. But often you'll find it doesn't matter if there is shift or not so long as it is repeatable and you can adjust for it.
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There's a lot of open variables there. Ideally, you would want a profile/gas block/can combo that deflects in a more natural curve for that combination. So called "kinks" or variations of that natural deflection curve doesn't really help in the long run. The volume of shooting Vs time is another factor for an acceptable end result. One RPM Vs higher rate of fire than that will quickly change results. Also included among them is other things not mentioned yet like the required result for precision/ accuracy.
There's a lot more that we can look at. Some applications may be more appropriate to some more than others. The end result for the need for a lifecycle duration within the requirements is what's best for that.
It is possible that an A1 profile-ish 20" with a 1.5 pound can combination may suit a role better or less than a 10.x" HBAR with a 7/8" press fit gas block with muzzle faced indexed 3/4" threads on a 12 ounce can. I've seen it go either way in the extremes for a similar base question.
Predicting a bunch of ridiculous answers that say Gov is good, pencil is too light.
Gov profile is basically what you end up with when you put a can on a pencil barrel. Both are the same from the chamber to the gas block, with more weight towards the muzzle.Most barrels sold as "pencil" are significantly lighter profile than government, including behind the gas block.
For a lot of the possible options, I find some issues with the pinning proximity to the bore for some gas blocks. While many precision shooters seem to be concerned more with that being a possible location of a bore distortion, it's been known that the pin locations can influence barrel deflection. Most of us do not want to increase deflections knowingly or not in the barrel, that is one of the items that can alter a smooth radius barrel deflection, we don't want "kinks" in it knowing that or not.
M16A1 profile? Nobody complained about that.
By the way, this article is absolutely fascinating if you're a gun nerd like me.
http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2382
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They really didn't have the options available to them that we have today. It is old news mostly, but I'm glad to see the link, it could help some others that aren't familiar with the evolution of some items.
At the risk of inducing thread drift, it is pretty interesting that those old cans were reflex style.
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