Form 1 suppressors with metering results

[BigWaylon]

I'm not going to rehash the whole process of building these, but I'll post a couple pics. I built two sets of three. Each has a 7", 8" and 9" version. All have VSR blast baffles and then freeze plug baffles. All baffles bored for .30 cal...actually slightly overbored as I didn't necessarily trust my forming & drilling to be perfectly centered. The end caps are a little tighter as they were done on a lathe and I'm much more confident in the hole being centered.

The three smooth gray ones are Ti tubes and have the FPs spaced out a bit. The three bronze ones are SS tubes and have been turned down between the threads to shave some weight, with as many FPs as I could cram in them. The longest Ti one is still lighter than the shortest SS can. The Ti weigh (in oz) roughly 15/17/19, and the SS are 21/23/25.

The Ti all have YHM adapters. The SS set has a 1/2-28, a 5/8-24, and a YHM...all interchangeable but never an extra part (so I've never worried about whether you could actually have those on an F1 suppressor). The Ti all have .30 end caps, while the SS again have interchangeable caps, in 5.56, 6.8 and 7.62.

One pic of my day forming baffles. Yes, I made these on the kitchen island with a $60 HF 6-ton hydraulic press. The avocado is a very important part of the process. : [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/52164F76-1132-4431-82A1-6CB7F75B2E0B_zpshmp5ybxh.jpg"}[/IMG2]




The results of a couple hours work: [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/C469867C-B513-4B17-B24E-32552B9145B4_zpsuk8zdyg8.jpg"}[/IMG2]




Tubes and baffles: [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/472E435A-943C-46E1-BE6C-B1CB64DE5D40_zpseb8n6p1i.jpg"}[/IMG2]




Complete with end caps: [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/618CB601-6EF3-44DA-A2DA-65B9E42184B5_zpsysqhdo7v.jpg"}[/IMG2]




After Cerakoting them...used the C-series high temp Cerakote and a ~$5 PreVal sprayer: [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/259B8608-6FDA-4543-A04B-A1F6228814B0_zpsjezyorv5.jpg"}[/IMG2]





I was able to make a trip to Rugged Suppressors with Scott to meet Henry & Mike. Managed to start a discussion about F1 cans and mentioned how nice it would be to be able to meter them. They seemed interested in seeing the results, so said come back with them when I could. Make the trip with my six cans, plus a YHM LT & ULT, and Silencerco Sakers 7.62 & 5.56. I shot some 5.56, 6.8 & 300BLK. NOTE: when you see "w/5.56, etc...that indicates the end cap I was using). [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/6CAFCC73-1CD4-4F73-BD7E-AC01333B2C5C_zpsegins7cb.png"}[/IMG2]
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/F68BD2B2-2385-4166-B465-40766766911C_zpsw9n66bnl.png"}[/IMG2]
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/5E1B5105-D6EE-42E2-B1D8-EE03B72798A7_zpsxd6b0yic.png"}[/IMG2]


[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i751.photobucket.com\/albums\/xx151\/thegreghorton\/Mobile%20Uploads\/2A216175-CB77-4DBE-9522-A1976C3ED997_zpsydd9pjih.png"}[/IMG2]


Takeaways...

-The tubes full of FPs were ~5 dB quieter than those where I spaced out the first couple
-FRP was definitely present, but not really noticeable to the ear
-Mike was fairly surprised out how well they sounded, and thought that with a couple hundred rounds of ammo and some time on our hands, we could squeeze out another 5dB just by playing with the spacing
-They metered comparably to some expense cans on the supersonic ammo, while not quite as close on the subs...
-I became a true believer in shoot a can and if it sounds good to me, be happy...the tone and amount of blowback play a huge part in that, and you'd never have guessed the numbers on the 300BLK were as far off as you see posted
-Anybody can build one of these if they wanted to
-Including the cost of the forming jig, the hydraulic press and drill press I bought, I'm probably into them for an average of

 

[7.62 Sam]

your original post cost me many a dead president...instead of T&A ...its TNT......... Tools N Tax-stamps

 

[backwoodsshooter]

WHen I first submitted for my F1 I started to wonder if it was the best way for me. But after putting mine together, I think I will stick to F1 cans.

 

[11B CIB]

WHen I first submitted for my F1 I started to wonder if it was the best way for me. But after putting mine together, I think I will stick to F1 cans.

Nothing wrong with a Form 4 can unless you just want to save money. Spending the $ on ammo and materials to perfect the baffle spacing, aperture size, etc may make the difference. A Recce 5 or SpecWar 556 would be about the two most quiet 556 cans out there and neither are astronomically priced (compared to SF, KAC, etc)

 

[backwoodsshooter]

11B CIB oh there is nothing wrong with F4 cans. My thought process would probably change once the HPA is passed.

but for now, a F1 allows me to spread the cost out and build and machine stuff lol.