So, you are an awesome resource and I'm asking a few questions that I have as I am ready to take the plunge.
After all is said and done, is it cheaper and the better deal to go with a suppressor manufacturer? If I am going to have to "re do" my suppressor, have someone else make new baffles and all of that, would I be better off to buy a pre-made can?
Rolling your own smoke is cool and it is so much faster doing a form 1, but I am being warned by form 4 guys that the better can costs $100 more on the front end and has a warranty and replacement parts. Is this true?
I am looking at doing a form 1 on a solvent trap that will cost $225 plus the $200 stamp. Would I be better served, although it will take longer, to go through Silencerco and get a sparrow2 or one of the 22lr cans. They are $360 or so today plus my stamp.
Your opinion?
My opinion? Cause I always have one of those handy!!
Random thoughts in no order:
1. I wouldn’t buy a Sparrow. I own one, and it’s the one can I wish I didn’t buy for a couple of reasons. (I do wish I had a Resonator instead of a Nitro, but it didn’t exist at the time I bought the Nitro).
2. I’ll have 9 Form 1 cans as soon as I finish up these last two, and only one is a rimfire can. And that’s only because I wanted a 1.25” OD can for a specific application.
3. Considering you can buy a Turbo or Turbo K, with a muzzle device, for slightly north of $300...there’s not a lot of reason to build a 5.56 can. Other deals on commercial cans also pop up occasionally.
4. All that being said, it’s fun. The thought of a $200 stamp on a $12 rimfire can from eBay sounds crazy, but you usually go from submission to approval in less than a month. And the $200 is a one-time tax.
5. Mine worked just fine full of $.69 freeze plugs, but the weight of them was a little heavier than I wanted. If they were Ti tubes, I may not have done anything...but I was also intrigued by the tubeless design, especially with my ability to still swap the ends around.
6. Only you can decide if the warranty is worth $X.
7. After these recores, I’ll have a 3-pack of silencers with baffles made by a commercial silencer manufacturer, with each one costing about half of what most SiCo, Dead Air, Rugged, etc option would be.
I think I may have mentioned it before, but in case I forgot...when I shot my F1 freeze plug cans with the guys from CA and SS, they said they’re seriously consider never buying another commercial can if you could get that performance for that price. At that time speed wasn’t even a factor because EForms was dead.