[tenmillimaster]

How much recoil would a Suppressor remove, compared to a Recoil brake?
Which would be more effective?

Also, how much heat is produced per round with a suppressor in .50BMG? (with adequate barrel lengths)

 

[BigEd63]

I sure hope GB sees this as this is gonna require some scientific measurments I think.

Now If you give me some time like a day or so I can get a hold of a friend who builds .50's, muzzle brakes and suppressors. And also just installs the later two.

He works through these guys if you want to ask them directly though I'm not sure how much detailed tech info they will give out:

http://www.auroratactical.com/

 

[Hard Rock]

There is quite a bit of data on this subject out there. With only a very few exceptions, the suppressor reduces recoil significantly better than a brake. Several things need to be looked at though.

1. What type of system is the suppressor on? Is it a bolt gun or a semi or full auto?

2. What caliber is the firearm? Lighter recoiling calibers see little in the advantages of brakes or suppressors.

3. How much does the system weigh combined with how long is the barrel?

I no longer give any information that relates to my specific systems or me personally but I can tell you that .50 suppressors get warm pretty quickly compared to suppressors on comparable systems of lesser calibers.

Mike

 

[tenmillimaster]

First off, I suppose I should've clarified from the start that I am referring to .50BMG as the calibre.

Well, I'm not looking into buying any large calibre rifles yet(I'm really only asking because I'm curious.), but how about detailing the differences between each action?
I imagine that a semiautomatic action would decrease felt recoil.

As far as the weight of the entire rifle and the barrel length... since I'm not actually referring to any firearm that I own/am considering owning, let's just say this is on an M82A1, with the 29 inch barrel.

 

[Hard Rock]

Okay...

On the actions... there are a few. You have the "shell holder" style single shots, the classic bolt action, recoil operated semi-auto's and gas operated semi-auto's.

The semi-automatics do mitigate recoil somewhat and guns like the Barrett which operate from a short recoil lock-up principle can see reliability issues with some suppressors due to the added weight and counter-recoil tendecies of the suppressor. However, the recoil reduction of a semi-auto is very limited due to the cartridge we are discussing. It's still gonna let you know it's there.

On the example you give, the M82, if I remember the numbers correctly, the AWC Turbodyne decreases the felt recoil by 50-60% when the suppressor is tuned to the gun. When it isn't, the recoil reduction is 30-40% give or take a few percent.

In all honesty, the bolt actions and single shots are the best choices for suppressing. They benefit the most from the other advantages offered by suppression. The most critical aspect is accuracy... especially over long ranges.

Make sure that if you do look into getting a .50 BMG, never, ever shoot it without the muzzle brake or a suppressor. You can be seriously injured if you fuck up your hold or are inexperienced with this round.

Hope this helps!

Mike

 

[krept]

A guy I know has a .50 and his bud wanted to shoot it without the brake. Dislocated his shoulder and detached his retina.

How do you tune a suppressor? Especially with welded baffle stacks?

 

[tenmillimaster]

Thanks HR. Oh, and thanks for the caveat-I've heard plenty of horror stories about the .50BMG and shooter injuries to have learned my lesson.

Tuning a suppressor to a firearm? I don't doubt what you say, but what does that entail?

Also, is there any difference in the braking effect when comparing Dry and Wet systems?

I know that in Wet systems, Water works more efficiently than oil or grease, but would it help curb the excessive heat generation, more so than oil or grease?

 

[Rich Z]

A guy I know has a .50 and his bud wanted to shoot it without the brake. Dislocated his shoulder and detached his retina.

I assume it was scoped. I don't think any scope made has enough eye relief to do any good on a .50BMG without a muzzle brake. The rear bell of the scope would probably act just like a cookie cutter around your eyesocket... MAJOR OUCH!!

 

[BigEd63]

I don't know about that I fired a couple sans brake and pad.

Though they were prototype .50 rifles and I would not make a habit of it.

Although I'm 6'3" and weigh over 200lbs I felt like I was pushed back along the ground when firing from prone.

 

[Rich Z]

I would think firing prone would be a LOT safer than firing from a sitting position. At least as far as the retinal separation problem is concerned. When prone, the gun is basically pushing against your entire mass, whereas when seated it is only pushing against your upper body. So your head would tend to whiplash a LOT more while seated.

Still, even when prone, you probably need a pretty stout collar bone......

I wouldn't do it. I don't imagine having "retinal separation" is really a whole lot of fun. Heck, just firing one of the 50s when you have a mild headache is NO fun......... The concussion goes right through your sinus cavities.

 

[BigEd63]

The concussion comment reminds me of a fellow I knew who had a realtively short barreld(36"IIRC) .50 rifle that had been built by Bill Holmes.

I was out on a private range the same time as he one misty morning and it was amusing to see what looked like a roughly 2ft dougnut of instant steam flash for a second around the muzzle brake when he fired it.

 

[krept]

I was out on a private range the same time as he one misty morning and it was amusing to see what looked like a roughly 2ft dougnut of instant steam flash for a second around the muzzle brake when he fired it.

That would have made an awesome picture, kind of like the ones of the F18s/F14s breaking the sound barrier and creating a cone of vapor (or something).

Not sure about the details of the .50 injury other than that. The guy who owns the rifle has a huge collection and is into a lot of oddball stuff... he made integrally suppressed AR uppers for a local PD, so his .50 could very well have been home brewed.

cheers

 

[Hard Rock]

Tuning a suppressor involves taking into account the chamber, length of barrel and type of system the unit is mounted on. A suppressor designed to operate on a bolt gun with a 32 inch barrel will not perform on a gun requireing a suppressor made to work on a semi-auto or a gun with a different barrel length.

Basically, it involves the number of baffles and how they are cut. Tuning becomes more and more important the larger the bore and the faster the projectile is.

It's one of the reasons that AWC can make an effective suppressor that is 2 inches wide and 12 long to work on a .50.

Mike

 

[spurrit]

Make sure that if you do look into getting a .50 BMG, never, ever shoot it without the muzzle brake or a suppressor. You can be seriously injured if you fuck up your hold or are inexperienced with this round.

Mike

SOMEWHERE on Youtube, there was a video of some skinny kid shooting a Barret without the brake on it. I tried like hell to find it, but couldn't. Looked like it hurt.