The most fun you can have in your garage! *Update in post #7*

[tlawler]

After following Onomea’s odyssey of finding a .22 suppressor and host(and learning a LOT about the subject…thanks everyone!), I took the plunge and picked up a FN 502 along with a Dead Air Mask suppressor. Wait times are down to just a few days now(in some cases, hours) and mine took four days plus an extra day since the shop was closed on Monday. When I got it home, I decided to try it out with a home made bullet trap I cobbled together. It was quiet enough that I didn’t disturb mrs. tlawler watching her gardening show in the living room. At that point, I didn’t even have a target set up, just a big bag of rags with a steel plate behind it to pop rounds into.

I picked up an economical bullet trap on Amazon and pulled my trijicon off my FN 510, since I knew it would fit. With the rmr on it, this little pistol is really fun. The first time I tried it with my Garmin xero, I had some issues, but with some thought, I figured it out(i.e. I read the instructions). I decided to do a side by side comparison with several types of ammo to see if I was staying subsonic, with my results below. Also, at the suggestion of 6string, I downloaded NIOSH’s sound level app to get a comparative sound level. I’m still working the kinks out of that and trying to figure out how to record peak sound levels, but just from visual observation, I was seeing peaks in the 105 to 110 dB range. It’s just hard to line up the sights and look at the phone screen at the same time.

I ran twenty rounds of each type after experimenting with the garmin until I was getting consistent readings. Shooting distance was 21 ft. from sitting position with elbow resting on leg to keep the muzzle close enough to the garmin for good readings.

Ammo. Min. Avg. Max. Ext. Sprd.

1. Rem Klean-Bore SV: 846.3 906.9 977.1 130.8
2. Fed Auto Match HV: 979.1 1004.4 1044.2 65.1
3. Win Wildcat HV: 1029.2 1056.2 1074.8 45.6
4. Rem Gold Bullet HV: 1026.9 1071.9 1097.8 71.0
5. Fed Champion HV: 1007.8 1076.7 1105.4 97.6

Sorry about the column alignment. It all lined up while I was typing it on my phone.

With my garage temperature being right around 80 degrees when I was shooting, I’d estimate the speed of sound to be in the vicinity of 1150 fps, so everything I was shooting stayed subsonic, though the Federal Champion was definitely tickling the lower threshold.

 

[tlawler]

I played around with the sound level meter app and was able to use a second phone to capture some screen shots of the peak readings. I got several in the 105 to 111 range, and I think it has to do with the sampling rate, i.e. if the meter only samples every two to three seconds, it’s only by luck that you happen to shoot just as it’s sampling, thus you get a lot of off peak samplings. I had about 6 or 7 that were consistently around 115 to nearly 117 dB, so I think a figure of 116 dB would be pretty accurate within the limitations of an iphone app without an external microphone. Samples were taken about 24 inches from and perpendicular to the barrel axis and about even with the muzzle. Just anecdotally, the sound level is probably a bit less to someone firing the pistol, since you would be about the same distance behind the muzzle.

 

[Yendor357]

Tlawler, Interesting post. May I make a suggestion? On your velocity readings, just round up or down. It cleans up your numbers, making it easier to read.

Keep up the good work.

 

[duman444]

Fun

Suppressors are fun, aren't they? Was at the range Thursday with my Sparrow on my S&W Victory 22 SA. Everyone left, except RO, myself and the guy I normally shoot with, who always says my 2nd job must be a hitman with my suppressed pistol. We all took off our hearing protection and I sent 11 supersonics downrange. Had cleaned the Sparrow since last shoot, so first shot was a little louder than the other 10. Expect a 10 bay range to be about the same noise profile as your basement, maybe a little quieter with the bullet proof panels on the bays, the walls are painted cinder block.

 

[CH4]

Definitely sounds like a good time, but I don’t think it’s the most fun you can have in a garage. Once upon a time, in my garage, there was a cop car, red and blue lights flashing, yada yada yada. Breakfast was great!

 

[tlawler]

I’ve been having way too much fun with this thing. At this rate, I’m going to burn through my .22 LR stash by the end of summer.

We bought some land up in the Central Florida Ridge area and are in the process of building a house on it. We’ve been making weekend trips up there to check on it and I’ve been tempted to set up targets and do some shooting. It is allowed, but I’ve been worried about getting the neighbors angry before we even become neighbors. With the suppressed .22, it’s not an issue at all. My youngest, who is down from Tallahassee, my wife, and I were happily plinking away to our hearts content. I even broke out my new FNX .45 Tactical with the Rugged Obsidian attached and ran a couple of mags of hardball through it.

I took Monday and Tuesday as vacation days since Sierra is down and took her to my gun club’s outdoor range where she promptly hogged the suppressed .22 most of the session. So far, I think we’ve put over 500 rounds through it in less than a week.

I also got to try out the Rugged direct mount on my CMMG Banshee 10mm. I had loaded up some 220 grain coated flat points that were running at 1050 fps in my FN 510, and I was hoping they would stay subsonic in the 8” Banshee barrel. About half were sub, with the other half cracking the sound barrier with an 1144 fps average.

 

[tlawler]

Ok, I’m well past 1K rounds through my FN 502 and it’s been a great little pistol. I’ve run two full boxes of Federal Automatch 325 rounders, a full brick of American Eagle HV (and 4 boxes into the second brick) and a couple hundred various others that I listed in the first post when I was getting projectile velocities.

My bullet trap has not held up quite so well, however. It’s been pretty much shot to pieces. When I pulled it apart, most of the fasteners came out cross threaded and three of the tack welded nuts had broken loose. Definitely not rated for “thousands of rounds of .22 LR” as it is advertised. I’ve gotten a much better one and just finished putting it together. It’s got a 1” thick ballistic rubber mat in front and is filled with ballistic rubber mulch…AKA shredded tires and is HEAVY! I haven’t tried it out yet, but I’ll report on it when I can. It’s also rated for up to .357 Mag, but of course I won’t be shooting that in my garage. I may however, test out some of my 220 grain 10mm subs in my CMMG Banshee, FN 510, and RIA Tac Ultra through the Rugged Obsidian as well as some wimpy .45 ACP in my FN 45. I’ll let you know how that works out.