An Idea

Here is an idea that I have had for a suppressor for quite some time. My design is to be a revision of a new product that has recently hit the market. Tactical Solutions has just come out with their new SBX barrel. It is an awesome idea centered around a short, 12" .22 caliber barrel with a non-removable tube extension. The SBX design pushes the NFA envelope, and when Tac Sol says in their mission statement that they are "innovative," they back it up with products like the SBX. Here is a picture of it:


As you can see by the ported extension, tactical solutions is trying to keep short and legal. The minimum a rifle barrel can be is 16" without getting into NFA regulation. I love the products that tactical solutions makes, however, I think I have a design that I have seen no other company design so far.

It is based off of the same short, suppressed system. However, my design has some key features that makes it competitive.

The design is still based off of a 12" main barrel, but instead of having a larger tube extension, rather continue the barrel with a baffle system connected all the way to the necessary 16' length. This baffle system is open and would not reduce sound levels and would not be considered anything else but a muzzle brake. For hunters it would not look as radical as the grooved out larger muzzle extension that is on the SBX. It would give it a slim low profile.

The suppressor comes to play with a simple outer tube. Cheap and easy to manufacture, the tube would take advantage of the muzzle brake/ baffle system already in place. Just simply slip the tube over the barrel and viola' you have an "optionally" suppressed rifle in seconds.

Another benefit to this system is that because it is so cheap to manufacture an outer tube that the day of a $100 + NFA tax could be coming sooner than we think! The cheapest .22 suppressor I can find right now is $225. This is because the suppressor must be manufactured with the baffle system in the tube. This is costly and tedious to build this way. Tac Sol is already devouring the .22 barrel market and could easily devour the .22 suppressor market.

Another benefit is cleaning. Some .22 cans are sealed, some come apart. The sealed cans after awhile fill up with powder and leading. Sealed can will invariably start to get louder as their volume is being taken up with shot debris. With this design you will be able to easily take off the outer tube and clean the baffles. From what I know right now, Tac Sol has only sealed cans. One is removable and the other is an integrally suppressed. I know they are about to release their new catalogue with the new products so we will see if they have had a trick up their sleeve.

Needless to say this idea could be used also on Tac Sol's pac lites and trail lites.

PICS**** Here is a pic from a bottom angle. The idea behind the baffle stack is triangular blast face that would be ridged. (I didn't know how to make ridges or threads in Google sketch up) It could be flat baffle faces or circular...testing will show which works best.

CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE


Here is an XRAY view.


Here is a side profile showing the outer tube and main barrel with baffles. The barrel length is 16.5" The blast baffle length is not to scale. I was just trying to get them to look right much less get the measurements perfect.


Close up where you can read notes on outer tube (suppressor)


Here you can read my notes on the main barrel


Forgive the squarish corners on the barrel. I did not know how to make them part of the circular face.




Here is a top view. Again forgive the squarish edges on barrel. That would not be there on a real one.



Here is a baffle stack by Griffin Armament called the Checkmate. Something like this could be made into the end of the barrel and used as a muzzle brake without the outer tube. With the outer tube...well silence is golden.

NOTE: It is regulation that the baffle stack has to be permanently attached to the end of the 12"barrel. This makes it NFA legal.


The only thing that I would change about the design of this baffle stack would be to make all the blast baffles with the ripple/ridge look. I have also thought of making the baffle stack flat faced. See the next image of the AAC Prodigy as example of the ridges/ripples.


Note the Ridges on the slanted face of the AAC Prodigy to the right. I would put them on a triangular face, simple flat face , or circular face baffle stack.


So to rehash some of the benefits of this design:

1. Over all barrel length would stay under 16.5"
2. The barrel would be lighter due to less material (don't know how these barrels can get lighter than they are!) Unless the stack has to be made of steel, but I don't think even a steel stack would be that heavy.
3. Slim low profile (gets rid of the larger tube extension like the SBX)
4. Easy cleaning of the baffle stack
5. The outer tube (suppressor) would be easy to manufacture and cheap
6. Side thought: if the designers make it, they could make the suppressor tube also double as a vertical grip with a cnc picitiny adapter that the tube could be threaded to. This would give the tube a double purpose.

My presentation of the Baffle Stack:


So that is my idea. This is an idea that is built on the success of others, but I have yet to see built. I think it would sell and I would love to see Tactical Solutions give it a run at the Shot Show 2008. I think that the market would demand these barrels and suppressors.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Brennan Webb


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Side notes: Here is a drawing of a semi-permanent/ detachable suppressor for those who already have threaded weapons and are not looking to buy a new barrel. It works off of the same principle as the full size barrel up top. It is simply a screw on thread adapter with an outer tube.