Cooling off a can

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Willie Lowman

New member
I have gone to the local indoor range a few times lately. At the end of my shooting session I have a dirty SCAR and a suppressor that will melt anything it touches. So I am stuck standing around waiting for my silencer to cool off enough that I can put it in my gun case. Waiting in a room full of people who give a terrified/suspicious look if you dare say "hello" to them. (http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=539292)

I have seen people dip their pistol suppressors in water to cool them while shooting. I do not intend to dip my rifle can in water.

So, do you do anything to cool your can off at the end of a range trip? I have thought about getting a CO2 dust sprayer to blow cool air through it. Or make a pouch for it out of an oven mit or something.
 
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Theohazard

New member
Well, I don't have any special technique or anything. I let my rifle suppressor cool off before I pack it away. Often I'll shoot something else last so I'm not just hanging around while it cools. But if I don't have time to let it cool I'll let it hang out of the end of my rifle bag so it doesn't touch anything - I have my rifle in a break-down bag so it's still fairly compact even with the suppressor hanging out.

My pistol can is a different story. It doesn't get anywhere near as hot as a rifle suppressor so I just wrap it in a rag to take it off and pack it away.

I was told by several people that if you use water to cool off a suppressor you can warp it. I don't know how much of an issue that might be, but I have no interest in finding out.
 
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Sharkbite

New member
I like the oven mitt idea. Might have to adopt that one. Do they make em in black with velcro.... Like a "tactical suspressor cooling off device".

Might be a market there:D
 
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Theohazard

New member
Yeah, I've seen some high-speed suppressor-handling gloves that are really nothing more than cheap black oven mitts with a logo.
 
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Deja vu

New member
I may be crazy here but I just bring a large glass of water. I dunk the suppressor and its cool again. Also usually a wet suppressor is more quiet than a dry suppressor. When I get home they get a bath in my Ultrasonic cleaner and then dried out to prevent rust.

putting them inside an oven mitt may be a good idea if you are dead set against water.
 
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Sharkbite

New member
Deja vu...

You just dunk your rifle suspressor into water?

Ive heard thats ok for pistol cans that dont get as hot but will ruin a rifle can if dunked at temp. Tell us about your experiences
 
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Deja vu

New member
My rifle can is a 45-70 on a lever action. It does not get as hot as some thing would on an AR/AK

I dunk it every reload so its only taking 7 shots max. It still gets hot (there is lots of gas in a 45-70) but not so hot that I worry about dunking it.

scaled.php


This has been by primary elk gun for a few years. Unfortunately I did not draw for an elk this year so I did not get to try it suppressed on but it did work well on the mule deer I got.
 
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handlerer2

New member
Isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol, will cool metal surfaces much quicker than water and will not rust gun metal.

I use it to cool my 300WBY between strings in the summer. I soak a wash cloth and rub the barrel. It will sizzle and fume but significantly shortens the time it takes my barrel to cool. A minute vs several minutes just venting. It can be applied inside and out.

I'm not worried about the vapor being toxic, they rub it on skin for therapy.
 
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Theohazard

New member
handlerer2 said:
Isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol, will cool metal surfaces much quicker than water and will not rust gun metal.

I use it to cool my 300WBY between strings in the summer. I soak a wash cloth and rub the barrel. It will sizzle and fume but significantly shortens the time it takes my barrel to cool.
Click to expand...
You're talking about using it on a bolt-action rifle barrel, not a suppressor. A suppressor gets a lot hotter than the barrel of the gun it's being used on. And you're talking about your bolt-action rifle; a suppressor on a semi-auto rifle gets much hotter than your barrel ever will. And I wouldn't even suggest using water to cool a rifle silencer down, let alone rubbing alcohol; if water can cool it down fast enough to warp it, what do you think alcohol will do?
 
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