A fellow MarlinOwner user heard (or read) me say I would be suppressing my Guide Gun. Since he made me worked so hard
on my reply, I though it would make a good MarlinOwners 45-70 topic.
I recently acquired my first lever action gun, a Marlin 1895GS. I was inspired by a FFL/SOT friend who cut his Puma M92 bbl to a stupid short 10.5”, “Just because I can” he says, and attached his full auto Uzi suppressor to it. The thing is Hollywood quiet. Puff, puff! It got me at hello! Ever since, suppressing a lever is all I wanted to do
.
I worked up the subsonic load with 405gr on top of Trailboss. But I haven't yet gotten the suppressor or threaded the barrel. That will be another 8-10 month wait if it is anything like when I got my 308 can. :@.
My 1st serious suppressor was a YHM 308. Great value and customer service! That’s why I have my sights on a 45 Cobra. I exchanged email with YHM customer service, I asked,
“what is the maximum muzzle pressure it is designed to sustain (not full auto) w/o weakening it? Can it endure 44RemMag handgun muzzle pressures? Can the baffles accommodate a .458" diameter projectile?
and they said:
Sir,
Yes, you may shoot Remington .44 magnum out of the Cobra M2 .45 cal suppressor without any problems. Yes, technically it can accommodate a.458projectile, however if you are thinking of shooting a 458 SOCOM through it, no, it has too much pressure and you will blow the can up. As long as you stay at the maximum pressure load of a .45 you could shoot it through it.
The problem here is they do not say what the pressures are. That made it a bit more interesting for me.
When I started reloading for my 308Win bolt, I decided I needed Quickload s/w. It helps a great deal on stuff like this. I would not trust my life on it (it has been off more than once), but at least I gives you a pretty decent ball park. I always double check with actual published load data, though.
As per Quickload, a hot 185gr 45ACP+P can develop up to 4kpsi muzzle pressure (PM) on a 5” 1911. On a carry version, MP can go over 5kpsi. But I have not yet found any evidence anyone has suppressed one. That will be a future topic at SilencerTalk.com.
I am not too concerned, though. I know it can be done, as long as I keep the pressures low. My current subsonic load is tuned to 1050 fps. Quickload does not have Trailboss in their database, but, 11gr of Red Dot under a 405gr pile driver generates a mere 1.1kpsi MP out of a 18.5” bbl and 1050fps. And if for some reason that turns up to be too hot, I will just tone it down a bit more. But I don’t think that will be necessary.
My FFL/SOT friend shoots factory 240gr XTP 44SPC. (Quickload: 2.2kpsi with 11gr Blue Dot, 985fps). He also tried a bunch of 300gr on 44RemMag cases with no incidents (no idea on the load data).
But, hey! Let’s say the stupid 45 can would take nothing but the quintessential subsonic 45ACP round, a 230gr FMJ on a milspec 1911. Well, that produces 3kpsi MP with 6.1gr of Unique, (per Quickload)!
So if Quickload can be trusted at all, and my friends 10.5” Puma can be accepted as evidence, I’d say that, as long as you keep ‘em subsonic, yes, a 45 can should be safe on a 45 cal lever rifle, or a 44 to that matter.
That said, whatever you do, do it at your own risk. I’d work up a load and stop at the first remotely suspicious sight of trouble. And, make sure your can’s mfg has excellent customer service, if you catch my drift.
