Thread: Barrel length vs suppressor length

Has anyone seen or done any research into whether it’s better to have an extra inch of barrel or an extra inch of suppressor forward of the muzzle for best noise reduction?

It has been proven that more suppressor in front of the muzzle suppresses noise better, but if you wanted a ‘fixed’ total length of barrel plus suppressor, are you better to go 18” barrel and 6 baffles? Or 20” barrel and 4 baffles?

Obviously there’s a velocity difference, but not a consideration at this stage. Just the noise

16" and 8 baffles would be even quieter for the same overall length

Originally Posted by 199p

16" and 8 baffles would be even quieter for the same overall length

Have you tried it bro?

In theory more suppressor forward the quiter it is


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I played around with my 22LR got movie quiet and with my old remmag that was 20"

you could also go with a hre stealth suppressor its about the same size as running 2 dpt magnum cans

I'd speculate that 20mm of additional baffle muzzle forward would reduce sound pressure level by more than 20mm of additional bore. The volume and gas flow disruption is greater in a suppressor baffle designed for the purpose than it is in a rifle barrel.

Originally Posted by 199p

16" and 8 baffles would be even quieter for the same overall length

Have you tried that, how did it work?
I have 16 in .308 that is barky as hell. Putting a standard muzzle forward DPT on it made some difference but not a lot.
The same suppressor on a 20 in barrel was a lot better.

Originally Posted by Sh00ter

Have you tried that, how did it work?
I have 16 in .308 that is barky as hell. Putting a standard muzzle forward DPT on it made some difference but not a lot.
The same suppressor on a 20 in barrel was a lot better.

and if you compare the 16" barrel, with suppressor, to the 20" barrel without........ ????

Go 12” barrel 8 inch suppressor


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Originally Posted by Sh00ter

Have you tried that, how did it work?
I have 16 in .308 that is barky as hell. Putting a standard muzzle forward DPT on it made some difference but not a lot.
The same suppressor on a 20 in barrel was a lot better.

Nah bro im hoping nic dose tho haha

im thinking he should do 10" barrel and 10 baffles

Originally Posted by Sh00ter

Have you tried that, how did it work?
I have 16 in .308 that is barky as hell. Putting a standard muzzle forward DPT on it made some difference but not a lot.
The same suppressor on a 20 in barrel was a lot better.

I put a 13.5''x41mm sparton gunworks suppresser on my 20in 308 tika.Quieten her down quiet a lot from a 9"x41mm.Only a truck gun so doesnt matter about the extra weight.Very little recoil felt,nice to shoot.

Originally Posted by Sh00ter

Have you tried that, how did it work?
I have 16 in .308 that is barky as hell. Putting a standard muzzle forward DPT on it made some difference but not a lot.
The same suppressor on a 20 in barrel was a lot better.

Probably depends on the ammo/load you are using. I'm not after max velocity and use GRT to help get loads with at least 95% burn in the barrel in my 16.5" 308, I'm sure that helps tame the noise. Certainly fine to shoot with std DPT suppressor (5 daffles from memory) and no hearing protection, haven't noticed it being much worse than full length barrel rifles. The 168grain projectiles are fine with 2208, but gets noisy (and spectacular at night) with 125 grain projectiles with 2208, so now using 2219 or 3031 with the lighter projectiles.

Bare barrel ,you want muzzle as far away as you can get it and the shorter you go the louder it sounds,try a shotgun and it becomes obvious quickly.but different loads make it better or worse too.rifle is no different,I'm sure I'm not only one to use a sub load in naked barrel just because I can and it's much more enjoyable. Even two grains less powder makes a hell of a difference to the boom factor.

Originally Posted by bjp

Probably depends on the ammo/load you are using. I'm not after max velocity and use GRT to help get loads with at least 95% burn in the barrel in my 16.5" 308, I'm sure that helps tame the noise. Certainly fine to shoot with std DPT suppressor (5 daffles from memory) and no hearing protection, haven't noticed it being much worse than full length barrel rifles. The 168grain projectiles are fine with 2208, but gets noisy (and spectacular at night) with 125 grain projectiles with 2208, so now using 2219 or 3031 with the lighter projectiles.

In starting this thread I was referring to my 358. It’s fairly loud at 20” and 4 baffles even though the 2219 powder is 100% burnt by the muzzle. I’m just going to try another baffle (or two) and go from there. It might just be a function of the large bore diameter rather than anything else.

From what i’ve messed around with, an 18” barrel with 8 DPT baffles (24” overall length) will be a heck of a lot quieter then a 20” barrel with 4 DPT baffles (24” overall length).