Well, I finished my 55 gallon barrel suppressor project and went to test it out. I found a couple of cheap camping mats for inside lining and held all in with a rod bent into a coil. Cut the shooting slots just right and had the bottom piece slide right over the cut top. All looked good.
I had the back part of the barrel supported by my shooting table and the front part supported by some shooting sticks with three legs I had. I finally got all aligned up along with my chrony in front of the barrel. Well, things started going down hill first shot. The large part of the barrel separate and blew forward, flipped and hit the chrony breaking the attachment where it attaches to the tripod. Upon closer inspection I also noticed that the shooting sticks legs were bent. Well, I'm not one to give up too easily so I decided to try again, made sure the barrel was pushed together tighter, lined all up, put a sandbag on the chrony and put a shot through. It worked well and my wife said she could hardly hear it so I was feeling better, but had to readjust the bent shooting sticks under the front of the barrel again after the second shot. Third shot, barrel separated again and after getting up I realized I had shot my chrony. I guess I had moved the barrel again lining it up. Well, with my shooting sticks bent, my chrony tripod connection broke, and now my chrony in pieces I decided to wrap it up after only three shots.
You ever have one of those days when you probably should have just stayed in? Today was that day for me. Guess I'm in the market for a new chrony, shooting sticks and a better design to hold the barrel together, probably duct tape, and support the front with something like a sawhorse. I probably should have prepared better but I was biting at the bit to get out and give it a go. At least the chrony was a used one I picked up for about $35, shooting sticks $20 used and tripod $15. So, a $70 fee for not being prepared accordingly....I guess it could have been worse, live and learn. The good news is that after I get it all fixed it appears the barrel is going to suppress sufficiently.
I had the back part of the barrel supported by my shooting table and the front part supported by some shooting sticks with three legs I had. I finally got all aligned up along with my chrony in front of the barrel. Well, things started going down hill first shot. The large part of the barrel separate and blew forward, flipped and hit the chrony breaking the attachment where it attaches to the tripod. Upon closer inspection I also noticed that the shooting sticks legs were bent. Well, I'm not one to give up too easily so I decided to try again, made sure the barrel was pushed together tighter, lined all up, put a sandbag on the chrony and put a shot through. It worked well and my wife said she could hardly hear it so I was feeling better, but had to readjust the bent shooting sticks under the front of the barrel again after the second shot. Third shot, barrel separated again and after getting up I realized I had shot my chrony. I guess I had moved the barrel again lining it up. Well, with my shooting sticks bent, my chrony tripod connection broke, and now my chrony in pieces I decided to wrap it up after only three shots.
You ever have one of those days when you probably should have just stayed in? Today was that day for me. Guess I'm in the market for a new chrony, shooting sticks and a better design to hold the barrel together, probably duct tape, and support the front with something like a sawhorse. I probably should have prepared better but I was biting at the bit to get out and give it a go. At least the chrony was a used one I picked up for about $35, shooting sticks $20 used and tripod $15. So, a $70 fee for not being prepared accordingly....I guess it could have been worse, live and learn. The good news is that after I get it all fixed it appears the barrel is going to suppress sufficiently.
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