Suppressors wet vs. dry

[NorthLiberty]

What is the difference between a wet silencer or a regular silencer?

 

[40calPUNISHER]

Wet suppressors are old technology, dry is the way to go.

 

[VUPDblue]

wet means adding a bit of water or other coolant to the suppressor. It doesn't have much to do with the technology. Often, you will see very low volume cans that are to be used wet. It is a tradeoff for size versus effeciency. Adding water or other coolant will boost the can's efficiency in cooling the escaping gasses. The downside is that what goes in must come out, and often it comes back through the action and all over the shooter's face...

 

[Lawguns]

Actually the technology part comes from old wipe or spun steel suppressors and the new CNC Machined baffle suppressors. I would go with a Wet / Dry set up. You can use either. I use CLP to put in mine and the excess does blow out the muzzle end of the suppressor. However as you shoot a suppressor you will notice the first shot is louder then the following shots. The liquid helps keep the first shot quieter then it would be dry. How ever as the suppressor heats up it will cook off the liquid.
Before choosing what you want to buy I would look at the application for which you plan to use it. If you are putting it in a full auto M-16 dry is all you might want. If you are going to use it to shoot just one or two shots at a time I might choose wet. I like the Yankee Hill cans because they are wet or dry. Also I used the Johns guns 5.56 suppressor the other day on a 10.5” full auto M-16 and I might just say “it was awesome.” If you stop into LE Firearms at 2619 S Shelby, Indpls they have a .22 Walther they demo wet and dry with a Yankee Hill can and you can hear it for yourself.

 

[VUPDblue]

So in a nutshell, you can make any suppressor 'wet' by adding coolant. Like I said before, doing so will make it more efficient (read:quieter). Many or most newer suppressors are designed to create maximum efficiency dry, but you may be able to squeeze a couple more Db's out of it by adding coolant. There are some 'job specific' cans that are VERY small and low in volume that are intended to be used wet, though they are only good for a few shots before you have to add more coolant. The AWC Abraxas comes to mind. The friggin thing is smaller than the Outback but it is a 9mm! I am not a fan of running my cans wet because it creates a messy situation at best. 1000rpm's of LR love through a wet can makes Nick a dirty boy (literally)!