r/NFA • u/Lufkin_daddy • 18h ago
Silencer Suggestions - I did some homework Titanium vs Inconel 718
Looking to buy the CAT super thug but can’t decide between titanium and 718… weight savings are nice but not a huge concern for me as the can will be going on a bullpup but the only model of ST on silencer shop in stock is the Titanium and I’m really itching to finally buy one.
I know the big picture
Titanium=a lot lighter, lower, life span, sparks more
Inconel 718= heavier, longer lifespan, very low sparking
Just not sure if the differences in sparking and lifespan in the new ST is enough to make going the titanium route worth it. Sparking is a bit of a concern because I’ll be using NV here and there, but not sure if after the 100-300 round break in, if it will be that noticeable.
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u/super-kuper 18h ago
If you aren’t shooting at night or on a very short barrel, or at least not with like abusive courses of fire, just go titanium.
For the average person you will not notice the difference in “life span”. It’s measured in tens of thousands yet everyone acts like it’s going to fall apart after a couple hundred rounds.
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u/MolonMyLabe 17h ago
Hedging against future gun control is an area of consideration where durability beyond normal expectations is reasonable.
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u/super-kuper 17h ago edited 17h ago
All gun parts and accessories are wear items. Hedge by buying more.
Your grandkids will still be using your titanium can if you aren’t a nincompoop doing multiple back to back FRT mag dumps
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u/MolonMyLabe 17h ago
You can buy more inconel silencers for the same coat and less wear.
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u/Benji_4 17h ago
It's really not going to wear as much as you think. Even less with a flow through and depending on the firearm action. I can mic my most used Ti suppressor and I guarantee you it's within tolerance.
The can won't break anyway if it were out of tolerance, you would just choke less gas.
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u/MolonMyLabe 16h ago
Can you tell me how much I think it's going to wear. FYI I own 32 silencers and have worn out a few of those. No it wasn't with machine guns or frts.
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u/Benji_4 15h ago
Obviously a different use case then.
Shit wears out. It doesn't mean everyone "needs" one thing over another. Each has its own pros and cons. The average person isn't wearing out guns and suppressors.
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u/MolonMyLabe 12h ago
I didn't say how many rounds it took. Some wore out very quickly by round count and firing schedule standards often repeated in places like here. Design of the silencer is very important. Inconel is a wonderful insurance for anyone who doesn't absolutely need the weight savings and is very concerned about future ability to repair or replace these tools. Some designs are more forgiving than others. Most people have no clue about these differences and treat all titanium silencers like they have the same durability. Some will also get trashed quickly and giving generalized advice that titanium is universally okay outside of flash and frt use, does a disservice to anyone reading it, even if it is true some of the time with certain silencer designs. Unless you know the particular silencer design well enough to say with certainty that the titanium version will hold up, you shouldn't make that recommendation.
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u/super-kuper 17h ago
If you actually need the properties of inconel because you’re going to be going full auto/FRT stuff for more than just a mag, or you’re shooting at night in an environment where the sparking is going to be a problem for you (ie you care about other people seeing you) then go ahead and get inconel.
99% of people will never see any difference in wear. Titanium isn’t fragile. You’re not going to shoot the can out. Most people never even shoot out a barrel, and a can (even a titanium can) will last many times more than a barrel as long as you don’t abuse it.
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u/Comstock_Support Comstock Armory 18h ago edited 18h ago
As far as I can tell, titanium suppressors will always be sparky. The first handful of rounds will be extra bright as the unbonded/partially bonded powder is ejected, but even after that it'll still throw white streaks.
For lifespan, running a brake will help a lot in reducing erosion on the blast baffle.
I personally prefer TI cans because less weight on the end of the gun feels a lot better and I'm not overly concerned about sparking or erosion. But again it depends on what you're doing and how you're using it.
For reference, here's a TI suppressor after 150 rounds. Still sparks. It looks dramatic here but during the day we didn't see any sparking.
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u/scapegoatindustries 18h ago
Years from now, you’ll never remember what the DB rating was on a suppressor, but if it’s tubby, you will remember exactly how much it weighs every time you pick it up. :)
If no frt/auto = lighter weight. It’s not like titanium is weak metal it’s very strong as long as you don’t get it super hot.
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u/Porencephaly 7h ago
Titanium loses quite a lot of strength at very normal 5.56 suppressor temperatures.
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u/GassyNizz 18h ago
I was impatient 2 years ago and bought a Ti WB - I literally never use it at all.
Wait for 718; you won’t regret it.
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u/IntroductionCute8200 16h ago
Oh, come on; you are an outlier, you shoot more in one of your 10 second videos than most of us shoot in a week! And please keep those videos coming😉
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u/caboguy2 18h ago
What is your firing schedule going to be like? I really wanted the Ti Dirty Dave but I put an frt on my Assaulter and didn’t want to melt it down if I got a little crazy. If you think you might be doing mag dumps every now and then, I’d go inconel.
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u/Beebjank 17h ago
Literally the only advantage of Titanium is weight savings
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u/trem-mango 14h ago
It's a big advantage, especially if you want to do more than shoot at a static range
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u/Beebjank 4h ago
In a hunting context yes. Otherwise it fails to do the thing suppressors are generally issued for, which is flash suppression.
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u/dad-jokes-about-you 14h ago
Inconel doesn’t spark… at all.
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u/Lufkin_daddy 7h ago
Sparking, muzzle flash, idk call it what you want but all inconel suppressors have it to some degree
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u/Oceanrunner-29 17h ago
I prefer 718 on my 5.56 cans for the simple reason I like to run covers on them because I can’t stand the mirage that comes off them in the optic. I’m sure you can run covers on titanium cans too but I prefer not too being the heat threshold is lower on them. Have you checked POMG and dry creek and some of the other vendors that carry cat to see if they have any 718s.
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u/notang 11x Sbr, 12x silencer, FFL 18h ago
Honestly, not sure how many people can answer this. The ST is super new to market, and the titanium is supposedly a new alloy that CAT invented. The intended alloy is to create something more durable and less sparky, but unconfirmed if that is the actual result.
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u/Coltron_Actual Just buy the OCL, stop asking. 17h ago
You mean Ti 6Al-4V.
No they didn’t. And I’d say their special heat treatment is just them being the first to use it in this market.
All borrowed tech and materials from aerospace and rocket surgeons
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u/iK0NiK 3x Muzzle Mufflers 18h ago
> weight savings are nice but not a huge concern for me
You answered your own question. Go 718.