One of the cool new products we found at SHOT Show this year was the CR9T from Carbon Research. This is a small research company that has figured out how to bond metals to carbon fiber in a way that allows them to build a complete suppressor body and baffle stack out of ultralight carbon fiber and then armor the tips of the baffles to give them long term durability. They make a .22 caliber can that weighs just 2.3 ounces, and their 9mm/.300 Blackout can is just 7.3 ounces. That is the CR9T, with titanium internal plating and kevlar integrated into he body tube for greater strength – good for 9mm and .300 Blackout. They also make the CR9A which is the same thing using aluminum, and rated for only 9mm (a 5.56mm version is currently in development).
Carbon Research sent me two of the CR9T cans to try out, and we are taking them out to the range today. My hypothesis that they won’t heat up as much as metallic cans was mostly disproven (although they do cool down faster than metal), but we had no problems running them and the light weight is really nice!
As moderators are likely to be de-restricted in the UK, it’s a pity that nobody in the USA is willing to ship anything gun-related over here. There is nothing more frustrating than viewing useful stuff that nobody is willing to sell you. Perhaps all this will change when World War III really kicks off, as we bought a lot of stuff from the USA in WWII.
I’m sorry, but I don’t know WTW you are talking about. “de-restricted”????
Is there anyone out there revisiting the composite barrel idea that died a holey death in the US AR10 trials?
My cursory search unveiled that Hells Canyon Armory LLC is offering carbon fiber rifle barrels and long range custom rifles for more data see https://www.hellscanyonarmory.com/
I would like to know the _EXACT_ description of both (or more?) of the rifles used here.
Yeah, well, I’ve only been shooting for 40 years, and I surely do not know everthing.
HK 94 .AR 15 , the stocks handguards are different from standard is all , the AR has a short barrel so most of the silencer is inside the handguard.
Richard, the “AR” is not exactly an AR. It’s a Honey Badger SD from Q, LLC. Although it is an AR-pattern rifle, it is not MIL-SPEC and has proprietary features. You cannot, for example, use the upper on a MIL-SPEC lower. Ian has done a few videos on Q products, if you’re curious and would like to learn more about them.
The carbon fibre has less mass, and a lower heat capacity (stores more energy per degree per unit mass). This means it will both heat up and cool down moving less heat. Metal conducts heat faster, so it can dump heat into your hand faster. Since the internal baffle design puts most of the material in direct contact with the hot gasses, the low rate of conduction won’t keep the bulk of the suppressor cool, and the far smaller external surface area will slow the cool down. All in all, I would expect that the silencer will feel cooler longer, and will be touchable sooner after, than a metal can. However, it will probably reach a higher temp during sustained firing.
Correction: the carbon fibre requires less energy per unit mass to change one degree. Changed wording halfway through, failed to review prior to post.