thread adapter/flash hider? how to install a silencer?

[9mm]

This silencer installs to your rifle with one of the following muzzle devices:

BRAKEOUT™ 51T Compensator


BLACKOUT® 51T Flash Hider


Blackout™ 51T Muzzle Brake
http://www.advanced-armament.com/M4-2000_p_409.html

in the manual it says (1) flash hider AAC supplied but the buying page for the m4-2000 says you will need one of these items above to install it?

I always thought it was a "adapter" that is required to install a silencer, but according to their site you can use any of these above. here is the manual stating the flash hider is included? looks like a $100 part though? http://www.advanced-armament.com/ass...al_m4-2000.pdf

the manual says I need a few extra parts though, where do you buy these?


it's a bit confusing do I need to buy an adapter or does the m4-2000 come with one?

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by 9mm

in the manual it says (1) flash hider AAC supplied but the buying page for the m4-2000 says you will need one of these items above to install it?

AAC sometimes ships their silencers with a mount and sometimes they don't. Usually their more expensive models don't come with a mount, and sometimes they include a mount with their less expensive models. My SDN-6 didn't come with a mount.

Originally Posted by 9mm

I always thought it was a "adapter" that is required to install a silencer, but according to their site you can use any of these above. here is the manual stating the flash hider is included? looks like a $100 part though?

Those are the adapters; they're often called "mounts". Your M4-2000 is designed to mount to any 51T muzzle device. They have three different types of muzzle devices that all use the same 51T mounting system. But be careful, because you can mount it on a 30 caliber 51T mount, but that would be bad if you shot 30 caliber rounds through an M4-2000. Also, after reading your link, it looks to me like they didn't say the mount is included, they just said "AAC supplied", meaning that you can get the mounts from AAC.

Originally Posted by 9mm

the manual says I need a few extra parts though, where do you buy these?

All you need is a few drops of Rocksett, which is a high-temperature thread-locking compound that keeps your muzzle device from loosening. You also need shims if you want to time your muzzle device to the proper orientation; people usually don't time their flash hiders, only their brakes and compensators (unless those devices just happened to screw on correctly). Whatever you do, don't use regular washers, lock washers, or crush washers, or any other type of spacer other than shims specifically designed for mounting a silencer. When I time a silencer mount, I never use more than three shims. AAC usually includes Rocksett with all their mounts, and shims with the mounts that need to be timed (all but the flash hiders).

Originally Posted by 9mm

it's a bit confusing do I need to buy an adapter or does the m4-2000 come with one?

If there isn't a 51T muzzle device mount in the box, you need to buy one. AAC has a rebate going on right now, so if you bought the can after July 5th 2014, you have until December 31st to redeem $200 in AAC webstore credit. You can use that for a mount.

[9mm]

All you need is a few drops of Rocksett, which is a high-temperature thread-locking compound that keeps your muzzle device from loosening. You also need shims if you want to time your muzzle device to the proper orientation; people usually don't time their flash hiders, only their brakes and compensators (unless those devices just happened to screw on correctly). Whatever you do, don't use regular washers, lock washers, or crush washers, or any other type of spacer other than shims specifically designed for mounting a silencer. When I time a silencer mount, I never use more than three shims. AAC usually includes Rocksett with all their mounts, and shims with the mounts that need to be timed (all but the flash hiders).

How many shims do you apply at once? how often do you have to change them out? every time you unscrew it after a range visit?

Yeah I am trying to buy another silencer right now so I can get a $200 credit and get the flash hider for free


thanks!

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by 9mm

How many shims do you apply at once? how often do you have to change them out? every time you unscrew it after a range visit?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this, and I guess that means I didn't explain it very well in my previous post.

There's nothing to change out. Once you install your muzzle device you never need to take it off or change it. The shims are just very thin rings of metal that fit between muzzle device and the shoulder of your barrel's threads:



The sole purpose of the shims is to change the orientation of the muzzle device when you tighten it down. Without shims, when you screwed on a muzzle brake or compensator it almost certainly wouldn't be oriented properly; the top of the brake wouldn't be in the up position and the brake wouldn't work as well.

This is called "timing"; you're installing shims to act as spacers to change the way the muzzle device is oriented when it's tightened down on the barrel threads. Most people don't bother with shims when installing flash hiders because flash hiders don't need to be rotated in a specific direction to work properly.

The muzzle brakes and compensators come with several different shims of different thicknesses. You only use as many shims as you need to get the correct spacing to orient the muzzle device in the correct position. You don't want to use more than three shims because the more you use the more potential there is for the muzzle device to be out of alignment due to tolerance differences in the shims. Silencer shims are precisely machined to avoid this, but they're never perfect, and the more you use the more you risk misalignment. So basically it's just trial and error until you get the right combination of three (or fewer) shims that time the muzzle device perfectly.

Just for reference, these shims do the same thing that the crush washer does on a standard AR-15. On a standard A2 flash hider, the slots are on the top and the solid portion is on the bottom. And the way they get it to orient this way is with a crush washer:

The crush washer does just that: It crushes when you tighten down the flash hider so you can time the flash hider by tightening it down until it's oriented with the slots up and the solid part down. But a crush washer doesn't allow the flash hider to line up 100% evenly with the line of the bore, which makes it a poor choice for use with a silencer (bad bore alignment can mean baffle strikes). So instead of a crush washer, silencer mounts use shims to time for precise alignment.

[9mm]

The sole purpose of the shims is to change the orientation of the muzzle device when you tighten it down. Without shims, when you screwed on a muzzle brake or compensator it almost certainly wouldn't be oriented properly; the top of the brake wouldn't be in the up position and the brake wouldn't work as well.

okay I get it, like turning a dial and keeping it even (pointed where you started?)

but is this needed or just for people with OCD who like things "even" ?

[Theohazard]

Yes, it's needed for a brake or compensator; they work best if they're oriented in the correct position (especially with compensators that direct gasses upwards to counteract muzzle climb). But with flash hiders it's pretty much an OCD thing.

[9mm]

thanks again

[Theohazard]

No problem! Let me know if you have any other questions about your silencer.