Rifle ammo through a dual-use can doesn’t clean .22 fouling, VSO test finds

August 28, 2026
11:12 am

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https://youtu.be/WidxixJADns On The VSO Gun Channel, the host set out to test a common range claim: that a pistol-rated suppressor also rated for rifle can be “cleaned” by finishing the day with rifle ammunition. Using two Witt Machine Mod 1 5.56 K-configuration suppressors—one run exclusively on .22, the other on the same .22 volume plus a magazine of 5.56 before leaving each session—he compared roughly 600 rounds of matched use after multiple sittings so deposits could harden between trips. The test and what opened up Both cans were 5.56 Mod 1s; one was marked “.22 only.” After loosening rock-set, the mixed-use suppressor shed chunks of debris on disassembly and looked substantially dirtier, with different coloration at the front of the core (darker vs. coppery salts). Tube sealing patterns looked similar, but the extra rifle volume added fouling rather than stripping it. Scraping showed rifle-side deposits more solidified; lower-pressure .22 fouling was more of a dusting that moved more easily. Specs, likes, and limits Witt Machine Mod 1, 5.56 K can; also used with .22; host also runs a 9 mm Witt on a .350 Legend hunting rifle Cost-effective materials, favored rear-end mounts, multiple configurations Protocol: ~600+ rounds, not one dump; iterations to let carbon structure between range days Host rarely cleans suppressors; this was a first structured comparison He called the cleaning myth “definitively busted,” arguing higher rifle pressure and heat helped bake deposits in rather than blow them out. “The rifle ammunition contributed substantially to the fouling in this can,” he said, adding that the hotter, higher-pressure rounds “more heavily solidify the deposits.” Close-ups and comments were invited; he noted diminishing returns if cans were caked into an unreadable black mass.

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On The VSO Gun Channel, the host set out to test a common range claim: that a pistol-rated suppressor also rated for rifle can be “cleaned” by finishing the day with rifle ammunition. Using two Witt Machine Mod 1 5.56 K-configuration suppressors—one run exclusively on .22, the other on the same .22 volume plus a magazine of 5.56 before leaving each session—he compared roughly 600 rounds of matched use after multiple sittings so deposits could harden between trips.

The test and what opened up

Both cans were 5.56 Mod 1s; one was marked “.22 only.” After loosening rock-set, the mixed-use suppressor shed chunks of debris on disassembly and looked substantially dirtier, with different coloration at the front of the core (darker vs. coppery salts). Tube sealing patterns looked similar, but the extra rifle volume added fouling rather than stripping it. Scraping showed rifle-side deposits more solidified; lower-pressure .22 fouling was more of a dusting that moved more easily.

Specs, likes, and limits

Witt Machine Mod 1, 5.56 K can; also used with .22; host also runs a 9 mm Witt on a .350 Legend hunting rifle
Cost-effective materials, favored rear-end mounts, multiple configurations
Protocol: ~600+ rounds, not one dump; iterations to let carbon structure between range days
Host rarely cleans suppressors; this was a first structured comparison

He called the cleaning myth “definitively busted,” arguing higher rifle pressure and heat helped bake deposits in rather than blow them out. “The rifle ammunition contributed substantially to the fouling in this can,” he said, adding that the hotter, higher-pressure rounds “more heavily solidify the deposits.” Close-ups and comments were invited; he noted diminishing returns if cans were caked into an unreadable black mass.

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