But about handgun, shotgun, and rimfire suppressors? You’ll need to regularly clean them. They tend to get dirty for a variety of reasons. Of the three firearm platforms, pistol suppressors tend to need the least amount of cleaning, unless using bare lead ammo then you should clean your suppressor fairly often. Pistols and shotguns are low pressure compared to rifles and don’t necessarily self-clean. Rimfire is not only low pressure, but naturally filthy ammo and rimfire suppressors require the most work and tightest cleaning schedule.
After you’ve determined that your suppressor needs to be cleaned, you’ll need to look at whether it is a fully welded or user-serviceable suppressor.
In a fully welded suppressor, the baffles and the can are fully welded. The baffle stack cannot be removed for cleaning. Most high powered rifle cans are fully welded, and some pistol cans like the SilencerCo Omega-K are fully welded .
User-serviceable suppressors allow you to remove the baffles or monocore and get after it. Suppressors like the Octane, the Salvo-12, and Sparrow 22 are user serviceable for easy cleaning.