Ep. 183 | Suppressor Selection – What’s Right for You?

So you want a suppressor, that’s a no brainer, but which one? What are all the differences between the suppressors we see on the market today and what’s even significant about those differences? All good questions – Mark and Jimmy had the same ones and a whole lot more for Adam and Reuben, our in-house NFA-item nerds. We dive into the three main types of suppressors, rifle, pistol and rimfire, and some of the things you should be aware of when purchasing your very own. Which suppressor do you think Mark should get? We finally got him back into AR ownership, let’s get a suppressor in his personal arsenal, too!

As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.

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[glockatory]

Please interview Jay @ Pew Science! This episode would benefit GREATLY from it.

[JNOSNOW]

What I've learned from my first buy, a sandman s, is that everything I buy now has to be no more than 15 ounces (lighter the better), have a left hand thread plus taper muzzle device, and have better than decent sound numbers at the shooters ear.

[danielscott]

I think more people would buy them if they could test them and test them with their own guns. For most gun owners were either watching videos like this or other reviews to try and get an idea, or maybe got to use a friend's, but we never get to see which one actually sounds better. That combined with price is the one of the biggest problems in my opinion

[sfcampbell]

The inter-compatibility of Dead Air Keymount ("KEY-MO") with Dead Air & Silencerco cans is an absolute *game changer*!! One mount now accommodates the two most popular brands... which in my book makes it a _must_ .

And much love for the OSS Helix HX-QDs -- the benefits of these zero back-pressure cans *CANNOT* be overstated!

[holladaysfantasy]

I would look at Thunder Beast(any .30cal), Sig Sauer SRD772TI(direct thread), Q Full or Half Nelson for direct thread options. If I did quick attach, I would look at the Dead Air Sandman S, Rugged Surge, Q Thunder Chicken, or one of the Sig Sauer QD Ti cans. All in .30 cal for hunting. Some are heavier than others, some are quieter. I don’t worry about first round pop. On a bolt gun, you will have it with just about every shot fired, unless you have the opportunity to shoot multiple animals in short order and then, they will be running because of the chaos of the other animals running. SOCOM has 4 requirements for a silencer/suppressor 1- First round ignition(big flash or fireball giving away position), 2- Second round ignition(another fireball), and 3- POA/POI shift, 4- sound reduction. I would look at what a can does in this order, 1- POA/POI shift, 2- sound reduction(including tone), 3- weight(barrel attachment type can fall under this), cost. Just my suggestions based on what I own and have shot.

[ironmikehallowween]

As someone who has been considering silencers for many years, this was very informative. Thanks.

[fattigla]

I use my sandman K on an x-bolt 300 win. mag. with a 26" barrel, and it sounds good in that application. Also I like the sturdy construction for a hunting rifle application. It adds weight but the rifle spends a lot of time riding around in pickup seats/sidexsides, etc. and the beefed up construction can handle getting bumped around a bit.

[Tortie]

Listened to this numerous times before purchasing my first suppressor. Thank you for the informative video!

[hiromikami]

Thank you for talking about tone. That's an important consideration that I think is possibly unknown to the first-time suppressor owner.

[trojanwood]

The only thing illegal I heard, was thinking that you needed a stamp to have a suppressor… You guys are seriously part of the problem 😢

[chipsterb]

You talked me out of even considering a pistol suppressor. I wasn’t thinking about one anyway but probably would’ve ended up there anyway. Lots of other very practical advice and information too. The potential for accuracy loss vs. POI shift is something I hadn’t thought about. Thanks!

[largelarry]

Back in the 80s I had a Ruger 7722 built with a non-removable intrical suppressor. The suppressor and receiver are all one peace and has a stack of removable baffles made of magnesium. This sounds made-up but the sound the rifle makes can be masked by rustling leaves of a large tree 50 yards away. Over and over people have shot the rifle 12 to 15 times thinking it was actually firing, it only has a ten-round mag. I only clean it every 500 to 1000 rounds and it's not hard at all. I just remove the baffles and soke them in a glass bottle with Shooters Choice bore cleaner for weeks or months until the next time I go shooting. Being that the suppressor is so long and it's a bolt action it's ultra-quiet.

[VulpesGBR]

It's interesting the differing use cases over the pond there in the US. Here in the UK it's not uncommon to see very large moderators (suppressors) on bolt action rifles specifically for the best noise suppression. I myself use a 340mm long moderator on a 6.5 PRC. I'd much rather lug the weight around for the best suppression. Fun fact there is only one moderator manufacturer in the UK, Wildcat Moderators.

[TheEDCTribe]

I fell into suppressors hard.
I ordered my first one, and had two more in jail before I ever got the first one.
They’re addictive, and I never shoot without a suppressor now, expect for prs sometimes

[paulharveu]

I can't help but think something like the an Omega 36M checks 80% of the boxes for everyone.

[jerry]

No bullshit I've learned more watching this vid then i have in years of shop talk and other videos combined. Great content guys.

[thuanred]

I have a silencerco hybrid .46 and I use it on an ar15 sounds great, don't need a 556 end cap

[frope]

Very informative video. Thanks.
I bought my first suppressor, a Hybrid 46M through the Silencer Shop kiosk. It was such a smooth and painless process. Purchased at a dealer with a range so I can use it while I await the ATF final okay. On a 10.5 inch 300 Blackout it's very quiet even indoors, with a tone that I like.

[James-WM]

Jay at Pew Science has a way to objectively test suppressors, he'd be an awesome podcast guest!

[jlm]

Looking to get my first can. Very interesting information. I know now, there is a lot more to consider than I thought. I'm a bit can dumb really I guess. Or so I learned for this lol. Thanks for all the information !