Top New Silencers from SHOT Show 2016
Tom McHale 01.22.16
SHOT Show 2016 had somewhere around 15,319,012 suppressor manufacturers on the floor by my estimate. Well, maybe not quite that many, but everyone and their brother is getting into the silencer business these days. After several days of checking them out, I’ve come up with this list of some of the most interesting new models for 2016.
1. AMTAC (Advance Manufacturing Tactical) over-barrel suppressors
Wandering the halls I ran across a nifty rifle suppressor from AMTAC. This high-tech machine shop primarily makes over-barrel suppressors. That means that most of the suppressor body slips over the rifle’s barrel. The result is that the suppressor only adds about 3.7 inches to the length of the rifle.
Here’s how it works: an internal tube slips over the barrel while the outer silencer body creates airspace between the barrel sleeve and the suppressor body. The resulting space creates a lot of usable volume to allow gas to chill out a bit before exiting the muzzle. There is a short segment of traditional baffle in front of the muzzle and these take the brunt of the gas blast and direct hot gas back into the chamber around the barrel sleeve.
The company makes this model for .223 and .30 caliber rifles in different lengths depending on the level of suppression performance you want. The results are a much shorter rifle configuration and less gas blowback to the shooter. It’s a cool idea. The flagship CQB model runs $875 for the .223 model and $975 for the .30 cal version.
2. Dead Air Ghost-M
The Ghost-M from Dead Air is a multi-caliber pistol suppressor that will handle .45 ACP, 10mm, .40 S&W, 9x19mm, and 300 BLK subsonic rounds. As the “M” in the name implies, it’s a modular unit. That means you can remove a forward section of the can when you want to sacrifice a little bit of sound reduction in favor of smaller size and lower weight.
The interesting thing about the Ghost-M is what the Dead Air folks have done to reduce the problem of first-round “pop.” With most suppressors, the initial shot will be louder than subsequent shots because the can interior is cool and the difference in temperature creates more noise when super-hot gas blows through the comparatively cool silencer. The Ghost-M has a spot for a rubber gasket with a small hole in the center. This goes right behind the front cap so the bullet passes through it before exiting. The gasket serves to chill out the gas blast and dramatically reduce the first-round pop. The gaskets are disposable and good for 30 to 50 shots before they start to lose effectiveness. You can leave it in there much longer, it just won’t work quite as well.
The Ghost-M is made out of titanium and 17-4 stainless steel to blend light weight with durability. The full-length configuration is 8.75 inches long while the compact is 6.2 inches. The diameter is 1.375 inches and the Ghost-M weighs 12 ounces for the full size and 9.6 ounces for the compact. It will retail for $949.
3. Liberty Cosmic Multipurpose
New from Liberty cans is the Cosmic 45. This eight-inch-long suppressor is built to be a multicaliber model for .45 ACP, other pistol calibers smaller than that, and some lower-pressure rifle calibers like 300 BLK (subsonic and supersonic) and 7.62x39mm. It will also handle .458 SOCOM and .450 Bushmaster, but those won’t suppress below hearing-safe levels so be sure to use earplugs.
This flexible can weighs 9.5 ounces and is made from titanium and stainless steel. The interior features a mono-core design for strength, so all the exterior tube has to do is hold the serial number and not blow up. The outside is coated with Type C Cerakote. It will sell for $799.
4. SilencerCo Hybrid
As the SilencerCo Hybrid name implies, it’s designed to work with a broad variety of calibers. In short, it will handle anything from 9x19mm to .45-70, even staying at hearing-safe levels with that classic monster round. With the bigger calibers and magnum cartridges, pay attention to the barrel length restrictions. Most are fine with 16-inch barrels, but magnum calibers like .338 Lapua require an 18-inch barrel.
The exterior is finished with gray Cerakote. The silencer body is 1.565 inches in diameter and 7.8 inches long and weighs 13.8 ounces. The Hybrid uses the same mounts as the Harvester and Omega model.
It ships with the 0.456-inch front cap to handle .45 caliber options. SilencerCo will be offering front caps for .223 and .30 caliber use. Those front caps share the Omega’s thread pattern. The Hybrid will be listed for $999.
And of course, there’s the new Maxim 9 suppressed pistol. OutdoorHub had a chance to talk with the SilencerCo team about that—watch the video here and check out more photos and info here.
5. Gemtech Tracker
Gemtech has a new silencer for the hunting market. The Tracker is built to be light, and it is at just 11.3 ounces, but it will handle up to .300 Win Mag. It’s made from aluminum and titanium, and both materials are judiciously used in the right places to make it strong enough for the big cartridges and light enough to carry on your hunting rifle.
The thread insert and blast baffle are titanium and the tube and forward baffles are aluminum. If you’re going to do magazine dumps on a regular basis, this suppressor is not for you. However, if you’re looking for a cost-effective can for hunting and anything less than abusive-fire volume, then this might be a good option. It’s designed to handle 10-round strings of fire before letting it cool down to ambient temperature. A little extra care is the price you pay for the extremely light weight. The Tracker will have an MSRP of $599.
6. Yankee Hill Machine Nitro
New from Yankee Hill Machine Company (YHM) is the .30 caliber Nitro. This rifle suppressor will handle anything from .17 HMR to 300 Ultra Mag. It’s made from 17-4 stainless steel with an Inconel blast baffle. It’s full-auto rated and comes with a lifetime warranty, so this is one for the high-volume rifle shooters.
The Nitro weighs 21 ounces. The neat thing about this one is that it’s user-configurable. The end caps can be swapped out so you can put one on with a smaller hole to further reduce noise of smaller calibers. The company has also designed a muzzle brake which further reduces felt recoil by about 15 percent. The muzzle end is configurable, too, and you can use a quick-detach mount to a YHM muzzle device or a direct thread mount.
The Nitro is a tubeless design, so the exterior you see is the collection of welded baffles. The tubeless design reduces weight and creates maximum internal volume for better suppression. The serialized part is the one-inch ring you see around the tube in the photo above. If you somehow completely trash your Nitro, YHM can remove that band and apply it to new “parts,” and you don’t have to do a whole new set of paperwork for the ATF.
7. Tactical Solutions Ascent22
This nifty little .22 suppressor features a split-tube interior. That means that the baffles are surrounded by two halves of a tube. That whole assembly slides into the outer tube. Using the split tube design prevents carbon and lead from “welding” the baffles to the suppressor body.
The baffles themselves are made from aluminum and are ceramic-coated except for the first blast baffle. That and the thread adapter are made from titanium because those parts take the most abuse.
The Ascent22 is 5.9 inches long and weighs just 4.1 ounces. It will sell for $360.
