In this beginners guide we’re going to go over some of the main considerations to look at when you’re picking out the best suppressor for you. Whether it’s your first suppressor ever or just one you’re adding to your growing collection, hopefully you’ll be able to find some useful information in this guide!

Purpose

      Before you consider any suppressor purchase, you need to determine what your purpose for the suppressor is going to be. Do you want something for magdumps into trash at the range or do you want something for hiking miles through the woods to your hunting spot? Your purpose will dictate the best choice for you.

Materials

      I’d say that once you have your purpose picked out for the suppressor, your material choice is going to be the next thing to decide on. If you’re a high burn shooter who will be getting the gun and the suppressor hot and then continuing to shoot, you’re going to want a more durable material. Think someone using an FRT on their AR or someone just having a fun day at the range. Stainless Steel is going to be the bare minimum, but a lot of suppressors are made out of materials like Inconel or Stellite. Suppressors made out of these materials can usually get red hot and continue to function properly. If you’re just going to put a few rounds through the gun at a time and will take time between each magazine, maybe you want something to keep the weight down on your hunting rifle while you trek through the woods, or you want to minimize the weight at the muzzle end of your already 25lb PRS gun, you may want something lighter weight like Titanium or even Aluminum. Suppressors made out of these materials are still extremely strong, but the issue is that once they get hot enough they will begin to degrade and become brittle. If you’re only putting a few rounds through the gun at a time, it’s a non-issue. Now, this is with the consideration that these suppressors are going on a firearm chambered for a higher pressure centerfire rifle cartridge. If you’re going to put it on a lower pressure cartridge like a pistol caliber carbine or a pistol of some sort, they typically won’t be able to heat the titanium to the point of damaging the suppressor. So titanium and stainless steel are the most popular choices for pistols and pistol caliber carbines.

Mount Type & Thread Pattern

      Once you’ve got your material decided, you’re going to be faced with a lot of various mount types that manufacturers use. If it’s for a rifle, a majority are going to be Hub or Bravo pattern. You’ll also see that referred to as 1.375x24. This refers to the threads in the rear of the suppressor that your mount will thread into.You’ll also see Charlie pattern or Alpha pattern. Charlie is another one typically used for centerfire rifle cartridges and Alpha is typically used for smaller handgun cartridges. Other manufacturers have their own mounting patterns that are proprietary to their suppressors, so just make sure you are checking what the pattern for the suppressor you want is, and that it is compatible with your gun. Where this comes into play is if you want to be able to move the suppressor around to other guns. If you are going to direct thread it onto your gun, you will need a direct thread adapter for each different thread pattern you’re putting it on. Or you may want to get a quick-detach mount to easily swap from one gun to the next. In which case you will need a quick detach mount for your suppressor, and quick detach muzzle devices for each gun. The thread pattern is just going to be determined by your gun; the most common threads are 1/2x28 or 5/8x24, but you always need to check what the thread pattern is on your specific gun.

Multi-Cal or Dedicated

      Sort of expanding on the previous point of the suppressor being moved from gun to gun, do you want the suppressor to be able to do multiple calibers or is it just going to go on one gun and stay there? If you buy a suppressor for a larger caliber, you can usually shoot a smaller diameter bullet through it. Lots of people run .30 Caliber suppressors on their .223 guns. The downside of that is that you are giving up some of the performance in terms of noise and flash suppression. A dedicated suppressor per caliber, or even per gun, will maximize the performance in terms of noise and flash suppression, but you are also increasing the up front cost of outfitting each gun or each caliber with their own suppressor.

User Serviceable or Sealed

      Something that a lot of people ask when I show them suppressors is, “How do I take this apart to clean it?” They usually don’t believe me when I say that you don’t have to clean them. If you’re putting the suppressor on a centerfire rifle, the pressure is high enough that you’ll have to shoot many thousands of rounds before there is enough carbon buildup to noticeably reduce the performance of the suppressor. So a sealed suppressor is perfectly fine for a centerfire cartridge. The only real exception to this is rimfire suppressors. .22lr is such a dirty round that you do need to take the suppressor apart to clean it fairly regularly. You don’t need to clean it every range trip, but every thousand or so rounds it’s probably worth cleaning. So for your rimfire suppressors, you’ll probably want something that is user serviceable. There are products out there that allow you to clean sealed suppressors pretty well. Breakthrough Suppressor Cleaner is the main one we sell at WTO and also the main one that I see recommended online. So if you get your sealed suppressor dirty enough, there are still options.

Flow Through vs Traditional Baffle

      Finally, you’ll see the terms “Flow Through” or “Traditional Baffle” thrown around. This is referring to how the inside of the suppressor is built. The interior construction determines how much gas the suppressor allows to move through it when you shoot. Flow through suppressors will let more gas through and traditional baffles will trap more gas inside. When you shoot, the gas will want to go in multiple directions. If more gas is trapped in the suppressor, it will send more of the gas back towards you, whereas if more gas is let through the suppressor, it’ll keep more of it away from you. Flow through has almost no downsides besides being slightly louder at the muzzle and typically is more expensive. But traditional baffle suppressors are still great!

Conclusion

      There’s a lot of things to consider when finding the best suppressor for you, but we hope that this guide helps point you in the right direction! As always, you can come talk to our staff at any of our WTO locations and we will do our best to help find the best fit for you!