This was originally shared by JasonATI, in hrcjon's RC3 thread. I think it deserves a dedicated thread.

https://thunderbeastarms.com/sound/summit2023/

I am not going to pretend I know all about how these measurements work. I have merely been sorting the 5.56 table by Mil dbA and SE dbA, and seeing what the top rankings are.

That being said, I was initially impressed by the Radical LS5. Without looking at the other data points in the table, I went to their website. 7.5" long?! Well, of course it did well; it's the longest silencer tested. I quickly moved on. I find it interesting that K cans do so well at the ear (better than some longer cans), but quickly slide down the scale at the Mil testing location. I was glad (and not surprised) to see a good SE show by the Griffin M4SDK; I have had one for a while, and have always thought it was a great performer. The AAC Ranger 5 mini looks good at the SE, decent at the Mil, looks good aesthetically, and isn't bad price-wise either (~$750); it's HUB to boot, for those that appreciate that.

It's worth mentioning that the Ranger 5 mini had a mount interface attached. That would give it a bit of a boost in internal volume, presumably, when compared to using a Rearden or DT, to take full advantage of the small size.

Credit to TBAC, for transparency, but their cans didn't do great.

It would have been darn cool if they had a flash assessment in their testing protocol.

I do wish they had a regular TurboK in there too. I have been impressed by mine, and would have liked to see how it stacked-up. Though I use it primarily as a loaner for shooting buddies without a silencer, it's often my go-to purchase recommendation, due to the performance you get for the money spent.

Thank you JasonATI, for sharing this table.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
Credit to TBAC, for transparency, but their cans didn't do great.

Depending on the suppressor model and the rifle, I thought they did just fine. TBAC cans aren't on the first 5.56 list -- I suspect in part because Zak Smith doesn't like putting his cans on SBRs. My experience with Thunderbeast suppressors in steel-PRS-NRL-precision matches is quite positive.

TBAC cans are used by many competitors for a few primary reasons:
- They suppress noise well.
- They don't decrease a precision rifle's performance. 1/2 MOA or better rifles are commonly used. Competitors are fine with a can's taking said 1/2 MOA rifle to 3/8 MOA. But 1/2 MOA without a can, going to 3/4 MOA with a can, is unacceptable.
- They are quiet.

Big matches often have ROs dedicated to each stage -- for safety, time efficiency, consistent scoring. Often at the first stage of the day, the RO will set the order of the squad for the day. All braked rifles back-to-back, all suppressed rifles back-to-back. Sometimes an RO will ask all TBAC equipped rifles to run back-to-back. ROs generally wear foam plugs plus electronic ear muffs. They'll take the muffs off for cans. I know some ROs that might even take out the foamies for an all-TBAC squad. ROs will consistently state they like to have TBAC cans on the line, due to lower noise levels.

In many large matches we have a timed stage or two. The RO normally stands behind the shooter using a bare muzzle or braked rifle - the timers pick up the shot noise well from there. With suppressed rifles, the RO often holds the timer right next to the shooter, in order for the timer to accurately record the lower noise levels. Commonly with TBAC cans and prone shooting positions, the RO will put the timer in delayed start mode, start the timer, then place it right next to the muzzle. The RO will state - "Time starts in a couple of seconds with the beep". Some shot timers (Competition Electronics is one example) don't pick up the sound of a TBAC can very well. This happens to me regularly -- TBAC Ultra 9 .30 caliber can on a 6.5 Creedmoor bolt action.

I consistently use a TBAC Ultra 7 .30 caliber can on my 18" and 20" AR15 223 competition rifles. The shot timers need to be near the muzzle to consistently pick up shots. ROs have regularly stated that my 20" AR15 with the Ultra 7 is one of the least noisy rifles they've heard that day.

I have an older 223 TBAC can -- think it's a 223P-2. My only 223-bore center fire can. It's dedicated to my 223 bolt action, mainly because the shoulder-to-threads length on that rifle's Proof barrel is a fraction longer than all my other rifles of the same thread pitch. This rifle is really quiet, given that it only fires supersonic ammo. I fire it with either foamies or electronic muffs (not both), but a couple of buddies said they have no issues shooting it bare eared.

I guess it all really depends on what's important. I think TB did fine in the space they generally stress as their focus. Especially if one ultimately considers weight and small DBA differences are not material.
But what struck me (and this is just me ok) who are some of these guys? I follow the suppressor space somewhat but in the top 10 people by SE DBA sound in the .308 space 8 of them I would never consider to buy a suppressor from. In the 5.56 space of the top 10 I would never even consider 5 of them.
And talk about killing a product, Deadair fubared the Sierra 5 issues and look at the performance??

Interesting data. I need to sit down with this and really read through it when I have more time, but looking at the weighted results, the Polonium I have in jail scores pretty favorably. I know it ranked pretty high with the PEW testing, so it’s nice to see that confirmed with some third party, unbiased testing. Seems the K version is quieter at the ear, which surprises me a bit, but maybe that’s a back pressure thing.

I wish they had also done the Explorr 224 instead of just the 30, but can’t have it all I suppose.

The section talking about port pop with 5.56 guns was interesting to me, explaining the mechanics and the “why” behind what I’ve observed for myself so far. Good stuff, looking forward to digging into the whole thing.

quote:

I think TB did fine in the space they generally stress as their focus

True. As I said in the OP, I have been considering the 5.56 table; specifically the .223 bore silencer on a 5.56 rifle table.

The Dominus silencers don't do too bad, when you really look at the numbers. They'd be toward the top edge of the middle portion, if superimposed into the .223 on a 5.56 table.

The .30 bore on a 5.56 table can be deceptive, if you don't look at stats like length. I don't care to hang a 7"+ silencer off my rifle.

Smudge, if that .30 Explorr's performance is at all indicative of the .224, you'll probably be doing well. The .30 was near the top, in the SE ranking, and is an acceptable sub-6.5" length. It did better than many of it's longer .30 peers, at the SE location.

Forget length, look at weight. Not all the top 5.56 suppressors seem to be in the weight table. But the top performing SE DBA Radical Defense (who are they never heard of them) weighs 25oz in the weight table.

In revisiting this table, and considering the K cans, it's neat how the Ks consistently and predictably outperform at the ear. I suppose it's due to the fact that they purge to the atmosphere at the muzzle sooner, and therefore don't push as much pressure back into the gun.

Again, this is considering 5.56 on the 5.56.

Some .30 cans do darn well on the 5.56 host, but they're longer and heavier; especially when compared to the Ks.

If I was shopping for a new 5.56 silencer, I'd be looking hard at the AAC Ranger5 Mini and the OCL Polonium K.

As an interesting side note, the Hux Flow556K performs well in neither ranking; SE or MilSTD. Flow-through might be the way of the future, but the performance isn't there just yet, it seems. That Radical can is a flow silencer, but it's weight and length kill it. The benefits of flow-through are not worth the sacrifices, for me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KSGM,