Any suggestions on a lightweight, compact, hearing safe, full auto rated can for an 11.5" 556 SBR? Does that exist? Thanks
- Thread starter johnstonblake
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For shooter's ear numbers, it is possible to get the ear under 140 dB but you need to tune the gas system otherwise port pop will exceed 140
With 5.56 you will need ear pro no matter what. That being the case IMO weight the other requirements for the can more heavily.
Some cans will be less loud at the ear, but nothing exists where you could shoot a full day like it's a 22LR.
Personally I am now a big fan of tubeless suppressors. They will check almost all of your boxes.
My 11.5 with a full size Omega still rings the ears if you shoot indoors or out of a vehicle but outside it’s not bad. If I had to grab it and shoot indoors it wouldn’t be that bad but I would not recommend doing a lot of fire with no ears.
Dead air, sure fire would be where I would look. Maybe OSS whatever their name is now.
Dead air, sure fire would be where I would look. Maybe OSS whatever their name is now.
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If I were going to do that, it'd be with a Dominus (full size) and an extremely tuned down gas system, maybe even MLGS.
If you're talking about muzzle numbers, the Otter Creek Labs Polonium is the quietest 5.56 can according to PEW Science. As for at the shooters ear, I have no idea what would be the quietest. But I'm sure with some tuning on your gas block, and tossing in an H3 buffer, you'll be able to get those port numbers down significantly. Oh, and it's solid 17-4 stainless, and the MSRP is only $550.
Polonium & Polonium-K | Otter Creek Labs
The polonium is made to be a quiet, duty rated, hard use, 5.56 suppressor.
ottercreeklabs.com 
I have a SilencerCo Saker ASR that I really like. As noted above adjustable gas block is the ticket. With a untuned rifle the port will be loud enough that it won’t matter how good the can is. Back pressure will also effect this based on can design. Which will also effect rifle function. I use adjustable gas blocks or bootleg adjustable carrier
data from the youtube metering video
mr is louder than ml due to port
Nothing will be "hearing safe" past 1 magazine at the most. After probably a magazine or less your hearing will begin to be damaged. Also if you do have a full auto it will be louder and more damaging.
How compact and lightweight are we talking?
When you say full auto rated, how many mags are you expecting. There are some ti cans that will be fine for 2-3 but after that temperature/ strength can start to become an issue.
Weight wise, I'm wanting 12 oz or less. Full auto rated, I won't be doing any full auto mag dumps, but I'd like to be able to use it hard on semi auto for 3 mags straight before I have to worry about damage.
A short fat can like the Dominus would be perfect. It will keep OAL down, its titanium so it will be light and will have minimum POI shift. Otherwise you are looking at alot more weight for something more hard use due to innconel/stainless build. \
All this hearing damage shit is overblown anyway. I spent years getting my ears destroyed in the Army, and about 30 years shooting without ear pro. Worked at a gun range for 4 years and didnt wear ears. Always thought i was half deaf and had bad hearing. Had a hearing test yesterday and I have normal hearing it turns out. Every match without fail i take my earpro off and end up shooting a stage without hearing protection by accident.I am not losing points over it lol. With a nice big brake that rattles your shit too. If anyone is going to have serve hearing dmg (I do have titinus) it would be me.
What OSHA says is hearing safe and the real world aren't the same.
Point is, don't get wrapped up in the hearing and db level shit. Vollume and baffle design are the most important thing followed by attachment method. The Dominus checks every box.
All this hearing damage shit is overblown anyway. I spent years getting my ears destroyed in the Army, and about 30 years shooting without ear pro. Worked at a gun range for 4 years and didnt wear ears. Always thought i was half deaf and had bad hearing. Had a hearing test yesterday and I have normal hearing it turns out. Every match without fail i take my earpro off and end up shooting a stage without hearing protection by accident.I am not losing points over it lol. With a nice big brake that rattles your shit too. If anyone is going to have serve hearing dmg (I do have titinus) it would be me.
What OSHA says is hearing safe and the real world aren't the same.
Point is, don't get wrapped up in the hearing and db level shit. Vollume and baffle design are the most important thing followed by attachment method. The Dominus checks every box.
Maybe I'm in an odd camp with excellent hearing health and large ears, but I don't think there's any such thing as a hearing safe AR without ear pro. Put a .338 magnum can on a 20" AR and I still think the supersonic crack of the round and the cycling of the action next to your ear is too loud to be hearing safe. I think a lot of guys have an 'acceptable rate of damage' that they call 'hearing safe'. A subsonic suppressed .22lr is borderline and my ears are feeling it just a bit after a mag. Maybe if you were shooting blackout subs or something and really really tuned the gun in, you could shoot a training day and be ok.
Surefire 556 RC2 Mini. We had these on our 11.5" guns. Still definitely need earpro in all settings, but significantly reduces the concussion indoors.
I personally have the full size RC2 for personal use and love it on all my barrel lengths (10.3, 14.5, 16). I'm lefty and the somewhat-less-gas back at my face compared to others helps in the long-run.
Bottom line:
Chevy/Ford/Dodge/Toyota: everyone has their favorite. Any suppressor is better than no suppressor.
This is correct ^ great mounting solution, durable AF, and quiet enough. Maybe also consider the Rugged Radiant 762, as a multi caliber option. Haven't had a chance to put thousands of rounds through them like the Surefires, but I have 2 pending for my bolt gun and 300blk that seem pretty promising. Very lightweight, and the configurable length is nice. Instead of Radiant go micro30 if you need more durability.
SOCOM mini on my 11.5".
5.56 mini next to 7.62 mini (which is same length as full size 5.56 can)
SOCOM mini on my 11.5".
5.56 mini next to 7.62 mini (which is same length as full size 5.56 can)
My 11.5 with a SLR-7 and a rosco manufacturing barrel. It sounds pretty good with a full size Omega with a 6.5 end cap. Like I said above I would not shoot it all day but I have ran a mag or two and it wasn’t bad. Now outside my drivers window is a different story lol. Also on a 11” Bren 2 but haven’t shot it yet.
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You could give the new dead air Sierra 5 a try. It's their new dedicated 5.56 can.
The suppressor body is 10.8 oz and is 4.87" long. If you used a Rearden Atlas mount and flash hider end cap it would probably be something like 13 oz and 5.4".
Dominis SR. It’s literally the only rifle can you need for any rifle .30 cal and below.
Using without NV? Turbo k. With NV? I’d lean toward the RC2 if you have money to blow otherwise an omega with 5.56 end cap or perhaps the Sierra 5 if the flash testing looks good but haven’t seen that yet.
I don’t think there’s enough info/testing out yet to fully recommend the can. Could be awesome. We just don’t really know yet unfortunately as only a small handful have them in possession.
It was mostly a recommendation based on size, weight and durability. Not many <13oz cans out there will handle sbr abuse/"full auto rating".
But personally I'll probably never buy another can again that isn't tested by pewscience first or that I can have first hand experience with outdoors.
Looking at the cutaway images and knowing the construction materials, it’s basically a 5.56 version of the Sandman-S, but with HUB mounting options. If you’ve ever shot a Sandman-S on your rifles, I’d assume it would be close in performance, maybe slightly quieter with the .22 caliber bore versus the .30 caliber bore of the Sandman.
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