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Suppressors Thermal Defense Solutions 3D printed suppressors

MPDS13

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Minuteman
Mar 1, 2017
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Tennessee
I am trying to see if anyone has had any experience with these suppressors. Mainly the 556 models. I know they are still new to the market, so its unlikely that anyone has had time to get their tax stamp approved. But, if there are any dealers or individuals that have been to demo days or suppressor shoots and have any info on how these perform. That would be greatly appreciated. There are only a few videos and reviews online that I can find and most of them are about their .30 cal cans. I am not too worried about getting the quietest can. But, one that is light and thin that just takes the bite out of a 556 SBR.


 
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They are high on my interest list, so far I have only seen one user report. He was pretty happy with it.

According to the company they are too busy fulfilling orders from LE and others that have done demos to worry about doing aggressive marketing. Who knows... I'm just hoping somebody does some metering soon to see if it's as good as they say it is.
 
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Yeah, same here. Would love to see and hear some good reviews on the stuff. Hopefully soon.
 
I have one of their (not TDS brand but the manufacturer's brand) Strix cans on hand awaiting transfer to a customer, I can say that it is light even though it is made out of Inconel. They have some surface roughness that I needed to smooth out because it scratched the inside my specific handguard but other than that it is a nice design.
 
Quieter is better, but there's much more to a successful suppressor design than dB reduction.

My priorities as a consumer:

1. Precision. From my perspective, this means accuracy plus repeatability.

2. Form factor. I want as small and light as possible.

3. Back pressure. This is the real villain in autoloaders.

4. Signature reduction. Not just sound, but first round pop, flash, dust, and these days, thermal reduction.
 
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Oh I totally agree, and I'd actually add a mounting system that is quick, easy, and won't gum up to that list. Really the metering is just to see if it gets in the ballpark of <140db to the shooter's ear, and <146db at the muzzle. Beyond that it doesn't matter a whole lot, especially in cans of this size.

Hence our desire to see it metered, cause if it is going to make it past those break points then it is a hell of a can in terms of the other important factors (minus the QD system although I heard they may be working on that?).
 
Yeah, I saw in one of their videos that the Rep mentioned something about working on a new QD mount. Not sure if it will me threaded in or part of the one piece printed layered build.
 
Fuck lets fire up that STL file and print this bitch ourselves fuck the atf

Could do it in PLA, but I think the result of the first shot would be tiny pieces scattered everywhere...
 
Are there cross section photos of their suppressors? This is the only one I could find from an event last year.
 

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I should have by the end of next week the following Thermal Defense Solutions suppressors on hand:

Bantam

Badger 5.56

Strix

They have a new model forthcoming for the .300 BLK that the U.S. Marshals Service is buying. I am scheduled to get them next month.

Have you been able to try them out?
 
Would love to hear some feedback from using them. They are so small and lite. Hopefully they perform well.
 
Are there cross section photos of their suppressors? This is the only one I could find from an event last year.

Looks like a pretty cool and promising design. Now they just need to add the deadair key mod for quick attachment and they could be the next best thing if everything works out as designed.
 
I like the deadair mounts. but, I worry about the QD system making the diameter so much larger. I like how thin the suppressor is, but would love a QD
 
So far, I have just two models in stock from Thermal Defense Solutions. More to follow.

The whole TDS line seems to have been redesigned, and their website hasn't caught up.

The Bantam is now the Bantam II - and 1.2" longer as well as 2.4 ounces heavier. Still tiny at 5" length, 1.2" diameter, and 8.4 ounces.

Lots of folks are going to be tempted to slip this Bantam II inside a 1.5" inside diameter hand guard, which will be just awesome looking. Five minutes after the first magazine, that may not seem like such a good idea, of course. It will be proven that "Heat is transferred by conduction, convection, and radiation."

The Strix is now the Strix II - same 8" length and 1.68" diameter but at 17 ounces 3.0 ounces heavier. I'd consider that lightweight for a 7.62x51 belt-fed capable suppressor.

Yet to be received are the Badger 5.56 and Badger 7.62, as well as a totally new .300 Blackout model (name?) going to the U.S. Marshals.

Thermal Defense Solutions is named on the Form 3 as the Transferor in Block 2a. Bastech Inc., it turns out, is the name of Thermal Defense Solutions' manufacturing facility. That's the actual name on the suppressors, and also shown in Block 3a. as the manufacturer.

No trigger time so far, and none practicable for the near term, unfortunately. But, I did look inside them with my borescope. Very, very interesting, to say the least, especially from the rear looking forward. Imagine what a perfectly symmetrical Nautilus shell might look like if sawn in half ....
 
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It turns out that the Strix II is, after all, marked "Thermal Defense Solutions". Not the Bantam II, yet. TDS has applied for a marking variance to have the rest of their line so marked.

I thought you might like to at least see some photos. Here's the Strix II (17 OZ), shown alongside a Surefire SOCOM RC 7.62 (20.5 OZ + 3.8 OZ muzzle device), as well as a 6" steel ruler, to provide an idea of scale. Then, you see the Bantam II (8.4 OZ) pictured with both the 6" ruler and a Surefire SOCOM RC2 5.56 (17 OZ + 3.8 OZ muzzle device). Lastly, I took a couple of shots of the Bantam II with a likely choice for a host weapon, an MSTN 16" Recce with Proof Research CFW barrel.
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Hopefully, I'll have some more examples to show you soon.
 
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Could do it in PLA, but I think the result of the first shot would be tiny pieces scattered everywhere...
Not that I would consider doing it myself, but would that legally count as a suppressor if you know that it is just literally a pipe bomb on the end of your rifle? IMO it's not even close to being worth the risk of jail or small pieces of plastic being impbedded in my face, just curious.
 
Not that I would consider doing it myself, but would that legally count as a suppressor if you know that it is just literally a pipe bomb on the end of your rifle? IMO it's not even close to being worth the risk of jail or small pieces of plastic being impbedded in my face, just curious.

If it suppressed it I suppose it would be illegal, but would you want to really tell anyone? PLA is stronger than people think, it can withstand the forces of a bcg-action is all im sayin
 
Yesterday, the opportunity arose to do some limited testing with the TDS Bantam II aboard my 16" 5.56 Recce:

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Starting out, I left the SLR adjustable gas block setting where it had been for the previous suppressor I'd been running. The report was, according to a shooter experienced with suppressed weapons, impressively quiet. Nothing scientific there, but interesting, nevertheless. The ejected brass was not heavily covered in carbon as with the previous suppressor used on the rifle.

The bolt did not lock to the rear on an empty chamber, however, which indicated less back pressure than the previous suppressor - a good thing. The SLR adjustable gas block was being run 6 out of a total of 15 clicks closed. It had to be opened up 3 clocks, half way, to get the bolt to lock to the rear.

While these adjustments were being made, no blowback was observed coming from the ejection port. Once the right gas setting was achieved and multiple rounds were loaded in the same magazine, the ejected brass remained quite clean, as though the rifle was being shot without a suppressor.

The last thing I did was shoot one round without ear protection. Not scientific. Not smart, even. But, it was impressively quiet. Far, far quieter than a Surefire, for comparison's sake. I left the range quite pleased with the 8 ounce suppressor.

Accuracy testing will be next.
 
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Thanks for the update, sounds promising!

Where are you located? any chance there's somebody with a meter nearby who could hook up with you to get a little data?
 
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this is just the tip of the iceberg. 3 printing is going to turn suppressor tech on its head. zero wasted mass. maximized volume, and like the pics up above, the ability to cheaply make very complex gas paths.
 
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Thanks for the update Wes. I am happy to hear that the sound is good and the blow back is less.
 
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I find the TDS repair policy on the last page of the instructions to be quite comprehensive, with a lifetime warranty against defects due to manufacturing and material. I've never seen a replacement provision for those of us who tend to tear things up,
however.


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The Thermal Defense Solutions Badger II 5.56 and Badger II 7.62 suppressors just arrived. The 5.56 version is 6.7" long, 1.5" in diameter, and weighs in at 12 ounces. The 7.62 model measures 6.9" in length, 1.7" in diameter, and tips the scales at just under 17 ounces.

Here are a few photos of the entire TDS line. From smallest to largest:

Bantam II
Badger II 5.56
Badger II 7.62
Strix II
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That one looks like it could be the real winner of the bunch. Been able to shoot it yet?

Today, I shot the Bantam II on my 16” Recce and the Badger II 5.56 on my 12.5” SBR for groups at 100 yards.

First I adjusted the SLR gas block on each for what I felt should be an optimum setting. Both produced immediate sub-MOA five shot groups.

I expect to be able to shoot decent groups with the NF 2.5-10x42 on the 16” Recce. But, that 1.5 MOA dot in the NF NX8 on the 12.5” is definitely less than ideal for precision work. But it too stacked them inside an inch.
 
So, in summation, the TDS cans tested are:

Small
Light
Quiet
Low back pressure

Now I can add they are accurate, as well.

The clean ejected brass is pretty awesome to witness, too.
 
I'm sure videos will be posted soon and I'm sure 10 seconds after I watch one i'll want to know where to sent my money. So where, when, and how much? Thanks, and thanks for the info.
 
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There's a forest fire of several thousand acres burning right now between me and that meter. Hard to say!

I'm likely the world's newest TDS dealer, with every suppressor they offer in inventory, but MSTN is not yet listed as a dealer on their website.

That TDS even bothers with a small fry like myself frankly amazes me, considering the large scale government contracts they're currently filling.

http://mstn.biz
 
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I got to say I'm interested. These TDS suppressors seem to have a really compelling product line up. Significantly cheaper than Delta P Designs, and seems functionally better than the Daniel Defense wave series of suppressors.
 
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What I am told is:

SOCOM

U.S. Marshals

Other .gov entities

Lots of municipalities. One big city order of 2000X units, one for every patrol rifle. This particular city figured out it's cheaper to buy suppressors than to pay for disabilities.
 
What I am told is:

SOCOM

U.S. Marshals

Other .gov entities

Lots of municipalities. One big city order of 2000X units, one for every patrol rifle. This particular city figured out it's cheaper to buy suppressors than to pay for disabilities.
!!!!!!

No wonder they aren't doing much to market to individuals. FYI in case anybody is interested, I recently saw them put up a job listing for somebody to operate the machines that make these things. It's an entry level position.
 
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Neat stuff. I'm excited to see what 3D printing can do for the firearms industry as material sciences advance. I wonder how far we are from printing barrels.
 
Glad to see TDS doing well from the start. Hopefully they will be around for a while and continue to make advancements in 3D printed parts and accessories.
 
Need to get those fire put out ASAP, really want to see these metered!
 
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I’ve shot the Badger II 5.56 on my 12.5” rig pictured above. My observations are in comparison to the Surefire SOCOM RC2 that had been on the gun previously.

The Badger was MUCH quieter. That’s subjective, of course. But I mean a LOT quieter.

The Badger produced less blowback to the shooter. I had to open up the SLR gas block three clicks. The fired brass did not look like it had been through a suppressed weapon.

The Badger only weighs 60% as much.

Accuracy was still sub-MOA.
 
I submitted my forms in January for the Badger 7.62 for my Noveske 300blk SBR and the Strix 7.62 for my Scar17s. I’ve been able to shoot the Badger on my Noveske a few times (indoor range so I can’t tell you exactly how it sounds, but seems noticeably quieter than my other cans) and it is way less gassy than my Silencerco omega 9k and my Silencerco Hybrid. Once I get both stamps I’ll be doing some you tube reviews on both. But the build quality, technology and weight alone made me take the leap to get them
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