A $199.00 Suppressor?
I wanted to post this here as sort of a pre-emptive strike… I know there will be a lot of questions about this suppressor. I designed this for Proto Tac and just wanted to share some comments about the design and purpose.
Some will recognize the idea… it started when I was working at Vltor, Eric and I talked about a low cost suppressor for some time and even started down that road. The problem is, when you are working with some very bright and creative minds, the “good idea feary” keeps popping up.
It is hard to resist some of the ideas… feature creep. Great product improvements, but each one drives the cost up… soon, the initial idea is lost. So I have spent the last couple of years playing around with different ideas, materials, production methods and whatnot - and here it is. Proto Tactical is making the $199.00 Suppressor for the 5.56mm rifles; I wanted to share with you what it is, and what it is not.
What it is: The PT-199 is a low cost “suppressor for the masses” - if you want a suppressor but can not part with 600 bucks to get one, the PT-199 was designed for you.
The idea was to make an efficient suppressor that works for the majority of the folks…
The Rules: When I designed this, I had some hard and fast rules. I wanted to make a solid design that was primarily a suppressor… some things had to take a back seat. I was not going to try to make some sort of quick disconnect, or use fancy alloys… the two prime motivations were: quiet, and cheap. Less than the cost of the transfer tax.
About the Suppressor: it is all stainless steel, welded construction, 7" long, 1.5" diameter, and weighs 26 ounces. It mounts directly to the barrel via 1/2X28 threads and reduces the muzzle report. That simple.
I could not use exotic alloys to get the weight down, as the cost of materials would exceed the 199 price point quickly… but the entire can is stainless steel.
All welded construction… again, this keeps cost down, but I do have a determination from the ATF that it can be rebuilt at Proto Tac without having to call it remanufactured.
Inside: there are nine baffles… the first two are high nickel alloy baffles in a double expansion chamber design… after that, there are seven stainless steel baffles. Are the blast baffles Inconel? No… Inconel is a proprietary name for a line of nickel alloys and is expensive (it is also not the best choice for a baffle!). I worked with a gentleman that builds cylinder heads for Top Fuel Dragsters and talked a lot about exhaust valves - I was able to source an alloy that is 1% lower in nickel than Inconel, and 1/3 of the cost.
How well does it work? I am working with a company that has all the proper test equipment to do a measure of sound pressures and will have that up as soon as it is done… it will be a third party, independent test. For now, suffice to say that everyone that has shot one of these, has bought one… some folks say they don’t need hearing protection when shooting with it - I of course would recommend a set of foamies, just to be sure.
Accuracy? The test models have all shown no change or an improvement in accuracy, depending on the ammo - POI shift has consistently been a little less than 1 MOA.
Rated for Full-Auto? Well… I have shot a buttload of rounds through one full auto, one day we did about 500 rounds form a short barreled full auto in a very short time frame… but be honest, if you can afford a transferable full auto and 10,000 rounds of ammo to burn up… well…
Short Barrel? Sure, no problem.
Is it heavy? It ain’t light… it is on the heavier side of suppressors at 26 ounces, but again - it is what it is. Actually, on an 11.5-12.5 inch barrel it handles nicely.
How many rounds will it last? Trick question… if you shoot semi-auto, a few mags as fast as you can, maybe a few thousand rounds a year… it will last the rest of your life. If you do 10 full-auto mag dumps as fast as you can, ever other day… remember, they will offer a rebuild service.
So who would want one? I designed this for the average Joe… if you are serious about your carbine/rifle shooting and want a suppressor, this may be what you are looking for. The idea was to make an economy can that you screw on your gun and leave it there… feel free to run it hard. I had in mind the person that shoots every couple of weeks, a course or two a year, runs through 5000 rounds a year and really wants a suppressor. It will last you a long time.
Is that the best you can do? No, I have a can that we are testing that is freaky quiet - like when you shoot it, you think the gun misfired. Also, I am putting together this same PT-199 suppressor with different unobtanium alloys, should be interesting to see how that works!
Bottom Line… the can was not meant to compete with the top name suppressors, it was designed to be an economical way for the average (but serious) shooter to get a suppressor… without having to sell a kidney.
