2026 is supposed to be the year of the suppressor for me. I have a Gemtech Tundra in 9mm but no rifle cans and I’m planning to change that.
Use will be hunting and range work, I don’t see high volumes for any of them other than the 22lr.
What I am looking at is the following:
.223-300WM DA Nomad TI: various bolt guns will see the most centerfire use by far
.22LR DA Mask on a 10/22 Carbon.
DA Primal for 35 Whelen, 375 Ruger and 45-70.
I’m not a Dead Air fanboy, they seem to get good reviews and are in stock as opposed to some of the other highly recommended options.
Would I be making a mistake with any of these? Are there other options I should be looking at?
I have no firsthand experience with any Dead Air suppressors. I don’t think you will go too far wrong with them.
Since you asked for points of comparison, however, I recommend looking at the Airlock Industries options, the US OG 6.5 and Reaper, and the AB Raptor 8 and 10.
I have used the Airlock ZG 6.5 and OG 6.5 extensively. They are great hunting suppressors (albeit limited to .264 caliber and below). I also have 7.62 AB Raptors 8 and 10 and a .375 AB Raptor 10. While I use them for hunting, I consider my AB Raptor 10 with 5” reflex my “maximum suppression” option. That’s what I would use on a .300WM. Of course, there are other good options for that, like a TBAC Ultra 9 or something similar.
Unless I am hunting, I always wear plugs and headphones when shooting. Even the best suppressors shooting subsonic are only “hearing safe” for a few shots per hour. Additionally, the sonic crack alone is in the mid-120s for supersonic shots. So, I get the suppressor to protect my hearing for firing the occasional shot while hunting. I still use it at the range, but I am not going to spend extra - in monetary, weight, length, or diameter costs - to get “maximum suppression” for a standard cartridge. If I am shooting .308 or similar, a suppressor that gets it down to 125-130 is a good one. Knowing what I know now, I would not get any suppressors that rate above 130 for a 20” .308. If I was shooting .300WM, as you are, I would be looking for more suppression.
As far as rimfire suppressors are concerned, I went for a dedicated suppressor and got the Banish .22. I see no reason to get that over the one you have picked.
Rimfires are filthy and the suppressors require cleaning in my experience. Form says that “cleans” his by shooting a .223 through them from time to time. I haven’t tested this myself.
If you trust him, you might consider, simply getting a good .223-rated suppressor and using it on your rimfire and .223.
I have an Airlock Nano on order and plan to do some experiments with it this year where I weigh it, shoot 500 rimfire through it, weigh it again, then shoot a .223 through it and weigh it again to see if it blows the rimfire fouling out. If that works as well as Form says, that would be nice. I hate cleaning my Banish 22s. Even though they are easy to disassemble and reassemble, I don’t like handling them.
I hope that helps.
