Ok, ever since I noticed the Micor ad in a magazine a couple months ago, I have wanted to try out their new flash suppressor.  I really like the looks of it, and taking the "twist" concept that the Vortex shares (which has been reported help accuracy) to a more scientific approach has my attention.  I noticed on their website that they were available from Brownells.  I searched Brownells site and couldn't find them, so I shot an email to Micor.  The next day I received a reply from an executive at the company.  He was very polite and answered all my questions. He also put me in touch with a gentleman named Gordon, who is in charge of Production and Scheduling.  I was able to obtain one of the 1N9 (for 1 in 9 twist cut ports) from the factory.  There was a slight delay in getting the suppressor due to a finish change.  Gordon communicated the delay to me and informed me that they had switched to a Melonite finish in lieu of the former, which I am guessing was a phosphate.  Between bouts of mini monsoon seasons here in IL, I finally managed to get a couple different days of range time in.

The Melonite finish looks great, and cleans easily.  The suppressor is machined extremely nice, and has anti-resonant rings machined into it.  It also has a flat "plate" machined on the inside at the 6 o'clock position to help it work as a comp, similar to the Phantom 5C2.





The 1N9 was shipped with a crush washer.  I installed it on my most accurate carbine, an RRA lower with the new 2 stage trigger, Stag upper with 16" M4 profile bbl, chrome lined, and is not floated.  This is my coyote rifle, and I was interested in seeing the accuracy improvement, if any, in a known accurate rifle.  I don't believe you can take a mediocre performer and turn it into an accurate rifle by simply adding a comp, so I wanted to see what I could wring out of my hunting rig.



Accuracy testing was done first with the stock A2 suppressor, then the bore cleaned, the Micor suppressor installed and tested with the same ammo.
The ammo used was Winchester Q3131A, PMC bronze, Brown Bear and Hunting Shack, all 55gr. fmj.  I also used my hunting load, which is very accurate, Hornady 55gr VMax.  I did notice an improvement in accuracy, whether because of the twist in the comp controlling the gases, the right torque, better harmonics or any combination of these, there was a definite improvement .  My testing was not that scientific to determine the exact cause for improvement, but I can say the Micor 1N9 helped, and I am not messing with its position on my rifle.  The biggest improvement was seen with the PMC and Hunting Shack ammo, with 100 yard groups going from a little over 2.25" to around 2".  Not a stellar improvement, but this isn't match ammo.  My favorite Hornady loads went from a 3 group avg. of 1.36" down to a 3 group avg. of 1.09". All shots were from a front bag and no rear rest, and 3 rounds per group. (its a hunting carbine, not a match rifle) I am confident, however, that with a rear bag and a better front rest I could get the same results for 5 round groups, it not even better. For a 16" M4 profile bbl, not floated, that puts a huge smile on my face!

Flash suppression was tested with the same ammo, with the exception of the Hornady rounds being left out.  I didn't test the A2 suppressor, as we have all seen many pics/vids of it in action.  I tested it against a YHM Phantom 5C2, which has been among the top contenders in previous tests done by others.  The Phantom is mounted on another M4 profile bbl. on a different carbine. The Micor suppressor is a tad longer than an A2, and a little shorter than the Phantom.  I didn't do exact measurements, as I don't have a short bbl. I am trying to bring up to legal length.  I can say that if you have a 14.5", the Micor isn't going to get you legal length.



I had someone shoot a video of the night testing, but during editing the file was damaged and we lost the footage.  I can say that there really wasn't much to see.  In my opinion, along with 2 other shooters, is that the Micor performed at least as well as the Phantom in flash suppression.  The brightest flash came from the Brown Bear through both the Micor and Phantom, but it was still fairly dim compared to shooting it through an A2 comp, which I have done several times before.  The Winchester and PMC rounds made it hard to detect flash from either comp with the naked eye.  No fireballs or starburst patterns lighting up the shooter.  Non shooters stood at different angles between the 3 and 9 o'clock positions to view the shots.  A Bushmaster Varminter with only a target crown and no flash suppressor was also fired at night with the same ammo.  All ammo produced a quite visible fireball out of the Bushy, some bigger than others, but very noticeable.

From the bench, recoil seemed the same through both carbines, which is minimal.  From an offhand position, all 3 shooters seemed to think the Micor had less muzzle flip.  Both comps shoot softer than an A2, which isn't punishing by any means, but you can tell a little bit of a difference.  We also swapped uppers between the different lowers to test the recoil with two different stocks.  One lower has an A2 stock with standard buffer, and the other has an M4 profile stock with a Colt 9mm heavy buffer.  All shooters agreed that the Micor had less muzzle rise with either lower configuration. Neither the Micor or the Phantom seemed to increase the noise level compared to an A2.

My conclusion: I think that Micor stands to have a place in the ranks of the Vortex and Phantom genre. I was very happy with the performance over the A2, and in my unscientific testing I found it holds its own against the Phantom in all areas, and better in some.  I understand that the Micor will be offered in 3 different twist rates.  I don't think you can go wrong with the Micor, and it was worth my wait.  I'm curious to see if anyone else will post some testing of their own as well.

anti-resonant rings?