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Posted: 6/16/2007 6:19:40 AM EDT
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With all this recent talk about suppressors & suppressor manufacturers I just want to re-state how thrilled and satisfied I am with my OPS 12th. I'm not real experienced on suppressors, but I took the expert's advice when I got the OPS 12th, after shooting it on both of my 18" SPRs, and my 16" Recon, comparing it informally to several other makes of suppressors at a few shoots, I'm even more pleased with it today than the day I got it out of the box. Thank you OPS INC.   Only problem is, I really need another one. |
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i dont want to hijack your thread, or start another thread either but i was wondering whta the differences are in each of the models i've been looking at the 16th myself but the adco sight dosent really tell what the differences are other than length and weight. i'm looking for the quietest, and most durable for a 10.5" that will eb used in S/A only, ive looked at youtube videos but everyone is shooting auto and the different cans always have different backgrounds and cameras so you really cant trust what you hear. any help is appreciated, thanks |
I recently wrote up a review of the 12th Model for Polite Society's website. I know it kinda reads like a gun rag, but I'm not pimping anything for the sake of pimping stuff. I called it as I saw it and I love this suppressor. This is my first time writing something up like this, so please be gentle  Product Review: Ops Inc. 12th Model  Not long after the 2 towers in New York City collapsed to the ground and America was embroiled in the war on terrorism, various news programs and internet websites began showing footage and photographs of Special Operations troops carrying precision rifles based on the M16 platform with a sound suppressor attached to the barrel. Upon seeing the rifle, Black Rifle enthusiasts throughout the world demanded information to know what the rifles were and what the specifications were on them so that they could make their own clones of the rifles for their own use. Those mysterious precision rifles have since been identified as the Mk12 Mod 0 and Mod 1 Special Purpose Rifles (SPR) with the Ops Inc 12th Model Sound Suppressor. I have to admit that I was amongst that group of enthusiasts and acquired a clone of each rifle for myself. Until recently, the only thing holding back the owners from having the perfect clone was that the correct 12th Model Sound Suppressor was unavailable. Located in Shingletown California, Ops Inc was started by its owner and operator Phil Seberger in 1988 and has been providing sound suppressors to our military ever since. In September of 2004, I had the pleasure of speaking with Phil Seberger at length about his product and how he was now able to sell his products to the civilian market. California law had kept Ops Inc. from being able to sell their product to civilians for quite some time and a recent court ruling had changed things around. Contrary to what the general public may think, Sound Suppressors are perfectly legal in the states that allow its subjects to own them. I found that Phil was a hell of a nice guy and that he truly believed in his product. We spoke for approximately 45 minutes about his products and shooting in general before other business had to cut short our conversation. I vowed at that time that I would eventually get my hands on one of his suppressors. Fast forward to April of 2007 and I finally got around to purchasing the 12th Model that I have been wanting for so long. With very few places available where I could actually buy the suppressor, I found one at Adco Firearms and transferred it through my dealer and good friends at Polite Society Inc. in Jefferson Ga. I visited and took the opportunity to inspect the suppressor and found that it arrived in a no-frills package enclosed in a cardboard box with the suppressor and a small bag containing the mount, consisting of a muzzle brake, alignment collar and a crush washer. Included in the bag was a set of directions for installing the muzzle brake and that’s it.  The contents of the package as received from Ops Inc.Installation of the mount: The one complaint that I have found is that unlike most other suppressors designed to be mounted on the AR-15/M-16 platform, to correctly install the Ops Inc. mount the barrel must be of a specific contour. This is to ensure that the suppressor is threaded on enough to ensure proper thread engagement. Considering that barrel work is routinely needed for most other suppressor applications, I considered this hassle to be minor. There is a shoulder on the inside of the alignment collar that is supposed to interface with a shoulder on the barrel. A top tier M-4 profile barrel that is contoured correctly will have no problems with correctly positioning the mount. Since there are now more compact suppressors available from Ops Inc that may be more appropriate for an M-4 package, most users of the 12th Model will most likely want it for a precision rifle. With the SPR’s now being so popular, here’s a word of caution to those who may consider building a clone of their own. There are a number of manufacturers offering “SPR” contoured barrels today. The problem is that most aren’t contoured correctly and will have the shoulder-if there even is one, in the wrong location causing you to either not have enough thread engagement or to have too much. Too little thread engagement can cause mounting issues leading to baffle and end cap strikes while too much means that the external threads used for securing the suppressor on the outside of the muzzle brake are now inside the suppressor. If fired enough, carbon can build up enough to actually lock the suppressor onto the mount. For those mounting their suppressor onto anything other than an M-4 barrel, it would be a good idea to check your barrel for the proper contour. I’m happy to say that Polite Society Inc. is now a stocking dealer of Ops Inc products and has a print of the correct barrel dimensions on hand. After finally getting my transfer approved, I took my 12th Model home and decided to mount it onto my Mk12 Mod1 clone. The barrel is a Broughton 5C that was profiled and threaded by David Walker of Patriot Arms Inc, also in Jefferson Ga. The installation of the mount is pretty straight forward. You slide the alignment collar onto the barrel until it stops against the correctly located shoulder on the barrel. Once it’s securely against the shoulder, it is a simple matter of securing it in place with the provided set screw. You then slide on the provided crush washer and thread on the muzzle brake using and adjustable wrench. The directions provided with the mount say to torque it in place a minimum of 90 degrees, but no more than 450 degrees. I was fortunate to require only the minimal 90 degrees. It doesn't hurt to add a drop of Rockset either.  The collar correctly located on the barrel  Installing the muzzle brake  Narrow rib on top!To mount the suppressor, simply unscrew the external thread protector and install the suppressor tightening until it is snug. It really is amazing with how fast the suppressor attaches compared to the traditional thread mounted suppressors. I find that mounting the Ops Inc suppressors is just as fast to mount as my fast-attach AAC M4-2000 that was manufactured in 2006.  Removing the thread protector Installing the suppressorFiring Impressions: While the 12th Model is rated for full automatic fire, I limited my evaluation to using the suppressor for precision use as that is how I imagine most will want to use it. I was curious to see how mounting the suppressor would affect what data I already had on my rifle. Owning several other suppressors, I was already aware that a well designed suppressor that is properly mounted will rarely cause negative accuracy issues and if anything, it may actually improve the accuracy. The addition of a sound suppressor dampens recoil, allowing for faster follow-up shots and can increase the velocity of your load as a result of a free-bore boost. I also wanted to know what point of impact differences I could expect when taking the suppressor on and off. I am a firm believer that if you are going to shoot with a suppressor mounted-you should always shoot with it on. With that said, you still want to know what kind of shift you can expect for the odd chance that you may not use it and this is information that you will want to keep recorded in a well kept logbook. Knowing what information I was hoping to obtain, I grabbed my rifle and other range gear and drove to the Gunsite Hills Precision Rifle Complex in Lexington Ga. Gunsite Hills stretches out to 700yds and is set up for those wanting to stretch the legs out on their precision rifles. I knew that the rifle without the suppressor mounted is more accurate than I am and is capable of producing 1/2MOA and under groups when I do my part. I used the unsuppressed data recorded in my logbook as a baseline for comparison against the data I would obtain with the suppressor mounted. I started out by mounting the suppressor and checked the point of impact shift of the rifle with the suppressor mounted. I fired 5, 5 shot groups each alternating between having the rifle suppressed and unsuppressed. I was surprised to find that the POI shift was minimal and averaged approximately 1/2MOA high and to the right on my rifle as the groups overlapped each other. I didn’t bring the dial calipers to the range with me, but it didn’t appear that group size was affected for the better or worse with the suppressor mounted. I shot the rifle over a chronograph and found that there was a boost on velocity by approximately 15fps with the suppressor mounted. When it comes to long range shooting, I’ll take as much velocity I can get as long as it doesn’t affect my ability to accurately put rounds on targets. With the suppressor mounted, I was comfortably able to shoot the rifle without hearing protection and the gas blowback was minimal, being less than other suppressed AR-15’s and M16’s that I have shot. I’ll be the first person to acknowledge that the decibel ratings that Ops Inc provides on their webpage is not acquired using a standardized method (something that Ops Inc openly states on their webpage) and that other independent tests show that they don’t meter very well. I have also found that decibel ratings alone aren’t a very good method for choosing a suppressor. Test results can vary based on a number of external factors and unless the suppressors are tested using a similar barrel length and action type on the same day using the same ammunition the results can vary greatly. All shooters that were present on the range thought that the 12th Model was quieter than similarly equipped SPR’s with an AAC M4-2000 and M4/SPR mounted, which is an observation that I happen to agree with. My intention is not to turn this into a comparison between the 3 suppressors but the 12th Model did seem to have a softer tone over the others. During my evaluation of the suppressor, I had a mishap that was a result of a bad bullet. I was towards the end of firing a 10 shot string at 300yds when I didn't hear the ringing of the steel. Not feeling or hearing anything different, I assumed that I may have fired a bad shot and finished firing the string. The final shots fired resulted in the pleasant ringing of the steel and I saw the shots impact within the tight group of my previous shots. Putting the rifle away, I noticed what appeared to be an end cap strike. Investigating further, I saw that I actually had a baffle strike that did significant damage to the interior of the suppressor. It speaks for the durability and the design of the suppressor that I was able to put my subsequent shots into the same group without a point of impact shift. Conclusions: I’ll conclude my evaluation by saying that I absolutely love this suppressor. The fact that I was still able to put my rounds on target after receiving a baffle and end cap strike, speaks for the suppressors 10+ year old design and construction. The customer service from Ops Inc was none other than phenomenal as they not only fixed the suppressor for me at no charge, they also fixed it in 3 weeks and overnighted it back to me so that I'd have it for an upcoming suppressor demonstration. If you own a clone of an SPR, the 12th Model is the perfect addition to really round out your package and make it complete. 
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The 16" is basically a 12th that doesnt go BACK over the barrel as much. The combo of any 10.5" barrel and an OPS can is one I would avoid. The 10.5" is too short with a standard FSB and requires an adapter to extend the length - so you may as well get a 11.5" If you want quiet, get the 16th model for your SBR. The 16th model is the most unknown OPS can, but always ends up beings the favorite when people hear it on a carbine. (the 12th is still king on 18" and longer barrels) ETA my SPR w/12th model: 
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I'm glad to hear all the positive reviews a year after my first range reports. Since there are more and more in happy customers hands all the bullshit I received here about antiquated mounts, the "over the barrel" design being heavy and loud, and misleading db numbers dont really seem to be concerns with end users. Maybe the .mil knew what it was doing when OPS was chosen  |
Chromeluv, that SBR is terrific. I'm even thinking about getting Bigbore to cut down a 14.5" MRP barrel for me and profile it for use with 15th OPS. |
Like most, I haven't heard the 16th model, and got the 15th just before they 16th came out. Never meter'd it, but I have shot it inside/outside continually without hearing pro and still felt comfortable, thats something to consider for a 12.5 barrel |
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Between edwin907, chromeluv and michael (who always post pics of his SBR with the awesome mountain scenary of his "backyard), I was compelled to get one too. Here is another new OPS Inc. fan.    I also received my AAC M4-2000 Mod 7 a month before I was approved for the 12th Model. At first I thought that the new M4-2000 was going to be my favorite, but the OPS Inc. 12th is now my favorite. It doesn't have the fancy QD mount, finish, ergonomics, or even an owner's manual, but it does best what it was intended for... noise reduction. I will be another to vouch that it is noticebly quieter than other 5.56mm cans that I have used (AAC M4-2000 Mod 7, AAC Ranger, KAC M4QD, Gemtech Halo, Gemtech M4-02, etc...) I am seriously considering the 16th Model... now if I can only convince the wife that I need another 5.56mm can.  |
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