Well, I did too, and thanks to some awesome collaboration between Hansohn Bros, JPK, Mike from Wilson Customs, my friend Ray, and myself, we were able to do so. The weather threatened a little bit this morning, but it was perfect. A little cool, a little overcast, but an overall perfect day for shooting.

The shoot originally started as an idea from one of the OSS threads since they have so few dB numbers published anywhere. Anyway, it grew from there and really became about the comparison of a bunch of cans in various configurations on the same day, same time, same whatever... This isn't meant to be a review, nor is this an attempt at anything like what NFA Reviews, MAC, Twang n bang, etc do... it's a lot of hard work! I threw this together on my phone because I didn't feel like hauling my video equipment out on a day where it might rain. Also, this was really about having a few hours of good time comparing some cans. Maybe we'll do a pistol/pistol caliber carbine one this summer?

We threw everything on the table, and it was quite a sight....



I broke into my stockpile of 220gr Silencerco Harvester 300blk ammo and Hansohn Bros (Chris) brought out his Larson Davis Model LXT1-QPR for metering and we got to work.. The 5.56 was PMC Xtac 55gr.
Here is the video (shot and recorded on my iPhone 6+), and below are the results. I hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed making it.
https://youtu.be/sYlL8rWfjvg

300 blk
10.5 sbr

OSS 762
130.1
127.4
129.4
128.9
127.5

300 blk
8" sbr

Sandman L
132.6
122.2
121.2
121.4
119.4

Sandman S
135.4
129.2
131.1
129.0
133.0

Silencerco Specwar 762
123.8
122.3
121.9
123.8
121.7

Silencerco Omega with brake
123.9
125.0
122.5
120.6
120.0

Silencerco Omega flat endcap
127.0
124.3
124.1
123.9
121.7

Rugged Surge full size
126.0
119.7
119.0
118.9
118.4

Rugged Surge K config
127.8
124.0
122.5
123.3
123.3

No can
154.1
153.8
153.8
153.5

556 16" barrel

No can
160.4
160.4
160.4
160.4
160.2

Silencerco Specwar K
134.3
131.7
132.1
130.6
135.5

Silencerco Specwar
123.8
127.1
128.0
128.1
127.7

Silencerco Omega 762 endcap
132.8
131.6
130.0
128.7
Only 4 shots for some reason (looking at you, JPK, lol)

Silencerco Omega 556 endcap
129.0
127.7
127.7
127.1
127.8

Silencerco Omega with brake
134.4
130.4
129.5
129.3
129.6

10.5" SBR 556
No can
162.4
162.6
160.5
162.6
162.6

Dead Air Sandman L
134.1
131.9
131.8
131.2
132.9

Dead Air Sandman S
139.7
139.1
139.9
138.0
136.9

Dead Air brake no can (LOL)
162.3
163.2
No mas!!!!

Rugged Surge 762
134.0
131.0
130.5
129.7
130.7

Rugged Surge K 762 endcap
134.8
132.7
Not properly captured
133.4
133.1

Rugged Surge K 556 endcap
134.2
134.7
134.2
132.5
132.9

Rugged Surge 556 endcap
127.6
129.2
129.6
128.1
129.4

Silencerco Omega 762 Anchor brake
131.6
130.5
131.3
130.9
131.0

Silencerco Omega 762 flat endcap
135.7
133.9
133.6
132.8
132.1

Silencerco Omega 556 flat endcap
132.1
131.6
136.6
130.7
131.5

6.8 spc
16" barrel

Silencerco Omega 762 with anchor brake
137.8
132.1
135.4
136.7
137.something (oops, my bad)
137.8

YHM Ultralite tactical 762
140.8
142.8
139.9
137.5
137.0

We all talked about it between the rounds and felt like tone was important, more so than the dB. I know I felt that the Rugged Surge, Dead Air Sandman, and the Silencerco Omega were ALL great. You really can't go wrong with any of those. The OSS was good at what I intended it for - limited/low blowback in full auto, but the meter readings were a little higher, but still fine IMO. Seemed to be a different kind of sound and not the same thump from the other cans.

Awesome. I literally just saw this pic on Twitter.

Thank you.

Video imbedded:

What's the silver can, third from the left?

I think that's a YHM 7.62 Ti?

THANK YOU!!! to all the parties involved

Nice...interesting numbers for the Surge K on the 10.5.

Also, whats that first rifle and can on the right...just left of the pistols?

Great job

Any adjustable gas blocks on those 556 uppers? Most look like they have a healthy amount of blowback, with the Surge's ejection pattern looking the closest to normal. The others were tossing brass between one and two o'clock.

Just wondering if the numbers would be even better to with gas regulation.

Nice job all around. That is the kind of real-world comparisons that we need.

I know the Sandman and Surge hosts have adjustable gas blocks. . I use a gas vent too. Also, the meter is on the right of the rifles. An extremely non-scientific test, only to see any differences and more of an after thought.

Pretty hefty FRP, but it sure quiets down fast!

M11 with a Bowers Group if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, that is my YHM ULT mounted on an 11.5" 6.8 SPC II upper.

Fwiw, the two 6.8 results listed were from a 16" barrel for the Omega (Omega's limit for the 6.8) and the 11.5 for the ULT.
The 11.5" barrel is a Bison BSP barrel, with 1:7" twist to stabilize heavy 6.8 billets for subsonic use. We only shot Federal's FMJ supersonic loads.

Great meeting up with you all today Gamerc and Hansohn Brothers!

JPK

I noticed that too, not sure what that was about.  It didn't sound that substantial.

No complaints here. Makes me want to replace my Saker with a Surge.

The Surge was really impressive. I felt like the overall suppression and tone were nice.

Thank you for all those involved.  More data for helping people make decisions when buying suppressors.  I was impressed with the Omega with the brake for such a short light can.

Great job!

I'd be looking at Rugged now and am happier than ever with my Omega.

I'm surprised the OSS did so well.  Another cool can to consider.

The Omega was the favorite overall today I think.

How was the blow back on the Omega?

The Omega was the favorite overall today I think.


I hope the guys at Rugged are running 24 hour shifts!  

I run an SLR Rifleworks adjustable gas block on all my rifles so blowback is pretty much a non-issue regardless of suppressor being used.  Perhaps gamerc, jpk or Mike can chime in.

Wow, thanks a bunch guys that had to have been a lot of work/fun at the same time!  I'm really glad that the Surge I have in jail did so well, but I must say that Omega seriously punches well above its weight/length.  I too was going to ask about blowback but if some of the hosts had adjustable gas blocks and some not then that introduces a variable that would be difficult to account for.

That is good to know since I just installed one on my upper.  Still waiting for the suppressors though.

Yeah, adjustable gas blocks are a must in most situations, however the 2 rifles on the table that were mine were configured as OSS hosts. The first rifle (the 10.5" SBR) has the 762 OSS can on it. It's the first scene in the video. The second rifle I brought was a 16" LWRC piston upper with a non adjustable gas block - that's how it came from LWRC. But again, that one was specifically meant for a 556 OSS can. I didn't bring my 10.5 LWRC upper with an adjustable gas block this time, but now that we have the basics down, I feel like we do a bit more and expand the limits a little. I'll bring better video equipment, pistol cans, pistol caliber carbines/SBRs, etc...

So in short, the 2 rifles I brought are working as intended for the specific cans I'm running on them.

I have adjustable gas blocks on three of the four uppers I brought today - the two 6.8 uppers and the 10.5" 223 Wylde, but we only shot the two 6.8 uppers today because we had other 16" and 10.5" 223/5.56 uppers, so we didn't get to compare the uppers and how the gas is set up.

I have my 10.5" 223 Wylde set up I with just enough gas to cycle Federal's American Eagle 55gr FMJ load unsuppressed. That gives about 4:00 ejection unsuppressed and 2:30 suppressed. I'm a lefty but I don't notice a lot of gas with the Omega.

Both of the 6.8 uppers, 16" and 11.5" have adjustable gas blocks. I use the Omega on the 16" and the YHM ULT on the 11.5". Both are set up with just enough gas to cycle the American Eagle FMJ's unsuppressed. I don't notice a lot of gas with the Omega, but I do notice gas with the ULT.

Fwiw, I primarily use my AR's for night predator and hog hunting, and I'm not doing a lot of mag dumps.

JPK

That must have been a fun day. Thanks for the data. Makes me feel good about putting a surge in jail recently.

Thanks for putting that together, but it makes the wait for my Surge even worse.

I would have love to seen how the Rugged Razor compared to the k configuration of the Surge. That was my issue that I had before deciding on the Razor.

Maybe next rime

I think we had a Razor, but we didn't have a mount for it, oops.

Razor and Surge mounts are the same.  If you had to pick one multi-cal centerfire can to buy for after your experience today, what would you pick?

Excellent work, and a lot of it. Thank you guys for doing this.

Thanks for putting this together.
It's nice to see real world data side by side.

Thanks also for the invite; hopefully next time!

Very interesting results, thanks for posting. The Sandman S is kinda loud it looks like and it has been recommended recently more than any other can.

I would take the numbers with a grain of salt. If you look there was someone asking about a suppressor last night and the Sandman S was recommended by someone that was part of this comparison.

Exactly. There's more to it than just the numbers. The Sandman-S is my personal fave because of other factors. The mount, construction, size and tone are more important to me.

Numbers are numbers, but not the way the can should be judged IMO. The tone from the can as both the shooter (me) and the observers standing at different places around the firing line were how we interpreted the results. The Surge with subsonic 300blk was stupidly quiet by the meter AND had a great tone with that ammo and config. The Omega also sounded damn close.

Just a few anecdotal notes from people at the shoot (they are opinions):
- Specwar 762 and the Surge full size sounded damn near the same. We fired them alternating shots from 10.5" sbrs using the same ammo.
- Surge sounded better (lower tone) in the K config than the full size config in a couple of cases.
- Omega with brake had a deeper, less "offensive" tone than with either end cap.
- Omega 5.56 end cap was noticeably more quiet than with 7.62 end cap, but not so much that one was "hearing safe" and one wasn't.
- The Mask was shockingly quiet, especially for the size. We all agreed on this one.
- An SBR with a brake on it should be classified as a destructive device.
- Specwar K had a surprisingly pleasant tone despite the size.
- Any one of the Omega, Sandman, and Surge would be a good purchase, but experiencing them first hand is a great way to comparison shop.

Personal notes
- The OSS performed well enough, and for the price I paid, it wasn't a bad deal. I'm glad I bought mine (actually 762 AND a 556), but I don't know what OSS plans to do now that their cans have a price of $500 on them. It wasn't worth 1500, or 1300, or 1k or whatever they were asking for them in years past.
- I think to me, the overall best can was the Omega with the anchor brake. The end caps were neat, but highlighted that I don't think I care to spend the money on them when the anchor brake worked the best. The weight was light and the compatibility with the other cans in my lineup was a bonus (ASR mounting system).
- I have an Omega and Sandman S in transfer. I am considering adding a Surge to the mix.
- After the shoot, one of the participants purchased an Omega last night because of the results/experience.

There wasn't a Razor in the lineup.

Well, the oops is mine.

Which one was it that we had the suppressor but not the mount? Or was it that we had a mount but not the suppressor?

And thanks again for hosting the shoot.

JPK

If the rifles I wanted to suppress fit within the Omega's barrels length restrictions then that would be my choice, without hesitation or a close contender. Size and weight are important factors to me and the Omega was the best all rounder with suppression, size and weight as primary considerations.

If shorter 6.8 and 308/7.62 barrel length restrictions are required, maybe the YHM ULT since its weight and size are very similar to the Omega's. But I wonder about it's suppression. We shot the 11.5" 6.8 SPC with the ULT, but only with the ULT, so there are no comparison meter results or personal impressions, but a look at the 16" 6.8 with Omega meter results and the impression I had makes me wonder about the ULT's performance. Maybe the 11.5" 6.8 is just a loud beast, but I would like to see the ULT compared to other suppressors before suggesting it without caveat.

The Sandman S didn't suppress that well, but it had a pleasant tone, is slightly shorter than the Omega or ULT and though noticeably heavier it wasn't horribly so. And the mount is pretty nice too. I think this would be my choice if the rifles I wanted to suppress fell outside of the Omega's restrictions.

Btw, two of the Omegas and the ULT at the shoot are mine.

JPK

Badassery.  I wish a Hybrid had been available.  I ended up with a Hybrid after going back and forth with the Surge because I am going to use it on a 45-70 so I took that into account.  Will probably add a Surge or Omega one day.

Thanks for the effort, learned a few things this morning.

Having shot the two side-by-side, even I would have a tough time making the call.

The Surge is definitely quieter than the Razor, but the Razor noticeably lighter than either Surge configuration and produces less backpressure. The Razor also makes up for much of its louder report by offering really nice tone.

I wouldn't feel cheated with either. Possibly, if I were looking for a first .30 can, I would go with the Surge and if I already had another .30 suppressor, I would absolutely consider a Razor.

Did any of them feel awkwardly heavy for their size against the shorter barrels?

Thanks for the response, it is pretty wild to see how well the Omega did for its size/weight.  I almost drove myself nuts deciding between the Omega and Surge for my next rifle can.  In the end I decided on the Surge (now in jail) based on materials and construction while still being super quiet.  Also I got it for pretty cheap.  Looking at these numbers and the thoughts of others who were there and are posting, it would be pretty hard to not recommend an Omega.  The fact that it comes with an ASR mount, direct thread mount, swappable anchor brake, and two ASR brakes (second one if you register it) makes it an incredible value.  I've got to shut up or I'll wind up buying an Omega too!  First world problems/decisions...

A few db's are noticeable, more than 10 is not just a grain of salt.



I agree that a person should look at the whole picture, but it should be noted that the Sandman-S is quite a bit louder. Those guys with giant subs in their cars, they think the tone sounds great too (those deeper tones travel much further, I can hear the howitzers at Quantico and I'm by the Rappahannock).



That's what I took away from this, the Omega is pretty darn good. Lighter and smaller than most of the other cans too.

Thanks for all your work.
Easily one of the most useful posts ever for anyone looking into the current choices.
A lot of great information from the real world.

I also hope some Thunderbeast Ultras could also be worked into the next round of tests.

y u no test specwar k with 10.5" ???

Great work though, you've done us a service!

Numbers change, they will be different everytime guaranteed.  Honestly, I would ignore the numbers except to see which was louder or quieter but not as a diffinitive loudness since there was no standard followed. I rather them averaged, then assigned an order from quietest to loudest.

To me, they were all about the same, some a little louder, some a little quieter. There was no "wow" moment.

I was interested to see the OSS compared. noticed OSS on the 10.5" 300BLK compared to other cans, on a shorter barrel. But a big part of OSS' pitch is that there's little-to-no backpressure and less gas for shooter, they know that chasing dB's isnt their thing.

Excellent work!  Wish I could have made it with the Sakers.  Maybe I can make the next one and a certain dealer can bring my Sig SRD and Sandman Ti