Caliber Specific Suppressors vs Multiple Caliber Suppressors

From the desk of eSilencers CEO, John Rich

With recent advancements and innovative Suppressor companies popping up in the industry over the past 10 years, the Suppressor industry has seen a major surge in development and demand for multiple caliber Suppressors. Considering how far technology has taken the Suppressor industry especially with multiple caliber Suppressors in mind, you have to ask yourself whether your next Suppressor purchase is for a multiple caliber version or to continue to stick with a caliber specific version.

A multiple caliber Suppressor is one that can be fired on a variety of different calibers. These Suppressors have become widely popular in the industry and can range anywhere from .22 Caliber all the way up to .300 Ultra Win Mag. Most manufacturers are also offering different caliber end caps, brakes/flash hiders, direct threads, and pistons for these Suppressors. This allows you to drop your larger caliber Suppressors down to smaller calibers. This provides you with a “one for all” type Suppressor that can save you money and countless research when choosing one. The caliber-specific Suppressor is one that is made mainly for the host Gun of the same caliber.

So, the big question is with the versatility, savings, and availability of multi-caliber Suppressors, is there any reason to go with caliber specific Suppressors(one caliber) any more?

 The answer is “it all depends”. Here are some tips on helping you choose which way to go.

1. If your new to the Suppressor world, then choosing Suppressors that are multi caliber is probably your best route. Leaders in the industry have always said that you want the option to Suppress centerfire rifles, centerfire pistols, and rimfire pistols/rifles. This, for the most part, will cover your basic weapon platforms. With that said, most of your multi caliber Suppressors cover these. This simplifies the process for a newbie to the industry.

2. A major disadvantage with using a one for all Suppressor is the size and weight issue you can run into when trying to Suppress smaller caliber host Guns.

Your multi caliber Suppressors are built heavy duty, and large to handle the bigger calibers. So, this is something you will want to take into consideration.

3. If you already own Suppressors, or your plans are to own several Suppressors in the near future, then the caliber specific route might be a better route for you. Having Caliber Specific Suppressors gives you the advantage of leaving your Suppressors attached to each of your weapon platforms without having to constantly swap your Suppressors over to each of your weapon platforms. This can be especially beneficial on the range where you can just grab your weapon and go without having to swap over.

4. Another factor to consider especially with multi caliber Suppressors would be cost. If you have a budget, then having to purchase a bunch of Suppressors could really start to run the money. Considering that every Suppressor has a flat tax of $200 no matter the cost of the Suppressor, can really start to add up. This is where having multi caliber Suppressors can be cost-efficient.

5. A problem that a lot of people run into with multi caliber Suppressors is changing out front end caps for their different caliber host Guns. A lot of Suppressors are now starting to come with interchangeable end caps which gives you the option to switch between different caliber diameters. This is all fine and dandy until you forget to change out the smaller diameter end cap when firing on a larger caliber. Oops! We have heard horror stories of people blowing off end caps by forgetting to change the end cap. This can be embarrassing especially on the range, and you say it won’t happen to you, but nobody is perfect. This is where having caliber specific Suppressors comes in handy. And yes, you don’t have to change out the end caps if you don’t want, but in most cases, you do lose some decibel reduction by having a larger end cap on a smaller caliber.

One of the main things that people take into consideration when choosing a Suppressor is performance. As far as performance, some of the important areas that Suppressors are gauged on are accuracy, decibel reduction, and tone. With that said, you might ask if performance is a factor when choosing between a multi-caliber Suppressor, or caliber specific. On speaking with SilencerCO(leading manufacturer), we were told that accuracy and tone do not really come into play. These performance measures are affected more by the type of material the Suppressor is made of, and quality of the Suppressor. So, this is really not much of a factor. SilencerCO went on to say in our interview that decibel reduction in respect to some of their more popular multi caliber models was reduced between 1-2 decibels in their testing compared to their more popular caliber specific models. Of course, we could not verify ourselves that this was the case.

Additional Info:

There are a few manufacturers that have Suppressors that are actually identified as multi caliber Suppressors. These include Liberty Mystic X, Griffin Armament Optimus, and the SilencerCO Hybrid.

Most manufacturers are now marketing their .30 and .45 caliber Suppressors as multi caliber Suppressors. With the .30 caliber Suppressor, you can Suppress a wide variety of calibers including the more popular 5.56mm. With the .45 caliber Suppressor, you can Suppress .45, .40, 9mm, and in some cases even .22.

Whether you choose a multi-caliber or caliber specific Suppressor, the number one thing to consider first and foremost is the quality of the Suppressor and the reputation of the manufacturing company. Yes, we realize that Suppressors can be expensive, but considering the $200 tax, Suppressors are an investment, and time and research on several different factors including multi vs specific should be done before making the NFA plunge.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at info@esilencers.com!