To say the firearms industry has seen a steady increase with suppressor sales in the last decade would be a huge understatement. In what has always been a niche’ market, suppressors have begun to gain a wider acceptance in the sporting / hunting world helping educate buyers and lawmakers in what suppressors can realistically do and what they can’t, regardless of what Hollywood movies would have you believe. (Besides, they’re just cool to shoot with, right?) During this time, industry heavyweights have ruled manufacturing and sales. Thanks to these recent increased sales and technology, smaller companies have been able to come onto the scene and offer more innovative thinking, breaking from the “old guard” ways of designing suppressors. One company making big waves early is Torrent Suppressors in Texas.
As a former SWAT operator, now firearms instructor and magazine writer heading up the Swanson Media Group, I have been privy to a wide range of suppressor designs from some of the largest names in the industry for almost 20 years in which I use on a weekly basis with reviews and professional training. When industry “mover and shaker”, Clover Lawson called my office and said, “Hey Trampas, I got a new suppressor company I want you to review,” I couldn’t say no to her. As Clover was explaining their growing pains as a start-up company, she went into depth as to what the designers have come up with for their suppressors. I was very impressed with what I heard, as I tend to be with all the major projects Clover has delivered in the past. I couldn’t wait to have a review sample sent for testing. A few short weeks later, I received a call from my local FFL holder, Henry Mimms with Second Amendment Guns and Range in Yulee, FL to let me know a .30 cal suppressor had just arrived with my name on it.
First Impressions
Once I arrived at the shop and started the paperwork, I opened the Torrent Suppressor box and gave the product a once over. My first impressions were simple. I liked the appearance, compactness and lightweight of the design. This suppressor was Torrent’s T3 model made from Stainless Steel with an optional Titanium construction. Being a .30 cal suppressor, it was rated for anything in the field of 7.62 / .308 / 6.8 SPC / .300 BLK / 6.5 Creedmoor. For immediate testing, I brought along my 9” barreled SBR AR-15 chambered in .300 Blackout with some of my favorite 208 grain loads from the new Hornady Black series.
Specs
Caliber rating: 7.62/.30 CAL
Thread Pitch: 5/8 x 24
Length: 6.2”
Diameter: 1.45”
Weight: 9. oz titanium, or 16.5 oz stainless steel (FA rated
Decibel Rating: 121.2 dB (.300 BLK Subsonic)
Manufacturer: Tactical Arms of Texas
Material: titanium, or 17-4 SS
Color: Black/FDE/Raw
Initial Range Time
Considering the paperwork was recently mailed off to the ATF, personal visits to the range in which the suppressor will legally reside until the tax stamp returns will be how the first few months of testing will subsequently go. As I screwed the T3 suppressor onto my rifle, I noticed how well-balanced the added weight made it feel. Being a short barrel rifle, I am used to the 9” barreled .300 Blackout or BLK having all its weight overloaded up against my chest. With only adding roughly 5” of its overall 6.25” length to the barrel, the rifle remained still very compact. Maneuvering around the range, I noticed the better balance was easier to move from target to target and around corners.
So, it looked good and handled well, so how did it shoot? As it turned out, this would be the best part. Having already had the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8×24 scope zeroed at 100 yards, I held roughly a 1” high as I normally would at 25 yards to hit the bullseye. I was curious as to what the suppressed “shift” would be as I have seen using other suppressors on this rifle. Depending on load, I have seen suppressors cause rounds to strike as much as 4” left or right and just as much distance lower of zero. Given the fact I was shooting at a ¼ of the zeroed distance, I was expected to see anywhere from an .75” to an inch at least.
Once the first shot broke, I couldn’t help by think, “Wow, this thing is quiet!”. Despite wearing electronic ear protection due to range rules, the shot report was low enough to not trigger the noise blocking protection. When actively blocking sound, the “ears” allow for sound such as people speaking to be heard at a normal level and engages an electronic block to high decibel noises.
As I pulled the trigger the second time, I could clearly hear the couple in the lane beside me talking about how their gun “kicked” when one of them shot it. Through the shot breaking, I never lost volume of hearing the couple next to me talk. The only interruption was the noise of a rifle’s bolt working back and forth and a mild bang at the normal level of a living room television.
After the third shot, I had to pull my target in and double-check what I was seeing through the scope. With getting caught up on how quiet the suppressor made the rifle, I didn’t focus on where my hits scored on the target, just held over the bullseye and pressed the trigger without true follow-up. To my surprise, one shot was at the bottom of the 1” bullseye and the other two made one large hole through the center!
After resetting the target, I took the suppressor off and shot 3 additional shots. This time, shots 1 and 3 were touching at the top of the bullseye and shot 2 was center of the target. I was amazed at the lack of noticeable shift at 25 yards. The accuracy was right on with most of my previously recorded shots from last month’s unsuppressed testing found in our AAC review but with much less shift in suppressed results. I made several notes and photographed both targets for my DOPE book.
Reattaching the suppressor, I loaded up 5 rounds into my new Magpul .300 BLK specific PMAGS and sent them downrange during a slow fire string. As I watched through the scope and listened to the bolt cycle with a muffled report, I could see the top of the bullseye form a hole growing larger with each shot. I couldn’t help but smile while one of the range workers walked over to admire the shot group. I loaded up another 5 rounds and put another group down range a bit faster resulting in a 1” group at the 1 o’ clock of the bullseye.
To finish up my first range testing, I ran a target featuring two targets side by side out to 15 yards. I ran two shots to each target freehand quickly back and forth. The rifle handled impressively with minimum sound and great accuracy. This was just a teaser to being able to get on the range and work on shooting drills around barriers and varying distances.
Wrap Up (For now)
Once the suppressor paperwork comes back from the ATF and I can get the suppressor out of paperwork “jail”, I intend on doing longer distance shooting with the .300 BLK as well as push the distances suppressed with my recent 6.5 Creedmoor build out to around 1000 yards or beyond. I am eager to see if there is a noticeable shift as distances multiple and if so, to what effect compared to the “big name” suppressor companies I have worked with in the past.
Overall, I was very impressed with the T3 .30 caliber suppressor from this new company, Torrent Suppressors. While the company is new to the market, the great minds behind it have been around behind the scenes for years gaining the knowledge and technology to ensure success moving forward in 2018. To find out more about Torrent Suppressors, go to www.torrentsuppressors.com and check out their growing line up of suppressors from .17 / .22 to 7.62 thus far with new products dropping soon!
Source: http://www.thegearlocker.net/2018/01/torrent-suppressors/
