Silencer Shop sent me a Surefire Socom 2 RC2 5.56 suppressor and a Bowers USS 22 suppressor to test on my CMR-30. I wanted to see how well they could suppress a common .22 magnum round and how those silencers compared to my SilencerCo SpectreII.

Silencer Shop recommended the Bowers USS 22. I asked for a 5.56 can to see if the larger size and volume might help with the gas expansion and possibly make the .22 magnum quieter. I was thinking of how well the OSS suppressors seemed to work with larger volume so maybe that might apply to this application.

I used CCI Maxi-Mag 45gr. The box says they shoot 1875 fps.

Using the Magnetospeed V3 Ballistic Chronograph I was able to get velocities on 10 rounds per silencer.

First up was the Surefire Socom2 RC2 silencer.
01, 1815, ft/s
02, 1839, ft/s
03, 1796, ft/s
04, 1777, ft/s
05, 1801, ft/s
06, 1711, ft/s
07, 1774, ft/s
08, 1777, ft/s
09, 1831, ft/s
10, 1816, ft/s

Min,1711 . Max,1839  Avg,1793 ft/s

Next up was my SpectreII silencer.

01, 1752, ft/s
02, 1780, ft/s
03, 1823, ft/s
04, 1790, ft/s
05, 1797, ft/s
06, 1839, ft/s
07, 1793, ft/s
08, 1802, ft/s
09, 1803, ft/s
10, 1795, ft/s

Min,1752, Max,1839  Avg,1797 ft/s

Finally the Bowers USS 22.

01, 1834, ft/s
02, 1757, ft/s
03, 1846, ft/s
04, 1848, ft/s
05, 1736, ft/s
06, 1873, ft/s
07, 1790, ft/s
08, 1843, ft/s
09, 1779, ft/s
10, 1832, ft/s

Min,1736, Max,1873 Avg,1813 ft/s

Based on these numbers the Bowers silencer actually has higher velocities for the .22wmr Maxi Mags over the Surefire and SilencerCo.

I like the Surefire can just for the QD attachment and that I can use it on my AR-15. Neither silencer seemed to out perform the other in terms of noise suppression. They were all pretty much equal. Any differences are too subtle to really concern ourselves.

Now price is a definite concern. The SilencerCo SpectreII is by far the cheapest out of the three. MSRP is $431. The Bowers USS 22 MSRP is $495. And of course the SureFire is the most expensive at an MSRP of $1095.

One issue I did not mention is the benefit to having a small light weight rimfire can vs the larger and heavier centerfire can. It is great to use on rimfire pistols. You could mount the Surefire Socom 2 to a pistol but the weight would make it unbalanced.

Also the size of the Socom2 does not allow it to fit under small handguards like the ones I have on my Umarex HK416 pistol and Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22.

I would like to try an OSS over the barrel suppressor on my CMR-30. I was impressed with what they can do to 5.56 SBRs and .338 Lapua. Maybe the larger volume and flow through design would help with the noise and reduce gas to the face.