If you are a silencer aficionado, at some point you have been effected by the dreaded silent killer known as ‘First Round Pop’. (Get it, “silent killer”). Present primarily within rimfire and pistol caliber suppressors while shooting subsonic ammunition, FRP is the result of oxygen trapped inside the baffles creating a mini explosion when unburnt powder is introduced during shooting. The phenomenon only occurs upon firing the first round because the oxygen is evacuated and not present for subsequent follow-up shots unless enough time has passed for oxygen to make its way back into the silencer.

The advanced ammunition manufacturer and quiet shooting lovers at Discreet Ballistics were sitting around on a classic New England Christmas Day, talking about silencers – my kind of people – when the topic of FRP came up. After a few hours of brainstorming and sketching, a now patent pending FRP eliminating system was born: the PopStop™.

Using an industrial-grade shrader valve device that mounts between the silencer and the barrel, the shooter uses a CO2 cartridge typically reserved for bike flat tire kits. With one short burst, the oxygen between the baffles is replaced with carbon dioxide, eliminating one of the fuel mixtures as well as any noticeable first round pop. The effect will last about five five minutes.

Discreet Ballistics – First Round Pop 

Now, I know what you are thinking. First off you are worried about a large, complicated system that will get in the way of your svelte host/silencer setup. Relax, this is a prototype – commercial versions will be smaller, lighter and lower profile. Second, you don’t care about FRP. Sure, the Discreet Ballistics device won’t be for everyone, but there are enough subsonic nerds in the U.S. who chase ultimate suppression to make it a viable idea. Lastly, yes you could use a liquid ablative, but that technique can get messy in a hurry.

Plans are in the works to produce both stainless and titanium versions in both 1/2 x 28 and 5/8 x 24 thread pitches. Official pricing won’t be finalized until the first units are available for sale, however the hope is to keep the stainless steel model around the $100 mark.

The Sionics M14SS was some of the inspiration behind the design of the Discreet Ballistics PopStop.

As I have stated many times in the past, I love simple, unique designs like this that solve real-world issues. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted on Discreet Ballistics progress but don’t forget to check out their lines of precision subsonic ammunition.

For more information on the PopStop, click here.