Let’s do the math, shall we: At a conservative estimate of $0.30 per round, these SureFire suppressors spit a metric tonne of copper and lead. Carry the one, move the decimal point, grab the calculator… a grand total of a brand new, fully loaded Toyota Camry – for each silencer. While most civilians will not use their silencers to the extreme levels of soldiers or specialized law enforcement teams, it is a a solid datapoint that is difficult to reproduce in a controlled settings. Either way, 100K rounds is an impressive feat, considering a barrel’s realistic service life is between 10K-20K rounds.

The SOCOM Firing Table uses a full loadout of eight magazines fired at different rates ranging from one round per second to a magazine dump on full auto. While it is an awesome test of durability, real-world scenarios can offer interesting lifecycle data regarding heat up and cool down periods, ammunition changes, barrel lengths, muzzle devices and overall use cases. A detailed log is a must to record the different variables in play.

Personally, I’d love to have a look at the baffle stack of these suppressors. Last year we posted some informal observations stemming from an AR15.com thread showing blast baffle wear and corresponding round counts. The wear patterns are almost artistic is some cases.

As an aside, we have a SureFire SOCOM RC2 suppressor inbound to TFB for review. And while 100K rounds is certainly not on the table, I’m pretty excited to get some time behind the latest iteration of SureFire silencers.

Lastly, the Sergeant from the Kent Police Department in the video below brings up an excellent point: there are benefits to issuing all law enforcement officers suppressors for their patrol rifles, not the least of which is maintaining situational awareness and hearing protection. Auditory Exclusion may trick the brain into thinking that sounds are quieter than they actually are, but it will do nothing to save your hearing.

10 YEARS AND 100K ROUNDS – SureFire Silencer SWAT Use

SureFire SOCOM556-RC2 SOCOM 2 Series Sound Suppressor

https://www.surefire.com/tactical-equipment/sound-suppressors/socom-2-suppressors/socom556-rc2.html 

Originally released in 2012, the SOCOM Series Suppressors were selected by US Special Operations Command as first among all competitors, the most extensive and rigorous suppressor evaluation in history. The awarded full-length suppressors cover all aspects of performance to include effective reduction of sound attenuation, flash and dust signature, and also received the USSOCOM official safety verification in support of fielding. Additionally the suppressors were designed for optimum durability and service life. Since then the SOCOM suppressor has been sold to military units and police departments throughout the United States and the world over within allied NATO countries.

Initially introduced in early 2015, the SOCOM2 suppressors have minimal increase in capability than that of the SOCOM option, and have had a significant increase in production capability. Now when using computer controlled laser welding there is a significant decrease in production cycle-time, thus a reduction in cost, which has been passed along to the enduser offering the best suppressor product available at a lesser price.

The SOCOM2 suppressors continue to be constructed of advanced high-temperature alloys and stainless steel featuring a redesigned internal venting system to additionally reduce back pressure and in some cases a further reduction in sound attenuation. Ascetically the visual difference of the SOCOM2 suppressors is a new recessed end cap.

There is no change in suppressor adapter attachment between the SOCOM and SOCOM2 suppressors. The SOCOM 3-Prong Flash Hider, Muzzle Brake and WARCOMP option adapters are designed for use with weapons system from carbine through machine gun variants. Like all SureFire SOCOM Fast-Attach models, the SOCOM2 produces minimal consistent shift in impact, if at all, compared to that of the unsuppressed weapon.

As always SureFire suppressors are designed and manufactured in the USA.