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Good afternoon everyone and thank you for tuning in to yet another edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday, where a trip to Home Depot’s plumbing section is not just for leaky faucets anymore. Today we will finish up with the Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K review with a comparative look at perceived ‘at ear’ performance against an iconic silencer. Next Saturday we will continue on with our review of the Dead Air Wolfman 9mm suppressor and start talking about our top ten list of “must have” silencers – I want your input before we publish any recommendations.
Full disclosure for this week’s review: Obviously YHM sponsors Silencer Saturday, but none of the proceeds of the sponsorship ends up in my pocket. Besides, the good people at Yankee Hill Machine know that if I have something that is perceived as negative to report on a review of their products, it will get published, sponsorship or not.
SILENCER SATURDAY #81: Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K
As a review, let’s take a look at the Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K specifications.
Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K
https://yhm.net/turbor-k-5-56-stainless-with-1-2-28-q-d-flash-hider.html
- Weight: 10.5 oz. (direct thread); 11.7 oz. (Q.D.)
- Diameter: 1.562”
- Length: 4.9” (direct thread); 5.5″ (Q.D.)
- Construction: 17-4 Ph SS / Inconel
- Mount: Q.D. Flash Hider, Direct Thread
- Decibel Rating: 138 dB
- MSRP: $465 (sub $400 street)
We’ve also detailed the basics on past episodes of Silencer Saturday.
Besides being small and relatively light, the Turbo K’s mounting system is modular, coming packaged with either a flash hider or brake and mount module along with a direct thread module. If your guns are outfitted with a different system, such as the Q Plan B or Dead Air KeyMo, the threading on the Turbo K is identical.
Turbo K – On The Range
Out on the range, the Turbo K is easy to maneuver on either short or long barrel rifle setups. My current attachment preference is the Q Plan B system that adds a direct thread amount of length while also providing QD characteristics.
I didn’t notice much blowback when shooting the Turbo K, but did notice some debris in the magazines and on the rounds at the end of the session. However, I didn’t get that sulfury puff of dragon’s breath to the face that can occur with silencers known to have blowback issues. This was a relief: small cans have a limited amount of space to balance suppression with at-the-ear performance.
I am not a precision shooter, but five shots at the 50 yard line saw a slight shift up and to the right of slightly less than an inch. However, I was using the Q Plan B, not the YHM direct thread or QD systems that are included with each purchase.
In terms of suppression, without a meter I’m relying solely on my ears to give you feedback. So in name of science, I removed my muffs for five rounds of M855 through the Turbo K on both an 18” barrel and a 12.5” barrel. On the SBR, my ears wouldn’t have been able to handle more than 10 shots without reinstalling my plugs. I’m not surprised, all supersonic rifle requires require the use of ear protection. On the 18” setup, while the report was obviously loud, it wasn’t painful.
Both the Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K and Surefire SOCOM RC2 had similar performances on the 18” rifle, although obviously I can’t put a meter number to either one. But from where I was standing, the YHM held its own with a silencer that is heavier, longer and more expensive. I did not shoot the Surefire on the 12.5” rifle, so I don’t have a direct comparison to share. However, I believe both would have been loud enough to make it difficult enough to determine a winner without a decibel meter.
Long story short, the YHM Turbo K performs excellently, especially when you consider its small size.
Why The Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K is a Winner:
There are several reasons why I think YHM has designed a great silencer:
- Short: Not to dwell on the obvious, but the Turbo K is short. And when it comes to centerfire rifles that fire supersonic rounds, my personal goal is to keep everything as short as possible. At less than five inches in the direct thread configuration, the Turbo K is certainly in the sweet spot.
- Light: While it’s not the lightest on the market, at under 11 ounces the stainless steel and Inconel Turbo K is at the top of the list. To get any better in the weight department, you’d most likely need to see a move to Titanium which would increase the price and reduce durability at high temperatures.
- Modular mounting system: Whether you like the simplicity of a ‘set it and forget it’ direct thread mount or you want to swap the Turbo K between hosts, YHM made sure you were covered. Owners have a lot of options.
- Quality suppression: No centerfire supersonic rifle can be made “quiet” and that goes double for short barrel rifles. However, even with a small footprint, the Turbo K does a great job in the sound reduction department and can keep pace with some of the long term market leaders.
- Price: With all of the above features, I’d expect a silencer like the Turbo K to MSRP at about $800 and have a street price of around $650. By breaking the $400 barrier, YHM has opened the door to affordable, quality suppression.
For the money, the Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K is an incredible value. Hopefully we’ll see a 7.62 version in the near future.
Have fun, be safe and we’ll see you next Saturday.
Silencer Saturday is Sponsored by Yankee Hill Machine:
Buy YHM silencers and accessories at:
Silencer Shop – Hansohn BrOthers – dead eye gun supply –
Mac tactical
All YHM Products At Brownells
DEALERS: If you want your link to buy YHM suppressors included in future Silencer Saturday posts, email: silencers@thefirearmblog.com
Premiered Jun 21, 2019 – Suppressed Nation
Todays video marks the last video in our series of Suppressor Showdown from this metering event! Who is top dog on the 16″ ar15 with a standard gas block? Take a peek at the data gathered inside to find out! We hope to continue to have many more range days and comparison videos coming with more manufacturers coming on board. Huge thank you as always goes out to the guys at Hansohn Brothers who not only bend over backwards to serve their customers but have taken it another step by serving as a third party for number gathering for the public eye. They took another huge step in this today by investing in the latest sound testing equipment called the Pulse meter! Many good things to come God willing! Thanks for watching and the massive show of support for everyone! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway on the 300bo suppressor showdown!!
