Good afternoon shooters and welcome to a post election November 2020. This is the 150th edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the YHM Turbo K rifle suppressor. Last week, for a special Halloween edition, we went through five strange and spooky suppressor and firearm combinations. This week we’ll go through three top rated AR15 suppressors, each of which have different intended roles and host requirements. Which one is right for you? Probably all of them. Let’s take a look.

AR15 Silencers – TFB Coverage

• TFBTV Guns of SOCOM Ep. 2: The Mk12 Special Purpose Rifle + AEM5 Silencer
• SILENCER SATURDAY #36: AEM5 – 223 Remington Vs 224 Valkyrie
• SILENCER SATURDAY #138: Picking The Best 5.56mm AR15 Suppressor For You
• SILENCER SATURDAY #64: 5.56mm Allen Engineering Suppressors
• Allen Engineering And The Silencer For The MK12
• SILENCER SATURDAY #81: Yankee Hill Machine Turbo K
• TFB Review: The New SureFire OBC – AR-15 Optimized Bolt Carrier
• SILENCER SATURDAY #98: The Lightweight SureFire SOCOM300-TI

SILENCER SATURDAY #150: .223/5.56 Cans -Three AR15 Suppressors

AR-15 rifles chambered in .223/5.56mm, especially those with short barrels, are never going to fall into the classic definition of “quiet”. But that doesn’t mean that America’s Rifle doesn’t deserve/need a quality suppressor. Let’s review the benefits of running a silencer on a host dedicated to supersonic ammunition:

• Reduce blast/concussion
• Reduce recoil
• Reduce flash (night vision use)
• Reduce noise

When it comes to semiautomatic rifle hosts, most of the benefits of adding a suppressor are directly related to the amount of powder burn occurring in the barrel, barrel length, silencer size and internal volume and to some degree, ammunition choices. The 5.56x45mm cartridge is designed to finish burning all of its powder in somewhere between 18 and 20”of barrel. Anything less and the excess is just wasted as flash and noise as it exits the muzzle.

However, depending on your needs, an AR-15 with a shorter barrel probably makes more sense, especially when you are going to add an additional six to eight inches of silencer on the end. My semi-scientific sweet spot is an 11.5” barrel – enough velocity to keep quality bullets in their terminal ballistic safe space and still short enough to be handy and light.

On the other hand suppressing an 18” AR-15 with an Allen Engineering AEM5 is about as quiet as 5.56mm shooting gets. Truly a life-changing experience.

Point being, when it comes to suppressing the AR-15, the list of Swiss Army knife cans is short.The YHM Turbo K and possibly the SureFire SOCOM556 R2 are close, whereas the AEM5 still reigns supreme on the right host with the appropriate mount and barrel profile.

My factory ammunition of choice for the MK12 and AEM is currently the Federal Premium 73gr Berger OTM. I bought a few hundred rounds from Brownells last year before the all of the EOTWAWKI buying insanity and decided to use some today in all three guns. I felt like I was flinging $5 bills down range.

• Federal Premium Gold Medal Berger 223 Rem – $31.99/20 rounds
  • The most sought-after bullets among competitors on the Precision Rifle Series are now loaded into the industry’s most trusted factory rifle ammunition. Gold Medal Berger loads feature an advanced boat-tail bullet with a high ballistic coefficient to provide the flattest trajectories, less wind drift and surgical long-range accuracy. The loads use Gold Medal match primers, Federal brass and specially formulated propellant, and they adhere to Federal Premium’s strictest specifications for accuracy, pressure and velocity.

Also in for review are some magazines from DURAMAG. I’m loving this “TFB Red’ 30 rounder for a change of pace. I’ve got both the aluminum and stainless steel DuraMags in for review and their is an obvious weight difference – is the added durability worth it? We’ll find out.

Anyway, I bought 40 additional magazines on Friday due to the “changing climate” (I’m obviously not talking about the seasons). If you aren’t already full stocked, I’d suggest you consider investing as soon as possible. The don’t expire, they won’t lose their value and stockpiling is fun.

• DURAMAG 5.56/.223/300BLK – Aluminum (about $12ea)
  • DURAMAG Speed™ bodies are constructed of 6061-T6 aluminum and are type-III hard-coat anodized. Unlike other magazines that use inferior coatings to color their USGI style magazines, our wide range of colors are part of the anodizing process and thus, a part of the metal. These magazines and are safe for extended storage while loaded and will not flex or swell like polymer. With our Progressive die tooling, Post and Hole™ design, and fully robotic welding, you can truly depend on these magazines to be consistent every time you buy them, guaranteed.
• DURAMAG 5.56/.223/300BLK – Steel (about $13ea)
  • Constructed from premium 410 Stainless Steel for maximum durability. This material, coupled with advanced interior and exterior geometries, ensure ultimate reliability and feeding. DURAMAG™ will not flex or swell like polymer and are safe for extended storage while loaded without any add ons. These magazines utilize our T-360™ coating to ensure not only incredibly smooth performance and ease of loading, but also product longevity through the harshest conditions. These are the ultimate magazine of choice for shooters that are running 300 Blackout especially round with long load length or even the heaviest of sub-sonic loads.

Back to some of my favorite 5.56mm suppressors…

Allen Engineering AEM5 – MK12

http://aesuppressors.com/suppressors/AEM5.html

MSRP: $699

You’ve heard me say it many times before, but the AEM5 on a MK12 is about as quiet as 5.56×45/.223 can get. This is hands down one of my favorite centerfire rifles to shoot – you can almost get away without hearing protection (but don’t do that). My MK12ish uses a quality barreled upper from BCM.

SureFire SOCOM556 RC2

https://www.surefire.com/products/suppressors-division/suppressors/socom556-rc2-suppressor/

MSRP: $1,099 (Check Prices at Silencer Shop)

The SOCOM556 R2 gets a decent amount of criticism when it come to sound reduction, it’s mounting system and price. But it does a good job with blowback on medium length barrels and I actually think it suppresses decently well for being “older tech”. Although pricey, there are a wide variety of flash hider and muzzle brake mounts depending on your needs. This isn’t for everyone, but it has proven itself as a robust suppressor with minimal zero shift.

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YHM Turbo K

https://yhm.net/turbor-k-5-56-stainless-with-1-2-28-q-d-flash-hider.html

MSRP: $485 – (Check Prices at Silencer Shop)

With a street price below a stock GLOCK 19, the YHM Turbo K out performs 5.56mm suppressors that cost twice as much. It features a defacto industry standard 1-3/8 x 24 thread mount for direct thread, full size flash hider/muzzle brake modules and the newer mini muzzle devices. For a silencer that weighs nine ounces and measures less than five inches, it is probably one that every shooter should own. Yes, YHM is a sponsor, but if the Turbo K actually sucked, I’d let you know.

Now a little something from TFBTV…

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The 5 Best Host Guns for a Silencer (ft. Silencer Shop and Surefire)

TFBTV

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves chats with Barry Dueck of Surefire and Tyler of Silencer Shop to discuss the five best guns to suppress, as well as some good can pairings for them. They also resolve the nagging question: “is it silencer or suppressor?” Check out today’s video for the countdown.

Read more at: The Top 5 Guns to Suppress/Silence (ft. Silencer Shop and SureFire)

««« GUN + GEAR GIVEAWAYS »»»

TFBTV is viewer supported and does not accept money for positive reviews of products. Please visit our Patreon and SubscribeStar pages if you enjoy our independent content and consider helping us.

Not only does this assist us in creating content, but we give away hundreds of dollars of guns and gear a month to our supporters!

https://www.patreon.com/tfbtv
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NOTE: These giveaways are not affiliated with, associated with, or in any way endorsed by YouTube and TFBTV is solely responsible for the giveaways mentioned in this video and this description. No purchase required for guns/gear worth over $250.

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Have a great week, be safe and we’ll see you back here for another edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday.

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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

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special Thanks: Mac Tactical