Good afternoon suppressor fans and welcome to the 184th edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by our friends at Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the awesome YHM Turbo K. Last week we tested the Dead Air Mask rimfire silencer. This week we take a peek at another industry leader – the Rugged Oculus rimfire suppressor. Modular, strong, and most importantly, quiet, the Rugged Oculus is definitely a fan favorite. So how do you choose between any of the industries best rimfire silencers?  Honestly, since I own multiple rimfire cans for different hosts, I’m not sure I’m going to be of much help. But let’s give it a go.

Thank you to my friends at Silencer Shop for letting me borrow the Oculus for this review.

Rimfire @ TFB:

• SILENCER SATURDAY #133: The Case For/Against Modular Suppressors
• The Rimfire Report: Beretta 21 A Bobcat Covert Review
• SILENCER SATURDAY #134: Everyone Needs A Rimfire Suppressor

If you are heading out for a fun Saturday afternoon or evening and don’t feel like reading my weekly chatter, I’ll save you some time. The Oculus is a very quiet rimfire suppressor made with the best materials. It has no first round pop, and can be separated into long short configurations depending on your host choice or mood that day.

Most importantly, the Oculus is quiet, which I feel is the the only real performance test of a quality rimfire silencer. As I said last week, cleaning methods, weight, materials, and other characteristics mostly take a back seat when evaluating rimfire cans. Small pistols, precision shooters and other unique circumstances aside, sound reduction should be the number the priority. Shooting the Oculus alongside the Dead Air Mask, I couldn’t tell a difference. And I’ve heard a few suppressed .22LR guns in my day.

Since the Oculus is special, we shouldn’t just characterize it on noise reduction alone. To achieve a balance between length a suppression, you can either buy two silencers of different lengths or buy one silencer that can be configured into multiple lengths. The Oculus is obviously the latter, dividing between 5.25 inches and 3.25 inches.

Personally, I’m not convinced that modular silencers are the best choice if you plan on only owning one in a specific category. And I’m not just picking on Rugged – this is (generally) my feeling about all modular suppressor choices. For a single best-performing can on one host or a category of hosts, pick one that just sounds great without any “fancy” features. Any additional suppressors can and should be a bit more specialized. But I recognize that my requirements may be different than everyone else’s.

SILENCER SATURDAY #184: The Rugged Oculus Modular Rimfire Suppressor

The Oculus is a high-quality suppressor that is extremely well engineered. Made from stainless steel, this can is built for heavy use and the harsher cleaning techniques. Rugged bills the Oculus as “belt fed rated” on .22LR firearms. Usually I don’t pay any attention to belt fed rated claims because there are those who own crew-served machineguns that need to be suppressed. But this rating on a rimfire silencer feels like pure marketing speak. And at nearly seven ounces, it’s on the high end of the weight spectrum.

Regardless, the Oculus is a very strong suppressor that should last a lifetime.

In its short configuration, the Oculus is still impressively quiet. Not full-size quiet, but with subsonic ammunition I personally wouldn’t see the need for additional hearing protection.

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Details and Specifications:

• MSRP: $544
• Silencer Shop: $450 (Your local dealer pricing may vary slightly)
• Product page: https://ruggedsuppressors.com/rimfire-suppressors/oculus22/
• User Manual: https://ruggedsuppressors.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Oculus22-Owners-Manual.pdf
• Product Sheet: https://ruggedsuppressors.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Oculus22-Specifications-Sheet.pdf
• Weights and Measures:
  • Diameter: 1.06″
  • Length: Standard Configuration: 5.25″, Short Configuration: 3.25″
  • Weight: Standard Configuration: 6.9oz; Short Configuration: 4.3oz
• Materials
  • Baffles: 17-4 Stainless Steel
  • Tube: 17-4 Stainless Steel
  • Mount: 17-4 Stainless Steel
• Finish: High Temp Cerakote^® (Black or FDE)
• Decibel metering – Pistol
  • Full Configuration – 112.3
  • K Configuration – 125.2
• Decibel metering – Carbine
  • Full Configuration – 113.9
  • K Configuration – 119.2
• Includes:
  • 1/2×28 Direct Thread Mount
  • Oculus22 Suppressor
  • ADAPT Module
  • 22 Front Cap
  • Front Cap Removal Tool

Disassembly is simple and straightforward. Always read the user manual before attempting to service any suppressor.

Once the baffle stacks are removed from either the Oculus main tube or the ADAPT Module, the individual baffles can be separated for cleaning.

The Oculus baffles have an indexing tab on the inside of each baffle that keep everything aligned. If I had my preference, I’d opt for an external tab system like the one on the Mask. The indexing tabs on the inside can be a little tricky to align on feel alone.

Between the GLOCK G44 and the Beretta 21A , I couldn’t tell a difference in noise reduction. Both sounded great with the Oculus in long form and good with it in short form.

And, as I said above, side by side with subsonic ammunition and in a hot, dry climate, the Oculus and Mask were a virtual tie in the noise reduction department.

While it may seem like I am being critical of the Oculus, it honestly is one of the best rimfire suppressors currently on the market. I’d buy one in a heartbeat (and probably will). But, for a first rimfire silencer, I’d probably steer buyers towards a non-modular choice. Even veteran suppressor owners tend to leave their modular suppressors set to just one length. You’ll save some weight and a bit of complexity that may not get used that often.

For everyone else, buy with confidence.

Thanks for joining us. Be safe, have fun, and we’ll see you back here next weekend for another Silencer Saturday.

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