The Dilemma
Suppressor technology and ownership have exploded over the past few years. For the past six years or so, suppressors have mainly been constructed of Inconel, a nickel-chromium super alloy-based metal, or titanium. Each of these material choices came with a cost.
Inconel suppressors can stand up to a lot of abuse. The material is durable and rated for full-auto fire, which is perfect for individuals who shoot a lot with heavy firing schedules. The trade-off is that Inconel is heavy.
On the flip side, titanium is light. There are many reasons why that’s important, but weight is especially a concern for professional use. For example, some operators have to get on a scale before boarding a helicopter, and if their duty rifles already have accessories like IR, lights, and foregrips, a lighter suppressor is more desirable.
Titanium also does not spark as much as Inconel, which is important for shooters using night vision. The trade-off with titanium has always been that it cannot stand up to rapid shooting sequences, so you can’t have a full-auto-rated suppressor made of titanium.
3D Printing
B&T recently started 3D printing all its suppressors. This manufacturing process became standard practice with the release of B&T’s Print-X suppressors. What a lot of people don’t realize is that 3D printing cans makes them stronger.
Welded and machined cans have weak points where each piece and baffle is tacked in place, while 3D-printed cans are one solid piece. 3D printing also allows for more complicated shapes and designs, making it easier to engineer the baffles that push the gas away from the shooter.
B&T's Solution
Now, the real question: how do you solve the material issue? After a lot of hard work in the design room, B&T devised a way to 3D print the suppressor sleeve of titanium but still use Inconel baffles. This allows the company to cut weight in the suppressor while maintaining a full-auto rating.
The result is the B&T Print-XH RBS, with the "H" signifying the design of hybrid materials. We received two of these suppressors for evaluation from B&T: one full size and the other a sub-compact variant, both in 5.56. The full-size 7.8-inch suppressor weighs a hair under 14 ounces, while the 5-inch SC version weighs around 11 ounces.
The weight is impressive, but what about performance? Chris Mudgett with B&T had this to say about the testing of the new design:
“During the final stages of development, B&T USA took 5 suppressors of each the full size and compact models to 22,000+ rounds per suppressor. The firing schedule was based upon US SOCOM’s suppressor reliability testing protocol, which a very aggressive firing schedule consisting of a mixture of timed high-tempo semiautomatic and full auto firing of eight 30-round magazines through an 11.5-inch direct impingement M4 Carbine. We repeated this cycle 95 times per suppressor over the course of 2.5 days, equating to over 22,000 rounds of M855 62-grain 5.56 NATO fired per suppressor with zero suppressor failures.”
With no doubt as to its credentials, we headed to the range to test the Print-XH cans for ourselves.
On the Range
Prior to SHOT Show this year, I had a chance to shoot a combined 1,000 rounds between these two suppressors. I shot the cans on my 11.5-inch SIG Sauer MCX pistol, which I still use for duty use when contracting, and thanks to 2 If By Sea Tactical in New Prague, Minn., a 10.5-inch full-auto M16.
I was incredibly impressed with B&T’s work. I complain about the weight of a lot of suppressors and am concerned about the performance of my titanium suppressor. The light weight is probably the most shocking aspect of these suppressors. You can barely tell anything is added to the end of the firearm.
Sound performance is always noteworthy with B&T. On the range by myself, it’s very noticeable, but even at range day at the B&T booth, with nine people shooting different new suppressors, it was quiet and easy to hear yourself think. Additionally, the steel end cap design paired with the non-sparking titanium kills any flash coming from the suppressor.
B&T’s reduced backpressure system is easy to overlook, considering it has been a design focus of the brand for a while. That does not stop me from being impressed by its performance. Plugging the new Print-XH into the M16 full-auto lower with a short 10.5-inch barrel and shooting five magazines in rapid succession normally would mean I'd be tearing up. In complete and total honesty, it felt like I wasn’t even shooting suppressed.
Now, you would expect the focus of my excitement to be that a 13.8-ounce titanium-mix can runs well on full auto – but the fact that you don’t feel the gas buildup is worth writing home about.
Summary
I love suppressors, and I am so excited for the developments we are seeing in suppressor popularity and technology. Admittedly, B&T is probably my favorite suppressor company right now, and for good reason. Lately, suppressor technology seems to advance so fast that companies make their own brand-new suppressor lines obsolete after six or eight months. That does not discourage B&T from continuing to push the frontier of shooting civilized.
Suppressors are great safety devices designed to make shooting better for everyone involved, from protecting hearing to reducing noise pollution. If you are in the market for a quality can from a company that supplies more suppressors to militaries, law enforcement agencies, and domestic users around the world than anyone else, trust that you’ll get the best from B&T.
