Surefire question

[F-Trooper05]

Hey guys, I'm about to to fill out the paperwork for my first suppressor this week. I have a few questions that may or may not be stupid, so please excuse my ignorance.

My first question is about the difference between the Surefire SOCOM 556 RC vs the SB. I understand that the SB is for sub-10" barrels and unstable ammunition, however, my local shop has an SB on sale for $900. I'm wondering if the SB would at all have any downsides if used on a 10.5" LMT MK18? Will it be any louder than if I were to use the RC? If so, would it be that noticeable?

Secondly: An individual I recently spoke with who works for a suppressor distribution company recommended ditching Surefire all together, and instead going with a Dead Air Sandman S. He suggested that it would be both quieter, and more durable than any Surefire can. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

[Defaultmp3]

My first question is about the difference between the Surefire SOCOM 556 RC vs the SB. I understand that the SB is for sub-10" barrels and unstable ammunition, however, my local shop has an SB on sale for $900. I'm wondering if the SB would at all have any downsides if used on a 10.5" LMT MK18? Will it be any louder than if I were to use the RC? If so, would it be that noticeable?

Yes, it will be louder, as the bore is slightly oversized. Noticeable? Eh, probably not. I personally wouldn't think there's any real downsides to using the SB.

Secondly: An individual I recently spoke with who works for a suppressor distribution company recommended ditching Surefire all together, and instead going with a Dead Air Sandman S. He suggested that it would be both quieter, and more durable than any Surefire can. Does anyone have any opinions on this?

The Surefire cans have never been known for being particularly quiet, so I can totally believe that; rather, the Surefire's claim to fame is durability, minimal and consistent POA/POI shift, and reduced blowback. The Sandman-S utilizes a Stellite core; Stellite is a more durable and probably a better material for suppressor baffles than Inconel, which is what Surefire uses, but without knowledge of the baffles themselves, who knows. I'll also note that the Surefires have seen very high round counts in the military, with no noticeable degradation in performance; Surefire also used to offer a recoring service (for free!), I recall them changing it charging cost, not sure if they still offer that service. The Dead Air suppressors are also suppose to have excellent POA/POI shift mitigation. I see both as a quality can; Surefire suffers on paper, but they also have a more proven track record, and I'd anticipate the company being more robust in the long run.

[SC-Texas]

I have an RC and an SB. I can't tell the difference.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[F-Trooper05]

I have an RC and an SB. I can't tell the difference.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Good to know. Thanks!

[gkanga]

I have a Sandman S that I use on my 10.5" LMT upper. I'm very happy with it. The mount is fantastic, it sounds great, low back pressure, and by all appearances it is very durable (I haven't had it very long though).

I also have a Surefire SOCOM RC2 5.56 that I use on one of my 16" guns. I'm perfectly happy with it, too, except that the mount gets pretty stuck. It hasn't been a major problem for me but it's annoyance every time I shoot it. Other than that I haven't had any problems with it.

The Sandman S is about half an inch longer than the Surefire. It's a 7.62 can if you care about multicaliberness. Assuming both are available and no significant price difference I would go with the Sandman S for the better mount unless you put a REALLY high priority on length.

[kaltesherz]

I've zero experience with the Sandman, but I have a SOCOM 556 RC and can say I like it much more than my other AAC cans and various cans my friends have used. While the mount can be finicky at first, once you learn a few tricks (clean the mount between shooting it and put some Fireclean on it) it's a non issue. Worst case a strap wrench and a couple blanks.

So what are the pros? Reduced blowback, POI shift, and muzzle flash. With the charging handle mod and Gemtech SBC there's almost zero blowback through my 11.5 BCM. And extremely minimal muzzle flash at night. And it's a tank. I only wish I had bought it before my AAC cans, which now just collect dust in the safe.