Surefire SOCOM6-MINI4 Suppressor, Range Tested

Surefire silencers are probably the most battle examined suppressors on earth — no different model has seen as a lot fight. The corporate makes no bones about their major focus being on our warfighters and regulation enforcement personnel, and their method to product improvement displays this.

Their latest line of suppressors, introduced earlier this month, is a fourth-gen iteration and at present consists of the SOCOM556-RC4, SOCOM556-MINI4, and the SOCOM6-MINI4.

We Put The New Surefire SOCOM6-MINI4 Suppressor to the Check

Previous to their launch, I spent every week working them at Hat Creek Coaching in Idaho, which is among the nation’s premiere coaching amenities for long-range, high-angle capturing. Hat Creek, run by Bryan Morgan and his spouse Missy, caters virtually solely to elite navy models, making it a super setting to get a really feel for these new cans.

Surefire ICAR 6mm ARC

Tying this collectively in a package deal with a bow was the rifle we had been utilizing — Surefire’s Intermediate Fight Assault Rifle in 6mm ARC. This rifle is at present being fielded choose components in USSOCOM and is, in the interim, unobtainium within the industrial and civilian market.

I can’t discuss in regards to the ICAR in depth but — particular particulars about its working system and engineering are underneath embargo — however I can provide a 30,000-foot tackle what it represents. 

On the skin it has typical AR options and geometry, although an in depth look will reveal small however vital ergonomic enhancements that had been requested by its major navy buyer.

An informal look underneath the hood received’t reveal something clearly out of the peculiar both, however when you get stepped by way of all of the adjustments that went into making the ICAR you’ll understand that it’s constructed totally different. Briefly, each element has been optimized to work with the 6mm ARC to make sure reliability.

The raison d’être for the 6mm ARC was to extend the lethality and vary of an AR-15/M4 sized battle rifle, particularly when in comparison with the usual 5.56mm NATO chambering. The 6mm ARC has succeeded in that regard — the models fielding it have had glorious outcomes and, while you run the 6 ARC, it’s straightforward to see the way it outperforms a .223/5.56 whereas capturing at distance.
However the 6mm ARC has had its challenges. The geometry of the spherical, which is bulkier than the 5.56 and employs a big bolt face, may cause feeding issues and mechanical failures. On paper, the 6mm ARC is supposed to maximise the efficiency of an M4 sized carbine. In observe, it has required a whole overhaul to function with the reliability anticipated of any firearm, notably one being carried in fight.

How the SOCOM6-MINI 4 Suits In

The SOCOM6 and SOCOM556 suppressors are decreased backpressure designs. This type of can, also known as flow-through, directs further gasoline out of the entrance of the silencer, decreasing the forces exerted on the motion and reducing down the amount of poisonous gasses the shooter is uncovered to.

As you may guess, decreasing the again strain is particularly related for direct-impingement weapons, and might enhance reliability and dealing with traits, as extreme bolt pace could make a rifle tougher to manage. It additionally retains the rifle cleaner for simpler upkeep and improved longevity.

Whereas the SOCOM6-MINI4 balances properly with the Surefire ICAR when it comes to the rifle’s operation, it additionally compliments the rifle’s fight focus.

What Issues In A Suppressor

My colleague Tyler Freel simply put collectively a useful buyer’s guide for someone looking to purchase their first suppressor. One level he makes is that sound discount — a top quality that will get heavy emphasis from the capturing public, particularly these commenting on social media — isn’t essentially a very powerful consideration when evaluating a can.

I’ll take that one step additional, and state in terms of what actually issues in a suppressor that sound discount is close to the underside of the record — particularly for one destined for the battlefield.

Barry Dueck, who’s a nationwide champion three-gun shooter and who oversees Surefire’s suppressor division and the ICAR venture, set me straight on what qualities are most important once I bought my first Surefire can, a 6.8 SOCOM, greater than 15 years in the past. Forward of sound discount for navy functions you possibly can record:

• Decreased flash signature
• Minimal POI shift
• Rugged building
• Consumer security within the occasion of failure
• Safe attachment

With these standards in thoughts, you possibly can higher perceive the SOCOM6-MINI4 and its siblings, the SOCOM556-RC4 and SOCOM556-MINI4.

Surefire SOCOM6-MINI4 Key Options

• Constructed from sturdy high-temperature Inconel
• New gasoline movement design reduces muzzle signature and publicity to poisonous gasses
• Reduces backpressure by 60 %
• Provides minimal size to weapon system (about 3 inches relying on adapter)
• 15 ounce weight

Decreased Flash Signature

Firefights usually occur at nighttime and the very last thing you need is to provide away your place to the enemy. Mitigating muzzle flash — which is usually a large problem with among the powders used within the manufacture of navy ammo — is paramount.

The RC4 and MINI4 do a exceptional job reducing down flash. We frolicked one night time performing magazine dumps at nighttime, and even when standing in shut proximity to the muzzle we might hardly decide up any flash, not to mention the sparking that usually happens with silencers constructed from titanium.

I perceive that for looking and precision capturing functions flash discount isn’t essentially  an enormous deal, however for defensive weapon methods it’s essential.

Minimal POI Shift

If you screw one thing as cumbersome as a suppressor to the top of your gun you possibly can count on the purpose of influence to shift considerably. Higher constructed cans preserve that delta to a minimal.

For navy obligation this issues as a result of there are conditions the place the shooter may must take away the suppressor (see the sections on rugged building and unit failure beneath) and when that occurs a minimal POI shift will permit the rifle or carbine to take care of its effectiveness.

That is additionally related for civilian long-range shooters and hunters. Ought to your silencer get plugged with mud or snow and you’ll want to take away it previous to taking a shot, as an illustration, the smaller the POI correction the higher.

Rugged Building

Murphy and his notorious regulation all the time loom giant on the battlefield — and primarily based on my expertise — are continuously encountered throughout capturing matches and whereas looking, too.

In comparison with the RC3 sequence of suppressors, the RC4 and MINI4 have beefed up entrance ends. It doesn’t take a lot creativeness to examine conditions the place the muzzle of an assaulter’s rifle will get rammed into concrete partitions, strengthened metal doorways, or rubble whereas maneuvering. Ensuring it is ready to survive these and different eventualities Murphy may concoct, trumps how quiet the suppressor is.

These new Surefire suppressors are constructed from a high-temperature grade Inconel alloy, which is among the most fascinating supplies for suppressors. The back and front of the fourth-gen Surefire cans are 3-D printed, whereas the middle core is machined from Inconel.

Consumer Security

Irrespective of how idiot-proof a product is designed, or how robust its building is, in the end it’s going to break. With suppressors that usually means it’s now not aligned with the rifle’s bore. Both one thing bought bent or the suppressor was incorrectly connected, and you find yourself with a baffle strike. (One other major reason behind baffle strikes is working a cartridge with a bigger bullet diameter than the silencer is designed for.)

When this occurs, most individuals on the vary or throughout a match will understand one thing is amiss and cease capturing straight away. (Or so I might hope.) However in battle, a soldier may not have that luxurious, or could be working the weapon on a completely computerized setting, wherein case a number of projectiles will proceed to strike the suppressor.

Surefire’s cans are constructed with this worst-case state of affairs in thoughts and are designed to maintain the ensuing spray of fragments to a minimal and directed away from the shooter’s place to minimize the potential of harm.

Safe Attachment

I like my direct-thread suppressors. They free you from needing to decide to a selected sort of muzzle system when transferring a can from one gun to a different. Their major disadvantage is that they may work unfastened in the end. On the very least, this causes a degradation in accuracy. Ought to that go unnoticed and uncorrected, you run the danger of incurring a baffle strike or probably launching your silencer downrange, which can amuse your mates to no finish, however can wreck an in any other case excellent can.

The locking mechanism on the Surefire RC4s and MINI4s ratchets down to carry the suppressors tight towards the muzzle system, both of Surefire’s suppressor-compatible compensators or brakes.

This presents a degree of safety far surpassing direct thread methods, and whereas it isn’t needed for informal capturing, it definitely is a crucial consideration for a fight weapon.

Surefire SOCOM RC-4 and MINI4 Sound Discount

After all, these silencers dial again the muzzle blast skilled by the shooter and whoever is standing close by as properly.

With few exceptions I put on listening to safety even whereas capturing suppressed, so quibbling over the revealed decibel rankings of 1 can versus one other is just not a precedence to me.

Most frequently, I discover it troublesome to listen to the distinction from one can to the subsequent, notably if their rankings are in the identical ballpark. Partly it is because there’s extra that goes into the shooter’s and bystander’s notion of sound than the dB degree measured in a laboratory setting.

It’s additionally doable for a can that’s technically louder to sound softer to the human ear primarily based on the tone it produces. Whereas troublesome to outline, tone could make a suppressor sound extra mellow or harsh, unbiased of the dB score. 

That stated, I put lots of of rounds by way of the Surefire ICAR and SOCOM6-MINI4 throughout the coaching at Hat Creek, largely in outside environments, but in addition in and round Conex packing containers and different constructions. The sound discount and decreased muzzle blast was greater than acceptable.

The Gen-4s and Rifle Dealing with

One other factor that deserves point out is the compact construct of those cans, particularly the MINI4 fashions. The can weighs about 15 ounces, which is an efficient weight for a suppressor designed for laborious use. Additionally, it solely provides 3 inches to the size of the weapon, given how far again it sits on the muzzle system. You may get lighter suppressors that weigh half as a lot, however they received’t have the sturdiness that’s baked into the Surefire fashions. What issues to you within the tradeoff between weight and sturdiness relies on how you intend to make use of it and what you worth most.

The bigger RC4 ideas the scales at 17 ounces and provides 3.8 inches to the size of the weapon and is barely quieter than the MINI4, in line with Surefire’s testing.

Ultimate Ideas on the Surefire SOCOM6-MINI4

For a shooter who is hard on their weapons, or carries a rifle for his or her work, these Surefire suppressors are an interesting selection. They proceed Surefire’s legacy of manufacturing battle-ready gear — whether or not weapon lights, suppressors, or different equipment — that may outlast their competitors.

Some customers may categorize Surefire’s method as overkill, constructing in further weight and value that they don’t want. And there are many nice choices for hunters and shooters with that mindset. However for the one who values rugged engineering that performs at a high-level underneath horrible circumstances, these fourth-generation Surefire cans are singing their tune.