The Liberty Mystic, Jack of All Trades
The market is awash with suppressors, or silencers as Maxim would say. There are a number of different offerings for just about every caliber out there from rimfire to .50 caliber. Where to start? Personally, when first getting into the NFA (National Firearms Act) game, I wanted something that would cover the most bases as possible.
(The National Firearms Act governs a number of different things to include the purchase and transfer of Silencers, requiring a number of steps, paperwork, $200 tax and a hefty wait time.)
To the end of multi-caliber suppressors, there are more today than there was in 2013 when I was searching. Ultimately though, I landed on the Mystic made by Liberty Suppressors out of Georgia.
The Mystic is to-date one of the most versatile suppressors on the market, both with respect to calibers it can be used on as well as mounting devices.
The amount and variety of host weapons the Mystic X can be adapted to are staggering.
While I currently have the Legacy Mystic (since replaced by the Mystic X, which I am waiting on my NFA paperwork to clear on) it can handle a lot. The difference between the Legacy and Mystic X revolves largely around the core. For the sake of this article I will reference the caliber and barrel lengths for the Mystic X, since the Legacy suppressor is no longer produced.
The Mystic X is capable of handling over 60 calibers. From .22 short up through all your rimfire cartridges to 9mm, 300 Blackout, 5.56mm, 7.62×51, 6.5 Creedmoor and even 300 Winchester Magnum. While it can be used with all of those calibers, there are a few barrel restrictions. Such as the .308 family of cartridges are rated for 18”+ barrels and 22”+ barrels for the 300 Win Mag family.
While it can go on many platforms, it does a great job on the AR-15.
While multi caliber suppressors aren’t terribly uncommon these days, such as most 7.62×51 suppressors can be used with smaller cartridges such as 5.56, not many can be used with rimfire, or on pistols.
Liberty addresses these issues on two fronts. To the end of shooting rimfire, the Mystic X is user serviceable. This is important due to .22lr, and other rimfire cartridges, being notoriously dirty. Lead fouling can get really bad on rimfire cans, which is why they all require maintenance. Conversely, most rifle-rated silencers are sealed. You can’t service them beyond running a brush through them.
The Mystic X uses a mono core design, allowing for the user to disassemble and clean the suppressor.
Also, while a number of rifle rated suppressors can technically be used with 9mm, they are set up to be used with a muzzle device or direct thread barrel. This is fine, but if you want to use a pistol, you need a Nielsen Device or Pistol Booster. The booster allows the handgun to properly function, letting the barrel unlock and move ensuring the next round is chambered. Regular “rifle” silencers don’t allow for this.
A 9mm Pistol Booster for the Mystic X.
So we’ve established the Mystic X can handle a ton of calibers in addition to being shot on a pistol. What else does it have up its sleeve? Mounting solutions. Lots and lots of mounting solutions.
I really do appreciate that Liberty Suppressors has done such a good job supporting the Mystic X. If you have a particular mounting need, they probably have the solution. For pistol boosters, they are offered in about every thread pitch you can imagine for all of your different threaded barrels.
For fixed barrel adapters, they have you covered as well. They offer them in a number of flavors. First off they have your standard thread pitches with either 5/8×24 or 1/2×28 (as well as most every other thread pitch). Past that, they make low-pressure mounts. They are aluminum mounts made for pistol caliber pressures. This saves both weight as well as length off of the overall suppressor package.
One of my favorite mounts offered is their Tri-Lug Adapter. This lets you quickly move your suppressor from host to host with push and twist. The male adapter that goes on the host weapon can be purchased separately, along with a billet aluminum wrench so as not to mar the metal upon installation. Then, with the Tri-Lug Adapter on the Mystic X you can put on or take off the suppressor in seconds. I also like that this doesn’t leave your host weapon with either bare threads or a thread protector that has to be taken off.
The LS1 Muzzle Brake can be used with the Mystic X, giving you a functional muzzle brake when the suppressor isn’t in use.
Liberty also offers their LS1 Muzzle Brake. While originally designed for their Sovereign 30 cal. rifle suppressor, it is backwards compatible/interchangeable with the Mystic X. Simply attach the Sovereign to Mystic X Adapter and you are in business. You now have the benefit of a muzzle brake on your host rifle when you aren’t using the Mystic X on it.
So now that we can use the Mystic X on all of these different host weapons, how does it perform?
Keep in mind, there is no free lunch. A multi-caliber suppressor will give you the ability to fire numerous calibers across a variety of hosts, at the expense of not being caliber specific. You will often find weight, size and sound advantages with a caliber specific silencer. Dimensionally the Mystic X is 8” long, 1.375” in diameter, weighs 10.5 oz with a Titanium tube and stainless steel core, High Temp Cerakote finish.
The Liberty Mystic mounted on a Glock 17 with Trijicon RMR.
While a number of suppressor manufacturers put out numbers from sound metering date (how “loud” a suppressor is), most numbers are garbage. I say this because most metering doesn’t conform with the Military Standard. The standard dictates not only where and how the different sound measurements are taken, but also the equipment to be used.
So why do the numbers most companies claim not stand true? The proper equipment is cost prohibitive, not to mention it is time-consuming to gather the data. Because of this, lost of companies use other sound metering equipment and go off of their own “standard.” This often results in better numbers for suppressors than may actually be the case.
I say all this to make this point. Until everyone is actually following the Military Standard perfectly, don’t get wrapped up in numbers. Sound reduction is one piece of the puzzle, but there are other considerations such as tone which is hard to define and describe, or other easier to quantify things like size and weight.
I love shooting the Mystic X with subsonic 9mm, it sounds amazing, but with other loadings and calibers, you can’t get away from the supersonic crack. Supersonic calibers will always have the associated crack. One of the best things about suppressors, though, is just taking the edge off. And the Mystic X does this in spades.
Shooting suppressed is always fun, but subsonic loads take it to the next level.
I will say I am pleased with the Liberty Mystic (and X which I’ve shot on different occasions, though I’m still waiting on my personal one). I think the Mystic X offers a lot of value for the suppressor buyer, be they a first-time buyer or a stamp collector. The sheer versatility is amazing, and beyond that, it sounds good. While I will say dedicated 5.56mm suppressors often sound better than the Mystic X, we go back to that trade-off.
Depending on your intended use, there is a pretty high chance that the Mystic X can take care of most of your suppressor needs across a lot of platforms. As a first time buyer, or if you’re looking at picking up another can, I would encourage you to give a hard look at the Liberty Mystic X.
Liberty Suppressors makes some great suppressors. The Mystic X is in the center of this lineup, on a .357 Magnum Thompson Contender.
Links
Visit Liberty Suppressors to learn more about the Mystic X by clicking HERE.
I have a Beretta Tomcat 32 auto.
I want to set up an indoor range and shoot without annoying my neighbors and have the police visiting.
Does your company have any type of suppressor that would work on this firearm??