There’s just something “classic” about a suppressed Beretta 92FS.
There’s a little bit of silencer buying frenzy going on these days in anticipation of an upcoming ATF regulation change scheduled to take effect July 13, 2016. In short, if you use a trust or corporation to buy a silencer under the existing rules, then you and other trustees do not need to submit photos, individual ATF forms, and fingerprints. Under the new rules, each trustee will have to follow a more rigorous process similar to that of an individual purchase of a suppressor.
The net-net is that, if you use a trust or corporation, buying a muffler will become more of a pain in the butt. That’s your tax dollars at work for you, folks – making the world a much safer place! Because, as we all know, people, trusts, and corporations who jump through all sorts of legal hoops and buy $200 tax stamps to buy silencers commit most of the street crime, right?
Anyway, if you buy soon, you can skip the new headaches. The folks at Silencer Shop are even offering a guarantee. If you purchase an in-stock can by July 6 and provide them your trust or corporation paperwork by July 8, they’ll guarantee to get your paperwork through before the rule change. If they don’t, they’ll give you a hundred bucks.
I shot the Surefire Ryder 9 Ti (bottom) side by side with a Gemtech GM-9 and AAC Illusion.
With that said, we spent some time with a nifty 9mm suppressor that the Silencer Shop folks loaned us recently – the Surefire Ryder 9 Ti. Let’s take a closer look.
As the “Ti” part of the name implies, the body is made of Titanium for strength and weight reduction. In fact, the tube, front cap, and base plate are all made of Titanium.
The Ryder Ti is a slender suppressor, having a diameter of just 1.24 inches. While you’ll still want suppressor sights when using it on most pistols, there’s less suppressor body to obstruct your line of sight. The tube is 7.6 inches long and weighs 9.5 ounces. The exterior is kind of cool looking as the length of the body is fluted, apparently for additional weight reduction.
This one shows off the flat dark earth Cerakote option.
The outside of the Ryder 9 Ti is Cerakoted, and you can order one in one of three different colors: black, gray, or flat dark earth. A booster mount is included to help ensure reliable function with semi-automatic pistols, and you can order the unit with either ½ x 28 or 13.5 x 1 LH thread patterns.
I liked the internal baffle system because they’re idiot-proof for proper reassembly. Many times, silencer performance relies on exact orientation of the interior baffles with respect to the tube and one another. You’d be surprised at how many silencer designs rely on “eyeballing” to make sure the baffles are lined up correctly. The Ryder system uses interlocking pig-nose baffles that are numbered. You can’t help but put them back together in the right order and in the right orientation. Also, the interlocking design keeps carbon funk-ola from escaping the baffle stack only to lodge and harden between the baffles and the tube body.
Note the numbered and notched baffles. It’s easy to put them back in the correct orientation.
The included tool makes the removal and reassembly process even easier. While on that topic, I should note that the tool is excellent and not some cheap afterthought. The heavy knurled end allows you to remove the end caps even if they’re stuck from hardened carbon residue
I shot the Surefire Ryder 9 Ti with a Beretta 92FS host pistol equipped with a factory Beretta barrel threaded by the folks at Tornado Technologies.
The included disassembly tool removes end and base caps and helps dislodge stuck baffles if necessary.
For ammo, I used two varieties. I shot a lot of the new American Eagle Suppressor Subsonic 9mm. This 124-grain full metal jacket load is developed specifically for use with suppressors. It’s got a low-residue powder blend that minimizes filth and flash in addition to launching the bullet at subsonic velocities. I really noticed the difference shooting the Beretta. With its open-top slide, I usually get a face full of grit when shooting suppressed, but not so with the American Eagle Suppressor ammo. That alone is worth the price.
I also shot Sig Sauer’s Elite Performance V-Crown 147-grain defensive ammo. On the heavy side for 9mm ammo, it’s going to be subsonic from any pistol. Because physics. It’s rated at 985 feet per second on the box, but I was curious about what it would do with the addition of the Surefire Ryder 9 Ti silencer. Usually, I see a slight velocity increase when adding a can, and when I measured this combo, I saw the same. I set up a Shooting Chrony Beta Master Chronograph 15 feet down range to capture actual velocity and measured an average of 995 feet per second when shooting through the Ryder.
147-grain 9mm ammo, like this Sig Sauer V-Crown, is subsonic too.
I shot this suppressor side by side, from the same gun and using the same ammo, to two other silencers – the Gemtech GM-9 and the AAC Illusion. To my ear, the Surefire Ryder 9 Ti was the quietest of the three, generating more of a “whoosh” noise than a sharp bang sound. While 9mm isn’t a recoil powerhouse to start with, the felt part of recoil was significantly mellowed when using the Ryder 9 Ti. Yes, “quiet” is the big benefit of a suppressor, but the feel of shooting changes dramatically for the better also. It’s a great way to introduce new shooters to handguns. Softer recoil and less bang let them focus on technique and fun without the intimidating distraction.
Shooting “wet” with this wire pulling gel was super fun and obscenely quiet. One application lasted about 20 shots.
Since we’re talking fun, I also shot this suppressor “wet” by adding a small quantity of wire pulling gel into the blast chamber area before mounting the silencer to the pistol. This stuff is available at most any hardware store and has the consistency of that grape jelly in squeeze bottles except that it’s clear and doesn’t taste nearly as good. After putting about five CCs into the blast chamber, put a finger over each end of the Ryder and shake vigorously a couple of times to spread the goo around the baffles.
The reason for all this is to get extreme quiet out of your suppressor. The gel evaporates as the muzzle blast strikes it, cooling the hot expanding gas more rapidly. The result is less noise when the blast exits the suppressor. The difference in volume is astounding. After the initial application of the wire pulling gel, I kept shooting and got to 20 shots before the silencer began to get back to its normal dry volume level.
The tightly interlocking baffles keep most of the grime from getting between the baffle wall and the tube, ensuring that you can still remove them after heavy shooting.
As a side note, always check with your suppressor manufacturer before adding liquid and never add liquid to a rifle suppressor. The significantly higher pressures just might turn it into an explosive device screwed onto the end of your gun. That’s a bummer for equipment longevity not to mention dangerous.
MSRP of the Surefire Ryder 9 Ti is $799, but as of this writing, Silencer Shop has it for significantly less.