The Best 5.56 Silencer for the Money? Griffin Armament’s Spartan 3

in Accessories Misc., AR-15, Jacob Epstein, Uncategorized

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Spartan: adjective--showing the indifference to comfort or luxury traditionally associated with ancient Sparta.

Spartan: adjective–showing the indifference to comfort or luxury traditionally associated with ancient Sparta.

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Check out Griffin Armament’s cans: https://www.griffinarmament.com/Spartan-3-Silencer-p/gasp3.htm

Buy one: https://www.silencershop.com/silencers/5-56mm-rifle/griffin-armament-spartan-3.html

The Griffin Spartan 3 can be pinned in place to form add length to a shorter barrel.

The Griffin Spartan 3 can be pinned in place to form add length to a shorter barrel.

The Griffin Armament Spartan 3 is what some will call a budget suppressor. At $450, it is not overly expensive. The Spartan 3 utilizes a direct thread attachment system instead of some fancy muzzle device, and that’s one way they keep the cost down. It doesn’t have removable, replaceable, or interchangeable caps. But the Spartan is built of solid materials and makes use of a tried and true design. If you’re on a budget, or just like to keep your money, you may want to check it out. The Spartan holds its own with silencers more than twice that price.

Beyond its value, the Spartan has one other trick that makes it very attractive to the AR pistol and SBR crowd. This 6″ suppressor can be easily pinned to the muzzle of barrels down to 10.5 inches to bypass sbr laws. Once permanently attached, it brings the overall length of the barrel to just over 16 inches and makes what would be a two-stamp-gun into a one-stamp and done.

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The Spartan is spartan. This bare-bones can is basic, but fully thought out.

The Spartan is spartan. This bare-bones can is basic, but fully thought out.

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Specs

Mount: 1/2×28 Direct Thread, Pre-drilled for pinning
Caliber: 5.56mm (223)
Weight: 12.5 ounces
Diameter: 1.47″
Length: 6.25″
Length added (vs A2 Compensator: 4.8″)
Build Material: 17-4 Stainless Steel
Finish: Griffin Endura-Kote High Temp Coating
Sound Reduction: 31db (From Manufacturer)
Full-Auto Rated
Retail price of $ 460.00

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Reliability

Reliability and functionality, when running a suppressor, are always a concern. Will the gun function? Will it be over gassed? Point of aim shift dramatically? The Spartan is simple. Once attached, it becomes a fixed extension of the barrel. It doesn’t loosen up, it doesn’t over gas, and it didn’t affect reliability one bit. I shot subsonic and normal loads, and had no difficulties.

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When pinned in place on a 10.5" barrel, the rifle is no longer subject to SBR rules.

When pinned in place on a 10.5″ barrel, the rifle is no longer subject to SBR rules.

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We also tested it on a 7.5" full auto barrel. No problems there, either.

We also tested it on a 7.5″ full auto. No problems there, either.

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Though reliability wasn’t affected, the added back pressure generated by all suppressors–including the Spartan–tend to muck up a gun much faster. Carbon will deposit everywhere and a black soot coats every inch of the internals. This will test your gun’s limits and will require more frequent cleaning whenever you use your silencer. 

Shooting with supersonic ammunition

Shooting the Spartan with typical .223 loads is almost hearing safe. The sound signature is seriously reduced to levels that are pretty much hearing safe. Other suppressors may be quieter and some are undoubtedly louder, but given the unobtrusive size and weight of the Spartan this suppressor more than does its job.

When used on short barrels the muzzle blast is contained, and the recoil is reduced, and the sound is still easy on your ears. Easier. Shooting with the Spartan makes for an all around pleasant experience even as the bullets break the sound barrier down range. Point of impact shifted roughly two inches, but remained consistent.

Part of the simple design makes it more complicated to clean.

Part of the simple design makes it more complicated to clean.

Maintenance

Owning a Griffin Armament Spartan 3 is as easy as it gets. There are no parts to clean, dissemble, or replace. You don’t even have to wipe the carbon off the muzzle if you don’t want to. It’s honestly a worry free option. If you do decide that the suppressor needs some TLC simply wiping it down and cleaning the threads is more than enough to keep it going strong for years. How many? That’s beyond the scope of my abilities as a review writer.

The Spartan will eventually need to be replaced. That’s a given with a design that can’t be serviced easily (and is even true for cans that are easy to service). But it will take a long time to reach that point. 

In the end

The Griffin Armament Spartan 3 is designed to be an entry into the silencer market. It is the gateway drug of NFA stamps. The can is light, short, rugged, and (most importantly) it cuts out the noise pollution. If you own one gun and that is an AR-15 then picking up a Spartan 3 is in my opinion a no-brainer.

But there’s more than that. If you’re looking for a rugged can, this is a good choice. It would be a good choice to put in a bug-out bag. The Spartan 3’s basic nature is also what makes it appealing as a can you put on a rifle and forget about.

Interested in picking up a can? Check out the Silencer Shop. The process is deceptively easy.

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Good honest wear looks good on a can.

Good honest wear looks good on a can.

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All cans get hot when used. Keep a mitt handy if you plan on removing it.

All cans get hot when used. Keep a mitt handy if you plan on removing it.

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  • Bob A November 4, 2018, 12:37 am

    All silencers are over priced. They are relatively simple to build. Makers make them seem like their is some special magic that goes into the design and making. People can actually build their own at home with minimal tools. No, they (the makers) like the tax stamp, it keeps their product “rare” and props up the prices. The makers are patriotic I am sure, but they are capitalists first.

  • Mike April 8, 2017, 9:08 pm

    Do have too have federal firearms lisence to have a silencer

    • Dan November 8, 2017, 12:44 pm

      No. If you live in one of the 43 states that allow suppressors, you just have to pay the $200 tax stamp, pass the background check and wait about 9 months until the paperwork is processed and approved.

  • Brian King July 17, 2016, 7:13 pm

    Can you tell me about the gun you used in the video ? I like the setup and in the market to purchase.
    Thank you

  • kyle December 11, 2015, 9:15 pm

    seems like the cost savings are pointless since eventually the carbon buildup inside would probably cause it to be less effective over time and eventually it probably wouldn’t do anything at all, no ? cant spray solvent through it to clean it?

  • Jordan September 30, 2015, 12:55 pm

    Looks like a great silencer. Gonna definitely look into this one. Thanks for your excellent video and review!

  • BillyBob September 14, 2015, 10:51 am

    WHY would you PIN a (muffler ) (can) (suppressor)(silencer) to any barrel when you can buy a SUREFIRE barrel with
    a per. cage that will let you put your can inside and then remove it to use on another gun or pistol ! Maybe a 22lr or 17hmr
    or a 5.7 or 221 or 300 aac or ECT….

    • Average Joe November 20, 2016, 10:43 pm

      I wish this comment made any sense.

      • JW July 22, 2017, 1:26 am

        When u pin it, the barrel becomes a legal 16″ Barrel. No more SBR

  • BillyBob September 14, 2015, 9:31 am

    Even a machinegun rated (silencer) (can) (suppressor) ALL OF THEM even Stainless steel can be over heated by a few beta mag dumps using an M16 or AR (it just takes a few more minutes )
    (RED HOT) (TRASHED) (DO NOT TOUCH AFTER SHOOTING till COOL )

  • BillyBob September 14, 2015, 9:18 am

    US Patent #916,885 (H. P. Maxim; Silent Firearm; March 30, 1909)
    The Maxim Silencer was the first commercially successful firearm sound suppressor. Developed by Hiram Percy Maxim (son of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, who invented the Maxim machine gun) in tandem with the automobile muffler in the early 1900s, it was patented in 1909.
    Call it what you want uneducated or folks who have or own less than 4 their whole life if any are no EXPERTs (drip under pressure ! NFATALK

  • BillyBob September 14, 2015, 9:03 am

    Join Free NFATALK and find out what you are getting for your money ! What the DB (sound) reduction is by using a BK Meter ! 200 nfa tax stamp + the cost of the can plus a 2 month wait DO YOU WANT TO BUY JUNK ? Sonic & Subsonic !
    One that can be used on 308 as well as 223 !

  • Jay September 14, 2015, 8:59 am

    People, people people, we have got to use the proper technical terms! They are not silencers as someone some where decided to call them in the anti gun crowd! They are suppressors as you cannot totally silence a firearm, especially supersonic rounds! We have all got to quit using any anti gun crowd terms as they seem to catch on like wildfire and we have to Not accept this as the norm!

    • Strela September 14, 2015, 11:01 am

      You may not like the term, but “silencer” is what you’ll be calling it if you file a Form 4 to buy one.

    • AdamA September 14, 2015, 11:47 am

      I used to think the same till I found out Silencer is the official name used by the inventor over 100 years ago and that is the name that was filed in the patent. “suppressor” was a term coined and used in the 70’s or 80’s by a gun journalist. I had it wrong for years!!!

      • jon September 15, 2015, 10:57 pm

        Folks, all you need to do to put an end to all the semantic talk about SILENCERS, uh suppressors, is to simply “wait a time with patience” and the entire point will be moot. Just ask anyone who lives in the Golden State,- CA and us folks out here aren’t the least bit concerned about what they’re called because we can’t have any anyway. So for usin’s, in the land of fruits and nuts, (produce that is) the burden of deciding what to call the items we can’t have anyhoo, allow usin’s to sleep a whole lot sounder knowing the politicians are ever mindful of our inability to make prudent decisions on our own by simply banning everything. I’ll bet you guys who can have all the toys you want sure have trouble getting a good nights sleep!….NOT!

        • Eric June 21, 2016, 3:43 am

          I agree, this state is ONE screwed up place. I have never felt more NON-American, more castrated, more of a minority, until I was transferred to this coastal nightmare. Wouldn’t it be great though if just for a few years the military packed up EVERY base and moved to a PRO-GUN state? Take that you Democratic, ANTI-GUN governmental morons. I bet when the fence crawlers, and the boats start to come in, those Democrats may be singing a different tune. Just the other day after the mass-shooting in Orlando, I heard some idiot suggest that people defend themselves by (and I seriously quote) “Throw a chair, hide, use a beer bottle, and in a last resort, fight back.” Really? With what? Pea-shooters? Stock up now my amigo’s, there is something ready a brewin’ back in the Ol’ Whitehouse I’m sure.” Cuntin, I mean Clintin will be on the warpath grabin’ any and everything she can. California was only a training ground.

          • bill May 20, 2017, 12:05 pm

            Eric, the military won’t move 4 two reasons, 1) it doesn’t effect them in the least and 2) Supposedly they’re strategically placed geographically. Besides as soon as Trump’s reign is over, we’LL have another Demoncrat back in office. I’ve seen the wonderful 2-party system take turns, back and forth for more years than I like to admit. Trump is the closest thing I’ve seen to a 3’d party Candidate in my lifetime, but the next Demoncrat President will have gen-x and the Millenials backing them up, because most of the old timers will be dead and burried. Almost all the ww-2 Vets are gone already and by 2020 and for sure 2024, the Korean Vets Generation will sadly be gone. Hell, most of the Vietnam Vets will be gone. Most are in their mid 60’s all the way up to their late 70’s. This will be a scary time in our Nation, because alot of the Voters will be ex-college, indoctrinated/brainwashed, students, that have been taught that all our Founders/Framers were all racist and that the Constitution is an old, outdated piece of paper, that needs serious revisions. The Communists and all that hate America and our way of life have chosen the path of Collegiate professors, so yeah, unless something DRASTIC changes between now and then, we’re up shit creek w/o a paddle. GOD help us!

    • Tim February 28, 2016, 8:33 am

      Jay- your post is pretty funny. You pontificate on what YOU consider ‘proper’ terminology, as if to brag of your brilliant knowledge on the subject. In doing so, you instead reveal your utter ignorance on the matter. Classic!

  • Hap Burnham September 14, 2015, 8:41 am

    Why are no National Firearms Act (“NFA”) application and $200 tax stamp required for this sound suppressor?

    • Dave Higginbotham September 14, 2015, 9:03 am

      The tax stamp still applies. If you want to take a rifle with a shorter barrel and pin this on as an extension, you may not need an SBR stamp.

      • Roger Sor September 14, 2015, 1:46 pm

        Can you please elaborate on how you could get this WITHOUT a tax stamp given that it is classified as a suppressor … even though you might want to permanently pin it?

        Thank you.

        • Captain Obvious September 15, 2015, 10:10 am

          You still have to form 4 and pay for the stamp for the silencer. What he is saying is that the Spartan 3 is set up so you can pin and weld to a barrel 10.5″ and then the barrel is 16.1″ thus negating the need for a second stamp on a form 1 to register an SBR.

    • Lear55pilot September 18, 2015, 9:38 am

      Hey Hap – Don’t we WISH there was no stamp required!! Now at a 12-18 month wait for approval and stamp receipt – BEFORE you can pick up your can from a dealer!! We have one app that is now at 13th month – and all BATF says is “We are behind and working on it!”

  • shrugger September 14, 2015, 6:56 am

    Sealed cans are why Company’s that cut them open for threaded ends exist. “Years to come” isn’t as far off as you think.

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