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Area 419’s Maverick takes Top Spots at Vortex Sandstorm Match

The top two shooters at the 2020 Vortex Sandstorm PRS match, Francis Colon and Matt Rooks, were using the new Area 419 Maverick silencers. This 200-round match consists almost entirely of positional shooting–certainly not for bench shooters and prone position warriors. Many PRS and NRL shooters eschew the use of suppressors in competition because generally they move a rifle more during recoil than a quality muzzle brake. Back in RECOIL #40 we covered some silencers specifically made for long-range use in terms of shot recovery and repeatability.

Shortly thereafter, Area 419 developed their modular Maverick silencer specifically to be as effective as a brake all while eliminating the extra-obnoxious blast.


Here's what Area 419 had to say about it:

Area 419, a leading manufacturer of precision rifles and components, is proud to congratulate Francis Colon and Matt Rooks on their 1st and 2nd place finishes at the recent Vortex Sandstorm, a national-level match hosted in Garrettsville, Ohio and sanctioned by the Precision Rifle Series. With a 200 round course-of-fire, which was almost totally shot from improvised or non-prone positions, Colon won the match with a score of 186, and Rooks followed him in second place with a score of 181. Both shooters were using the Maverick Recoil Suppression System in the match.

The match winner, Francis Colon, was using the system in the 5.5” Competition configuration, designed to give a shooter the greatest amount of muzzle control, and the greatest retention of sight picture through firing and recoil. “The Maverick is unbelievable. I’m able to stay in the optic and see trace and impacts in a way I didn’t think was possible. There was always a blink or hiccup in my thinking when I pulled the trigger with a brake, but it disappears with the Maverick, and since making the switch I’m seeing critical things downrange I’ve never seen before,” said Colon after the match, “I can’t believe how much of an advantage the system gives me”.

Finishing in second place, Matt Rooks was using the Maverick in the 6.5” Competition configuration. This configuration of the modular system allows a shooter to further reduce the rifle’s sound and blast signature, while retaining a straight, flat recoil track. Regarding the Maverick, Rooks notes “I’ve shot suppressors in matches for years, as brakes caused me a lot of mental fatigue over the course of long matches and long seasons. The Maverick allows me to shoot with the comfort of a suppressor without paying the recoil penalty. It’s the perfect balance for me, and it allows me to be more comfortable and more locked in behind the rifle.”

Also finishing in the Top Ten using a Maverick was Area 419’s Craig Arnzen, with a 9th place finish. Arnzen used the 5.5” Competition configuration.

The Maverick Recoil Suppression System is a modular precision rifle suppressor system built around the muzzle control needs of competition shooters, while also offering high-performance sound suppression configurability. This system, made of American 17-4 stainless and American Grade-5 titanium, is the first of its kind and utilizes the patented Hellfire Self-Timing taper system to ensure appropriate timing and alignment of the modules.

You can learn more about Area 419 and the Maverick here.

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