Featured The Suppressed Sound of Liberty Dave Merrill November 2, 2015 Join the Conversation At RECOIL, we review every product fairly and without bias. Making a purchase through one of our links may earn us a small commission, and helps support independent gun reviews. Learn More Liberty Suppressors has been in the game for more than a decade. They'd never been considered the flashiest or largest company, but the products they put out have all been solid. You may recall reading about their very versatile Mystic X in Issue 18 or seeing a Friday Night Gun Porn on them. That just whet the palate—I went down to Georgia to see more for myself. Brent Taylor, previously of AAC and currently with Liberty, would be my tour guide. He's extremely knowledgeable, answered questions bluntly, and pulled no punches. As someone who regularly has to translate bullshit lines from company marketing personnel, this was a breath of fresh air. And while he takes his job very seriously, he still has a great sense of humor (as evidenced by the photos on his Facebook page). We would be shooting at the Barrow County Sheriff's range, and they were gracious enough to virtually give us the run of the place. Sun high in the air, green vegetation on the outskirts, and that hard, red clay Georgia is famous for. Looking at the ground, aside from the sparse greenery it may very well have been a shot from the Mars Rover (though now that they've found water….). Here and there you pickup little quips and tidbits. I was once told to, “never trust a rep from a suppressor company that has $500 earpro on”, and it makes a bit of sense. With this in mind, I was curious to see what Brent was going to pull out of his range bag. Peltors? Sordins? Bigassed ugly orange lawn mower things? He actually had the cheapest—nothing. Ear pro, especially muffs and double-so down in Georgia, can be hot and annoying. Hell, I started sweating the second I left the airplane—let alone this uncomfortable humid day at the range. In the back of my mind I wondered if that's the real reason why so many badass suppressor companies were founded here. AAC started up in Lawrenceville Georgia. Dead Air Armament is also there. And here I was at Liberty. Either way, my nice and expensive ear protection remained blissfully neglected in the heat of the day. What I'm going to do, instead of giving a blow-by-blow or rote repetition of the company catalog, is toss a lot of pictures your way and give you my strongest impressions. As mentioned, we covered the Mystic X in Issue 18. You can successfully suppress more than 60 calibers if you use the right adapters. 60. Calibers. Read more here. Although it can be fitted on a rifle, I mostly hung this off of handguns through the day. For no real discernible reason, the suppressor that I kept coming back to was their Constitution. It isn't as modular as some others, only being rated for 5.56, 5.7, and .22lr. You can't swap out the threads like the Mystic X but it had something that I liked. The Chaotic suppressor is the stubby fat kid. But the funny one, not the smelly one. Dimensionally it's 6” long and 2″ wide, and though it's officially for .300blk, it can eat a helluva lot. Here's what Liberty rates it for: 300BLK – 8″ barrel 7.62×39 – 8” barrel 308 WIN – 16″ barrel 5.56 NATO / 223 REM – 10″ barrel 243 WIN – 16″ barrel 260 REM – 16″ barrel Basically any caliber less than 30 cal and rifle in nature. With a Mystic X and a Chaotic, you can cover almost all of your bases regardless of barrel length. Liberty has several .22lr suppressors, with the newest and most popular being the Regulator. This little guy mostly lived on an accurized bolt action. We were hitting a ¼ size IPSC steel target with subsonic .22lr at 200m on demand. The combination of gun, suppressor, and shooter made for a great system, and one of the funnest setups to shoot. It spent a little time on a Ruger 22/45, in a holster that may pique your interest. Liberty has a integrally suppressed “one stamp” 300blk. They call it the Leonidas. Interstate travel with many NFA items (such as short barreled rifles and machine guns) requires approved 5320.20 forms from the BATFE. However, there are no such restrictions with suppressors and AOWs, provided that they are legal in the end state. As to whether this is due to a clerical error or other mistake is immaterial. With the Leonidas, you get the compactness of a suppressed SBR with the ability to travel anywhere in the USA where suppressors are legal (40 states) without paperwork. Though an integral gun isn't usually a first or second NFA purchase, this is one of the key advantages on the rifle end of things. When browsing through their product line, something that may jump out at you is that all of the Liberty Suppressors are direct-thread (DT). At one point this was viewed as a negative or a indicator of a lower cost or lower quality. While this may well have been true for a period of time, it's not the case anymore. While a specific quick-disconnect (QD) muzzle device allows for fast attachment, it's not all roses and rainbows for several reasons: Firstly, you need a muzzle device for every rifle you're even thinking about using with the suppressor. At prices sometimes upward of $100 a pop, this will add up quickly. You're also limited in available options from each manufacturer. Many manufacturers like this concept, because you're virtually adding DRM to your rifle. Chances are that if you've gone through the expense of outfitting all of your guns for a suppressor from Company X, your next purchase will also be from the same company–if only to avoid swapping out all the devices later. Not only are you limited regarding muzzle device options, but there have been cases where companies have completely changed their attachment mechanism with newer product lines. Yes indeed, while a new fastening device may actually be more sound, it doesn't help the owner of legacy systems. Contrary to popular belief, a properly constructed and installed DT can won't just rotate off when jostled. It's common for people to use Rocksett, a non-temperature sensitive thread locking compound, with their DT suppressors (and more commonly, muzzle devices). Liberty recommended something else: ammunition and a heavy glove (though Rocksett can be be used). Install the suppressor with the buttstock on the ground and the muzzle pointed in the air (to avoid possible cross threading). Now shoot some rounds like you normally would. When the suppressor is warm (after half a box of ammunition or so), grab on with your gloves and crank that baby down. If you do it right it's not going anywhere anytime soon (though I still check occasionally). Personally, I find myself unlikely to be in a ‘Tears of the Sun‘ moment anytime in the near future. You know, when they're outside the village and attaching suppressors as quickly as possible. Gotta go take out those guards! Most of the time, when the suppressor goes on, it stays on. I'm generally not hot swapping from one gun to another throughout a range session. However, there is a time that I appreciate a QD suppressor mount, and that time is transportation of short barreled rifles. Of course, I can't take it off when the suppressor is hot. I even have a range routine wherein I shoot suppressed rifles first, then swap over to handguns or uncivilized (non-suppressed) rifles so the silencer can cool. After an [invariably long] period of time, I remove the can to store for compact transport. Due to user demand, we're told Liberty is in fact making a QD option, to be released later this year. If you're running something like their incredibly versatile Mystic X or similar, adding QD capability will be no different than swapping out a thread adapter. Easy Peazy, and only DRM if you want it to be. Color this one in as the best of both worlds. In a moment of serendipity, Mark Kuczka of Accurate Ordnance arrived to test out one of their latest builds. Accurate Ordnance guarantees a ridiculous ¼ MOA from their custom builds—holy shit. I checked out the rifle Mark had on hand and then was invited back to their shop. Upon arrival, the inner gunnerding began to effervesce. All high end builds, all with promises of god-like accuracy, and all work incredibly aesthetically pleasing. It goes without saying that these cost a wee bit more than your standard fare rifle. I was so struck by some of these that I even attempted some more artsy shots. All in all here, it's hard not to make an automotive analogy with the wares from Liberty Suppressors. These aren't sports cars, they're almost pure utilitarian vehicles. Like a Toyota Hilux. Tough. Versatile. Looking forward to seeing some more from Liberty Suppressors in the future. You can visit Liberty Suppressors online here, or give them a follow on Facebook or Instagram. Explore RECOILweb:RECOILtv Full Auto Friday: HK MP5KB&T to launch new SPR300 ProNew 300BLK from GemtechTaurus TX22 Competition: Turned the Corner or Another Curve? NEXT STEP: Download Your Free Target Pack from RECOILFor years, RECOIL magazine has treated its readers to a full-size (sometimes full color!) shooting target tucked into each big issue. Now we've compiled over 50 of our most popular targets into this one digital PDF download. From handgun drills to AR-15 practice, these 50+ targets have you covered. Print off as many as you like (ammo not included). Get your pack of 50 Print-at-Home targets when you subscribe to the RECOIL email newsletter. 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