Thermal Suppressors N3wton: King Of The PRS-Suppressor?

Competition shooting is the primordial ooze that gives us most of the evolutions we see in the firearms industry. If the average shooter has it today, Special Forces probably had it 5-10 years ago, and competition shooters had it 10-15 years ago. But sometimes, it’s just for the gamer. The N3wton competition suppressor is a dedicated suppressor built for the long range shooter looking for a gamer’s edge. Precision Rifle Series, NRL: Hunter, or anything of the sort — this is a tool built to squeeze every drop of juice.

WHAT WAS OLD IS NEW AGAIN

For a long time, the name of the game in precision shooting like NRL or PRS is a small cartridge in a heavy rifle with a huge brake to combine to give the absolute minimum in rifle movement or sight picture disruption. 109gr 6mm Dasher in a 22-ish lb rifle with an APA Fat Bastard brake was more or less the meta. Some exceptions or modifications are made based on the exact rules you’re shooting under, but that’s the general idea. Small cartridge, heavy gun, big brake.

While this combination works magic for keeping your rifle steady and your scope on target to spot your shots, it has a downside that shooters only found with time. New research shows conclusively that muzzle blast is really bad for you, specifically in the context of CBQ and micro-TBIs, but this is something that can apply to any situation where you and the muzzle blast are more intimate than you would get on a dance floor.

Attempts to mitigate the amount of concussion thrown by brakes have been made with newer designs. The ACE muzzle brake is a great example. Champion PRS shooters left with debilitating headaches, sinus issues, and more after shooting other brakes designed their own to help mitigate the problem. But the problem still exists.

Many shooters in recent years have turned away from brakes altogether and embraced the suppressor revolution. This comes with the cost of more sight picture disruption since there is no brake to manipulate the gas in your favor, but oftentimes the health benefits outweigh that cost. A compromise has been found for many using suppressors that either natively include a brake option like the Area 419 Maverick or can accept an aftermarket brake in place of the front end cap, like the Aero Precision Lahar suppressor and RECOIL X brake. 

Downside of this setup is that suppressors increase the length of the recoil impulse of a rifle. While the amount of recoil is the same, you feel it over a longer curve. Even if your sight picture isn’t disrupted as much as with a bare muzzle, it still takes longer to settle and get back on target.

Still, this combo gives the health benefits of a suppressor, and most of the shooting benefits of a brake. But even the best of these are still a compromise leaning towards more of a suppressor than a brake.

Enter, The N3wton

Calling the N3wton a suppressor is like calling a 70lb pitbull a lapdog. It technically fits, but it’s not the complete picture. Most suppressors brag endlessly about how much they will reduce sound, most of these being in the 28-32dB range. The N3wton isn’t like that and will only reduce your muzzle blast by about 8.5dB. Why? Because the N3wton is focused on reducing concussion to the shooter while maximizing the benefits of the brake and delivering a short, crisp recoil impulse to the shooter.

The N3wton is a suppressor in the legal sense, but it’s probably better to look at it as a precision rifle brake with the least amount of concussion you’ve ever felt. Where most other options in this space are 80% suppressor and 20% brake, the N3wton is 90% brake and 10% suppressor. But that 10% matters a lot.

ON THE RANGE

First round on target, it’s clear this isn’t something you’ve seen or felt before. It’s a really weird feeling to hear what sounds like an almost-full-power gunshot, but feel absolutely zero concussion or recoil. Sight picture at PRS distance (500-800 yards) shimmers, but doesn’t really move off target. Granted, my PRS rifle is a 20lb beast shooting 109gr 6mm ARC at 2800 FPS, but with my old setup of an Aero Precision Lahar and RECOIL X Gen 1 brake, the reticle normally came off target at 500+ yards.

Having shot so long with a huge suppressor, it surprised me to realize just how long a recoil impulse it had been giving me. The N3ton cuts that time down to a fraction of the amount and makes getting on target or transitioning targets much faster and a lot smoother.

Spotting hits and misses at shorter ranges is also made easier with the faster recoil impulse. Instead of the bullet impacting while the rifle is still settling, my reticle is dead steady by the time the round reaches the target. A reticle that isn’t moving makes judging a correction a lot more precise.

Shot after shot, the concussive force feels like you’re shooting a good suppressor. It’s just not there. Even moving side by side between the PRS competition rifle with the N3wton and my NRL: Hunter rifle with a B&T Print X suppressor, the concussion (or lack of) felt the same. 

One of the several reasons almost every rifle in my safe has a suppressor of some kind is that it’s simply a lot more pleasant to shoot suppressed than it is anything else. It’s easier to get into the zen of long range shooting when every round isn’t punching you in the face. The N3wton is a bit louder, but with ear protection on, that’s barely noticeable. The lack of a concussion meant it was easy to slip into the zone and focus on good shooting.

Gear that fills a niche in competition is more often than not overly expensive, even if it is high quality and delivers on what it promises. Clocking in at $895 MSRP, the N3wton is a pretty good deal all things considered. With most high-end suppressors coming in at $1,100-$1,500, this isn’t painful at all. Plus, the N3wton ships with a custom-made suppressor cover to help fight what little heat mirage it gives up. Add in the fact that we’re no longer paying NFA tax stamps, and this comes in at a pretty reasonable price.

Adding to the value is the fact that Thermal Suppressors includes a custom suppressor cover for the N3wton right in the box. It’s simple, but highly effective. Zero mirage off the suppressor portion of the N3wton even on 105f days shooting 15+ rounds in rapid fire. Plus, the cover didn’t move even once during all this testing.

Not Everything Is Perfect

While the performance of the N3wton is outstanding, the total lack of concussion and all of the benefits of a match-grade brake feel a little like magic; the mounting of the N3wton feels like a suppressor from 1990.

Jam nut direct thread mounting means it can go on just about any rifle with standard 5/8-24 threading, but at the same time, it makes life harder than it needs to be. Mounting it the first time isn’t the worst, but it isn’t great either. The provided wrenches are made from aluminum and bent with the first use. Jam nuts take a couple of tries (at least) to get timed right, and the aluminum wrenches became harder to use and less effective with every timing attempt.

These nuts also make taking the N3wton off for cleaning a bit of a problem. While the barrel can be cleaned with the N3wton in place, the N3wton itself will need cleaning sooner or later and will need to be removed and retimed. Jam nuts aren’t ideal, but they work.

LOOSE ROUNDS

Gamer gear is a matter of fractions of a degree and tenths of a second. All of it represents the right side of the bell curve chart for diminishing returns. A cheap $50 brake will do 85% of the recoil mitigation of a high-end $400+ brake for pennies on the dollar. But top-of-the-line competition equipment isn’t about getting 85% of the maximum performance; it’s about getting every fraction of that last 15%.

The N3wton is a high-performance brake that gives the precision shooter exactly what they need for a dead steady sight picture and a fast recoil impulse to get back on target. But for me, the long-term health effects are even more important. I’ve been shooting long range competition for years, and I want to keep shooting it for a few decades more. With that in mind, I won’t compromise on concussion mitigation for a competitive edge. It’s pretty awesome that the N3wton allows the best of both worlds.

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