Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the awesome YHM Turbo K 5.56 rifle suppressor. Last week we stayed indoors for some light reading on industry news and current events – a little like 6th grade home room. This week we are back out on the range testing wiped suppressors and POI shift – specifically the B&T STATION SIX9. How much is a bullet’s trajectory impacted when it passes through a series of hard rubber wipes? And is it a cause for concern? Let’s take a look.
SILENCER SATURDAY #225: Wiped Suppressors- POI Shift Concerns?
B&T STATION SIX9 @ TFB:
- SILENCER SATURDAY #217: Replacing Silencer Wipes – B&T USA STATION SIX9
- SILENCER SATURDAY #216: The B&T USA STATION SIX Pistol And Suppressors
- A Real Life Spy Gun: The B&T Station Six Review
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I am up to over 500 dealers contacted in search of a few KAC QDC suppressors for review. Why? Because I love unique silencers and I have an obsessive personality. Would you rather I took up shoplifting Men’s Health magazines or chain smoking Swisher Sweets? I didn’t think so.
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Be on the lookout for the following KAC QDC models needed for future Silencer Saturday reviews:
- KAC QDC 556 – PN: 30123
KAC QDC 556 CQB – PN: 30192(purchased)- KAC QDC 762 – PN: 111671
- KAC QDC 762 CQB – PN: 30179
- KAC PRS/QDC 762 – PN: 111672
- KAC DSR /QDC 762 – PN: 32326
- KAC 300BLK DSR – PN: 111078
KAC 5.56mm QDSS NT4 – PN: 96062-1(purchased)- KAC MAMS 556 Brake – PN: 30168 (bought a used one, I would like to find a new one)
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Upcoming Reviews:
Unfortunately I missed the big brown box truck yesterday, so the AB Suppressor Raptor in 5.56 and 7.62 will have to wait until next weekend. When we reviewed the older CZ model a few years ago, I was impressed. Let’s get these new models in front of some semiautomatic rifles and see how they perform. Update: they arrived!
SILENCER SATURDAY #225: Wiped Suppressors – POI Shift Concerns?
SILENCER SATURDAY #225: Wiped Suppressors- POI Shift Concerns?
The STATION SIX9 is the quietest host/suppressor combination I’ve ever shot. The sound of the bullet hitting the backstop is much louder than the actual report of the round. Of course, to be crowned as the Silent King, the SIX9 utilizes a sealed manual repeater action and a suppressor that uses polymer wipes as baffles. As the bullet passes through the thin slits in the wipes, the expanding gasses are trapped, keeping nearly all the noise, flash and smoke inside the suppressor.
As you can imagine, a bullet squeezing its way through four polymer baffles may have an effect on accuracy. This question is, are we looking at a point of impact (POI) change that is measure in inches or feet? I will relent the fact that this is a close quarters weapon with a useful range of no more than 15-20 yards. Even so, it is important to understand POI shifts in each of your gun/suppressor setups. Whether hunting, defensive use, or just target shooting, there is no downside to understanding any potential shifts when shooting with a suppressor.
STATION SIX9 Specifications:
- Designation: SIX
- Manufacturer: B&T AG, Switzerland
- Product ID:BT-SIX9 / BT-SIX45
- Users Manual: https://bt-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/STATION-SIX.pdf
- Manufacturer’s Product Page: https://bt-usa.com/products/station-six-9/
- Caliber: 9x19mm / .45 ACP
- Magazine capacity:
5 Rounds(9 Rounds) - Barrel length [mm]: 80 (3.14”)
- Overall length [mm]: 176 (6.92”)
- Overall width [mm]: 34 (1.33”)
- Overall height [mm]: 142 (5.6”)
- Weight [g]: 920 (32.5 oz)
- Sights: Pistol style fix sights, rear sight adjustable for windage
- Sight radius [mm]: 125mm (4.91”)
- MSRP: Unk.
- Retail purchase: $2,250 Tar Heel State Firearms
The STATION SIX9 pistol comes standard with a wiped suppressor but an additional training suppressor can be purchased separately. The training suppressor uses a traditional baffle structure – we’ll use this as our control group and compare it with the POA/POI observations for the wiped suppressor.
SIX9 – Training Suppressor – 15 yards – 9 shots
SILENCER SATURDAY #225: Wiped Suppressors- POI Shift Concerns?
I definitely pulled my first shot, which is the hole on the bottom edge of the target. For a pistol with a very short sight radius and an average shooter on the trigger, I think the SIX9 grouped pretty well.
SIX9 – Wipe/Standard Suppressor – 15 yards – 9 shots
SILENCER SATURDAY #225: Wiped Suppressors- POI Shift Concerns?
With four new wipes I squeezed off a full magazine into a fresh target. Again, I pulled my first shot, which is on the bottom edge of the target. The groups were equally as tight as the rounds fired through the training suppressor. There is a noticeable four inch shift to the left, but consistency was retained.
Observations
I honestly expected the group pattern to open up significantly when using the wiped suppressor. After all, each bullet has to pass through four polymer wipes and each successive shot degrades the wipes, creating irregularities in the surface that contacts the bullet. I think the accuracy from the SIX9 wipe suppressor is about as good as can be expected. Good enough for government work if you ask me.
Thanks for reading. Be safe, have fun, and we’ll see you back next weekend for another Silencer Saturday.
Silencer Saturday is Sponsored by Yankee Hill Machine
