There are thousands of excellent suppressors on the market – how can you tell which ones you should purchase with your hard-earned money?

While we can’t review every suppressor out there, we can bring you a few top choices for different firearms or personal needs. Let’s break down three of the best suppressors of 2021 for AR platforms, rimfire weapons, and 9 mm pistols respectively.

Dead Air Nomad 30 – Excellent for AR Rifles

We’d specifically recommend the Dead Air Nomad 30 if you have a 5.56/.223 rifle; suppressors AR platform firearms don’t get much better than the Nomad. It’s made entirely from 17-4 stainless steel as well as Grade five titanium. The Nomad is affordable, durable, and has a plethora of mounting options that are compatible with SilencerCo.

If you combine this with a normal AR platform and subsonic ammo, the Dead Air Normad will produce a sound signature only about half as loud as an unsuppressed .22LR pistol. That’s excellent value for money, especially since it’s less than $800 through a Powered By Silencer Shop dealer.

Pros:

• Excellent value for money given its affordability
• Excellent durability
• Tubeless design

Cons:

• Full auto rating is limited

Dead Air Mask – Great for Rimfire Guns

The Dead Air Mask suppressor is a much better pick if you want an all-purpose rimfire suppressor. It only weighs 6.6 ounces and is 5.1 inches long with a 1-inch diameter. It’s $439 at Silencer Shop and can bring rifle sound down to around 120 dB; that’s only 10 dB louder than the standard noise from a BB gun.

Ever wanted a silencer that could emulate the whisper-quiet effects from the movies? This is about as close as you’ll get with minimal to no first-round pop!

Given that this is a rimfire silencer, you likely won’t have to do a lot of maintenance (provided you only use it with rimfire ammunition). Even so, it can be fully disassembled from either end so you can thoroughly clean it after each shooting session. Also included are nine baffles inside the tube, which are precision-engineered to prevent carbon buildup and debris from accruing over time. It’s ultimately a phenomenal silencer through and through.

Pros:

• Extremely durable
• Can easily be disassembled for thorough cleaning
• Excellent suppressing effect with minimal to no first-round pop

Cons:

• A little heavier compared to other rimfire or .22 LR suppressors on the market

Rugged Obsidian 9 – Bestselling 9mm Silencer

We also want to offer a top-tier 9 MM suppressor, as pistol silencers are some of the most common self-defense and concealed carry weapons on the market.

The modular Obsidian 9 by Rugged Suppressors is the best-selling handgun suppressor in America. Weighing 12.7 ounces in full configuration and 8.7 ounces in its short, the Obsidian 9 can be 7.8 inches or 4.8 inches depending on the module profile. Both modules are full-auto rated for 9 MM. Fun fact, the Obsidian 9 supports .350 Legend on a 16-inch barrel and 300 BLK on 8 inches or longer barrels.

Due to the sheer versatility of the Obsidian 9, thread options are abundant and cross-compatible with other manufacturers. If you have tri lug adaptors or pistons from SilencerCo, Griffin, or Dead Air, you can use them in the Obsidian 9 allowing you to combine this suppressor with a variety of guns and barrels. Every model is made of 17-4 stainless steel and lightweight aluminum. It’s self-serviceable and cleanable, and it’s rated for full auto performance.

Pros:

• Full-auto weapons
• Lightweight
• Modular
• Easy to clean
• Very durable

Cons:

• Availability due to high demand