SIG Sauer has jumped into the silencer pool with both feet, releasing a full line of cans at this year's SHOT Show. Everything from a small .22LR version up to a quick-detach .338LM beast. Headed up by Kevin Brittingham, formerly known as the founder and head of AAC, SIG Silencers is bringing a science- and engineering-based approach to the business of designing and manufacturing silencers, having rethought every aspect of the suppression process. One of the more interesting results is the new quick-detach mount system, which the company calls Taper-Lok.
The patent-pending system uses a series of tapers to align and secure both the mounts to the gun and then the silencers to the mounts. Tapers provide a self-centering and very secure interface. SIG factory guns have a new tapered barrel shoulder that tightens inside the mount unit when it is threaded on. This both aligns the mount and eliminates the need for any timing or shims. The Taper-Lok mounts are compatible with traditional square-shouldered barrel muzzles as well.
The mount itself is a three-piece assembly consisting of the rear mount unit semi-permanently attached to the gun's muzzle, a crush washer and finally an interchangeable tip. This gives the user the ability to easily (and cheaply) switch between various muzzle brakes, flash hiders and compensators without actually having to remove the mount from the host weapon.
The mounts machined into the rear end of the silencers have a coarse acme-type thread for rapid threading and unthreading as well as a security latch. There are no teeth to wear out on the mount or the latch, and it snaps into a small groove on the mount to prevent the can from backing off. Finally, a tapered mounting surface inside the silencer's mount aligns and secures it to the host. This whole system is simple to use one-handed, provides repeatability, minimal POA/POI shift, and prevents the silencer from backing off on its own. John Hollister of SIG Silencers demonstrated that it takes roughly 20 percent more effort to remove a mounted silencer than it did to mount it: So no need to monkey-fist it on, once mounted; it's not going anywhere.
SIG SAUER Silencers 556Ti-QD
The silencers are made from titanium or stainless steel, the former being almost comically light. Subjectively, the performance sounded very good, though no sound-measuring equipment was present. The silencers remain lightweight while upping performance by using a tubeless construction. You can actually see how the body is made up of welded spacers and baffles. This drastically cuts weight while providing a greater internal volume for a given-size tube.
SIG Silencers will become available throughout the year, beginning with the 5.56 and 7.62 cans in the next month. The rifle cans retail for between $545 (thread-on steel SRD556) and $995 (QD Titanium SRD338Ti-QD); and of course, they will run great on any host guns in the correct caliber.
