Choosing the right suppressor can be hard, but Allen Arms Tactical can help you make the right pairing.

Suppressors are probably the fastest-growing segment of the firearms industry at the moment, and the market is getting a bit crowded. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does often lead to choice paralysis for shooters looking to buy a can. But why shouldn’t it? A suppressor is a big purchase, after all. Not only are they expensive, but the NFA’s registration requirements make them feel like a semi-permanent purchase. How, then, does one ensure that they’re buying the right can?

One good method is allowing Allen Arms Tactical to be your suppressor sommelier.

Only The Best

Just like wine, the world of suppressors is vast, complicated and requires a certain level of knowledge to navigate deftly. A level of knowledge that most wine drinkers nor suppressor users have. And that’s OK, not everyone needs to be a specialist. That’s why both fields have experts to call on for assistance. Just as you’d trust a sommelier to never recommend a bad bottle, you can trust Allen Arms Tactical to not carry bad suppressors.

To be clear, Allen Arms Tactical is a distributor. That means that they sell suppressors to FFLs, not to end-consumers, but they can still be of help to the average Joe looking to make a purchase.

Michael Leccese, a sales rep for Allen Arms Tactical, laid out the company’s business model for me at CANCON South Carolina 2024. In a nutshell, Allen Arms Tactical chooses to only distribute suppressors that the company deems are of a high enough quality to be a part of its catalog. At the time of writing, that esteemed list features just 25 manufacturers including SilencerCo, HUXWRX, SureFire and YHM to name a few. Point being, because of Allen Arms’ collective technical knowledge and extensive, unbiased testing (more on that later), if it’s a suppressor they carry, you can rest assured that it’s pretty damn good.

The company has a dealer locator on its website too, so you can easily find your nearest FFL supplied by them.

Gun And Can Pairing

Continuing the sommelier analogy, pairing is incredibly important for both wine and suppressors. Even great wine will taste off when paired with the wrong food, and even amazing suppressors can be disappointing when mounted on the wrong gun. Thankfully, Allen Arms works with Thunder Beast Arms (one of its manufacturers) to help users make informed decisions.

That help comes in the form of data, extensive, professionally gathered data from Thunder Beast’s Silencer Summit.

The Silencer Summit, so far hosted in 2023 and 2024, is a sound testing event with a primary goal of measuring the performance of as many suppressors as possible at the same time while using a uniform methodology. Between the two summits, about 550 different gun and suppressor combinations have been tested so far. The nitty gritty of the science is too complicated to get into here, but it’s all laid out in the reports for those who are curious.

More relevant to most shooters is the data itself, and it’s freely available on TBAC’s website for 2023 and 2024.

For anyone looking to purchase a suppressor, these reports are well worth looking at. Presuming the can you’re interested in was one that was tested, the data will give you the clearest picture of how well it actually reduces noise compared to its peers. This large-scale, uniform testing really helps produce unbiased and consistent data for all models involved.

For example, if you were in the market for a suppressor for a 16-inch AR-15, you could look at the respective table from 2024 and see how 51 different cans stack up in terms of decibel readings. The results might reaffirm your choice, or they might lead you toward a different model. Either way, data like this will only make it easier for you to choose the right can for the job.

Open For Business

For any Federal Firearm Licensees reading, you should also be aware that Allen Arms Tactical is always looking to expand its dealer network. The company is happy to work with small and home-based FFLs and has no order minimums, and its close relationships with its manufacturers make it easy for Allen Arms to answer any questions or resolve any issues. Any interested FFLs can visit their Dealer Registration page to sign up.

For more information, visit allenarmstactical.com.

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