What would you do if a couple of intimidating-looking guys in suits showed up at your door on a Saturday morning claiming to be from the CIA? They hand you a government credit card and explain that they need you in Budapest, Hungary, to liberate a bunch of swimsuit models from the clutches of some evil criminal overlord. Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 are already booked up for some kind of mandatory government sensitivity training. There’s no one else available. How would you proceed?
Well, for starters, I’d wish I had spent a little less time behind my laptop and a little more on cardio. Then I’d arrange to board the dog, get the kid down the street to keep the grass under control, and put the utility bills on auto-pay. After that was done, I’d source the finest sound-suppressed handgun money could buy, and the CIA guys could likely expedite the BATF Form 4 transfer. But what would that hypothetical tricked-out pistol look like?
Details
All outlandish fantasies aside, if I were trying to set up a highly capable tactical-style pistol with all the best gear, I’d start with the excellent Springfield Armory Echelon. Now that the gun has matured a bit, there are threaded barrels and three different colors offered, and all come with three different backstraps. In addition, there are three different grip module sizes. If you can’t find the Echelon that fits you perfectly, you might not technically be human.
The Echelon’s Variable Interface System makes mounting an optic quick, easy, and painless. I’d top my “supergun” with a Trijicon RCR closed emitter red dot sight. This thing offers a nice broad field of view, stupid long battery life, an indestructible design, and all the bells and whistles. The RCR isn’t cheap, but, serious quality seldom is.
I’d also slap a Streamlight TLR-8G combination white light illuminator and green laser on the dust cover. The TLR-8G isn’t much bigger than my thumb, yet it offers 500 lumens of clean white light along with an easy-to-spot green laser dot. Laser sights fall in and out of vogue, but this one comes at no incremental detriment in weight or bulk.
That leaves the sound suppressor. For that, I’d ping SilencerCo.
The Sound of Silencers
There are a few basic rules that apply to all handgun sound suppressors. If the gun is driven by the traditional Browning tilting-lock, recoil-driven action as are roughly 98% of the serious pistols on the planet, then you’ll need a Nielson Device or Linear Inertial Decoupler (LID). The LID is the most inspired mechanical contrivance since pressurized cheese in a can. This nifty widget captures a bit of the chaos when the gun is fired and uses it to give the action a little tap backwards.
No matter what whiz-bang technology you stuff into it, a proper sound suppressor has to have a certain amount of volume to be effective. The mission is to cool and slow the combustion gases at the muzzle. You just can’t do that without a little space. How you apportion that space makes all the difference in the world.
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Most sound suppressors are round. Cylinders are easy to make. However, if the can is sufficiently large, the top half will occlude the pistol’s sights. Such a firearm can still be fired accurately, but you have to kind of use the Force to get there. Precious few of us are actually Jedi Knights, so SilencerCo came up with a novel mechanical solution.
The Offset Osprey
A monocore design constructed of aluminum and 17-4 stainless steel, the Osprey comes in both 9mm and .45 ACP versions. Monocore simply means that the baffle stack is cut from a single block of material. The larger .45 ACP Osprey can be used on 9mm platforms as well. The can accepts either a LID or a fixed mount and is both sealed and maintenance-free. At a glance, however, you can tell that the Osprey is different.
For starters, the cross section is a polygon rather than a circle. Additionally, the bore is offset to the top so as to minimally obscure the pistol’s sights. The newest versions include a nifty pushbutton clutch that makes mounting a snap. To set the can up, you simply thread it in place, cinch it tight, push the button to release the mount, and rotate the suppressor body until it is squared off with the gun. Release the button, and the can locks in place. Easy peazy.
The Osprey is rated for subsonic .300 BLK and is also right at home on your favorite pistol-caliber submachine gun or carbine. Dribble a capful of water or a spot of wire-pulling gel down the snout, and the Osprey is extra-special quiet. The Osprey is hands-down the most advanced handgun suppressor on the market today in my opinion.
Synergy
Just in case I am ever actually called upon for some fantastical mission, I built this dream rig up and took it to the range for a spin. The Echelon fits my hand like it was born there, and the Osprey, TLR-8G, and RCR optic are all lightweight and rugged. That makes the gun easy to carry and quick to maneuver.
Particularly when charged with 147-gr. subsonic ammo, the Osprey sound suppressor keeps things peaceful and pleasant. Double taps flow forth with the grace of Rachmaninoff and the accuracy of the Large Hadron Collider. Once you take its measure, this tricked-out Echelon will clear steel plates with a ballerina’s grace.
Admittedly, the chances are pretty slim that I might actually be called upon to rescue anybody from anything. However, about once a year I am awakened in the night to some troublesome sound or other. Under those circumstances, my optimized Echelon with its top-end optic, light, and sound suppressor is indeed just the ticket for settling the question of whether the racket is coming from a prowler or just some unduly inquisitive raccoon. Take it from me, it’s also a splendid way to kill a lazy Saturday afternoon at the range.
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