The New SWR Octane 45 HD Suppressor

Does your .45 suppressor make your pistol float in mid-air? Don't be jealous, buy your own Octane 45 HD...

It is with great anticipation that NC SILENCER awaits an opportunity to christen SWR's new .45 ACP suppressor, the Octane 45 HD. Why are we excited? Glad you asked...

The Octane 45 HD's little brother the Octane 9 HD as already proven to be a winner... in our opinion, at least. Most manufacturers make liberal use of aluminum in their construction of 9mm and .45 ACP suppressors. While aluminum is fine for pistol-caliber suppressors, stainless steel (SS) is better. Again, this is our opinion. But allow me to qualify that claim:

Yes, aluminum is lightweight, and relatively strong. Those are desirable qualities in any suppressor. But SS is more durable and easier to clean than aluminum. SS handles harsher cleaning solvents and chemicals, and withstands ultrasonic cleaners. Dropping aluminum components (baffles, etc.) into an ultrasonic cleaner is generally discouraged by suppressor manufacturers. With the Octane 9 HD, the baffle stack is constructed of 100% 17-4 PH stainless steel. Also, the baffle design encapsulates all the crud from your ammo within the baffle chambers themselves. Nothing touches the outer tube - which by the way, is the actual silencer itself, according to the ATF because that's where the serial number is engraved.

This means that cleaning is super easy. Not only does the baffle "tube" slide right out of the outer tube slick as snot, the baffles themselves can be dropped into whatever cleaning medium you want. Cleaning by hand is often not necessary... especially with center-fire pistol-caliber ammo. 

And that brings me to another benefit of this baffle design and the SS construction; if you want to run an Octane 9 HD (or Octane 45, for that matter) on a .22LR rim-fire gun, you're golden. No need to worry about the inevitable lead build-up on the baffles.... or worse, the outer tube. Again, because the baffles are SS, they are very easy to clean. Cleaning "soldered-on" lead from aluminum baffles is possible, but not very enjoyable. Personally, I'd rather spend my time shooting than cleaning.

With the Octane 9 HD, you have all those desirable qualities with the added benefit of top-notch sound reduction performance. The 9 HD rivals what I consider to the reference standard of 9mm suppressors; the AAC Ti-RANT 9. The Ti-RANT 9 is a great suppressor... very lightweight and very quiet. But, open it up. There are a majority of aluminum baffles living in there. Lightweight? Sure. But, you won't find me shooting my Ti-RANT 9 on any of my .22LR host guns because of the lead issue.

So, that's all fine and dandy, NC SILENCER, but what about the Octane 45 HD? Well, that's a great question..

The Octane 45 HD shares the same great design features of the Octane 9 HD. So, naturally, it's a no-brainer. To my knowledge, it's the only (or at least one of the very few) .45 caliber pistol suppressors made with ALL stainless steel baffles. And yet, the Octane 45 HD is reasonably lightweight. Compare it to the Ti-RANT 45 and the 45Osprey and decide for yourself. The manufacturer-stated dB numbers for the Octane 45 HD are identical to the quietest .45 suppressors I've heard; the Ti-RANT 45 and the Silencerco 45Osprey. And yes, like the Ti-RANT 9, the Ti-RANT 45 makes use of aluminum baffles. 

I have not heard the Octane 45 HD in person yet, but I have every reason to believe the manufacturer's specs. I'm willing to bet that the Octane 45 HD will be indistinguishable from the Ti-RANT 45 in terms of sound reduction.

SWR is now owned by Silencerco and operate under the same roof. And both companies have very solid and reputable histories. Their customer service is in a class by itself. My own experience with the company and the feedback I've received from my customers reinforces my already positive opinion of SWR/Silencerco. This all adds up to a lot of compelling reasons to own an Octane 45 HD.

Bottom line: if you're thinking of a adding a .45 cal suppressor to your collection, you probably can't go wrong with the Octane 45 HD.

Coming soon to this "channel": a shooting review, with video - of the SWR Octane 45 HD. Hey SWR, are you reading this? NCS could use a demo can... (hint-hint).

Don't want to wait for NCS to do a review? Want to do your own "testing and evaluation"? Just head over to NCSILENCER and drop us a line. We'll get one on order for you ASAP.

NC SILENCER - Making guns look more scary since 2009.

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