Review of the Coastal Gun Inc. Ultima 45 Suppressor

Enjoy the class. Just don't chew your Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun...

Coastal Gun, Inc. in Brunswick, GA probably isn't a "household name" among silencer enthusiasts... at least compared to companies like AAC and Silencerco. But then again, it's not likely that Coastal Gun lays out as much money in advertising as AAC or Silencerco does. So it's understandable if you've never heard of them or their products.

If you don't spend a lot of dollars for flashy advertising to woo customers, how do you get attention in the silencer marketplace and gain a reputation for your products? Well, there are two things that usually work; one, make your products affordable by pricing them below the competition, and/or two, offer exemplary customer service and follow-through with all your customers. This approach often takes time because you are relying heavily on referrals and repeat customers, but in the end it pays off. You end up with loyal customers and positive feedback in the marketplace. There is really no way to buy that kind of advertising. Customer service with a genuine personal touch has no price tag.

It's not often that a company can do both of these things simultaneously and do them well, but Coastal has done a great job balancing these two attributes. Their products are very reasonably priced and they have proven themselves to be a great company to work with; before, during and after the sale. And as an added bonus, the suppressors that Coastal Gun Inc makes are high quality. Just because you're paying less doesn't necessarily mean you're getting less with Coastal Gun.

So I thought I'd give Coastal Gun a plug and focus on one of their suppressors; the Ultima 45. This is a pistol suppressor designed for .45 ACP semi-auto pistols, and can be used for other pistol calibers as well, as I'll mention later. The following photos depict the Ultima 45 in various states of disassembly and I've shared a few words appropriate to the photo immeditaly following each photo. Hopefully, this approach will give you a good idea of the construction, fit and finish, size and weight of the suppressor. I'll also give you my personal opinions and feedback of its real-life performance as a conclusion. Enjoy!

Ultima 45 with take down tool. As shipped from manufacturer.

Coastal Gun Inc. ships each Ultima 45 with a nice, durable nylon case. The top is secured with Velcro. Also included is a tool (basically a hand-held spanner wrench) that comes in handy when disassembling the suppressor and removing the baffles for cleaning.

Serial number covered with tape to protect the privacy of innocent bystanders.

The suppressor out of its case. The engraving is neat and clean. A little on the shallow side. As you can see, the engraved areas produce a white-ish color of the metal below. I've gotten these suppressors very dirty and the engraved area will become noticeably duller, but it can be cleaned easily back to original. The tube is aircraft grade aluminum (black matte anodized).      


 

Manufacturer's specs: 9.5" length, 1.375" diameter.

   The manufacturer says 9.5" length and that's accurate according to my ruler... measured from the tip of the piston to the end of the suppressor. It might appear longer the 9.5" in this photo, but that's because of the fish-eye look the camera lens created.

Manufacturer's specs: 10.4 ounces.

 Manufacturer claims 10.4 ounces. I believe that is without the recoil booster assembly installed. With the booster, the weight is 12.9 ounces according to my scale. That's a little heavier than average for .45 suppressors.

Ultima 45 baffles. Aluminum construction.

The baffles of the Ultima 45 are aluminum. They stack on top of each other in the tube by nesting on the ridge that you can see at the base of each cone. The straight sides of the baffles help keep crud from building up on the inside of the suppressor tube. Not quite a tube-within-a-tube, but close. This makes disassembly easy. In this case, I removed the baffles from the "muzzle" end or exit side of the suppressor by first unscrewing the front cap (the black ring on the top right of the photo).

Close up of the Ultima 45 baffles.

The ridge at the base of the cone part of the baffle is more obvious on this close up photo.

Ultima 45 baffle stack.

 Notice the spacer on the left (entrance end) of the baffle stack. This allows for a larger gas expansion area before the gasses enter the baffles.

Tool for removing the locking ring.

One of the functions of the included tool is to engage the locking ring (that snugs up against the spacer which in turn, compresses the baffles tight). You can easily unscrew the ring with this tool, thereby gaining access to the baffles from the "breach" or entrance side of the suppressor.

Locking ring almost out...

 Self explanatory.

The recoil booster can be removed from the suppressor by hand. The tool is for disassembling the actual booster assembly.

You can take the booster apart (to swap out the piston for another thread pitch or whatever) with the booster assembly is still attached to the suppressor. Here, the booster assembly has been removed first. The included tool is used for this too, by utilizing the other side that has two pins.

Factory fresh, greased up piston and spring.

By unscrewing the retaining ring on the booster face, you can remove the piston and driving spring. Coastal Gun ships new Ultima 45 suppressors loaded with high temp grease. In this photo, the booster assembly retaining ring is still on the piston. It's the black part toward the left part of the piston.

Ultima 45 recoil booster with piston installed and showing an extra spring and piston for visual aid in design.

The booster on the top of the photo has the factory piston and spring installed. I laid out another piston and spring set next to it so you can see how they go together. This is how you would swap out the piston for a different thread pitch so you can use the suppressor on different guns, i.e. swap out the .578"-28 for a 1/2"-28 to go from .45 to 9mm.

This is how you get an Ultima 45 dressed for a date with a 9mm pistol.

Different piston, same spring. Now you can run the Ultima 45 on your Glock 17 9mm.




So, now you've seen the Coastal Gun Inc. Ultima 45 up close and personal. Now for the questions you're probably still wondering about; How does it shoot? Is it quiet? Does NC SILENCER recommend it? Will Miley Cyrus twerk at the NBA Finals? Depending on the order you asked them, the answers are Yes, Yes, Good, and I couldn't care less. Here's some more detail:

How does it shoot? Good. It does feel a tad chunkier and nose-heavy than say an AAC Ti-RANT, but it functions properly and allows the gun to cycle as it's supposed to... that's been my experience with shooting the Ultima 45 on a Glock 21, at least. That's not to say that there is some pistol / ammo combination out there that might hang up every now and then with the Ultima. But I believe that the recoil booster design is solid. It works well, and that's what matters.

Is it quiet? Yes. It is actually above average in terms of sound reduction. You can shoot the Ultima 45 all day on your .45 pistol without needing hearing protection. And it works great on 9mm pistols too. I can't speak for .40 S&W pistols as I have not tried it, but .40 usually isn't as quiet anyway so I wouldn't expect any miracles.

Does NC SILENCER recommend it? You bet. You can spend hundreds more for a .45 pistol suppressor and not really gain a lot more performance, except maybe for weight and size savings. For $550 MSRP, you can't go wrong with the Ultima 45.

If you really want me answer the question about Miley Cyrus, I'm sorry... you're reading the wrong blog. I couldn't care less what she's doing.

That's it for today's assignment. Hope you learned something. Don't forget your homework, and I'll see you next time.

Thanks,

Prof. Eric Morton, SG (silencer guru)
NC SILENCER

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