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Joyful. That’s the word I use to describe shooting suppressed. Every time I shoot suppressed, I talk about wanting to get a suppressor. What stops me is a myriad of things. For one, I don’t know which gun to suppress. I feel like a 5.56 suppressor would be the handiest, but I shoot 9mm way more than 5.56. I also hunt with a .308, and I feel, in all reality, the most practical use for the suppressor would be hunting. I don’t want to deal with the NFA process multiple times, so what am I to do? Well, it seems like SilencerCo has heard the cries of shooters like me and addresses it via the SilencerCo Hybrid 46M.

SilencerCo graciously sent a model for me to test and review, and I’ve got a fantastic opportunity to spill some lead downrange. More than ever, I’ve found myself wanting a suppressor, and the SilencerCo Hybrid 46M was love at first shot. The more I’ve learned about it, the more I’ve begun to think I’ve found the one suppressor I can use for all those roles.

Diving into the Hybrid 46M

The Hybrid 46M suppressor is a sequel to the original Hybrid 46.

What’s the big difference?

Well, the M in the name, my friend. In reality, it’s a lighter suppressor that’s modular (that’s where the ‘M’ comes in) with two different lengths. The Hybrid 46M’s full-size configuration is nine inches long and weighs 19.9 ounces. In its more compact form, the suppressor is 5.78 inches long and weighs 12.2 ounces total.

It’s fairly lightweight for its length, and the diameter is 1.57 inches. The reason why I think this could be that one perfect suppressor for guys like me is the fact it’s a 46 caliber can. I can use this thing on my 9mm, my .308, my 5.56 rifle, and beyond. I can go up to .458 Socom and 45 ACP. It’s tough enough to take the hits from a 338 Lapua Magnum and keep on functioning.

Sound suppression works best when a suppressor matches the caliber of the weapon. That is true, but SilencerCo does mitigate this. The front caps of the suppressor can be swapped to accommodate various calibers to help improve suppression. The Hybrid 46M comes with a 46 caliber cap and a 30 caliber cap. You can also purchase a 9mm cap, a 5.56 cap, and a 6.5mm cap.

One Suppressor to Rule Them All

I can snap this thing onto any firearm in my collection and start popping suppressed shots off. Besides just utilizing different caps, the modular capability to reduce the length and weight of the suppressor ensures things stay light and short for weapons that are light and short.

I might toss the Hybrid 46M on my 308 rifle in the long configuration to maximize my suppression. If I’m rocking a 9mm PCC, well, why then I go short and sweet. It’s a good way to mix and match your suppressor to your various firearms while maintaining their overall purpose.

Putting It In Action

Reviewing NFA items can be a hassle. It would take 6 to 9 months or maybe longer to transfer the suppressor legally to me to take it home and give it the old bang bang. Instead, it was sent to my FFL/SOT, who was gracious enough to allow me to use the weapon on his property and under his supervision. Big thanks to Big Bend Outfitters for all their help.

To keep with range restrictions and overall safety, I brought my favorite subgun, the APC9K, a direct thread adapter, and a butt load of subsonic 9mm. I strapped the Hybrid 46M to my APC9K, and it just looked like it was at home. Even in the long configuration, the weight wasn’t so much so to throw the short little fella off balance.

I started in the long configuration and began blasting through 9mm. The first shot was a little snappy but not enough to ring my ears. Follow-up shots were nice and quiet. I blazed through the first mag and me and my friend talked about kids, our favorite steak houses, and why we both wished we had a lever gun with a threaded barrel for this test.

Keep It Down

We talked as we took turns firing. The weapon was quiet enough that we didn’t need ear protection of any kind. The little snap and pop of the 9mm weren’t enough to interrupt us. Keep in mind this wasn’t with the 9mm cap, but with the standard 46 caliber cap.

I’m not the most knowledgeable in regards to suppressors. I get that can-heads love to talk dBs, barrel lengths, loads, and sound reduction, and it is truly fascinating. However, what matters to me is if it can make the gun hearing safe. The Hybrid 46M certainly made my little APC9K hearing safe when mixed with subsonic ammunition.

We took a break, let the suppressor cool, and then broke it down to the short model. SilencerCo includes all the necessary tools to remove the cap, attach and detach the suppressor, and everything you’ll need to do with the little fella. Taking it down to a lighter, short profile made the Hybrid 46M fit the APC9K like a glove. The lighter, shorter suppressor matched the short, light gun very well.

Both sizes reduced muzzle rise and recoil a crazy amount. The Hybrid 46M works better than a standard compensator. The gun barely bucks and moves between shots. It makes it really easy to fire ten rounds with the gun barely moving. It’s full-auto rated, so it’s not like I was going to burn it down.

Back to the Pew

Again, the first shot had a little extra pop, but after that, the gun was plenty quiet. I ditched ear pro after the first two rounds, and we resumed our conversations as we shot. There was a slight difference between the longer can and the short can, but it remained hearing safe.

I’m sure you guys want a little more information than that on how well the gun suppresses other calibers. I mean, it’s easy to see why you’d want that info, so I scoured the net. By that, I emailed SilencerCo and asked what performance they saw from a wide variety of calibers, and they happily provided me the information.

For reference, OSHA states that sudden loud noises up to 140 dB are hearing safe. However, constant repeated exposure can reduce the safety.

The Hybrid 46M In Action

I don’t want to send this thing back. It’s so utterly awesome that it’s making me want to deal with the Federal government.

The 46M from SilencerCo works like a dream. It made my little APC9K incredibly quiet and perfect for home defense. It’s also modular enough for me to attach it to a wide variety of guns, and it fits everything in my current crop of firearms if you’re like me and wants to truly buy once and cry once the Hybrid 46M is for you.

If you are also a beginner with cans, SilencerCo is the way to go as well. They make tons of accessories, parts, and pieces to match the suppressor to whatever task you put upon it. Check it out at SilencerCo, and let me know what you think below.

Was I blown away when the Glock 43X and the Glock 48 premiered? No, not really. The Sig P365 had already been out for a year and offered a smaller gun with equal to or greater capacity. I found the 43X and 48 to be a bit underwhelming. Now I would have felt a helluva lot different if Glock kept the thin dimensions of the gun and packed 15 rounds into its flush-fitting magazines. Well, Glock might not have done it, but a little company called Shield Arms did it with the S-15 magazines.

The S-15 magazines are now in their second generation, and they have been in constant demand since they unveiled the first generation. People love Glock pistols, and the G43X and G48 are both very reliable, easy shooting guns primed to be thin and easy to carry. The 10 round OEM magazines kind of suck in a day and age where Micro-Compacts rule the concealed carry stage.

Shield Arms produced the S-15 2nd Gen to make a few improvements they saw necessary. First, they did ambidextrous magazine release cuts so lefties could be accommodated. The mag catch windows are smaller, which helps reduce the up and down movement of the magazine in the magwell. They also improved the tube and baseplate geometry for a more reliable magazine.

How Did Shield Arms Do This?

Well, they stripped the plastic off the magazines. The Glock OEM magazines utilize a polymer coating like all Glock mags. As we know, for a polymer to be as durable as metal, it has to be a bit thicker. If you trim that polymer coating off of the Glock magazines and make them metal, they are suddenly a little wider on the inside and can accommodate those five extra rounds.

Bam, now you got 50% more ammunition in a flush-fitting magazine. For me, it’s tough to give a crap about the OEM magazines when these are available. Shield Arms made their name producing magazine extensions, of which I have and think are excellent.

Shield Arms even produces +5 magazine extensions for your S-15, so if you want to step it up to 20 rounds, you can. Especially if you carry a spare pocket magazine and want a little more ammunition on the very rare occasion, you’d have to reload.

I approached loading the S-15 magazines with some caution. After loading the Hellcat and P365 15 round magazines, I expected it to be a workout past round 12. I was pleasantly surprised that the S-15 mags were easy to load the whole way through. I never craved a magazine loader to spare my poor hands from the work.

Do the Shield S15 Magazines Work?

Here’s the big question, right? If the S-15 magazines challenge the reliability of the gun, then they are nothing but paperweights. I brought a healthy dose of Winchester White Box and two S-15 magazines to the range over the never several days. With the S-15’s fully loaded, I began playing the song of my people.

I ran through a round of good old-fashioned Dot torture, which tests shooters, guns, and gear in a variety of ways. This drill utilizes reloads, drawing, non-dominant shooting, and single-hand shooting. I bulldozed my way through Dot torture without an issue.

How do you test a magazine other than just shooting it? Well, reload drills, of course. I live on a Florida sandhill, and the white sand will test the hell out of anything related to guns. I dropped the magazines into that white sand over and over again. The S-15 dived into the sand at all angles and ate up a healthy amount of it.

By the end of the first few reloads, the follower gritted along as I loaded round after round into the S-15. Yet, it didn’t stop or fail. I loaded the rounds one by one and unloaded them the fun way one by one. The sand didn’t create any feeding issues.

In terms of durability, I did dry reloads on my hardwood deck every evening for a week as part of my dry fire practice. They hit and bounced off the ground for what must have been hundreds of reloads as the sun set, and they still function completely fine. No dents, no follower issues, no base plate problems, and no detectable issues that I can find.

Speaking of Reloads

Throughout all these reloads, I came to appreciate the base plates on the S-15 mags. They provide a more aggressive lip than the Glock OEM magazines. To me, this makes reloading easier and more intuitive. It helps me lock onto the magazine and draw it from my pocket clip mag pouch. That baseplate also has a dot matrix that allows you to mark it easily.

Even after the sand, the on-the-deck reloads, and the hundreds of rounds through the magazines, I’ve yet to experience a failure with them through my Glock 43X. They run and run and run without issue. I heard of problems with the initial Gen 1 S-15 magazines, so I did approach with caution and wanted to ensure my testing was thorough. It seems whatever kinks the Gen 1 mags had have been worked out.

The S-15 Downsides

Surely there is no such thing as a free lunch. As metal magazines, these things will start eating up your Glock OEM mag catch. I’ve used them for hundreds of reloads and only see minimal wear, but I’ve already ordered the Shield Arms metal mag catch to replace the OEM model.

Not a big big deal, right? Well, sadly, you get Uno reverse carded, and the metal mag catch will wear away at the polymer of the OEM mags. If you choose to use the Shield S-15 magazines, then you will be stuck using just them. To me, it was a worthwhile decision to increase my carry capacity.

Another issue is it might be tougher to find a mag pouch that accommodates the S-15 magazines. Shield Arms makes one, and I use the Neo Mag, which works perfectly with the S-15.

Shield Arms and Glock Magazines

I hope Shield Arms keeps developing this idea of metal magazines in Glock firearms. What if we can get 20 rounds in a Glock 17 flush-fitting magazine? Or 17 in a flush-fitting Glock 19 mag? It might be a worthwhile future for Glock magazines. I think the S-15 magazines for the Glock 43X and Glock 48 are game-changers.

I have a very small and easy-to-carry gun packing a Glock 19’s worth of capacity. What’s not to love? Check ‘em out if you want to up your Glock’s firepower.

It’s a fight as old as time: is the AK47 or the M16 better? Paul Harrell takes on the AK-47 vs M16 question in the video below and tries to demonstrate which is more powerful. The main problem is that one is 5.56 and the other is 7.62 but he tries his best to get to an answer for us.

Paul admits that this subject has been done so many times, but people still want to hear about it from different sources. To take on the subject, he decided to focus on one aspect only — power or energy foot-pounds. He also admits that ballistic charts don’t always give the best view of the topic because there are too many variables in play. Variables such as weather, ammunition brand, bullet weight, and barrel length, just to name a few, can really affect your test results.

Here’s some quick background in case you need it.

A typical 5.56 or 223 round has a velocity anywhere from 500-800 feet per second more than a 7.62 or 308 round. On the flip side, a 7.62×39 round has a heavier bullet that will give total energy foot-pounds higher than a typical 5.56 round. That information gives a good example of how just quoting numbers from a chart can give a one-sided view. Paul gives the great example of a bumblebee that on paper is not aerodynamic and shouldn’t be able to fly but yet can and does fly.

For the AK-47 vs M16 test, he shoots four mediums:

1. Log cabin wall
2. Cinder blocks
3. Gallon water jugs
4. Car doors

To help keep things constant for the test, he wants to show both rifles head-to-head at the same target. Paul decides to keep with the same ammunition for each test, except for one. For the M16 he uses Federal XM193 ammunition, a true 5.56 NATO round with a 55 grain jacketed spearpoint bullet. For the 7.62×39, Paul chooses Wolf 7.62×39, a 123-grain spearpoint jacketed bullet.

First up for the test is the log cabin wall.

He uses 6” poles stacked on each other. With the curve to the poles, he is aiming for the center of the logs, placing a target behind the wall, and shooting from 25 yards. 

He shoots the M16  first and all rounds went through. The target is peppered with secondary projectiles, such as splinters, and just about every bullet hole is sideways indicating a tumbling bullet. For the AK, all shots go through with no tumbling or splinters. He believes that the AK-47 is better at accurate penetration through this medium.

Next up is the cinder block test.

Paul arranges ten blocks like bowling pins with three filled soda bottles behind them. It takes the M16 31 shots before the bullets finally penetrate to the soda bottles. 

With the AK-47, it takes around 20 shots to penetrate the blocks, but the rounds never actually hit the bottles, knocking them over instead. Paul concludes that the AK47 rounds ate through the blocks faster than the M16 rounds.

The third test is with water-filled gallon jugs to demonstrate hydrostatic shock.

For this test, he actually switches up the ammunition to something he would hunt with. For the M16 he shoots 223 Remington 55 grain soft point. This round is the same bullet weight as the 7.62 bullet, and it does a fair job at blowing apart the jugs. For the AK-47, he shoots Silver Bear 125-grain soft point bullets that also do a fair job of blowing the jugs apart. 

In a side-by-side comparison of the jugs after the test, they all look roughly the same as far as damage, with a slight advantage going to the M16 due to the higher velocity.

The final AK-47 vs M16 test is shooting into a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo.

Typically, when vehicles are used as targets, they use the front doors for one gun and the back doors for another weapon. This is a problem because the physical make-up of the doors is drastically different as well as the placement of internal mechanisms. So, for this test he shoots 15 rounds through open doors, front and back, with a three-sheet thickness of plywood placed behind the doors.

The M16 test has bullet fragments, lots of fragments, and tumbling into the second door. The plywood has eight impact holes with seven exit holes. For the AK, there are lots of secondary fragments as well as a broken window. The plywood has nine impact holes with only six exit holes. Paul concludes that there is no clear winner for this test thanks to all the variables in the car door.

AK-47 vs M16 — Which one wins?

In conclusion, Paul says that the log cabin and the cinder tests go to the AK. The water jugs test iss a win for the M16, but with the car, there is no clear winner. He says it comes down to two things. One, no matter the conclusion, the debate will continue to rage on. And Two, there is no solid winner from the power test. He suggests that you take the results and make the choice for yourself.

Want another take on this debate? Check out this article: Face off: AK-47 vs AR-15 — Accuracy.