Dead Air Teases New AK Suppressors
Today, Dead Air Armament announced plans to bring new, Kalashnikov-specific silencers to market sometime this summer. If you follow their Director of Sales, Gary Hughes, on Instagram, this really should not come as a surprise. The guy loves his AKs. However, thanks to notoriously shoddy barrel threads, there aren’t too many suppressor companies lining up to support the platform.
Even so, Dead Air is the second manufacturer this year to announce AK-centric silencers. Back at SHOT, Gemtech previewed their new Arsenal suppressor that is intended to be paired with special, suppressor-ready rifles from Arsenal in Bulgaria. Perhaps these releases mean that he tide is turning for those of us who like both AKs and suppressors.
The real differences between the new cans and Dead Air’s Sandman line remain to be seen. The company is apparently planning to release M14x1 LH muzzle devices for the Sandman L and S silencers, so it isn’t like Sandman owners absolutely must buy the new cans. Still, the model teased by Dead Air today looks a whole heck of a lot like a classic Russian PBS-1, so it’ll be right at home on your average AKM build.
5/18/2016 Update: Last week, Dead Air announced the initial list of thread specifications that would be offered for the new Wolverine PBS-1 (the silencer’s official name). These include 14L, 14R, 24R, 26L, 15mm, 16mm, 1/2×28, 5/8×24, and 9/16L. With such an extensive list, just about the only common threads I don’t see listed are the 22mm ones featured on Romanian AIMS-74 rifles.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.
An information security professional by day and gun blogger by night, Nathan started his firearms journey at 16 years old as a collector of C&R rifles. These days, you’re likely to find him shooting something a bit more modern – and usually equipped with a suppressor – but his passion for firearms with military heritage has never waned. Over the last five years, Nathan has written about a variety of firearms topics, including Second Amendment politics and gun and gear reviews. When he isn’t shooting or writing, Nathan nerds out over computers, 3D printing, and Star Wars.