Liberty Suppressors’ Cosmic, more than you think.
I received a brand new silencer from Liberty Suppressors, the Cosmic to check it out and see what is what. It is a user serviceable silencer with a .45 caliber bore. Now this can is rated for some high pressure cartridges such as the .454 Casull and 300 Blackout supersonic and subsonic. With that in mind this can is easily adapted to several different host firearms and calibers.
Liberty Suppressors was good enough to send a 1/2 x 28 thread piston end cap adapter that works with 9mm Luger and smaller with that thread pitch and a 5/8 x 24 thread end cap that will work for larger rifle calibers.
Testing began with a CZ P09 9mm Luger and Barnes Precision Machine Patrolman’s rifle in 300 BLK. I also included a Glock 17 with a Lone Wolf threaded barrel
After a few magazines through each host, showing no decrease in accuracy or reliability it was time to get some friends over and wring this can out. The Cosmic is a large can measuring eight inches without the end cap adapter and it is almost 1.5 inches thick. In many handguns, most silencers impede your sight picture. Since much of the can sticks above the bore. One solution is installing silencer sights to your pistol that stick up much higher. This solution will change your sight picture, since they do set up so much higher off the slide. Another technique is to sight or shoot through the silencer. You can still reference your sights and target with the silencer installed, so with a little practice you can use the factory sights and still put accurate rounds on target. The latter option is the one I prefer.
Using a sound meter I tested some subsonic 147gr 9mm Luger from Ft Mill Munitions and subsonic 300 BLK from Stillwood and Defender Ammunition. After talking to the manufacture of the sound meter on the best way to get accurate results we set up and shot a series of five shot strings logging the info and averaging the suppressed report. The subs in 9mm averaged 64 decibels and the subs in 300 BLK averaged 74 decibels. Though many pistol silencers are rated for subsonic 300 BLK, very few are rated for supersonic. As far as adaptability, the Cosmic is tough to beat. The cosmic has held up well over about a five hundred rounds, mostly subsonic 9mm. At twenty five yards there was no change in accuracy with handgun or rifle.
A note on the sound measuring, In talking with Reed Instruments and Liberty Suppressors I have learned my meter measures the entire sound wave, from beginning to end while more sophisticated meters can measure only the peak sound. That raises the question if my meter is acceptable for measuring the report from a silencer, well according to Reed Instruments, it measures basically about the same thing as the average human ear hears. While that can may have a peak noise of 120 db, that peak lasts for thousands of a second and is not truly audible. To get an idea of exact peak noise, add about 60 db to my measurements but it is doubtful your ears will pick up on that sound.
There were two things I really liked about the Cosmic, with the 1/2 x 28 or 5/8 x 24 thread piston adaptor it will attach to standard threads of handguns and with the end cap adapters of the same thread pitch. it can attach to standard rifle barrels. Since it is rated to high pressure pistol cartridges and supersonic and subsonic 300 Blackout it will serve you well on several firearms. The monocore design makes it easy to disassemble and clean as well as reassemble.
The muzzle end of the silencer is tabbed and indexes on the silencer body so you know everything is correctly aligned.
Though we all know silencers are very cool, they also make excellent training tools. Suppressing a firearms report also takes away a lot of the intimidation factor to new shooters and allows communication between the shooter and instructor. So in addition of the cool factor, a silencer makes shooting more pleasant and makes a fine training tool. The added weight to the end of the muzzle is easy to get used to. There are new laws on the books, such as the ATF ruling of CLEOS shall sign and the Hearing Protection Bill that has been introduced that, hopefully. will make silencers easy to get.
About the sound meter testing, I spoke with the manufacture of the meter and they advised me the meter should be accurate over a 5 shot average and is calibrated to +/- 1.5db. For reference on sound pain begins about 85 db and my meter is measuring peak sound 5 feet away and behind the pistol. During the shooting, the action was about as loud as the report, the case hitting the table was louder than the report of the 9mm test.
I learned from Liberty that the cosmic is also good for rifles chambered in 5.56×45/.223 Remington as long as the barrel length is 16 inches or longer.I have about a 100 rounds through the Colt 6920 and the can has held up well. The silencer helped the report a great deal on the AR-15, though I do not know if I would want to spend a day shooting it without any hearing protection but the report was suppressed quite a bit. This would especially work well in you needed a silencer for your rifle and already had the Cosmic. All you would need is to add a 1/2 x 28 adaptor to the can and get to it. If you carried a rifle in 5.56/.223 for home or vehicle defense and needed it in a hurry, adding this can is a much better option if you had to deploy the rifle without any any ears, especially in an emergency and others were in proximity.
Specifications
Designated Caliber: 45 Auto
Length: 8″ (Suppressor module only) Width, 1.4′
Material: Titanium / Stainless steel
Weight: 9.5 ounces
Average dB in 45ACP: 134dB
Attachment: Multipurpose mounting system
Finish: Type C Cerakote
Acknowledgments
Why did you measure with the sound meter so far away? It makes it impossible to compare this suppressor to other suppressors as most suppressors volume is measured at the muzzle. If you’re going to measure with the meter so far away, can you also measure with at least 1 other can at the same distance so we have a comparison. The whole reason people buy suppressors is to cut down on sound. What good is a review that doesn’t report how well it cuts down on sound?
I am a few feet away from the muzzle, as with all the other silencer reviews I have seen. If you believe a few feet makes a significant difference in sound, keep in mind that is still closer than your ear. The reason I did not have the sound meter right at the muzzle, is the muzzle blast can disturb the meter itself.
If you truly found my review no good, I will refund your money.
Hunter
Thanks for the reply. The problem is that every other can meters over 120db. It’s not possible for this can to measure at 60-70 dB. So there’s no basis for comparison. Do you have another can that you can test at the same distance? For example, if you could test an Octane and it measures at 60 dB and then this can at 64db, then we have a frame of reference. I think it’s something people would want to know. We all know it’s amazing that it can be used on multiple calibers….but how does it perform compared to several caliber specific models.
I measured my AAC Illusion using the same distances and it measured an average of 63 DB. Keep in mind these are subsonic, at 120db you would still need hearing protection to shoot. An unsuppressed .22 rifle is over 100 db and these were much quieter than any .22
Thanks. The 120 I mention is what the manufacturers list. I’m assuming those are measured at the muzzle. At the ear they are obviously lower. Thanks for the comparison of the illusion. That’s great that it compares similarly to that. That is my biggest worry with this can. I was scared they sacrificed performance to make it work with almost every caliber. So would you say it performs similarly to other popular high performing cans? Thanks for the review.
I done some research over the past few hours and I believe I have found the discrepancy.
I found the reviews running cans on 9mm that reported 120db, and they were running 124gr supersonics, loaded much hotter then the 147gr I was using, and you still get the sonic crack.
These rounds were all subsonic loaded at minimal levels. Truthfully the case hitting the table and the action of the pistol were as loud as the report.
I spoke to the manufacture about the sound meter I used, the one they recommended, and they told me that as I set it up, getting an average I should be getting close to accurate results. Though the Illusion was a little quieter it is for .355 bores while the Cosmic is .45. Shooting a 9mm through a 45 can will add a bit of noise but not enough to really notice. I did calibrate the meter against another. The report on the video is pretty close to how it sounded to my ears. I appreciate your input.
Awesome. Thanks a lot for clearing it up. I already have a dedicated 9mm and 300 BLK can. I’ve been trying to decide whether I’d rather get a 45 or a rifle can next. Sounds like I can get this and have both.
This is the protocol I used for testing.
http://americanshootingjournal.com/measuring-gun-suppressor-sound-pressure/
Here is a good chart to reference.
http://home.earthlink.net/~dnitzer/4HaasEaton/Decibel.html
My meter is calibrated to +/- 1.5 DB
Hi, thanks for the early review. Would it be possible to provide subjective experience about the sound? For example with your experience, is the tone low and therefore easy to take?
Compared to other 45 cans, was it significantly better or worse or same? I’m speaking specifically to the 45, 9mm & 300 BO all subsonic. Could you say shoot 200 rounds of these calibers and not have hearing problems?
Jim, In talking with Reed Instruments and Liberty Suppressors I have learned my meter measures the entire sound wave, from beginning to end while more sophisticated meters can measure only the peak sound. That raises the question if my meter is acceptable for measuring the report from a silencer, well according to Reed Instruments, it measures basically about the same thing as the average human ear hears. While that can may have a peak noise of 120 db, that peak lasts for thousands of a second and is not truly audible. To get an idea of exact peak noise, add about 60 db to my measurements but it is doubtful your ears will pick up on that sound.
I have compared the Cosmic to the AAC Illusion which is dedicated 9mm silencer, and the AAC SR-7. It is a few db louder than the Illusion both using 9mm but that is to be expected since the can has a bore for .45 caliber so the smaller .355″ bullet has some area around the baffles. If you were shooting subsonic through the Cosmic, well we shot almost 500 rounds of subs through the can without hearing protection. So yes, with the versatility of this silencer and how well it works and is user serviceable it is tough to beat.
Thank you for the kind words.
Thank you for the detailed reply. You touched on the essence of my concern — there are so many factors going into sound, sound pressure level is an important measure, but not the only one.
Instruments have to be good enough to pick up the peak impulse, not to mention be calibrated. Tone of the can as the ear is more sensitive to harmful sound at higher frequencies, the duration of the peak sound (brain can’t feedback “pain” with very short impulses fast enough to make you cover your ears before damage occurs, plus the environment, host firearm make it difficult.
Finally, holding a pistol out for an extended period might induce fatigue or other concerns.
That’s why I asked about subjective impressions compared to other cans. So again your comments are very much appreciated.
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Excellent review. As a fellow Marine I developed a love for shooting and actively compete in IDPA and USPSA. I am looking for a Cosmic and would appreciate a recommendation for a supplier that can get it at a reasonable price. I live in Slidell, LA.
Semper Fi
Charles
Silencer shop is probably the overall easiest way to obtain.
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