Dead Air/Ruger RXD30Ti Suppressor

By
Ben Battles
-

Dead Air/Ruger RXD30Ti Suppressor

By: Ben Battles

Turns out, it’s REALLY quiet when giants collide

Dead Air has lit the suppressor world on fire the past few years with their smart engineering and incredibly effective designs. From the lightweight and compact flow-through 5.56mm Sierra 5 (an On Target staff favorite), extremely versatile Lazarus 6, and the latest evolution of the Sandman series — the Sandman X — rifle suppressors, to the top-performing Mojave line of pistol-caliber suppressors, the performance and value brought to the table, across the board, is a tough act to follow.

Unless you’ve newly immigrated to the USA from a snowy cave in the far reaches of Kazakhstan, Ruger needs no introduction, as they’ve been producing quality firearms for over 75 years now. When Ruger had their sights on a versatile, high-performance .30-caliber suppressor that complemented their current long-gun offerings, instead of reinventing the wheel, they smartly paired up with Dead Air Silencers to tap into their engineering prowess. The result was the new RXD30Ti 3D-printed Titanium suppressor — a brand-new design from the ground up, not simply a re-branded offering.

The new Dead Air/Ruger RXD30Ti collaboration isn’t simply a fresh face on an old design — it’s an entirely new suppressor from the ground up. Through the magic of additive manufacturing (3D printing), the RXD30Ti combines the benefits of the company’s Triskelion and Nomad baffle system, while also incorporating unique and very effective attributes that make this a standout can in the .30 cal. segment.

The Host

Although Dead Air and Ruger developed the RXD30Ti with non-self-loading hunting and precision bolt guns in mind, we wanted to take a different approach and see how it would fare attached to one of our favorite semi-auto general-purpose rifles — a 7.62x39mm Ruger Mini-30. The Mini-30 is literally happy most places you put it, whether that’s in the deer woods, on the ranch, or riding within arm’s reach as your handy and capable truck gun. It’s worth noting, however, that the RXD30Ti is designed for light to moderate firing schedules and is not full-auto rated, although it is rated for all .30-caliber cartridges up to 300 PRC with a minimum of a 20-inch barrel, 5.56mm NATO/308 Win. down to a 12.50” barrel, and subsonic cartridges down to a six-inch barrel.

One of the more unique features of the RXD30Ti is its 360-degree porting at the muzzle end, producing a claimed up to 40% recoil reduction. The suppressor’s R-Series compatible end cap doubles as a flash hider and is easily removable via a common 11/16” wrench. Finish is a durable black or burnt-bronze Cerakote.

The Details

Available in a black or burnt bronze Cerakote finish, the RXD30Ti uses a hybrid baffle design consisting of their advanced flow-through Triskelion baffle in the blast-baffle area and first portion of the suppressor, and the advanced Nomad-series pressure-regulating baffles from there forward. One of the very unique features of the RXD30Ti is its integral “E-Brake” porting, 3D-printed directly into the muzzle end of the suppressor body, which is claimed to reduce recoil by up to 40%.

The RXD30Ti ships with a flash-hider front cap and a 5/8-24 direct-thread mount with an integrated muzzle brake. The front cap is R-series compatible, meaning it can be swapped out for other Dead Air caps, and the rear of the suppressor is HUB compatible, opening the door to a vast selection of QD and direct-thread mounts from Dead Air and other manufacturers.

One facet of the RXD30Ti that we truly appreciate is the fact that we can leave the spanner wrenches in the toolbox when it comes time for disassembly or configuration changes. All that’s required for removal of the end cap and mount are an 11/16″ and 13/16″ wrench, respectively.

The rear of the body is HUB compatible, an interface that supports a vast number of industry-standard mounts. The RXD30Ti ships with a 5/8×24 direct-thread mount with its own built-in compensator. The body is indexed for the large provided wrench, which holds the suppressor while the end cap is removed with a 13/16” wrench.

The Performance

I’ll start by saying that, for its package size, this suppressor doesn’t have any business being as quiet as it is. I chalk this up to Dead Air voodoo, as we experienced the same phenomenon with the company’s compact Sierra 5 5.56mm can. Felt recoil of the 7.62×39 was also noticeably reduced with the RXD30Ti attached. Was it 40 percent reduced? Tough to tell by our seat-o’-the-pants gauge, but noticeable nonetheless. Gas directed back at the shooter was noticeable but tolerable, but from a weight and balance standpoint, this all-Titanium can went largely unnoticed hanging off the muzzle of the Mini-30. Conclusion: The RXD30Ti’s very impressive performance and technology leave us coming up short on anything to complain about.

If you’re looking for a versatile, lightweight, high-performance suppressor that you can detach from your truck gun and mount onto your hunting rifle in the fall, the new RXD30Ti will fit that bill nicely. For more information, contact Dead Air Silencers; Tel.: (801) 857-4232; Web: www.deadairsilencers.com

While not conceived with a semi-auto host in mind, if the RXD30Ti plays nice with an autoloader, it’s for sure going to work well on a bolt gun. And play nice, it did — over approximately 240 rounds, our 7.62x39mm Mini-30 experienced zero malfunctions with the suppressor affixed, and the sound signature and decibel reduction were impressive. The muzzle porting, evidenced by the gases escaping here, worked as advertised, creating a noticeable reduction in recoil.

Specifications

Construction:                          Titanium (Triskelion/Nomad baffle system)

Caliber:                                  .30 caliber

Coating:                                  Black or burnt bronze Cerakote

OAL:                                       7.34 inches

Diameter:                               1.74 inches

Weight:                                  12.40 ounces

MSRP                                     $1,099.00

 

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR