Firearm suppressors have been around since Hiram Percy Maxim developed his prototype in 1902. Although, the first 100 years saw a very slow progression in quality and capability. In the last two decades, we have seen an increase in the utilization of suppressors in both the military and law enforcement community as a result of ever-changing operating environments and requirements. Mission-oriented needs, coupled with a greater understanding of the ownership process and acceptance by the civilian market, have paved the way for new companies and innovations within the suppressor industry. The number of suppressor manufacturers these days is staggering. This raises the question: How could someone new venture into this industry and make a difference? And yet in Montana, a 5-year-old company is doing just that.
Meet Rex Silentium
Rex Silentium is the brainchild of founder Steve Lovas, and his company is making waves in the suppressor industry by focusing on three tenets synonymous with his brand: providing a quality product at a fair price by managing and controlling the entire process from start to finish, maintaining a complete custom shop capability with a fast turnaround time, and providing unmatched customer service throughout the process.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Lovas earned a bachelor’s degree in economics while serving in the military. However, his true passion was in machining, with a focus on problem solving and product development. He started his first company in 1998 and eventually morphed that into a machining and consulting business that helped innovators bring their ideas to fruition by providing design, development, fabrication and production capability in a one-stop shopping experience. While he worked with people from all industries, his love of firearms meant that he did a lot of work for large and small companies within the firearms industry. After years of helping others realize their dreams, Lovas formed Rex Silentium in 2016—things have not slowed down since.
Low Price & Sound Levels
Manufacturing is a delicate balance between building a quality product that performs and offering it at a reasonable price point. As a result, most manufacturers buy machines/tooling for a certain number of models and establish processes for those offerings. They then evaluate and refine their business model around that, catering to the masses instead of one-off needs of individuals.
Lovas decided to approach this process differently. He set out to develop a quality product and satisfy the masses, but engineer and build the product in such a way as to not only keep production costs down, but also allow the flexibility of being able to offer a complete “custom shop” experience as well. In that way, the company can build unique suppressors for the individual needs that sometimes arise.
We often associate low cost with low quality, yet there are times when low cost is the result of a systematic approach to studying every single aspect of a process and finding the balance between material cost, time and quality to a masterful level. Lovas designed every aspect of his suppressors with the manufacturing process in mind. The cost savings are a result of production processes. These processes include the construction of the baffles, how the suppressor comes together, and the overall finish. As a result, the consumer then sees these savings at the point of sale.
Versatile Variety
Like all other manufacturers, Rex Silentium offers a select number of regular models that meet the needs of most people. Whether those needs revolve around a pistol-caliber suppressor for your main range gun, a rimfire can for daily plinking or a more robust suppressor for your rifle or carbine, Rex Silentium has you covered with a variety of options.
The company’s rifle suppressors are built slightly different in order to handle the increased pressures of the rifle-caliber cartridge. Yet they still offer standard (MG series) and short (K) models, as well as a more versatile system (MOD X). This allows the user to configure the suppressor into a six- or 12-baffle design. The configuration is based on utilization and your desired level of noise and muzzle blast abatement.
The modular pistol and rimfire suppressors with short baffle stacks add a rubber wipe to the system to hold in a gel-based ablative if desired (I use petroleum jelly) and reduce the report of the first 10 to 20 rounds by helping to retain the gasses inside the suppressor for a longer period of time. The BATFE allows for a one-to-one swap of the wipe after use. You can find readily available material, available from third-party sources, listed on the Rex Silentium website.
Custom Cans
When your firearm falls into one of the categories not readily covered by standard platforms/calibers is where Rex Silentium shines. What if you want to suppress a .50 Beowulf or .458 SOCOM? What about a dedicated suppressor made for a specific caliber for precision shooting or hunting? While most suppressors can easily handle sustained fire—and many are full-auto rated—some cannot handle mag dumps or sustained fire on a belt-fed machine gun. These are only a few areas where Rex Silentium comes to the rescue.
Rex Selenium’s custom-built suppressors are different from multi-use/multi-caliber cans, as they can be tailor made for a specific caliber/use. Each custom-built Rex Silentium suppressor is made to order. The user starts with the 4.1-inch long, 1.7-inch diameter, 8.2-ounce MG X suppressor made out of 17-4 stainless steel. Then, select a bore diameter (.22 inches to .50 inches) and number of baffles (from 3 to 15). Each baffle increases the level of suppression while adding weight (1.3 ounces per baffle) and length (0.5 inches per baffle).
Get it Your Way, Fast
As the user, you determine the right combination for you, and the suppressor is made—in less than a month. Yes, you read that right. The suppressor is custom made to your specifications and sent to your FFL on a Form 3 within a month.
If you are someone like me who spends a lot of time playing with select-fire firearms and belt-fed machine guns, you can even request that Rex Silentium build you the suppressor with more robust “Beefy Baffles” for a slight upcharge. The benefit to this system is that you get only what you need, for the purpose you need it for…nothing more and nothing less. This equates to huge cost savings on the suppressor—constructed of the right materials at the lowest possible price.
Mount Up
The main thread mount on all Rex Silentium suppressors is threaded to the industry standard 1.375-24 thread pitch. So, most of your existing adapters from different companies will work with your existing muzzle brakes. Or you can use their offered low-profile direct-thread mount.
Rex Silentium offers some incredible custom-built muzzle brakes and devices for rifles as well, but one truly amazing innovation worth mentioning is the REXQD—a six-lug QD mount. We have all seen the three-lug mounts used on the HK-style platforms, and they are a great option for ease of use and quick attachment of a suppressor. One issue with the three-lug design is that the suppressor tends to still have movement in it once attached. The six-lug design that Lovas came up with attaches to your barrel like any other muzzle device. The five-piece system allows for a positive locking system that, once attached, feels like the suppressor is welded to the barrel. It is solid, unmovable and robust.
I have found this system to be amazing for precision rifles or any type of platform that will be beat up in training. When not being used with a suppressor, Rex Silentium also makes a muzzle brake that attaches to the six-lug QD for muzzle blast mitigation.
No-Questions-Asked Lifetime Warranty
As mentioned earlier, one of the three tenants that Lovas has built his business around is customer service. Each suppressor comes with a full, no-questions-asked lifetime warranty. This suppressor comes to you essentially risk free. Break it, melt it, baffle strike it…whatever might happen to it in its use, call up the people at Rex Silentium, and they will make things right. If all of this doesn’t meet your needs, Lovas still offers consulting, design and manufacturing services to make your unfulfilled dreams a reality. For more information, visit rexsilentium.com.
This article was originally published in the Tactical-Life April/May 2021 issue. Subscription is available in print and digital editions at OutdoorGroupStore.com. Or call 1-800-284-5668, or email subscriptions@athlonmediagroup.com.
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