Hush Hush: AAC's Silent Ti-RANT Suppressor

AAC Ti-RANT suppressor TW Feb 2015 noise-induced hearing loss

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Hush Hush: AAC’s Silent Ti-RANT Suppressor
“As expected, the Ti-RANT 9S was most effective when used as designed. By adding approximately 5 cubic centimeters of water, the signature was significantly reduced.”

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Hush Hush: AAC’s Silent Ti-RANT Suppressor
Designed for special missions, AAC’s Ti-RANT 9S is a smaller version of the popular Ti-RANT 9 that is meant to be run “wet.” The author tested it on a custom Glock 19 Gen4 with an Inforce APL (shown).

I am fortunate to live within driving distance of Atlanta and Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC). Over the years, I have visited the company’s facility and have had the opportunity to shoot and evaluate a number of its suppressors and AR rifles. AAC has become a major leader in the suppressor industry with a very impressive client list. In the process, AAC has branded itself with multiple logos, unique advertising, a great website and a blog.

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The company has also created a loyal following of customers that reminds me of the Glock craze in the early years. AAC products and ads seem to be everywhere!

Pack Leader

Several years ago, AAC introduced the Ti-RANT as the company’s next generation of high-performance pistol suppressors. Available in both .45 ACP and 9mm, the Ti-RANT suppressors address size, weight and noise reduction through design, materials and engineering. The outer tube of the Ti-RANT is manufactured from Grade 9 titanium that offers improved strength and a significant weight reduction when compared to an aluminum or steel tube. The internal baffles are an improved K-baffle design that are precision machined from a combination of 17-4 PH stainless steel (blast baffle) and Type III hardcoat anodized 7075-T6 aluminum. To maximize sound reduction, and to take advantage of the titanium weight reduction, the Ti-RANT has a larger tube than the Evolution 9. The Evolution 9 is 7.73 inches in length, 1.25 inches in diameter and weighs 9.7 ounces. By comparison, the Ti-RANT tube is 7.9 inches in length, 1.38 inches in diameter and weighs only 8.6 ounces. The Ti-RANT offers a 13-percent increase in internal volume with a 1.1-ounce weight reduction.

The Ti-RANT features an improved version of AAC’s ASAP (Assured Semi-Automatic Performance) system. The ASAP is a Nielsen-type recoil booster that is located in the rear cap and consists of a precision-machined piston that is spring loaded in the cap. The piston has 10 sprockets that interlock into the back of the suppressor tube, giving the Ti-RANT an exceptionally tight and consistent lockup. The booster is essential to reliable operation in Browning-type recoil-operated pistols. The ASAP also allows the suppressor to be adjusted to minimize any shift in the point of aim/point of impact. To adjust for any shift in the point of impact, the suppressor is pulled forward, away from the pistol, and rotated. The spring then re-indexes and locks the tube against the sprocket.

A spin-off of the original Ti-RANT series was the S-model series. The Ti-RANT .45S was developed for the U.S. Naval Special Warfare community. These combat units wanted a compact suppressor for use with the HK45 compact pistol. The compact HK45C is 7.2 inches in length, and the units found that the 8.74-inch length of the Ti-RANT .45was too long for the mission’s requirements. AAC subsequently developed the Ti-RANT 45S to meet the requirement. The overall length of Ti-RANT 45S is just 6.42 inches. The 45S provides an 18-decible sound reduction when dry and a 28.4-decibel reduction when wet. This compares to -31 decibels and -41 decibels for the full-sized Ti-RANT. The end-users felt that the tradeoff in performance was balanced by the smaller size.

The success of the Ti-RANT 45S led to requests for a compact version of the Ti-RANT 9, thus the Ti-RANT 9S was born. The 9S is a mere 5.07 inches in length, as opposed to the 7.9-inch length of the full-sized Ti-RANT 9. Both share the same tube diameter of 1.38 inches. The reduction in length brings the weight of the 9S down to 7.6 ounces, 1 ounce less than the Ti-RANT 9. The 9S offers a sound reduction of 22 decibels dry and 27.2 decibels wet. This compares to a 35-decibel reduction when dry and a 38-decibel reduction with the longer Ti-RANT 9 when wet.

Range Ti-RANT

I recently tested a Ti-RANT 9S at the range. For a host, I selected a Glock 19 Gen4. The G19 is close to a perfect carry pistol. It is small enough to be easily concealed yet large enough to run effectively. The 15+1 magazine is ample for most applications, and the G19 can accept the larger G17 or the 33-round G18 magazines. It is no surprise that many in the intelligence and special operations community “live” with a G19 close by.

In preparation for this evaluation I made several modifications to the G19. The first call was to Hilton Yam at 10-8 Performance. His Glock rear sight is CNC machined from heat-treated 4140 bar stock to withstand the knocks and drops that come with daily carry. The rear aperture is U-shaped for a faster and more intuitive alignment. The second call was to Brownells to order a Warren Tactical replacement front sight. I selected a tritium dot sight with a white ring to match the U-shaped rear aperture. The final call was to KKM Precision for an extended/threaded barrel. KKM barrels are made using certified 416R gun-barrel quality steel and are button rifled for match-grade accuracy. KKM Glock barrels are cut with fully supported SAAMI-spec chambers for shooting factory and reloaded ammo.

On the range, the Glock 19 and Ti-RANT 9S ran without any issues. I tested the Ti-RANT 9S with three subsonic loads. The first was ASYM Precision’s 147-grain match FMJ load, which averaged 907 fps. While designed as a match load, the lower velocity makes the ASYM load ideal for use with suppressors. The second ammunition was the HPR 147-grain FMJ load. This load is specifically designed for use with suppressors and averaged 919 fps. The final load was Winchester’s 147-grain T-Series JHP ammo, which is designed for LE and personal defense. The Winchester load averaged 1,017 fps and was the loudest.

Carrying a pistol with a suppressor has been a challenge for many years. Crye Precision, in coordination with the special operations community, has come up with an ingenious solution that is simply called the GunClip. The GunClip is a polymer, U-shaped bracket that clasps the pistol by the top of the slide and the lower edge of the triggerguard. A safety strap wraps around the pistol and is secured via a snap that is released by the middle finger. The GunClip’s unique design allows the pistol to be carried with or without a suppressor.

As expected, the Ti-RANT 9S was most effective when used as designed. By adding approximately 5 cubic centimeters of water, the signature was significantly reduced. It is within these operating parameters that the Ti-RANT 9S becomes a real standout. The Ti-RANT 9S is approximately 28-percent smaller than the full-size Ti-RANT 9. This reduction in size results in an increase in sound signature over the Ti-RANT 9 of 28 percent (wet) and 37 percent (dry). For users who require a compact suppressor, the Ti-RANT 9S is ideal.

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