I posted this up in the armory section but figured the gas gun guys may find it interesting so creating a new post here strictly about my experiences with the LS3 today.
Had my first outing with the RD LS3. I took along two other suppressors, the Huxwrx Flow 762 and the Dead Air Sierra 5. I brought along four rifles, a 16" 308 gas gun, a 9" 300 blackout gas gun (piston), a 12.5" piston 5.56 and a 16" 5.56 DI with a lightweight titanium BCG and an Unrivaled dead blow competition weight buffer (important info for later).
The short version is the RD has higher back pressure than the Huxwrx but far, far less than the Sierra 5 despite being 2" longer.
From a sound standpoint, the RD was indeed more quiet to my ears than the other two, noticeably more so vs. the Sierra 5 and splitting hairs with the Huxwrx on supers and a good bit quieter with subsonic rounds in 300 blackout.
From a back pressure standpoint, if you put the Huxwrx on the left with a back pressure reading of zero (theoretical) and the Sierra 5 on the right, level 10 back pressure the RD would be about a 3-4 on that scale. I didn't bring along the Enticer S as I had to go back to direct thread and use the Huxwrx HUB mount on the LS3. I'll try to compare those two in the near future.
I had a really strong headwind today, guessing 15-20mph at times, and the RD, on the 308 gas gun, did have more gas to the face than the Huxwrx. I did not notice any difference between the two with 300 blackout or 5.56 and really didn't notice any additional gas with the Sierra 5 but I used a reduced gas setting with it.
POI shifts from removing and re-installing the suppressor were nil, so repeatable, likely down to the design of the Huxwrx muzzle devices and QD HUB mount. I did not test POI shift with and without the can.
Weight wise, I didn't really notice but I ws bench shooting and not running/gunning as I managed to recently blow out BOTH my shoulders. Good times.
All my rifles have adjustable gas blocks and I tested for function on each one, noting ejection pattern and whether or not the bolt locked back. On the 308, I have 12 settings (riflespeed) and the RD called for three to four clicks less gas than the Huxwrx depending on the round being used. I had some rather spicy Remington UMC 150 grain which was relatively cheap for 308 and I needed to break in the new barrel on that gun.
On the 12.5" piston 5.56, I normally run the Sierra 5. It has a five setting gas block and I use the suppressed setting which locks the bolt back on an empty mag with pretty much every round I've put through it. With the RD, I had to go to the unsuppressed "normal" setting. This produced an ejection pattern between 2-3 o'clock with PMC X-Tac which was registering about 2700+ FPS.
On the 300 blackout, it's a two-position gas block on a piston setup. I run the suppressed setting all the time and it cycles everything and locks the bolt back on an empty mag. So no changes with it. With supers, there is a difference between the RD and Huxwrx but it's hard to tell from behind the gun. I give the nod to the RD however. Using ear pro with subs, the Huxwrx is a tad louder/deeper. I did pull my left ear for a shot through each and honestly, the action was far more loud than the report. The ear pro likely filters out the higher frequencies and I'd really need to be a spectator to assess the ultimate difference.
I did test the Diligent Defense Enticer S on the 300 blackout and I thought it too was a hair quieter than the Flow 762 but the amount of gas was staggering and at an indoor range, I couldn't get through more than 20 eye-watering rounds.
On to the 16" 5.56. It's an amazingly soft-shooting rifle, laugh out loud soft-shooting. It too has a 12-position Riflespeed adjustable gas block and with PMC X-Tac at a bit over 3,000fps, the RD was noticeably more quiet than the Sierra 5. I always thought the Sierra 5 sounded pretty good TBH. Gas had to be adjusted down by about 3 clicks for the RD over the Flow (which does really well with 5.56) and add about six clicks more over the Sierra 5. This would yield an ejection pattern as close to 3 o'clock as you can get and locked the bolt back. There was barely enough adjustment to cover shooting with the Sierra 5 vs. the Flow.
With the Flow, there was ever so slightly less felt recoil on the 16" 5.56 over the RD and the Sierra 5. Surprised me actually and I noticed it as soon as I went from the Flow to the RD. But with either, and even the Sierra 5, it really does stay on target like no other rifle I own. You can just sit there and drill shot after shot with no real adjustment to the rifle or body position. But it was notable I could feel the difference between the cans. All my other rifles have full weight reciprocating systems and I didn't notice any difference in felt recoil.
I did lift my head off the stock for a few rounds and that made a difference in picking up which can was loudest. I'd really like to listen as a spectator and stand off to the side while someone else shoots. There weren't many other shooters out there today due to the heat unfortunately.
Overall I think it's a really solid can if you need something quieter than the true flow-through cans like Huxwrx but want something that rivals or even beats traditional cans in the sound department (according to TBAC's silencer summit). There was a group with two other suppressed 5.56 rifles that looked like they had 16" barrels, and they seemed fairly loud in comparison. I didn't get a good look at what cans they were running.
I do think, for me personally, it's a bit on the longish end of things and the QD HUB mount doesn't help. On my 9" 300 blackout, you're looking at about 17" of barrel/suppressor. I do have a CS3 in time out and that's a tidy 5" in length.
Mirage wise, the RD seems better than something like the titanium Diligent Defense or the Flow 762. Granted I wasn't using anything longer than 12X but it wasn't horrific and really only noticed it after putting 50+ rounds down the barrel of the 308 gas gun. I know they have some sort of coating that doesn't reflect IR, not sure if that helps in the mirage department or not. I have a Can Chap on order regardless.
