Suppressors Thunder Beast 338 Ultra Gen 2

TBACRAY

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Minuteman
Feb 14, 2017
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Here you go. The new 338 Ultra Gen 2 now tubeless and even quieter than the Gen 1




Gen 1 338 Ultra
MR-136.8,137.8,137.2,139.9,138.2 Avg-138
ML-139.2,136.9,137.8,136.5,139.0 Avg-137.7
MR/ML Avg-137.8
SE-125.6,123.2,123.1,126.1,124.2 Avg-124.5

Gen 2 338 Ultra
MR-134.9,132.9,132.9,134.0,135.4 Avg-134.0
ML-135.5,133.9,134.8,136.7,135.4 Avg-135.3
MR/ML Avg-134.6
SE-121.9,118.5,120.5,122.1,123.6 Avg-121.3
 
I got a 338sr on order, sn due any day. Will mine be made gen one or gen two? Might be answered in video but I can't watch it currently.
 
My gen 1 just got out of jail ... but aint disappointed, you guys painted it surge brown for me for my asr ... i still think the gen 1 ultras are the shit .. (though i am shooting the dominus cd and sr and they are damn nice). Can wait for the magnus and the 9mm can,
 
My gen 1 just got out of jail ... but aint disappointed, you guys painted it surge brown for me for my asr ... i still think the gen 1 ultras are the shit .. (though i am shooting the dominus cd and sr and they are damn nice). Can wait for the magnus and the 9mm can,
If I had the ASR I would prefer the Gen 1 anyways in Surge Brown. As thats the correct can that was provided with the AI for the ASR solicitation.
 
Negative. There is no outer tube, hence no core to change.
The answer is kind of true, but for a different reason.

When we repair/recore the small Ultras, we use a version of the Gen2 small Ultra baffles with some geometry tweaks to make them fit in the Gen1 tubes.

For the 338, the geometry is different enough that the Gen2 baffles aren't even close to fitting in the tube. What exactly we use for prior-to-Gen2 338 Ultra recores is still TBD. They will either stay Gen1 or we'll get some sort of hybrid that fits.
 
The answer is kind of true, but for a different reason.

When we repair/recore the small Ultras, we use a version of the Gen2 small Ultra baffles with some geometry tweaks to make them fit in the Gen1 tubes

Thanks Zak for the response and presence TBAC maintains here. Thought I had read previously the Ultras Gen I’s couldn’t be recored to Gen II, is that incorrect? what defines the small ultras?

School me a bit if you would, guess it was an assumption on my part that tubeless basically meant it would be similar to taking a serviceable baffle stack and welding them together? Suppose if that was done it still could have the baffles cut out to create a tube and a core inserted for repair?
 
By the small Ultras I meant the 1.5" diameter ones, the Ultra 5, 7, and 9.

Speaking about the Ultra 5, 7, and 9 Gen1--
They can be recored. The baffles we use now are Gen2 baffles with just enough geometry changes so they fit in the old tube (the tube from an Ultra gen1, 30P, 30P-1, 30BA, 30CB, etc). Because the Gen2 is tubeless the baffles would be too large to fit in the Gen1 tube, so we just scale them down a bit. Because of this the additional sound suppression of the Gen2 is not realized in most cases (ie, the volume was effectively reduced vs. a proper Gen2 suppressor).

With the 338 Ultra (or prior 338BA, etc), we can't even do that adjustment because the difference in OD of the baffles themselves is too large. So we'll have to do something else for future 338 recores.

With regard to tubeless. Gen1 was a tubed design with a fully welded baffle core, put inside a tube and then also welded to that tube. Gen2 is tubeless which means we do the fully welded baffle core but don't have to put it in a tube. These can still be repaired.
 
So glad I had my 30p-1 recored last spring

You guys killed it on the return time and it was noticeably quieter! I can’t imagine it’s that much different than a true Gen 2. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself
 
We stopped shipping Gen1 338's in early Dec. 338 Ultras with serial numbers E10000 or higher are Gen2.

It would be nice to get some advance notice. What does this do to my 338 inventory? I appreciate the innovation, but you have created a suppressor that for a dealer or a customer who just purchased a Gen 1 338 a bit of obsolescence or at least a drop in market value. You did this last year with Ultra 7 and 9.

Advance notice and price concessions would cushion the blow to customers and they could have make an educated choice. Buy now at a reduced price, or wait for better.
 
It would be nice to get some advance notice. What does this do to my 338 inventory? I appreciate the innovation, but you have created a suppressor that for a dealer or a customer who just purchased a Gen 1 338 a bit of obsolescence or at least a drop in market value. You did this last year with Ultra 7 and 9.

Advance notice and price concessions would cushion the blow to customers and they could have make an educated choice. Buy now at a reduced price, or wait for better.
It's like this in every Market... look at Cars! Should I be mad because I'm a dealership that gets stuck with old inventory or they make much needed updates? Not sure your point... maybe mark down your old inventory ?...

Thanks TBAC for always improving your product, looks like I get to send you more of my money.
 
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It's like this in every Market... look at Cars! Should I be mad because I'm a dealership that gets stuck with old inventory or they make much needed updates? Not sure your point... maybe mark down your old inventory ?...

Thanks TBAC for always improving your product, looks like I get to send you more of my money.
Not exactly. Car manufacturers keep their constituents educated about new models. If not the exact details, at least news that a new model is upcoming. TBAC just changed to a new model in December and gave no customer warning that a new 338 was in the works.
 
Not exactly. Car manufacturers keep their constituents educated about new models. If not the exact details, at least news that a new model is upcoming. TBAC just changed to a new model in December and gave no customer warning that a new 338 was in the works.
Just like announcements made at SHOT... common practice within most industries, unless you're big big big dealer and or vendor...

And on car dealerships, since my uncle owns several, you don't always get a heads up like when Ford switched to Live Valves for the Raptor... there were rumors but no notice
 
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It would be nice to get some advance notice. What does this do to my 338 inventory?
Here is the literal answer: When demand outstrips production by a 4-6 month backlog, you shouldn't have inventory (for more than a few days). In this scenario, every incoming can should already have a customer assigned, ready and eager to Form 4 it as soon as you log it in.

I appreciate the innovation, but you have created a suppressor that for a dealer or a customer who just purchased a Gen 1 338 a bit of obsolescence or at least a drop in market value. You did this last year with Ultra 7 and 9.

Advance notice and price concessions would cushion the blow to customers and they could have make an educated choice. Buy now at a reduced price, or wait for better.
Any advance notice just pushes your problem earlier and causes more problems. Do we need to provide advance notice to the advance notice? Because as soon as we provide advance notice, everyone stops buying that model. The same issue would apply to concessions.. how many months early do we need to offer dealers cans at a discount (or retroactively if you will) before we release a new version? What about dealers who get cans through a distributor or other dealer, etc?

In the 2010-2020's especially, there were some suppressor companies that revised their cans almost every year. The result was that nobody who ever got a cleared Form 4 had a contemporary model-- sometimes it was two generations old at that point. We make it a point to make sure our upgrades are well thought out and "worth it", so the product can have a long run. The first gen Ultra had a run of 5 years, at the end of which it was still very competitive with other cans in its size/weight class.

We've thought long and hard, many times over, about this issue and the way we're doing it is what we've come up with as the cleanest way to do it.

We want to release an upgrade as soon as it is "ready." If it's not ready, we're not going to release it. We're not going to announce an upgrade "might be" coming until we're ready to roll, and then at that point it's time to announce it. We're not going to pre-announce stuff before its ready because if it needs more work, everyone will be pissed it's slipping.

TBAC just changed to a new model in December and gave no customer warning that a new 338 was in the works.
We're not going to pre-announce products that aren't ready to go, because a pre-announcement is really just an announcement, which then moves the problem back, and on top of that there's no product in sight because it was just a "warning."

You say that we "just changed to a new model in December" as if that's a bad thing, when actually it's a good thing. Starting production before the announcement of a new product is required to have product available, or at least in the pipeline, when the announcement happens.

Look at the friction, over the last 15 years, of Magpul product announcements vs. true availability dates. Then look at how Apple does them. No leaks, then WWDC, like a 10 day wait until orders can be submitted, and then BAM, UPS delivery at your front door 2 days later.

If anyone has some really thought through ideas how to manage this better in light of the NFA complications, we're all ears...
 
It would be nice to get some advance notice. What does this do to my 338 inventory? I appreciate the innovation, but you have created a suppressor that for a dealer or a customer who just purchased a Gen 1 338 a bit of obsolescence or at least a drop in market value. You did this last year with Ultra 7 and 9.

Advance notice and price concessions would cushion the blow to customers and they could have make an educated choice. Buy now at a reduced price, or wait for better.
Inappropriate for a public forum John. :rolleyes: If your inventory is live, you have exactly (1) 338 Ultra in stock. If you can't absorb that, well then I'm at a loss for words.

If anyone has some really thought through ideas how to manage this better in light of the NFA complications, we're all ears...
Solid reply Zak. There really isn't anything you can do better. It comes down to managing inventory levels, knowing the market... basic retail 101. There will always be losses of some sort.
 
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Inappropriate for a public forum John. :rolleyes: If your inventory is live, you have exactly (1) 338 Ultra in stock. If you can't absorb that, well then I'm at a loss for words.


Solid reply Zak. There really isn't anything you can do better. It comes down to managing inventory levels, knowing the market... basic retail 101. There will always be losses of some sort.

Less of a concern of my inventory, than customers who just purchased. I appreciate Zak's reply. I think there is a better way to handle new products. I think the scope guys do a good job. They pre-announce new versions to dealers under embargo, and then allow the customer to know that something new might be coming, but not what.

The truth is there is no one really perfect answer, and TBAC has a superior product. My view is that the suppressor industry, in general, is not a mature with business as the scope market, but companies like TBAC and others continue to show great engineering innovation.

And, Chris, you will find my comments on this forum to be pretty reserved. Maybe this one hit a nerve after the same issue with Ultra 7 last year, and yes, probably better dealt with offline. I still stand my concern.

I have sent an email to Zak, as his profile says do not send PM, unfortunately I do not have his email, so maybe he will get it. So, I can follow your suggestion, @HansohnBrothers It is not always easy to communicate offline when the offline method is not so transparent.
 
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If anyone has some really thought through ideas how to manage this better in light of the NFA complications, we're all ears...
I am still waiting for the tax stamp on the 338 Ultra I bought last March. As much as I'd love to be getting a gen 2 when the stamp arrives, I'm sympathetic to Zak's position. And I'd much rather see the NFA repealed or struck down as unconstitutional, whether in substance or as applied. Waiting so long at such a cost for permission to buy a tube of metal is absurd.
 
It's SHOT season, something new might be coming. Also, I did post on this very forum that we had some new stuff in the works maybe 6-8 weeks ago.
and those posts 2 months ago are why i'm waiting to see what comes out before jumping on anything current. it's not like it was a big secret. for TBAC or anyone in the industry really. it's SHOT show/season. there's always something new

several posts were made that there were some updates coming and also something we shouldn't be expecting

(im hoping for a non NFA version of the A419 maverick but we'll all have to wait)
 
It never was officially. We did all the FA/SURGE development with the Dominus-SR which was after the 338USRgen1 was done. There is a decent chance we can do the analysis and give it the rating in retrospect. Give us some time after SHOT and I'll see if we can do that or not.

Nice, have a Gen 1 338 SR pending so would just give confidence knowing that I could run it that hard if I wanted.
 
This. When your gen 1 is still in jail and gen 2 comes out 😂
Well, once I had the Reverse happen. I ordered a can from a pretty well known company ( who can’t think of anything new on their own; they just copy KAC over and over and sell them as their own ideas) send me a can I ordered and when my dealer opens the box there is a new model they had not even announced yet. It was a newer version of what I wanted.
 
Well, it’s been a year since I filed my form 4 for my gen 1, and I’m still waiting.

And (totally different and unrelated) RRS says they are so far behind building the new TFCT tripod, they can’t even estimate delivery after I’ve already waited more than three months.

Lots of waiting.
 
Great! You just built me a gen 1 a few weeks ago after waiting a year for you to make it....
Today is 4/9/2022. The last Gen1 338 Ultra that was sent out was manufactured 11/20/2021 or thereabouts. Other than a few exceptions for people who wanted Gen1's for some reason, I don't think any 338 Ultra Gen1's were shipped after 12/2021.
 
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I just bought a magnus on Thursday, I’m having a really hard time not getting a G2 338 as well since a couple places have them in stock…
 
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