The Plan — The Smallest Set of Cans That Covers Everything

Nine volumes of theory resolve into one question: how many suppressors, and which ones? This volume answers it generally, then answers it specifically for the collection this dive was written around.

10.1 The Coverage Rules

Four rules determine how many cans you actually need.

Rule 1: Rimfire is always separate. A rimfire can must be user-serviceable; centerfire rifle cans mostly are not. You can shoot .22 LR through a .223 can — it is legal and safe — but you are putting lead and wax into something you cannot open. Rimfire gets its own can. Always.

Rule 2: One .30-caliber rifle can covers the entire centerfire rifle world. .300 BLK, 7.62×39, .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, .300 Win Mag, and 5.56 with an over-bore penalty. Rated to .300 Win Mag, this is the highest-leverage single purchase in the category.

Rule 3: One pistol can covers the pistol world, sized to the largest cartridge you shoot. A .45-rated modular can runs 9mm through .45; a 9mm can runs 9mm and not .45.

Rule 4: A dedicated bore is quieter than an over-bore. The exception that justifies a fourth or fifth can: if you shoot one cartridge seriously — a match 6.5, a dedicated 5.56 carbine — a bore-matched can is free suppression you cannot get any other way.

So the answer is three, and the fourth and fifth are luxuries with real justifications.

10.2 The Three-Can Set

Table 1 — 10.2 The Three-Can Set

#	Can	Covers	Specification
1	Rimfire	.22 LR, .22 WMR, .17 HMR, 5.7×28	Take-apart, 1/2×28 direct thread, 4–6 oz. Rated beyond .22 LR
2	.30-cal rifle	.300 BLK, 7.62×39, .308, 6.5 CM, .300 WM, 5.56	.30 bore, rated .300 Win Mag, 1.375×24 HUB, titanium body + superalloy blast baffle, interchangeable end caps
3	Pistol	9mm, .40, 10mm, .45 (if .45-rated)	Modular, serviceable, correct booster pistons per host

That is complete coverage of every cartridge in this dive, in three purchases.

The optional fourth and fifth, in order of how much they buy you:

• 4. A second rimfire can. Not for performance — for availability. A rimfire can shared across six guns is a can that is constantly being moved (a POI change every time) and constantly being cleaned (unavailable while it is). In 2026, with the transfer tax at $0 and $199 printed rimfire cans on the market, this is the cheapest capability increase available anywhere in the category.
• 5. A dedicated 5.56 low-backpressure can, if you shoot an AR in volume. The .30 can works; a 5.56-bore flow-through can works better and fixes the gas problem the .30 can does not (Volume 4).

10.3 The 2026 Arithmetic Changed

Worth spelling out, because it inverts advice that was correct eighteen months ago.

Before 1 January 2026: every additional can cost $200 in federal tax plus the can plus a dealer fee plus a wait. That tax was a strong argument for buying one expensive multi-purpose can rather than two cheaper specific ones — the stamp was often a third of the total.

After 1 January 2026: the transfer tax on a silencer is $0.¹ The registration, the Form 4, the fingerprints, the background check and the wait all remain (see the law dive) — but the money argument for consolidation is gone. Combined with the price floor collapsing (Lyman’s printed Sonicore line opened at $199),² the calculus now favours more, cheaper, more specific cans over one expensive compromise.

The remaining cost of an additional can is the paperwork and the wait, not the tax. Reported 2026 eForm 4 turnarounds vary enormously across trackers — figures from single-digit days to a couple of months appear depending on who is counting and when — but the order of magnitude is weeks, not the year-plus that paper filings still take. That is a very different obstacle from $200 and eleven months.

10.4 The Specific Case: This Collection

The battery this dive was written around, from the .22 Rimfire dive:

Six .22s — Ruger 10/22 DSP (blued, 18.5 in), Ruger 10/22 Stainless Takedown (18.5 in), Ruger Precision Rimfire (18 in), Ruger Mark III (5.5 in), Ruger Mark IV, S&W Model 41 (5.5 in heavy) — sharing one Mack Brothers Lima on 1/2×28.

Two .308s — a Ruger Precision Rifle in .308 (20 in, 1:10, threaded 5/8×24 from the factory, wearing Ruger’s hybrid brake) and a home-built M40A1 clone on a Remington 700 (24 in heavy barrel, 1:11 or 1:12, unthreaded — a clone of the rifle he carried in the Marine Corps). Volume 5 §5.4 works through both.

Several .300 Blackouts — semi-automatic, 9-inch barrels, 1:8 twist or faster. These change the shape of the whole plan (§10.4.3), because .300 BLK is the one centerfire cartridge here that can actually be quiet rather than merely comfortable — and because 9 in of barrel is not a compromise but AAC’s own design point (Vol 5 §5.2.2).

Stated interest in 5.56, the rest of the 7.62 family, .45, 9mm and 6.5 Creedmoor.

10.4.1 What is already right

One rimfire can serving six hosts on a common thread is a good system. It is the correct architecture. The threading is uniform, the can is light, and it works.

10.4.2 What to do next, in order

This order changed twice, on the same day, as the collection got described. The first draft led with a second rimfire can, because the .30-calibre can had no host. Then two .308s appeared. Then several .300 Blackouts appeared — and those are what actually settle it, because they are the only centerfire rifles here that can be made genuinely quiet. The .30-cal can is now first by a wide margin.

10.4.3 One can, three jobs

The .30-calibre can is no longer a purchase for one rifle. It is the single component that serves every centerfire rifle in the collection, and the three jobs it does are genuinely different:

Table 2 — The .30-calibre can is no longer a purchase for one rifle. It is the single component that serves every centerfire rifle in the collection, and the three jobs it does are genuinely different

Host family	Action	What the can is for	Ammunition
Two .308 bolt guns	Closed breech, 20 in and 24 in	Comfort and concussion. Replacing a brake that aims blast at head height	Supersonic. Neither twist supports heavy subsonic (Vol 5 §5.4)
Several .300 BLK SBRs	Semi-auto, 9 in, 1:8	Actual quiet — the one place a centerfire rifle here disappears	Subsonic 190–220 gr. 1:8 covers the whole range
A future 5.56 / 6.5 / 7.62×39	—	Comfort, with an over-bore penalty on 5.56	Supersonic

That is the whole argument for buying one good can rather than three adequate ones.

First: a .30-calibre rifle can, HUB mount.

Specification: .30 bore, rated .300 Win Mag, 1.375×24 HUB, interchangeable end caps if offered, 7–9 in — and rated for a 9-inch barrel.

10.4.4 The one real conflict, stated honestly

The two host families want genuinely opposite things, and the 9-inch semi-autos are what make it a real conflict rather than a preference:

Table 3 — The two host families want genuinely opposite things, and the 9-inch semi-autos are what make it a real conflict rather than a preference

	The .308 bolt guns want	The 9 in BLK SBRs want
Baffle design	Sealed baffles — maximum suppression, backpressure irrelevant	Low backpressure — semi-auto, and subsonic is the hardest cycling case
Materials	Titanium is fine; 20–24 in barrels are gentle	Superalloy blast baffle — 9 in dumps far more unburnt propellant and residual pressure into the blast chamber, especially supersonic
Weight	Tolerable; shot from a bipod	Matters — it is a compact carbine and the point is handiness
Mount	Direct thread, left on, one zero	QD, because these get swapped

The resolution, and it is a genuine judgement call rather than a free lunch:

Buy one can, and specify it to the harder host. The 9-inch SBRs set the floor: the can must carry a 9-inch .300 BLK rating with a superalloy or 17-4 blast baffle, because that rating is a materials statement and titanium alone erodes there (How Suppressors Work Volume 4 §4.4). A can that satisfies the SBRs will always satisfy the bolt guns; the reverse is not true, and buying the light suppression-first titanium can that the .308s would prefer is the mistake that shows up two thousand rounds later as a washed-out blast baffle.

Then fix backpressure at the rifle, not at the can. Fit adjustable gas blocks to the BLK uppers. That is the correct answer for subsonic AR reliability regardless of suppressors, it costs a fraction of a second can, and it lets you keep the sealed-baffle suppression the .308s benefit from. Add a gas-deflecting charging handle if the face-gas still annoys you.

Mounting: direct thread the Ruger Precision — it lives in one configuration, and direct thread is the lightest, most concentric and most repeatable interface. Fit a QD cap on the same HUB can for the BLK SBRs, which get moved around. One can, two mounting styles, bought once — exactly what HUB exists for.

When a second can becomes the better answer. If you find yourself running the BLKs hard and often, a dedicated short, low-backpressure can for the SBRs plus the suppression-first can for the bolt guns is a defensible two-can split — and in 2026, with the tax at $0, the only real cost is a second Form 4 and a wait (§10.3). That is a much easier call than it was in 2024.

Second: a second rimfire can. Still a strong move, just no longer the first one.

The reasoning is unchanged and it is about availability rather than performance.

• The Lima is out of production (Volume 3 §3.4) — Mack Brothers’ current rimfire model is the VAPOR, and while the company still trades and has a public record of servicing discontinued models, a shared, orphaned can is a single point of failure across six rifles.
• Six hosts, one can means six mount/dismount cycles’ worth of POI change and wear, plus every cleaning cycle taking the whole battery offline.
• The natural split: one can lives permanently on the Model 41 or the Precision Rimfire (the two guns where a fixed zero is worth the most), and the other floats across the 10/22s.
• Selection criteria for that second can, in priority order: cleaning ergonomics first (this is the constraint that actually governs rimfire ownership), then rating breadth (.22 WMR / .17 HMR / 5.7×28), then weight. Volume 3 §3.6 has the field; the click-together and all-stainless designs lead on the first criterion.

Second: a .30-caliber rifle can, HUB mount. This is the purchase that opens the most doors. It covers .300 Blackout, 7.62×39, .308, 6.5 Creedmoor and .300 Win Mag, plus 5.56 with an over-bore penalty. Buy it before buying any of the rifles it is for — a HUB can with the right mount adapters is ready for whatever arrives.

Specification: .30 bore, rated .300 Win Mag, 1.375×24 HUB, titanium with a superalloy blast baffle, interchangeable end caps if offered, 7–9 in. If the intended host is a long-barreled hunting rifle, seriously consider an over-the-barrel design — 30 inches of barrel-equivalent is a real handling problem (Volume 2 §2.7).

Third: a pistol can, if 9mm or .45 actually arrives. Sized to the largest cartridge intended. If both 9mm and .45 are on the list, a .45-rated modular can covers both in one purchase; if 9mm is the priority and .45 is a maybe, a 9mm-bore can is quieter on the cartridge you will actually shoot. Budget for a booster piston per host thread.

Fourth, and only if an AR gets shot in volume: a 5.56-bore low-backpressure can, plus an adjustable gas block on the rifle. Volume 4 makes this case.

10.4.5 The cartridge-by-cartridge recommendation

Table 4 — The cartridge-by-cartridge recommendation

Cartridge of interest	Can	Ammunition
.22 LR	Rimfire can (have one; add a second)	CCI Standard Velocity; Clean-22 to halve the fouling
5.56	The .30 can, or a dedicated 5.56 flow-through	No subsonic option exists. Comfort only
.300 Blackout (owned — 9 in semi-auto, 1:8)	The .30 can — this is the quiet one, and it sets the 9 in barrel rating	190–220 gr subsonic. Adjustable gas block on each upper
7.62×39	The .30 can + an M14×1 LH adapter	Supersonic. Comfort only
.308 / 7.62×51	The .30 can, direct thread 5/8×24 — both hosts are bolt guns, so buy for suppression, not backpressure	Supersonic. 1:10 unresolved and 1:11/1:12 a clear no for heavy subsonic
9mm	Pistol can + booster (1/2×28)	147 grain
.45 ACP	Pistol can + booster (.578×28)	Anything. It is already subsonic
6.5 Creedmoor	The .30 can, or a 6.5-bore can if dedicated	Supersonic. Buy for return-to-zero, not decibels

10.4.6 The three-line version

1. Buy a .30-caliber HUB can rated to .300 Win Mag and to a 9-inch barrel, with a superalloy blast baffle. It serves three jobs across every centerfire rifle you own: comfort on the two .308 bolt guns, genuine quiet on the 9-inch .300 BLK SBRs, and whatever arrives later. Specify it to the SBRs — they are the harder host and they set the floor. Direct-thread cap for the Ruger Precision, QD cap for the BLKs, plus adjustable gas blocks on the BLK uppers.
2. Buy a second rimfire can. Cheap, and it removes a single point of failure across six rifles.
3. Buy a pistol can when a pistol host actually exists, sized to the biggest cartridge you will run.

And one decision that is not a purchase: whether the M40A1 clone ever gets threaded. Volume 5 §5.4 lays out the three honest paths. This hub’s instinct is Path C — a second, threaded barrel, so the correct rifle stays correct.

10.5 The Cheatsheet

Before buying

• Subsonic ammunition exists for this cartridge? If no, you are buying comfort, not quiet — set expectations
• Bore diameter correct, or deliberately over-bore with the penalty accepted
• 1.375×24 HUB rear thread on anything centerfire
• Rating covers the cartridge, the shortest barrel (9 in here) and the firing schedule you will actually use
• Serviceable if rimfire or pistol; sealed is fine for a rifle can
• Overall length arithmetic done: barrel + can = the rifle you will actually carry
• Booster piston in the right thread for every pistol host
• Adjustable gas block on any semi-auto host that will run subsonic
• State law checked — 8 states plus DC prohibit ownership; two more restrict hunting use

Before firing

• Alignment rod check. Every host, every time anything changes
• Threads indicated off the bore, shoulder square
• Anti-seize on the threads; can fully tight
• Correct end cap fitted if interchangeable
• The load has been shot on paper unsuppressed and printed round holes
• Nothing primer-only, ever
• 🔴 .300 BLK / 5.56 check: magazine colour and magwell colour agree (Volume 5 §5.2.1)

Living with it

• Weigh the can new; record the number
• Record a can-on / can-off zero offset per host
• Rimfire: service at 300–500 rounds or before the end cap stiffens
• Check tightness during a string; read the end cap after
• Never ammoniated cleaner on aluminium

10.6 Bibliography

Footnotes

1. One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), signed 2025-07-04 — NFA making and transfer tax set to $0 for silencers, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs effective 2026-01-01. Registration and approval requirements unchanged. Full treatment in the law dive. ↩

2. Lyman Sonicore Skarv 22 at $199, introduced SHOT Show 2026. https://www.lymanproducts.com/skarv-22 ↩