alucard0822
For great Justice
I have a couple and fired a lot at group shoots and demos. Most major manufacturers make a decent rimfire can, but certain things represent a tradeoff or features you may or may not like.
Generally, there is a 1/2x28 direct thread mount, nothing fancy needed, although it can come loose as the can warms up, you you do want to install it pretty snug, and check it from time to time.
Baffles can be a stack of individual baffles or a 1 peice monocore. The general idea is the baffles slow the gas and allow it to cool to reduce sound. The small ports, clips and offset baffle shapes introduce turbulence and cross jets as the gas flows through the can to improve sound reduction, while directing pressure with relief ports to fill the can more evenly reduce backpressure, and make the can more efficient. Generally cans like monocore with larger areas in-between baffles hold more air that reignites powder, causing a louder first shot, till the air is purged from the can, this is "first round pop" or FRP. Cans with more intricate baffle shapes help mitigate the pressure wave and reduce the FRP, really useful for hunting or targets where you have a lot of cold barrel shots.
Materials matter. Most cans use Stainless steel, aluminum or Titanium, possible multiple materials in different places. Aluminum used to be the most popular material for rimfire cans, it's the softest, but anodizing can harden the surface. It is really light, can be 1/2 the weight of steel, but isn't as strong, tough, chemical or abrasion resistant. Aluminum baffles tend to be thicker than stronger materials, and care has to be taken when cleaning, harsh chemicals or things like steel brushes will damage them. Steel baffles are thin, strong, machine easily, hold up to wear, can be easily cleaned with hands-free techniques like "the dip", ultrasonics, and steelpin wet tumblers. They handle heat and pressure better for things like full auto and 5.7x28 ratings, and are pretty much the current standard, only downside is weight. Titanium combines most of steel's strength, temperature resistance and resistance to abrasion/chemicals with Aluminum's light weight. It's expensive and hard to machine, so cost is pretty much the only downside, and it's not quite as hard as steel, so a steel brush can scratch it.
Fouling, cleaning, dissasembly/servicing and avoiding problems like dirty parts seizing together are critical for a rimfire can being 22 is filthy. The difference between a good can, and an annoying one is often how well it is designed to deal with fouling and cleaning. This is one place a steel monocore like the Sico shines, the 2 piece fouling shield keeps the threads or baffles in a tube from getting carbon locked. This is also easy to dump in a powered cleaner, or brush the mocore from the side. Some designs like the Mask and Oculus use baffles that clip together tightly, minimizing fouling and therefore seizing between the tube and baffles. Things like keyed baffles and mounts are nice in that they align consistently to avoid accuracy problems or having to re-zero a scope after cleaning a can. There are also the required tools to consider, expensive proprietary vs simple and available tools like an M4 stock wrench, or wearable parts like o-rings or wipes. Consider how easy/hard a can is to take apart, if parts are clearly marked if they have to be assembled in order, and if it locks, or can come apart inadvertently, like a mount that unscrews from the tube when trying to take off a host(DA Mask I'm looking at you). Some are also modular with baffles that screw together to change length, or different sections that can be removed to make it more versatile.
All that being said, I usually recomend the Rugged Oculus for a first rimfire can, it is the easiest to own, and one of the most versatile with a good mix of dimentions and features. At 5.25" long, 1" diameter, 6.9oz, $400 street price, and all-steel it is compact, and a reasonable weight for a can with steel baffles, about the size/weight/cost of a DA Mask or Sico Sparrow. What IMO make the Oculus better unique is it's modular length. The base tube and mount are loc-tited together at the factory, so taking it off a firearm by grabbing the tube won't leave the mount behind like often happens with the Mask or TB takedown and other designs with a separate mount and tube. It can still be replaced if cross threaded too being it isn't machined from 1 peice, and so far the loc-tite hasn't broken loose at all. The Oculus has a base tube/mount and extension tube with separate end cap and 2 baffle stacks for each 1/2 of the tube. This allows either a 5.25" or a tiny 3.25" mini K configutration. The full size sounds great on most any firearm, where in K config it is loud, but hearing safe on a handgun, but IMO it is most useful on rifles, and the tiny K configuration sounds awesome for it's size on long barrels with subsonic ammo. Each of the 2 baffle stacks have a marked blast baffle nad a small cap baffle with a few core baffles. Just dump them out, use a stick to push them out of the base tube if needed, and clean however you want, use a steel brush on a drill in the tube, reassemble, and all is good.
Comparing the Oculus to a couple others. Rugged's own Mustang is just an aluminum Oculus, weighing 3.3oz vs the steel Oculus at 6.9oz, tradeoff is limited cleaning methods. The Sico Sparrow was king till a few years ago, monocore, easy to clean, but a very noticeable FRP far louder than the others, and slightly louder than the Mask or Oculus even after a few rounds. The DA Mask is probably the most reccomended can, and I own one. Unique steel baffles clean easy in an ultrasonic, but practically eliminate FRP, and probably the quietest 5" long can out there. Baffles are ribbed to prevent getting stuck in the tube, and it's easy to disassemble and reassemble. Really only 1 problem, the tube, mount and cap are 3 peices and the tube comes loose from the mount often unless you crank the cap on tight as hell, and risk damaging the titanium threads in the tube. This is really annoying on a couple 22s with cans tucked in the handguards, loosen the can to put on another pistol, and poof, I'm holding the tube and end cap like a moron, mount still on the barrel, baffles falling out in the handguard and on the floor. Why oh why didn't they just make the tube out of steel, or have some locking mechanism with the mount. Have demoed the Sico Switchback. It's similar to the Oculus, but instead of 2 tube sections and a cap, this has 5 peices, mount, cap, coupler, a short tube and long tube. You can assemble it in essentially 3 lengths using one or both tube sections, and "should" be more versatile, problem is it isn't. The shortest configuration is really loud, and not all that much smaller than the much quieter Oculus in short config. The mid size is nice, about the same size and sound as a short Oculus. In long configuration is sounds really good, about the same as a Mask, but is 3/4" longer, and of course the thing has a half dozen places it can come apart when taking off a host if you grab it by the tube to unscrew it. I have fired the Thunderbeast takedown, good can, baffles like the Oculus, but base/tube/cap like the mask, a little longer than both, not much to distinguish it, Mask is quieter, Oculus is more versatile.
Generally, there is a 1/2x28 direct thread mount, nothing fancy needed, although it can come loose as the can warms up, you you do want to install it pretty snug, and check it from time to time.
Baffles can be a stack of individual baffles or a 1 peice monocore. The general idea is the baffles slow the gas and allow it to cool to reduce sound. The small ports, clips and offset baffle shapes introduce turbulence and cross jets as the gas flows through the can to improve sound reduction, while directing pressure with relief ports to fill the can more evenly reduce backpressure, and make the can more efficient. Generally cans like monocore with larger areas in-between baffles hold more air that reignites powder, causing a louder first shot, till the air is purged from the can, this is "first round pop" or FRP. Cans with more intricate baffle shapes help mitigate the pressure wave and reduce the FRP, really useful for hunting or targets where you have a lot of cold barrel shots.
Materials matter. Most cans use Stainless steel, aluminum or Titanium, possible multiple materials in different places. Aluminum used to be the most popular material for rimfire cans, it's the softest, but anodizing can harden the surface. It is really light, can be 1/2 the weight of steel, but isn't as strong, tough, chemical or abrasion resistant. Aluminum baffles tend to be thicker than stronger materials, and care has to be taken when cleaning, harsh chemicals or things like steel brushes will damage them. Steel baffles are thin, strong, machine easily, hold up to wear, can be easily cleaned with hands-free techniques like "the dip", ultrasonics, and steelpin wet tumblers. They handle heat and pressure better for things like full auto and 5.7x28 ratings, and are pretty much the current standard, only downside is weight. Titanium combines most of steel's strength, temperature resistance and resistance to abrasion/chemicals with Aluminum's light weight. It's expensive and hard to machine, so cost is pretty much the only downside, and it's not quite as hard as steel, so a steel brush can scratch it.
Fouling, cleaning, dissasembly/servicing and avoiding problems like dirty parts seizing together are critical for a rimfire can being 22 is filthy. The difference between a good can, and an annoying one is often how well it is designed to deal with fouling and cleaning. This is one place a steel monocore like the Sico shines, the 2 piece fouling shield keeps the threads or baffles in a tube from getting carbon locked. This is also easy to dump in a powered cleaner, or brush the mocore from the side. Some designs like the Mask and Oculus use baffles that clip together tightly, minimizing fouling and therefore seizing between the tube and baffles. Things like keyed baffles and mounts are nice in that they align consistently to avoid accuracy problems or having to re-zero a scope after cleaning a can. There are also the required tools to consider, expensive proprietary vs simple and available tools like an M4 stock wrench, or wearable parts like o-rings or wipes. Consider how easy/hard a can is to take apart, if parts are clearly marked if they have to be assembled in order, and if it locks, or can come apart inadvertently, like a mount that unscrews from the tube when trying to take off a host(DA Mask I'm looking at you). Some are also modular with baffles that screw together to change length, or different sections that can be removed to make it more versatile.
All that being said, I usually recomend the Rugged Oculus for a first rimfire can, it is the easiest to own, and one of the most versatile with a good mix of dimentions and features. At 5.25" long, 1" diameter, 6.9oz, $400 street price, and all-steel it is compact, and a reasonable weight for a can with steel baffles, about the size/weight/cost of a DA Mask or Sico Sparrow. What IMO make the Oculus better unique is it's modular length. The base tube and mount are loc-tited together at the factory, so taking it off a firearm by grabbing the tube won't leave the mount behind like often happens with the Mask or TB takedown and other designs with a separate mount and tube. It can still be replaced if cross threaded too being it isn't machined from 1 peice, and so far the loc-tite hasn't broken loose at all. The Oculus has a base tube/mount and extension tube with separate end cap and 2 baffle stacks for each 1/2 of the tube. This allows either a 5.25" or a tiny 3.25" mini K configutration. The full size sounds great on most any firearm, where in K config it is loud, but hearing safe on a handgun, but IMO it is most useful on rifles, and the tiny K configuration sounds awesome for it's size on long barrels with subsonic ammo. Each of the 2 baffle stacks have a marked blast baffle nad a small cap baffle with a few core baffles. Just dump them out, use a stick to push them out of the base tube if needed, and clean however you want, use a steel brush on a drill in the tube, reassemble, and all is good.
Comparing the Oculus to a couple others. Rugged's own Mustang is just an aluminum Oculus, weighing 3.3oz vs the steel Oculus at 6.9oz, tradeoff is limited cleaning methods. The Sico Sparrow was king till a few years ago, monocore, easy to clean, but a very noticeable FRP far louder than the others, and slightly louder than the Mask or Oculus even after a few rounds. The DA Mask is probably the most reccomended can, and I own one. Unique steel baffles clean easy in an ultrasonic, but practically eliminate FRP, and probably the quietest 5" long can out there. Baffles are ribbed to prevent getting stuck in the tube, and it's easy to disassemble and reassemble. Really only 1 problem, the tube, mount and cap are 3 peices and the tube comes loose from the mount often unless you crank the cap on tight as hell, and risk damaging the titanium threads in the tube. This is really annoying on a couple 22s with cans tucked in the handguards, loosen the can to put on another pistol, and poof, I'm holding the tube and end cap like a moron, mount still on the barrel, baffles falling out in the handguard and on the floor. Why oh why didn't they just make the tube out of steel, or have some locking mechanism with the mount. Have demoed the Sico Switchback. It's similar to the Oculus, but instead of 2 tube sections and a cap, this has 5 peices, mount, cap, coupler, a short tube and long tube. You can assemble it in essentially 3 lengths using one or both tube sections, and "should" be more versatile, problem is it isn't. The shortest configuration is really loud, and not all that much smaller than the much quieter Oculus in short config. The mid size is nice, about the same size and sound as a short Oculus. In long configuration is sounds really good, about the same as a Mask, but is 3/4" longer, and of course the thing has a half dozen places it can come apart when taking off a host if you grab it by the tube to unscrew it. I have fired the Thunderbeast takedown, good can, baffles like the Oculus, but base/tube/cap like the mask, a little longer than both, not much to distinguish it, Mask is quieter, Oculus is more versatile.
