Suppressed life

Life is so much better with a suppressor, and the more suppressors you have the better in my opinion. Suppressed shooting brings a new level of enjoyment to the shooting sports, whether it be hearing your bullets impact on the target or just not having to wear ear protection and being able to speak with each other without yelling. Rimfire’s are already quiet compared to their centerfire counterparts, and when you put a suppressor on them they are even more quiet. The Dead Air Mask 22 rimfire suppressor has been in my inventory for over a year now, and I can certainly say it has made the year more pleasant. And if you are looking for one yourself, I’m here to give you my opinion on it.

The Mask

The Dead Air Mask is titanium and stainless steel rimfire suppressor, it is rated for everything from 22LR up to 5.7×28 cartridges. It is just over five inches long, and has a diameter of 1.070 inches and weighs in at 6.6 ounces. The Mask is disassembled using the provided tool for the muzzle cap, and the threaded breach of the can also threads out making cleaning the suppressor very easy.

All Season

The Mask has been with me for some time now, through the summer heat and the cold of winter. I think I’ve gotten a good handle on how it performs.
The Mask was easily installed on an assortment of host rimfire weapons, and in every instance it made everything better. I use my firearms mostly for hunting and practice prior to hunting. A good portion of the summer time was spent using the mask on several 22 pistols to hunt small game such as squirrels and marmots.

The Mask made a perfect companion for that purpose, allowing me to take multiple animals without spooking them with muzzle reports. And it was easily threaded on and off of my firearms, and had what I consider minimal shift. The stainless mounting threads and square cut breach cap provide an excellent interface with the host.
Through the winter time the mask stayed with me and my rimfires, providing the children with all kinds of fun. All while not adding a bunch of length or weight to the host rifle.

Why the Mask?

With so many admittedly good options out there, what would make you choose the Mask over something else? Its a subject I’ve often thought about, not just with the Mask but all kinds of products. I have other rimfire suppressors, and to be perfectly honest there is not a huge disparity between them all. Which again begs the question, why pick one over the other? Obviously there is a commercial aspect to the answer that has some validity, if there is only one suppressor in stock when you go to purchase one then it pretty much answers your question. Dead Air has done a great job at keeping up with demand, even during the darkest days of the last supply crisis I could still find an assortment of Dead Air suppressors in stock.

Pretty much all of the US suppressor market is domestically manufactured mostly if not wholly. So buying American is easy as far as that goes, but its nice to know that parts for my Dead Air cans were made just down the road a piece by some of my friends.
I don’t consider myself married to one particular manufacturer, as I have cans from several of the larger manufacturers. But if you are one of those people who likes to stick to one brand, you certainly wouldn’t go wrong picking Dead Air as that brand.

Price seems to be the most common decision factor on many things, the Mask has a street price as I write this around 420-480 dollars. That’s not exactly cheap for a rimfire suppressor, but you can surely spend a lot more money. And I wouldn’t bet the average shooter would see a huge difference between the Mask and suppressors that cost much more. So many times it can come down to who and where gives you the best price.
There are lighter suppressors, but we are talking in ounces so unless you are so high speed that two ounces is going to change your mind its probably not an issue.

Final words

The Dead Air Mask offers the same thing the rest of the Dead Air family does; excellent suppression and robust durability that won’t require a loan application (unless you want a really big collection). So if you are a Dead Air fan, or if you have been considering the Mask as an addition to your firearms collection I am here to tell you, you will love it.
-CBM