Suppressors

Is It Really the One?

Testing Gemtech's newest suppressor

What type of suppressor owner are you? What type of suppressor owner will you be? Will you own several calibers fit to specific firearms, or will you own one that will be shared amongst different firearms? Suppressor manufacturers are trying to figure you out. Many are hedging bets that you’ll look to a one-size-fits-many product.

You could buy a .30 caliber suppressor and use it on smaller-caliber firearms. As long as you stay within the specified barrel restrictions, everything should be fine. Is there some sort of magic in the multi-caliber suppressor that gives it all-encompassing performance, or is it just existing .30 caliber technology with a new outer skin? Gemtech’s ONE will be our case study.

Gemtech has over 30 years in making sound reduction devices. Few companies have such an extensive production history or as prolific a product line. They currently make 33 different suppressors. With 33 current suppressors, Gemtech may be very challenged to convince buyers that the ONE is just that.

What’s New

An included tool allows the user to configure the ONE as desired, direct thread or Q.D. (Photo courtesy of “Shooting Times”)

The most notable change with the ONE is its rear end. The ONE is Gemtech’s only rifle suppressor with interchangeable rear attachments. The inserts are much like other brands that allow for a direct thread type of attachment in 5⁄8-24 and 1/2-28 thread pitches. It also accepts an insert that interfaces with their Quickmount lugs. This particular insert has three pieces: a thick spring, washer (or pressure plate) that allows the Quickmount mechanism to operate, and the end cap or closer plate.

Many other manufacturers use some sort of tooth-and-ratchet type mechanism to attach their muzzle devices. This heavy, spring-loaded type appears as though to have been a real design challenge, but Gemtech pulled it off nicely. If you currently own any of Gemtech’s older bi-lock devices, the ONE is backwards compatible with them.

The direct thread attachment has a 51mm cylindrical insert that acts as the main aperture for entrance into the blast baffle. This cylindrical portion fills the space between the attachment threads and the baffle that would otherwise be filled by the muzzle device. The adaptors are installed with the supplied ONE tool that also accepts a ½-inch ratchet.

Caliber: .30 cal. and smaller
Weight: 1 lb., 3 oz.
Overall Length: 7.5 in.
Materials: Inconel/titanium
Noise Reduction: 32 dB
Attachment Type: Direct thread/Gemtech Quickmount
Finish: High-temp black Cerakote
MSRP: $1,025

Tough Construction

Titanium and Inconel are used in the ONE’s construction. Weighing 16.3 ounces, it feels robust and dense. These observations are supported by the ONE’s warrantied use on 5.56 NATO rifles with 7½-inch barrels or longer. It’s also warrantied for use on 24-inch .300 Win. Mag. barrels. The ONE is full-auto rated and tested to SOCOM standards, which is an established shooting schedule created by the U.S. military to test suppressors for adoption.

The ONE’s external appearance is a departure from Gemtech’s historically simple and straightforward cylindrical. The front half of the ONE keeps the classic look. The rear portion is larger in diameter and looks to have a shroud welded to it. This shroud has several flats machined into it, presumably to allow a wrench to be used should it become necessary for removal. In addition to this, a 3⁄8-inch drive is cut out in the front of the ONE, removing wrench-assisted removal from concern.

Designed to reduce noise at the shooter’s ear, the ONE’s external appearance is a departure from Gemtech’s typical straight cylindrical shape. The redesigned endcap sets it apart. (Photo courtesy of “Shooting Times”)

Peering through the aperture of the ONE reveals a decreased amount of baffles. Blake Young, lead engineer at Gemtech, explained that the ONE and its baffle designs were two years in the making. Gemtech made many changes to baffle shapes.

“We get the same noise reduction with fewer baffles (3) that others get with six.”

The ONE is classified as multi caliber, and this designation could easily be taken for granted. We generally only consider a few: .223/5.56, .308, and .300 BLK. In a genius move, Gemtech lists every caliber that you could possibly suppress with the ONE on their website. A total of 96 calibers are listed. If you have avoided suppressors because you shoot a less common caliber or even a wildcat, a look at Gemtech’s website may cause you to rethink that decision.

Performance

Curiosity led us to test the ONE on a different platform. Instead of using a gas gun, we used a rare Nighthawk Custom (NHC) left-handed bolt gun in .308. This rifle has an 18½-inch, 1:12 Broughton barrel. Suppressors noticeably affected the gas guns they were attached to. We wanted to know if the same would hold true with a bolt action. Federal Gold Medal Match had always performed best in the NHC gun, but we tried Remington’s 168-grain Sierra Match King to see if accuracy was a bit off. This rifle is insanely good.

Unsuppressed groups averaged .83 inches, pretty poor for this rifle. Suppressed groups averaged .88 inches. It seems that the ONE did not create dispersion on an already accurate system. That’s a plus. Initial point of impact shift was .6 inches low and left. Then we witnessed something that we’d not seen up to this point. Just before the fourth string, we removed the ONE and replaced it. Point of impact shifted back to the original zero. We removed it and replaced it again before the fifth string and POI shifted .65 inches up and .85 inches right. We don’t know why the shift was different but we’llassume it was due to differences in the amount of torque applied each time that we removed and replaced the suppressor. It is important to try to affix a direct thread can to the same specs every time. Note that one of the benefits of a good QD mounting system is that the POI should be the same place whenever the can is removed and attached.

The ONE features a welded-on shroud which includes wrench flats for easier removal. (Photo courtesy of “Shooting Times”)

Not satisfied with the overall performance of the rifle/ammo combo, we shot another 5-shot group with the 168-grain Federal Gold Medal match and this time put four rounds into .125 inch before throwing the fifth to .5 inches. The consistency returned with the GMM ammo, and the ONE had no ill effect on group size.

Another new observation with the ONE was how quiet it seemed to be. For the first time, we were able to shoot a .308 without hearing protection for a few groups, something we would never do unless subsonic ammo was used. The decrease in noise may have resulted from the lack of action noise that occurs on semiautos.

That may be part of it, but in the discussion with Blake Young, he remarked that Gemtech was focused on the ONE being hearing safe at the shooter’s ear. This is more than likely to become the new standard in measure, replacing the current one-meter to the left of the muzzle measurement. It makes sense to measure it at the shooter’s ear.

Performance

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Extreme durability, excellent sound performance and multi-caliber versatility combine in Gemtech’s latest product. It’s an excellent option in a rapidly expanding market, but only you can decide if this is the ONE for you.