TBAC Ultra 5 for Hunting

[zimagold]

Does anyone on the board have first hand experience with the new Thunderbeast Ultra 5?

I've been considering picking one up strictly for a big game moutain rifle. The goal is to keep the weight and length to minimum, as I already have a full length Ti suppressor and its going with a 7 lb rifle. Suppression capability is not as big of a concern as load testing and practice would be with plugs. Maybe 1-2 shots a year without and it looks to provide 18-22dB of reduction, similar to low quality ear plugs or Howard Leight Electronic Muffs (one of my current hunting solutions).

Thoughts, Impressions, anyone with the same idea?

[Not_A_Llama]

The Ultra 5 actually shed the "moderator" moniker that its predecessors held. Been thinking the same for my day-in-day out rifle can. Considering that no can I've ever used truly gets 5.56mm carbines down to hearing-safe, I figure it'd be nice to increase maneuverability.

[Kaiser.Shooter]

My buddy Andy runs the ultra5 on his 6.5 creedmore AR, he can answer all your questions and sell/order you one if you want to. Phone: 303-522-4354
Email: Andy@303ARms.com

[jmg8550]

Give Thunder Beast a call. I'm sure they would beglad to help. And they could probably give you decibal ratings for your application. Zak, Shane, and Ray are all great people to talk to.

[vossman]

I just picked mine up yesterday. I'll let you know how it goes.

[packratt75]

Any update, was considering one myself?

Thanks,
Rob

[Tim K]

I have a non-ultra 5" TB. It's not hearing safe with anything but subsonics, and even then only for a shot or two. I wear hearing protection with it on everything except a .22LR.

The 3-4 db improvement of the Ultra over the old design advertised by TB is likely to be nearly undetectable. Before someone chimes in here with the old business about a 3db reduction being equal to a reduction in acoustical energy of 50% (a true statement), what's really at issue is perceived sound levels. The human ear doesn't hear like a microphone, so our perception of a 3-4 db reduction is likely to be that's it's hard to tell the difference. Most listeners need a change of 5db to be truly noticeable, and 10 db before halving (or doubling) the perceived sound.

All that was to say this: it's still going to be painfully loud. I think. I'll bet. Maybe.

[Not_A_Llama]

Does it fill the role of blunting the abuse? I have my Ultra 5 on order. I've never felt comfy running can-only, and always have plugs. I just want something to take it down to pistol or lower levels of concussion.

Frankly, in a 223 role, I've never found a can that I felt was hearing safe; might as well lose some of the weight.

[Tim K]

Does it fill the role of blunting the abuse? I have my Ultra 5 on order. I've never felt comfy running can-only, and always have plugs. I just want something to take it down to pistol or lower levels of concussion.

Frankly, in a 223 role, I've never found a can that I felt was hearing safe; might as well lose some of the weight.

I think it will do that well. Mine spends most of its life on a .223 in exactly that role, it it does it well enough. Yours will only be better.

I'd love to hear them side by side.

As an aside, when my 9" Ultra clears, I'll do the side by side test with my 30P. Ought to be interesting to see if the difference really is detectable.

[zimagold]

I ended up buying an Ultra 7. Its still 6.6 ounces lighter and 2 inches shorter than my TBAC 30CB9 (30P Baffle Stack). Although, I still think the Ultra 5 may have been the optimal choice for my application. I decided I didn't feel like risking the sound performance for another 2 inches and 2.1 ounces.

Sounds like we need to have a meetup and do some side by side comparisons.

Edit: My Mini-4 is easily my favorite 556 suppressor, makes the SBR pleasant to be around. It started me thinking about the Ultra 5. The Mini is rated at 22db reduction vs 32-34 for the M4-2000. Most people I have demo'd the silencers to agree the M4-2000 is noticeable quieter. However, most want to use plugs either way and then choose the smaller and lighter mini to finish the day.