It's time to top off our 2021 "best of" blog post series with a look at the companies whose engineering and manufacturing wizardry makes our industry tick. As you've seen in this blog series, there are a ton of incredible suppressor manufacturers creating durable, versatile and quiet suppressors for any setup imaginable. As the industry continues to grow, the technology behind suppressors keeps improving. We've come a long way since the days of retrofitted car mufflers!

Let's dive into our list of the top suppressor manufacturers list of 2021. You may be familiar with these brands already, (heck, maybe you already own an item made by someone on this list), but we're going to cover a bit of the history and unique advantages behind each operation. Without further ado, in unbiased alphabetical order, here are the top five:

1. Dead Air Silencers
2. Griffin Armament
3. OSS Suppressors
4. Rugged Suppressors
5. SilencerCo

Dead Air products are incredibly versatile, thanks in large part to KeyMo and KeyMicro adapters which allow you to switch seamlessly from a DT to a QD mounting system and vice versa. The company also offers lots of options to customize, including interchangeable end caps and attachment systems. Dead Air silencers are also reliably durable — most are constructed of primarily stellite baffles, which can withstand hard use really well.

Mike Pappas and Todd Magee might be two names you recognize because of their great work in this industry. Dead Air was founded in 2014, but the quality and popularity of their products are clearly evidence that Mike and Todd have been in the suppressor industry a lot longer than that. Dead Air has great options for any need — check out, in particular, their popular Nomad and Sandman lines.

And if you made us choose, we’d say the Dead Air Nomad 30, Dead Air Sandman S, and Dead Air Mask 22 HD are suppressors you definitely want to check out.

Perhaps more than anyone, combat veterans understand the potential for firearms to cause hearing damage. Griffin Armament was founded in 2006 by brothers Austin and Evan Green, both combat vets, who wanted to preserve their hearing with high quality suppressors. These brothers definitely turned some lemons into sweet lemonade with their suppressors!

The oldest company on this list, Griffin boasts a wide variety of options, so you'd be hard pressed to find something that doesn’t fit your wants and needs. What's more, a Griffin suppressor usually comes with everything you need to run it out of the box, such as muzzle devices for a QD suppressor or the tools needed for assembly and disassembly. Griffin has experience, broad options, and high performing products: they're a mainstay.

It’s hard to narrow Griffin Armament suppressors into a few to highlight, but a few we’re partial on are the Griffin Armament Optimus, Griffin Armament Revolution 45, and Griffin Armament Sportsman UL 338.

Why has OSS won many military suppressor contracts since its founding in 2010? Because their suppressors boast incredibly durable construction, with many successful stress test results to prove it. The company is also known for their flow-through technology, which reduces blowback substantially.

Reduced blowback has several benefits, including less gunk buildup and a friendlier shooting environment for lefties especially, without sacrificing top-notch sound suppression at the ear. OSS suppressors really offer that perfect balance between reduced blowback, reduced point of impact shift, and increased sound suppression and we’re here for it.

If we have to give you a bird’s eye view of a few OSS suppressors that piqued our interest, it’d be the OSS Rad 22, OSS HX-QD 556 Ti, and the OSS HX-QD Magnum Ti.

Michael Derdziak and Henry Graham have been in the suppressor business since long before they founded their company in 2014. Their names may ring a bell because of all they’ve done for this industry, including Rugged Suppressors. And the name "Rugged" sticks — these suppressors are known for their reliability and durability.

A unique feature of many items on the Rugged line is a Dual Taper Locking System, which ensures that the suppressor is locked in to avoid any troublesome backing off. For good reason, you'll find Rugged products distributed throughout our "best of" lists both this year and last!

Again, breaking this down into just a few examples is so difficult but we’re going to do it. The Rugged Oculus, Rugged Obsidian 9, and Rugged Surge are just a few you should definitely check out. 

SilencerCo makes 'em, Silencer Shop sells 'em — a match made in heaven. Since 2008, founders Jonathon Shults and Josh Waldren and the rest of the good folks at SiCo have done an incredible job of building the company into one of the most highly respected, successful companies in the industry.

The SilencerCo line covers the gamut for nearly any use or host firearm. The company has fine tuned their lineup to truly be a powerhouse, with options like their multi-caliber silencer or their innovative shotgun Salvo 12 suppressor to just barely scratch the surface on all they offer. SilencerCo also offers a full line of top-notch accessories to customize your setup according to your needs.

With how many suppressors SilencerCo has made, narrowing it down to 3 is so difficult! The SilencerCo Hybrid, SilencerCo Sparrow, and SilencerCo Harvester 300 are just a few of the fine silencers 

That's a wrap! We hope you enjoyed this year's ranking of top suppressors manufacturers — it could serve as a helpful launching point for a search. If you have any questions about which brands might be best suited to your particular host firearms and intended uses, reach out to us in the live chat box! Our expert customer service team would be happy to assist you!