Huntertown Arms Guardian & Kestrel vs Sparrow Demonstration Review

Ok Fellas, I had previously mentioned that a local C3 dealer was going to allow me to shoot these cans before purchasing one...

Here's how it went down, and my thoughts on these supppressors:

The only ammunition used was CCI Subsonics.

The host was primarily the Ruger 22/45. I also shot an M&P22 for a mag or two solely for finger-fucking purposes. Nice gun BTW.


SILENCERCO SS SPARROW:

Everybody already knows about these guys, and that the Sparrow is the market leader right now.

It has a mono-core design with a clamshell sleeve that makes cleaning easy.

It sounded pretty quiet, and had no discernible first round pop.

All in all, I was very pleased, and can understand why the Sparrow is what everybody wants...but $475? Really? Damn!!


HUNTERTOWN ARMS:

The SS Guardian and the Kestrel both have the same baffle system, but only the Kestrel has the "easy to clean" baffle sleeves.
.
The baffle stack can be taken apart and reassembled with ease.

The first round pop on the Kestrel was pretty loud. I pulled the trigger and turned around to the dealer and said "Damn, that was loud!"

Subsequent shots were quieter, but still seemed loud for my purposes.

Since the Guardian and the Kestrel baffles are very similar, they sound about the same.

For the price, the SS Guardian ($250) is a better value than the Kestrel ($350).

The Kestrel is nice, but for that kind of money I expected better sound suppression.

(continued due to technical difficulties...)

(Continued from previous post...)

SIDE NOTE:

I also had the opportunity to shoot the Griffin Armament Checkmate and the Osprey45.

The Checkmate sounded pretty nice, but the baffle stack system is a friggin nightmare!!

So many baffles and spacers. I unscrewed the end cap and the baffle stack fell out all over the place.

Parts n pieces landing in the grass...I was afraid I wouldn't find them all.

I will not be buying this can due to the baffle design...Just better stuff out there.

When I shot the Opsrey it was dry, but I've always heard that it sounded just as good dry, as others do wet.

I do not agree. After shooting the Osprey, I still prefer my YHM Cobra. Wet of course


FINAL THOUGHTS:

SS Guardian: Not bad for the money. Good beginner can, or for someone on a budget.

Kestrel: Great design, but sounds the same as the Guardian. The buyer must decide if $100 is the worth the "easy to clean" feature. Beware FRP!

Sparrow: Negligible FRP, and is easy to clean. Not cheap, but the performance is great.

Checkmate: Sounds nice, but it's a baffle clusterfuck. You're money can be better spent elsewhere.

Osprey45: Cool design, but I wasn't impressed when firing it dry. The jury is still out. But for now, I have a Cobra45 and am not looking back.


CONCLUSION:

I'm buying a fuckin' Sparrow!!







Hope this helps,

~WTS

**** **
I had seen a "review" that the Guardian s/s sounded just about like the Sparrow; as I understood it no real discernable difference.
Well I guess I'll find out in about 8 months.
It's all good.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the tidbit about the M2 and Osprey.

I do have a checkmate and I'll somewhat agree with your sentiments about the baffle stack. It's really not all that bad. I just use a section of cleaning rod to slide it all back together.

The hassle is worth it to me since it's a good 150 bucks cheaper than the sparrow and sounds just about the same to my ear.

I've got the HA Guardian 22 and SS Sparrow, I can't tell the difference in sound, but I can tell the difference in cleanup.

MSRP on the SS Sparrow is $475 but I paid $400 shipped.

I paid 375 shipped (no tax) and got a free hat

I can do my own research, but thought it'd be easier to ask...

Where are you guys buying from?

Depending on the shipped price, it may or may not be worth it to F3 it due to the transfer fee involved.

Dealers around here charge $60 for a C3 transfer.

So, if I got one shipped for 400, plus 60 transfer....I'm only really saving $15...but also adding an additional month to my total transfer time for F3 clearance.

Don't get me wrong, I want to help support the dealer who demo'd the cans, I just dont wanna get taken for a ride...

If I do find a great deal that would save me a decent amount of money, is it appropriate to try to negotiate with my local guy, or should I just be polite, say nothing, and take my business elsewhere?

Any advice on what my savings threshold should be before I start trying to negotiate/ transferring through another dealer?

On another note,

It's interesting that so many people hear all the different cans differently....

Some people dont perceive differences in pitch, tone, or volume.....while to others, there is a distinct difference.

As far as the Kestrel vs the Sparrow, even my girlfriend, who is a gun novice, identified the Kestrel as "the loud one".

Trust and believe that I wanted the Kestrel to win my preference...but to my ear, and unfortunately my wallet, the Sparrow was clearly the weener.

~WTS

I have the original Checkmate QD and it has great performance. However the new gen II can is suppose to meter in the 115s even on a pistol. That makes it the cheapest top performing can on the market. In other words I'm getting my can upgraded to the new baffle design. I don't see much of an issue with the pieces since it makes it easier to clean and disassemble than the original monocore design. And who needs to take apart their can in the field anyway?

... just procured a Huntertown Arms Guardian myself.

The value-to-warranty ration is phenomenal

Picked up mine, new for $170 OTD (friend prices)

Is there anyone online that has the Guardian in stock? I'm in the market for one and have been looking online for days with no luck.

I'm not sure if that question is allowed, so if you know, please PM me. Thanks for any help

Check 21st Century firearms, bluffton, IN. Nice group of guys there.

I'm interested by the YHM to SilCo conclusion. Am I understanding correctly that you shot the Osprey dry & like the Cobra better wet?

I have several 9mm and 45 cal cans that sound loud dry but quiet wet. It's older technology from designs 5+ years old. The 9mm and 45 osprey sound much better dry and a little better wet when compared side by side. Important note - this is comparing dry to dry, and wet to wet.

While I don't have a cobra, I do have the 9mm Wraith XL. Side by side the 9Osprey sounds better dry. Wet the Osprey has a slight advantage.

Edit: I do wish for a time machine etc, as I have 9 22lr suppressors and only 1 is a Sparrow. Most of my purchases were before SilencerCo was on the market unfortunately.

I had the same delimma, local C3 charging me MSRP for a can. I purchased my can from who is now a site sponsor. It was a few hundreds different in price. I did however used locat C3 for transfer which was $50, which is a fair price. I got 5 transfer with local C3.

I have the Sparrow and love it. Paid $369 shipped to local C3 with free shirt and hat.

Thanks for the great reivew! I have a buddy who on a budget and talked to about the Sparrow and Huntertown cans, but I dont have access to a Huntertown can. Im going to email this post.

JohnStoner:

My experience shooting the Osprey45 was very brief. Only a single mag from a Springfield 1911...The dealer brought it out only for shits n giggles.

From what I'd heard and read, I was expecting the O45 to sound like a wet 9mm or something....I didn't know what to expect, other than "a revolution in gunshot suppression"....

Some people claim that the O45 sounds better dry....than most other cans do wet.

I shot the O45 DRY, by itself, with no other cans to compare it to side by side. Very informal.

However, It was clear (to me) that the DRY O45 was not as quiet as my WET Cobra45....Makes sense though, doesn't it??

No, this is not an "apples to apples" comparison...But I was just comparing what I was hearing to what I remember my Cobra45 sounding like.

I have no data or scientific results...However, what I heard that day doused my desires for an Osprey.

For my purposes (1 single silent shot), I'd have to add ablative to either suppressor to make the level of suppression acceptable....So for me, I'd rather save some money and still own a top notch product.

~WTS

I understand the comments on the baffle stack. It's not a good candidate to be disassembled outdoors.

Over a table, indoors, with WD40 a pipe cleaning brush and general purpose GI nylon "toothbrush" it can be broken down, cleaned, and re-assembled in about 10 minutes. That's about comparable to most other suppressors, as cleaning isn't going to be immediate with any of them. If it breaks apart and goes together fast, that's only half the battle as you obviously have to actually "CLEAN" the components to accomplish anything.

We do understand that that was one of the customer concerns, so despite great performance and a dedicated $10,000 stamping die, we may re-design the baffling to reduce component count. The baffles are numerous, and they are expensive, because they spend 18 hours in a heat treat oven at a cost of $2000 a batch (heat treat only).

One of the neat things about the baffling it does have is that unlike tuned systems, it performs well on just about any barrel length, and regardless of bullet speed. In our testing it reduced .22 Win Mag to ~124DB. That's almost backyard quiet for the .22Win Mag which is kind of hit or miss in that other .22lr and some full size 5.56mm suppressors often don't suppress it very well at all.

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