img_20161016_134413-900x675_1

Post-AAC and SIG SAUER, entrepreneurial wunderkind Kevin Brittingham has set up a brand new venture. With a nod to Bond, James Bond, Kevin’s called his new business “Q”. Mr. Brittingham’s convinced some of the best engineers in the firearms industry to defect. The list includes Ethan Lessard, the mastermind behind AAC’s silencer designs and SIG SAUER’s latest line of cans. So it’s no surprise that the first product we’ve seen in the wild (not yet “officially” launched) is a rimfire silencer dubbed the El Camino.

img_20161016_134213

It’s a strange name for a product from a company whose head routinely Instagrams pics of his Lamborghini. I guess DB5 was already taken. Anyway, the El Camino silencer looks to be an improved version of the AAC Pilot 2. El Camino uses a stack of “K” style baffles which can be removed for cleaning and servicing without any specialized tools. The baffles are designed to create a semi-solid tube within the silencer itself.

The issue with the Pilot 2 and the Ti-Rant (which uses basically the same baffle design): carbon tends to build up on the inner liner of the silencer tube. It can be devilishly difficult to remove. Since the El Camino has a semi-solid tube within a tube, it stands to reason that the carbon will be contained within the baffles. If so, the El Camino won’t bind up quite so much when the end user services the baffles.

Pay attention Bond . . .

Q’s also made the silencer lighter and stronger. Side by side, El Camino seems lighter yet more solid than the Pilot 2 and Ti-Rant — a difficult balance to strike. While I’m not privy to the El Camino’s full specs I’m told that it might be rated to accept more rimfire calibers than the Pilot 2 — a big bonus for a consumer who wants a silencer to cover as many use cases as possible.

14730474_1068239406564870_3291986033159176192_n

Rumors has it that Q will have a full range of silencers available around SHOT Show this year. Meanwhile, they continue to tease a long gun that’s nearing prototype status. The Man with The Insanely Lightweight Rifle? No doubt the man who brought us the Honey Badger will unveil something equally noteworthy. Watch this space.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

14 COMMENTS

  1. The “cans” are going to have to get much shorter before they’ll be of any use on a self defense gun. And a whole lot less expensive – even not including the ATF “tax” and BS. I’d love to protect my hearing, but this isn’t going on my carry gun.

      • Not at all. The .22 pistol is for eliminating excess rabbits around here. 🙂 I have plenty of other guns I’d like to have a suppressor.

        Seems silly to me to even consider a “silencer” on a .22… I use ear protection anyway for that, but I’d really like something for my carry gun. I am nearly deaf already (lifelong) and wear hearing aids. I can only imagine how profound my deafness would be after firing the 9mm I carry without ear protection. It does give me perfect incentive to AVOID any hint of confrontation, and not go anywhere even questionable. Luckily, there aren’t many of those places in NE Wyoming. 🙂

        • I have a basset hound to take care of the rabbits here. He’s not exactly quiet, but he gets the job done.

  3. MSRP?

    Pairing with the JWT post on the ultra-sonic cleaner, what do you suspend the parts on when “cleaning”.

  4. If building your own firearm for personal use / hobby is legal provided you never sell or transfer it : IE ” engage in commerce ” , shouldn’t the same apply to sound suppressors ? What am I missing ?

  5. Wow a really unbiased review. IIRC Mike Smith and Robert Silvers were the “Masterminds” behind AAC. At least that’s what the Patents say. Can’t wait to see what other vaporware the “look at me – look at me” Lambo guy comes out with.

Comments are closed.