Dead Air Primal - Very Different but Similar to the Wolfman

 I own both the Dead Air Primal and Wolfman. Both silencers are multirole and can handle a variety of tasks. While the Primal is a 45 caliber, full rifle cartridge rated, fully welded can, it's not segmented. The 9mm bore Wolfman is segmented and can handle some of the most popular smaller calibers though it but can't handle anything over 350 Legend. Both are great cans and they look related. So let's compare.

At first glance, both silencers have the same outer diameter, length and construction. Even the finish is similar. 

The baffle stacks look very similar until you look closer. Firstly, the blast chamber on the Primal is substantially longer. The baffles themselves on the Primal are shorter compared to the Wolfman. Both have 12 baffles or cups. 

The bores are different given the calibers. The Primal is able to handle .458 caliber cartridges with the Wolfman being a 9mm or .36 caliber bore. 

This is the front of the silencer without the included caps. The Primal is on the left.

The Primal and its 45 caliber end cap are on the left.

Mounting patterns are different between the two. The Wolfman is at heart a pistol caliber silencer. It's meant as advertised for submachine guns and pistol caliber carbines. Dead Air setup the system to use the mounts that the Ghost M uses such at the booster assemblies and tri-lug adapters. Because the Wolfman is more stout than the Ghost M, Dead Air came up with the KeyMicro system which shares the matting surfaces with the KeyMo system found on their rifle silencers but small enough for the P type mounts found in the Ghost M. This allows someone like myself to setup several rifles like an AR-15, Remington 700 (.300 Blackout in my case), Henry Homesteader and Marlin 1894 with muzzle devices that are all KeyMicro compatible. This allows me to switch either the Wolfman or Primal around as needed as long as either is configured with a KeyMo or KeyMicro mount. 

The Primal, however, uses the industry standard HUB or 1.375x24 thread pitch. This lets you use the same mounts the Nomad and Sandman series silencers use. Alternatively, a 3rd party mount can also be used since the thread pitch can be found elsewhere. If you had invested in SilencerCo mounts but want a Dead Air can, you can buy the Primal and use a SilencerCo mount under certain circumstances. The inverse is true as Dead Air offers a version of the KeyMo adapter for Saker/SilencerCo cans. You'd have to test to see what options you have if you want to mix brands. Otherwise,  because of this, I am able to use mounting options from other manufacturers should I choose to do so.

The Primal has an additional trick of using an included ring adapter that allows the use of the Ghost/Wolf/Wolfman P accessories such as the booster. In my case, I didn't have the regular KeyMo mount yet so I used the ring adapter for the KeyMicro mount for testing the Primal.  For me, the Primal is the only silencer I have that lets me shoot 45 ACP. By combining the ring adapter and booster assembly, I am able to plink away with a first generation M&P 45 Full Size with a SilencerCo barrel. 

Until I own a rifle in a full rifle caliber I want to suppress, the Primal will primarily exist with the pistol booster on it. The Wolfman was the center of my suppressed shooting world and all my rifles were setup for that. Having a silencer with the booster on it helps make life a little simpler as moving mounts around can be a huge pain. On a side note, I'd like to just have the booster permanently on a Ghost M for pistols only and put either a Xeno mount or KeyMo mount for rifles which is really what the Primal is for. 

The Primal is a long suppressor. When you add a mount, it gets longer. While the Wolfman can be about the same length, I usually run it in the short configuration. 

Because of the designs that Dead Air likes, the cans are able to share mounts, end caps and other accessories. That also includes other silencer's baffle segments. I'm not sure you should use that but I may give it a try after checking alignment. 

You can put the Wolfman's extension stack onto the Primal in place of the end cap. You now are limited to 9mm bore. I've never shot this configuration. I think the Ghost M could also be added.

All in all, I think the Primal was a good choice given how I think my financial situation and life focus will likely change in the next few years. I would like to round out my stamp collection with a Ghost M and maybe a Nomad Ti both for dedicated reasons. 

Silencers - Four Years of Ownership

Since March of 2018, I have learned much about silencers. What I thought I wanted back then has definitely changed. Thankfully, my choices turned out to have been pretty good ones. I pray my more recent choices turn out the same. 

Many of the things I've learned are as follows. Having a silencer for my more common pistol calibers has been good and I've enjoyed shooting pistols suppressed but I've gotten to a point where my silencers are seeing FAR more use on my rifles than on my pistols. I've learned that a suppressed 22LR rifle or pistol is basically pure shooting bliss. I've learned and re-enforced a distain for the regulating legislation that is the National Firearms Act of 1934, that it's garbage and needs to die. I've learned that I have ZERO interest in rifles or pistols that I cannot immediately or make changes to, to use one of my silencers. An un-suppressible firearm has limited utility in my life and will most likely be ignored. 22LR tube-feed rifles and shotguns are the exception to this rule. And finally, having dedicated silencers for each weapon a smarter choice and that your choice in silencer should be specific to the build that you're working on. Having a heavy multi-roll silencer is great but when your can is 21 ounces on the end of a 24 inch barrel, you start to notice the weight. By choosing a more focused silencer, you are able to build a better packaged product. A Gemtech Tracker makes more sense on a dedicated, light-weight, mountain hunting rifle compared to having something like the Dead Air Primal, Hybrid 46 or Bushwhacker 46 as all of these suppressors get pretty heavy where the Tracker is 11 oz. However, the Tracker isn't multi-roll. In the end, while it's more expensive to buy one silencer be gun, the effect is that you can tailor the full package without dealing with bulky universal mounts and extra weight or multi-roll cans. My Wolfman as setup currently as it's used on my AR-15s is 13 oz and can get pretty heavy after a while. The lighter, the better.

One of the biggest factors for me in purchasing my first silencer was that SilencerShop had been able to make the process easier and the changes to the application were more streamlined. Sadly, the Form 4 Trust wait times were massive and just plain awful. Recently, the ATF e-File system changed, allowing persons with Trusts and Form 4s to submit via the ATF portal instead of mailing in the forms. The rumor is that the new process has massively reduced the bureaucratically induced wait times down to somewhere around 90 days. My first suppressor took 260 days from start to end. With this new change and the fact that I have committed to buying a new silencer, I'll update this post on the changes. 

That said, as of March 2022, I have taken the plunge to buy the last silencer I will buy for a long while (unless things change). Dead Air released their Primal back in 2021. This is a welded body, tubeless silencer design that is VERY similar to the Wolfman but has many differences. The major differences are that the Primal is a 45 caliber bore instead of 36 caliber, that the Primal handles most every rifle cartridge out there compared to the Wolfman's small rifle and pistol caliber ratings and finally, the Primal is NOT segmented meaning you can't reduce the long-boy length by removing a part of the stack. I like the K-config version of my Wolfman. It's a heavy beast at 16 oz with no mount. While not as svelte as something like the 9.8 oz Nomad Ti, the Primal is full-auto rated and makes more sense in the DMR and hunting rifles roll which is where it will serve most of it's life. The Tracker would have made more sense for the hunting rifles in general but my 357 magnum lever action will do better with the Primal and my 308 Winchester DMR project will need something that can handle the abuse the Tracker can't.

Interestingly, Dead Air setup the Primal in such as way as to offer accessories that you can use most of, if not all of, the Wolfman, Wolf-9SD and Ghost-M accessories like the boosters but also use the stuff from the Sandman and Nomad lines. This means you can build out the Primal to meet whatever configuration you need as long as that isn't a short configuration. The ONLY exception is that Dead Air has not yet released a Primal specific e-Brake . The Sandman E-Brake is too narrow diameter to match the 1.6 inch body of the Wolfman and Primal but the Nomad E-Brake is too large. They need that Goldilocks zone E-Brake. From what I have seen, both of those E-Brake actually would mount up but they would look funny. 

I'm looking forward to trying the Primal out on my current inventory but I'll also see about rectifying the oversight of I've never shot a suppressed 45 ACP pistol!

If you're on the fence about getting a silencer for your guns, just jump right on in. There are plenty of services offered by companies such as SilencerShop and SilencerCentral that make it easier for people like me who are intimated by government paperwork. I work with several people and about three of them so far have come to the quiet side. You'll never go back.

Update: The Primal is currently on backorder and pending Dead Air to deliver to Silencer Shop.

Update 2: Silencer Shop now has the can and the forms have been signed to be filed with the ATF.

Update 3: I am waiting on the LGS to setup a time we can certify the application. It looks like the timer will start when that actually is completed. So far we're about 55 days since the backorder was filed. 

Update 4: I FINALLY got to certify my Form 4 with the LGS. It took about 3 months before they could get to me. After talking with the person, they noted that in many cases, the certification process can take several hours due to issues with the ATF website. As it were, mine took about 15 minutes to complete. He was very surprised. Official submit time starts on 23 Sept. We'll see if these claims of 90 days approvals are true. That said, I did get to try the can on a M&P45 with a threaded barrel and it was fun to shoot. I also found the Wolfman and Primal are VERY similar in appearance but that's about it. I'm looking forward to having this process finished. 

Dead Air Primal Form 4 Trust e-File Times:

Order Date: 04 MAR 2022 (Item on Backorder)

Backorder Fulfilled: 06 MAY, 2022 

Tax stamp Applied for: 06 MAY, 2022

eForm Certification: 23 SEPT, 2022 (Number of days since the backorder was fulfilled is 140)

Stamp received: After 263 days, the ATF notified me that my stamp was approved. So much for faster times. Oddly enough, that seems about normal for me. 

I looked back to see when my Q El Camino was approved and it took about 280 days back in 2019. The Wolfman was 260.