The Universal Suppressor – Griffin Armament Optimus Review

Before now, if you wanted to suppress your .22LR, 9mm, .300BLK, .223/5.56, .308 and .300 WM firearms you would need to purchase at least 4 different suppressors.  That’s $800 just in infringement taxes for the ATF stamps for transfers not to mention the thousands of dollars in suppressors.  However Griffin Armament just came out with the ultimate universal suppressor appropriately named the Optimus.

Expanding on their 5 baffle Revolution suppressor design the Optimus is a completely modular suppressor designed to be used by .22LR, 9mm, .223/5.56, .300 Blackout all the way up to .300WM and everything in between. It is compatible in an unheard of spectrum of calibers. We have always known that a .308 suppressor would handle smaller calibers as well such as a .223. Or that you could shoot 9mm through your .45ACP suppressor, but to handle all of the above listed calibers the Optimus truly is “One Can to Rule them All”.

To accomplish such versatility the Griffin Optimus is easily reconfigured to whichever platform you wish to shoot through it. Of course the easiest mount is the direct thread where you could screw it onto threaded barrels. So to shoot semi-automatic 9mm pistols you easily remove the direct thread mount and replace it with a threaded piston assembly. One of my favorite mounts is the 3 Lug mount and it allows quick and solid attachment to any fixed rifle barrel from 9mm, .223 or .300 Blackout. For higher pressure calibers such as .308 and .300WM or short barreled rifles you add an extra 3” section of tube with a blast chamber baffle and mount it on the included QD tapered muzzle brake and you are good to go. Extra mid-sized mounting options are even in production utilizing Griffin’s Blast Shild and you can also purchase an A2 mount for further adaptability.

The Optimus is well designed with the additional perks that make maintenance easier. For instance a standard CAR-15 buttstock wrench (for the AR15 stock castle nut) fits the rear nut and makes disassembly much less difficult than earlier designs. And the pistol booster piston works as a wrench for the baffle retaining cap and front caps. It includes both a 9mm caliber and .22 caliber endcaps to minimize gas leakage according to whichever caliber you are shooting. And since it is designed for .22LR and 9mm it is also user serviceable and easy enough to remove the 5 stacked baffles for cleaning. Normally cleaning .22LR rimfire suppressors are a chore, however since this suppressor is also rated for higher caliber rifles I have been told by other manufactures to just shoot some .223 rounds through the can and it should black most of the fouling out. However if that doesn’t work,  it will also be able to effortlessly be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner since the baffles are constructed of TiN coated stainless steel.

I was able to test the Optimus and I found it to be just as quiet as my Revolution 9mm can, extremely quiet with .22LR rounds and have comfortable noise reduction in my other .300 Blackout and .308 suppressors. The only time I wasn’t impressed was when I shot .223 through it with it in the short 3 lug configuration with the 9mm endcap on the can, but I’m sure it would be more effective if properly configured.

The versatility and modularity of the Optimus changes the entire suppressor game and allows the end user to get the most out of their $200 transfer tax stamp. I found Silencer Shop in Austin to have the best price on an Optimus package for a little under $1,000.