YHM Sidewinder Suppressor – Simple and Effective

YHM’s Sidewinders offers straightforward, lightweight, and simple mono-core pistol suppression available for 9mm and 45ACP.

After looking at the industry’s more complex suppressors recently with several options such as the AAC Tirant and Rugged Obsidian I enjoyed the simplicity of the YHM 9mm Sidewinder.  It has just a few threaded mounting options: ½”x 28, ½” -36, M13.5 x 1 LH, and a fixed mount spacer.

The mono-core of the Sidewinder unscrews from the front of the can with the same proprietary tool that removes the piston from the rear.  An o-ring mounted on the front of the core keeps gasses sealed as well as making sure it stays snug.  The Sidewinder is constructed mostly out of aircraft quality aluminum keeping it lightweight at 10 ounces.  The thread adapter, rear cap, blast barrel and Nielsen sleeve are stainless steel to resist corrosion and wear. 

As with all monocore suppressors the first shot was a bit louder than the rest.  But this can be easily remedied by shooting the suppressor wet with either a little water or some wire pulling gel as demonstrated in the video.  But the advantage for the monocore is that they don’t have as much blowback as traditional baffle designs (see the video where I shoot it side by side the Griffin Revo9) and they seem to not get as dirty.  I own a Gemtech 22 suppressor with a monocore and I highly recommend at least breaking the core loose every couple of magazines so it doesn’t build up too much against the walls of the can before you need to break it down for cleaning. 

The fixed spacer mount again shows the simplicity of the suppressor.  While some cans require that you purchase an entire rear assembly, YHM simply offers a $20 spacer that replaces the spring of the Nielsen sleeve converting your piston to a spring.  This also gives you the option of indexing the suppressor in 12 different orientations if needed to minimize point of impact shift.

The YHM Sidewinder lists at $700 retail, but I found much more competitive prices at Silencer Shop that was closer to the $500 range. 

Story by Dustin Ellermann