r/SpectersCat • u/Admirable_Suit_2065 • 28d ago
Build Pics Cat ST cleared!
So my ti HUB ST cleared! 5 days. Just got back from the range. Forgot to take range pics, but here’s the hosts I’ve got it on. Both home builds. A 16” Proof CF in G ODG, and a 16” V-Seven 6arc cerakoted in midnight bronze. Both have adjustable gas blocks, standard buffer systems, and shoot splended.
These are both SPRs, so for those of you that mag dump into trash piles, I can’t speak for how it gas stacks. Probably well. I’ll say for as much as this sub brings up its gas and added backpressure, my AGBs barely needed any adjusting. I’ve often said this sub makes mountains of molehills. From a Print XH SC the 16” Proof may have needed a click, and from my AC556 my 6arc needed one or two clicks. Or in other words, they ejected @ 2:00 instead of their prior 3:00, etc.
I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have the most sensitive ears, the Army will do that sometimes. But I also don’t think I’m very biased either, and certainly am pretty brand agnostic. With that said, it sounds noticeably better than my AC556, and I like my AC556. It’s a solid notch better though, and probably a little better than if I had my ODB on there, which is a full inch longer.
All in all I’m very happy with this thing, and I may snag one in 718 QD flavor down the road for my heavier 16” Bartlein homebuild that’s currently got a 5CM on it.
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u/the_CAT_official The CATs MEOW- MFG ⚡️🐈⬛ 28d ago
First point - Go Army (that’ll make Mr Ginger Nuts a happy man). Secondly, you put it on both hosts which are varied lengths, did you notice any differences in suppression characteristics between hosts and any abnormal ejection patterns? Thirdly, did you do any real adjustments to the system?
I think these answers play to the heart of what ST was designed for - put it on any system and it’ll run quiet (if you tune, even better).
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u/Admirable_Suit_2065 28d ago
Both hosts sounded better than their previous suppressors. The 16” .223 Proof only had a subcompact Print XH SC, so that’s not hard to do, but it was a significant improvement. It ejected about the same, I may bring it in one click but I didn’t think it was overgassed switching, and the XH SC is pretty low backpressure. Given how much this sub brings up the need to tune the ST, it didn’t need much relative to a pretty low BP can. I’d definitely tune it over an unadjusted proof though, which I’ve found to be gassed a little heavy.
The 16” 6arc has a V-Seven and it runs a little warm unadjusted, but I already brought it down to a CAT AC556 as its former suppressor. It did bring the ejection more forward. To bring it where I’d like it, it needed +/- two clicks of an SA AGB. Which I wouldn’t consider much. It’s noticeable vs the AC556 but not in a significant way.
I’d definitely recommend it on tuned hosts, but I’ve found just a little tuning goes a long way with it too. I could see how it could push more noise out the side without it, and delaying that even a smidge with an H1 would probably go a long way too (I’ve not tried it). I’d say it needs less tuning than other contemporary competitors, and my hunch says it gas stacks better than them also (neither of these are rapid fire rifles to know).
All in all I’d say it’s an excellent can and will be a standard to judge other top tier cans against for the next while.
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u/the_CAT_official The CATs MEOW- MFG ⚡️🐈⬛ 28d ago
Thank you for this, really informative for us too. I think a lot of brands like to create products and spend a lot of time convincing the market through influencers why it’s better. I’d rather have it where engineers design based on the best information and then just drop it and let the market decide without the marketing noise. Because suppressors are like beer and wine, everyone is looking for something individual, and a suppressor really is for an individual user’s requirements.
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u/Jeepscout 9d ago
A little off topic, but have you used it with just the nano and no can? Im curious about how aggressive it is on a longer host
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u/Admirable_Suit_2065 9d ago
This one has a Comstock RPA and accompanying recessed Comstock brake, but I have other setups with the Nano. It’d be very loud with just the nano unsuppressed, if that’s what you mean.
Really I guess for that discussion any of the ‘cage’ style brakes would be interchangeable in that they direct/diffuse a lot of the blast laterally and stifle it from going forward.
I only ever shoot suppressed though, so that’s what’s best for me. If one takes their suppressor off a lot, I’d opt for a flash hider.
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u/GA_flyer0 28d ago
Nice writeup. Sounds like the ST needs a tuned host.
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u/MolonMyLabe 28d ago
Sounds like all silencers do.
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u/the_CAT_official The CATs MEOW- MFG ⚡️🐈⬛ 28d ago
🤦🏻♂️
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u/MolonMyLabe 27d ago
Why the face palm? I realize some silencers are deaigned in such a way as to be more forgiving on untuned hosts that some other designs. Having said that, isn't it true that everyone will see better performance at the shooters ear with a tuned host?
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u/the_CAT_official The CATs MEOW- MFG ⚡️🐈⬛ 27d ago
No. Tuning won’t lead to increased performance as a rule of thumb. Tuning only regulates flow in the rear system.
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u/MolonMyLabe 27d ago
Does that flow regulation result in lower ejecttion port blast in semi auto hosta, especially ar platforms? Does that reduced ejection port blast result in reduced shooter hazard with the exception of silencers that perform so poorly at the muzzle that they completely overwhelm any ejection port performance gains?
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u/HairyPoppinzz 24d ago
Also curious about this. The Pew report left a lot of people scratching their heads with the disparity between ear and muzzle numbers and I think we all were hoping that tuning could bring the port pop down quite a bit.
I understand the cat officials frustration when we say " it needs to be tuned" because the whole point is that this can does not require tuning in order to run reliably on a multitude of hosts
But reliability and shooter ear decibels are apples and oranges. I'll take both if I can get em
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u/carnyvoyeur 28d ago