After getting hooked to suppressed shooting with a “normal” 22 suppressor, I switched gears a bit and got micro/compact 22 suppressor. This is a Thompson Machine Wasp (“second generation”, post 2012 model).
It features a stainless steel threadless tube and aluminum mono-core. It’s ~4” long and has an advertised weight of 3oz. Due to the small volume, it is recommended to be shot wet only. The end cap design was a bit different from the earlier generation and I was initially reluctant to put a neoprene wipe in the end cap. I emailed Brooks @ Thompson Machine and he said it’s fine to use a 1/16” wipe.
My first shot with the wipe was very reluctant since I had never shot a wiped can before. But, nothing exploded and the wipe seemed to “work”.
When shot with white lithium grease and no wipe, the grease seemed to completely burn off after around two mags (16 shots). With a wipe, grease seemed to be retained up to around five mags (40 shots) per the dramatic smoke/smell as well as still having grease on the wipe once removed.
When using clear wire pulling gel, the wipe also retained the gel a bit too. Without the wipe, it was gone before the first mag was finished. With the wipe, it lasted for a solid two mags before being completely burnt off after a third mag.
But alas, it’s hard to tell much of a sound difference with or without a wipe. At a minimum, it seems to retain the abatement material which I would like to think helps maintain effectiveness compared to no wipe at all.
Per the pictures you can tell that after three mags (24 shots) the wipe is done for. It doesn’t take much effort to swap in a fresh wipe, though.
Overall it’s a very interesting piece and niche/different to say the least. Shot dry it is noticeably louder than my normal 22 suppressor. Shot wet it sounds about the same as the normal can dry. Thus far it has only been shot on a pistol so I’m hoping the reduction is better on a rifle. I’ll be testing it on a rifle this weekend as well as seeing how the wipes effect accuracy/precision at longer ranges (even though the wipe is likely worthless on a rifle, I’m still curious though dammit).
