Personal defense shotguns for defending your family in your home make sense. Should the unthinkable ever happen, where you’d actually have to hustle to get said shotgun, you need to be prepared to use it and to be prepared for the ensuing residual effects – one of them being noise. Take one shot with an unsuppressed long gun without hearing protection on indoors, and chances are you won’t hear anything else very well for a long time, if at all. This is why I decided to attach SilencerCo’s new Salvo 12 to our Weatherby PA-459 personal defense shotgun, in 12 gauge.
Sponsored by SilencerCo
The Salvo 12 stakes its claim as the “first commercially-viable, modular, hearing safe shotgun silencer on the market.” It will operate with “most” pump and semi-auto shotguns. It measures 12 inches long (at its full configuration) and weighs between 19.6 and 34.4 ounces, depending on which configuration you choose. It is configurable to 6-, 8- and 12-inch lengths.
SilencerCo designed the Salvo 12 to operate with most pump action and semi-automatic shotguns and almost all commercially available ammunition. At its full length of 12 inches, the Salvo 12 brings sound down to an average of 136.8 dB at the muzzle with #7 shot. For my testing purposes, I left the silencer in its full configuration because I store the PA-459 at the end of my kitchen (hidden) and my storage location has room for the gun plus the Salvo’s full length. I intend to shorten the silencer in future tests, because having the Salvo mounted on the gun makes it pretty long and muzzle-heavy. Shorter lengths of the Salvo will improve that, so long as I can tolerate the increased noise level. For now, though, I wanted to keep it at its full capacity.
I took the shotgun with the suppressor on the range. After checking to see what type of choke system the PA-459 used (see https://weatherby.com/support/choke-tube-guide/ ), I ordered an Echo adapter for this particular model of shotgun because according to SilencerCo, the Echo is the correct adapter for 12 gage Beretta/Benelli Mobil chokes. I got it in the improved cylinder version, and it went right on. No problems there. The choke mount adapter also comes in improved modified and full versions. The silencer is rated for shells up to 3 inches.
The suppressor comes with an Echo spanner wrench, so that you can tighten the device onto the threads easily.
On the range, I set up the human silhouette target at 25 feet, the farthest distance in my kitchen from the storage point of the gun. I practiced standing and shooting off-hand, and then, crouching behind the bench as if it were the center island in my kitchen – to minimize exposure of my body to an aggressor’s sight line.
I wondered if the point of impact would be the same as the point of aim, and in this case, I believe it was. As a plus, the PA-459 has elevated, hooded sights – a green fiber optic front sight and a rear peep sight – that allow their use while the Salvo is attached to the muzzle. Aligning the sights on the target, I shot 2 ¾-inch 00 Fiocchi Exacta Buckshot, and 2 ¾-inch #4 Remington Ultimate Defense Buckshot.
The hubby took his turn, and had similar results. At 25 feet, the point of aim and the point of impact (the center of the shot pattern on the target) coincided. We each commented on the reduced felt recoil with the Salvo 12 compared to the recoil without a suppressor. We have shot this gun multiple times without a silencer attached, and there’s a huge difference.
This silencer earned its attached place on my personal defense shotgun.
Learn more about the Salvo 12 here.
MSRP: $1,169
Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com. View all posts by Barbara Baird
