If you or someone you know chooses to keep a shotgun for personal defense in the workplace, it may behoove you to attach a SilencerCo Salvo 12 to the muzzle.
Sponsored by SilencerCO
I already reviewed the Salvo 12 at its full length of 12 inches. For this topic, I’m going to reduce the length of the suppressor to 8 inches and test it out at the range on a Remington 870 DM.
Unless you have a pair of hearing protection muffs stored right next to where you keep a personal defense shotgun, and if you’ve trained to remember to put them on your head should you need to employ the firearm, you should consider attaching a suppressor. On second thought, maybe you should, anyway. It’s not like in the movies, in some warehouse or convenience store, where they blast away and then have normal conversations afterward.
As I mentioned in the other review, “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.”
Here are SilencerCo’s specs for the Salvo 12:
I chose to attach the 8-inch version to my shotgun for this review, as according to SilencerCo this configuration delivers a sound that measures 137 dB at the ear, which is just below OSHA standards of 140 dB maximum for unprotected ears. If you’re interested in seeing the breakdown of the lengths and corresponding noise ratings, check out this post at Bauer Precision.
The Bel is a measure of sound intensity, but it is such a large unit of measure when working with human hearing that we use 1/10th of a Bel, or a decibel (dB) in descriptions of sounds or noises. To an undamaged human ear, a barely detectable sound has 1 dB sound intensity. To the same ear, normal speech is a 60 dB sound, but realize normal speech is one million (106) times more intense than the 1 dB sound. If you understand decimal logarithmic scales, you can go online and dig deeper into this, but suffice it to say the 3 dB decrease from the OSHA max of 140 dB to the Salvo configuration of 137 dB cuts the sound intensity in half.
As I tried to figure out how to break down the 12-inch Salvo, I wound up calling Silencerco’s customer service to check on the reconfiguration in progress, since a couple of the baffles stuck together tightly and didn’t match the illustration in the manual. I got right through to a representative and we figured out the problem quickly. It wasn’t long before I was then out the door with the newly configured shotgun and silencer.
I took the shotgun with the suppressor on the range. I ordered an Echo adapter for this particular model of shotgun because according to SilencerCo, the Echo is the correct adapter for 12 gauge Remington chokes. You install the choke adapter by unscrewing the choke currently in the shotgun barrel, or in the case of my Remington the muzzle device, and replacing it by screwing the SilencerCo adapter into the place of the choke. To attach the Salvo to the adapter, simply position the suppressor onto the adapter and tighten the adapter’s securing collar to the suppressor.
The suppressor comes with an Echo spanner wrench, so that you can tighten the collar onto the threads easily.
On the range, I set up the human silhouette target at 50 feet, the farthest distance from the office to the entry point where I work. I practiced standing and shooting off-hand, and then, crouching behind the bench as if it was a desk, to minimize exposure of my body to opposing gunfire.
I shot 2 ¾-inch 00 Fiocchi Exacta Buckshot, and 2 ¾-inch 00 Remington Magnum Buckshot.
Overall, the shotgun with the suppressor is manageable and maneuverable. It’s now tucked safely in storage, but within a few seconds away if I need it while in this particular area.
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
Barbara, I met your sister Brenda on a flight into Springfield recently. Would love to ask you some questions regarding gun models for women and body holsters for women in the workplace. I had such a great conversation with your sister! Hope you all had a great visit.