Gear Review: Dead Air Wolf-9SD Suppressor

Turns out you don’t need a submachine gun to put Dead Air’s new Wolf-9SD to good use. They’ve new-schooled the old school subgun can with a couple of modern features that make it a solid choice for any 9mm in your arsenal.

At 7.58 inches long and 1.618 inches in diameter, the Wolf is fatter than a typical pistol can. It’s also a fully-welded design made entirely of stainless steel. The baffles have that 17-4 PH golden color look to them.

Basically, it screams subgun can. That is, a suppressor designed to be run on a submachine gun, that is, a machine gun that fires a pistol caliber. In this case, the Wolf-9SD is sized for 9mm.

Indeed, this suppressor is rated for anything you could possibly do to it on any sort of 9mm firearm. No minimum barrel length and no maximum rate or duration of fire restriction. Throw it on that MP5K and go to town.

A quick note: the Wolf-9SD seen here is from the first production run, which were all high-temp Cerakoted in gray. Wolf gray? One can only assume. Since then all Wolfs (Wolves?) have been black instead (as seen on the Silencer Shop website), though they’ll still do this gray on request if that’s more your jam.

But wait! What’s this? The Wolf splits in twain practically at the center. The two halves join via a short section of threads and a nice taper lock, which keeps the sections sealed and secure without requiring much torque at all. A modular design, offering both a long and short mode depending on the needs of the firearm and the level of suppression required, is the most notable bit of the Wolf’s modern flair.

In its short configuration, the suppressor is a scant 4.1 inches long. It has also dropped down from 14.7 ounces to 7.5 ounces (weight varies slightly depending on which mount you use).

Mounts? Yes, mounts. While your old school subgun silencer is a fixed, direct-thread job, Dead Air brought the Wolf-9SD into the 21st century with swappable mounting solutions. In fact, it uses the same mounts as Dead Air’s Ghost-M .45 ACP pistol can. Basically any thread pattern fixed mount or booster piston is already available.

When purchased, the Wolf comes with the booster assembly but without a piston or a fixed mount. Those have to be purchased separately in the thread pitch(es) you need. Though, for purchases made now through the end of 2017, Dead Air will include a free piston or fixed mount with a Wolf-9SD (all Dead Air suppressors come with a free accessory and/or credit through Dec 31st).

Since the Wolf is a 9mm silencer, the obvious choice for mounts would be a 1/2×28 piston and a 1/2×28 fixed mount. However, the Wolf is also rated for use on 300 Blackout so a 5/8×24 fixed mount makes a lot of sense as well.

As you may have already guessed, the end cap is removable. When switching from long configuration to short, use the end cap tool to unscrew the end cap from the front module and install it on the short module.

Like the mounts, the end caps are also shared with other Dead Air suppressors. In this case, they’re compatible with the Sandman line. Seen above is the Wolf-9SD with a .30 caliber end cap installed. If desired, this would make sense for shooting 300 BLK.

Just don’t forget, of course, and try to fire a 0.355″ diameter bullet through the end cap made for a 0.308″ diameter pill.

While the end caps require a proprietary tool (or some MacGyvering) to remove and install — a tool that conveniently houses a spare end cap inside of it — the mounts do not. That pattern of deep-cut notches works with an AR-15 castle nut tool.

On a 9mm carbine with a 16″ barrel, the Wolf was as quiet as could be in full length configuration. But it was excessive. From the shooter’s perspective, I could barely hear a difference and only because the downrange sound was bouncing back off the berms. The actual gunshot sound at my ear was effectively the same.

Basically, I’d run it in short config and never look back. With its small size and light weight, it’s barely noticeable on the end of the rifle and it’s still quiet. This is a sweet setup.

On the end of my CZ SP-01, well, first I was surprised that everything cycled and worked perfectly. I was a little concerned that the near pound of weight on the muzzle would slow up the works too much, even with the booster, but it ran flawlessly and smoothly.

It was also way more suppression than necessary. Thanks to the delay in the Browning-style locking action, it was significantly quieter than the carbine’s straight blowback action. While it’s likely that, downrange, the volume level was basically identical, from next to and behind the pistol it was far quieter.

The Wolf-9SD in full config is about as quiet as it gets on a 9mm pistol. Though it should be, given its length and width.

In stubby configuration, dang does the Wolf look cool. I really dig the “K” suppressor look, plus the short length and light weight keep the handling nimble.

While obviously louder with noticeable first round pop now, even in short mode the Wolf was completely comfortable and sounded well under the 140 dB “hearing safe” threshold. Especially when shooting outdoors, once again I wouldn’t run the Wolf in its full length. It’s just too handy, compact, lightweight, and cool looking while maintaining sufficient sound suppression to add the additional three-and-a-half inches and nearly double the weight.

On the other hand, if I were shooting with a newbie, indoors (other than for home defense purposes, in which case I’d keep it short), or maybe just casually plinking and wanted it as quiet as possible, I’d go full length. Thankfully, switching between full and short takes just about 30 seconds so it ain’t no thang.

Switching over to 300 Blackout, though, the Wolf has to be full-length to be hearing safe. At least, that was my impression of it out in the wild without a sound meter. In its full configuration, though, it sounded as quiet as my Sandman Ti does on the 8.3 inch Ballistic Advantage BA Hanson barrel seen on my SBR above. Which is impressive.

Though the Wolf does look cool and/or ridiculous in shorty mode on this gun.

Finally, Chris and I put 200 rounds of Sellier & Bellot 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP, but Euro-spec hot-loaded subgun stuff) through the CzechPoint vz. 61 that he’s reviewing. The Wolf-9SD is perfect for this thing. Again, in short flavor it exhibited obvious first round pop, but that was only loud in comparison to how very quiet it was on the rest of the shots. And holy crap is this is fun setup (as seen in the Wolf video review embedded above). Easy to bump fire with nothing but one’s own two hands, too.

After hundreds of rounds of various calibers sent through the Dead Air Wolf-9SD from a handful of firearms, I’m a huge fan. This suppressor is on my short list to live more or less permanently on my CZ Scorpion EVO SBR in short configuration.

Dead Air has taken all of the advantages of a subgun suppressor — extreme durability, larger diameter, maximum sound reduction — and built in the utility we expect from a suppressor in 2017. With a modular design and swappable mounts, the Wolf brings additional value by adapting to the gun and to the shooter’s needs.

Specifications: Dead Air Wolf-9SD

Caliber: 9mm and 300 Blackout
Rating: full-auto rated, no minimum barrel length
Length: 7.58″ long, 4.1″ short
Weight: 14.7 oz long, 7.5 oz short
Build: stainless steel
Finish: Cerakote
Mount: removable mount with many pistons and fixed mounts available
MSRP: $965 (more like $799 via Silencer Shop)

Ratings (out of five stars):

Suppression * * * * *
In its full length configuration, the Wolf is about as quiet as a 9mm suppressor gets. Maximum suppression? Check. In its shorty configuration, the Wolf is as short as it can possibly be while still comfortable to the ears and hearing safe. Modularity provides the best of both worlds. It’s literally two suppressors in one.

Form Factor * * * *
Dead Air kept the aesthetic fairly old school. That’s cool. But it’s nothing to write home about. Thankfully for the Wolf, its Form Factor rating is boosted back up due to its modular design and swappable mounts. These are highly useful features.

Utility * * * * *
Again, it’s two cans in one and it’s right at home on both fixed and tilt barrel actions. The Wolf is also rated for 300 BLK and, of course, any pistol caliber that fires a 9mm-ish or smaller diameter bullet. It doesn’t disassemble for cleaning, though, so don’t shoot .22 LR through it.

Overall * * * * *
Frankly, I didn’t fully understand the appeal of this suppressor until I shot it. I’ve been eyeballing some of the shorty 9mm cans out there for the last 18 months with my Scorpion EVO in mind, but it wasn’t until spending time with the Wolf-9SD that I seriously considered making that leap. The utility of the Wolf brings significant additional value to the table, and its design is exactly in the sweet spot for maximum sound suppression in full length mode and utmost compactness yet sufficient suppression in short mode. I dig it.