Silencer Review: ERECTOR by Q for .22LR

The only thing shorter than the ERECTOR silencer is the name of the company that makes it: Q. But it’s also the longest .22 LR suppressor on the market. And the lightest. And one of the quietest. But also one of the loudest. What? Better keep reading . . .

Fed up with the inertia of large corporations, a small group of silencer nerds jumped ship with Kevin Brittingham and started Q about a year ago. The goal? Innovate. Stab an EpiPen into the torpid evolution of silencers (and even firearms) and skip a few generations. Make not what people already want, but what they didn’t even know was possible.

Enter the Erector. This .22 LR suppressor — in stock at Silencer Shop as I type — is the most modular design ever available.

It exists as a 1/2-28 threaded aluminum mount with its affixed, stainless steel blast baffle. As seen in the lead photo, the front cap can be attached straight to it. But it also comes with another nine aluminum baffles. Each one can be added to the blast baffle, not unlike an Erector Set, as many or as few as you want, capped off with the front cap.

In this way the user can balance sound suppression with length and weight. For instance, a .22 LR rifle will need far less suppressor to achieve the same, comfortable volume level as a .22 LR pistol will. Or outdoor shooting vs. indoor shooting. Or aesthetics or maneuverability vs. ultimate sound reduction.

Perhaps the biggest surprise with the Erector is its weight, or lack there of. Each baffle weighs only 0.2 ounces according to my fine-measurement digital scale. The mount and blast baffle assembly is the heaviest component at 0.78 ounces and the front cap weighs in at 0.13.

So, despite looking really long and unwieldy in its all-nine-baffles-attached, 7.6″-long configuration, the Erector still weighs only 2.6-ish ounces. As far as I’m aware, that makes it the lightest (and longest) .22 LR suppressor on the market. In its largest configuration.

In its shortest config, the 1.75″-long Erector weighs a scant 0.91 ounces. It’s so tiny and so lightweight that it’s effectively unnoticeable. Yet, it does cut down on sound level by about 8 dB. While this isn’t enough to bring a typical .22 LR pistol into the hearing safe realm, it meters as hearing safe on a .22 LR rifle. Especially shooting subsonic ammo, where dB readings clock in around 132.

To lengthen your erection, simply remove the front cap, add as many baffles as desired, and replace the front cap. Photo dump of each additional configuration option:

Simply reverse the process to make your erection smaller again. Should you encounter any baffles stuck for more than four hours, seek immediate medical help. Or, just use the provided blue wrench clamp widgets for additional lefty loosey leverage.

Configured to the approximate length of my AAC Element 2, Q’s Erector weighs less than half (46.7%) as much. And the Element 2 is considered a lightweight can. And it is. Or was. The Erector simply moved the goalposts. Or dropkicked them.

At the shooter’s ear it’s just as quiet, too. It’s your well-designed .22 LR suppressor Hollywood-level thwack thwack. So hearing safe that, from behind the gun, the action is louder than the gunshot.

On a rifle I don’t think I got much, if any, utility in using more baffles.

In fact, it was shockingly quiet with just a single baffle. I’d gladly and comfortably plink all day long, sans unnecessary ear pro, with this setup.

A pistol, though, is a different story. With the shorter barrel the suppressor is doing much more work, cooling down hotter gasses under higher pressure.

Starting in a long configuration and working my way down, below that Element 2-ish length (five baffles added) the difference in volume level became obvious. Between five baffles and all nine was a noticeable jump, but seemed smaller than the jump from five to four. And four to three, etc.

Meanwhile, as the volume level went up I became increasingly impressed with the sound tone of the Erector. It remained extremely deep in tone, and the additional volume presented as a lower-pitched “whump” or “thump” rather than a “crack” like you’d expect from an unsuppressed .22 LR shot.

As seen in the video, I went all the way down to one baffle added. After all, I was informed it isn’t hearing safe on a pistol without at least one baffle. With some trepidation, I broke the trigger and found…it was still completely comfortable. Though without a dB meter I can’t truly be sure (Silencer Shop will be publishing full dB data on the Erector soon, which I’ll add here), I’m confident it was below the 140 dB impulse noise threshold. It seemed quieter to me than suppressed .300 BLK, for instance, and the echo off the canyon walls and such seemed quieter as well.

Q’s Erector is unlike anything else on the market. Somehow it manages to be both the longest and shortest .22 LR suppressor on the market; both [quite likely] the quietest and the loudest. Any way you build it, though, it remains the lightest.

Now, before Silencer Shop’s phone lines melt down, it’s important to note that the light weight comes with a trade-off. With the exception of the blast baffle, the Erector is all-aluminum. Thin aluminum, at that. The most powerful caliber it’s rated for is .22 LR, and it isn’t “full-auto rated.” The Erector isn’t that any-use rimfire can that also handles 5.7×28 and .17 HMR, harsh cleaning, etc. Q makes the El Camino for that.

My joy with the Erector is in its ability to be exactly as much suppressor as needed, and no more. Since this changes whether you’re shooting a pistol or a rifle, indoors or outdoors, with your kids (or a first time shooter) or without, so does the Erector. Even in its [almost comical] longest configuration, though, it’s so lightweight it’s difficult to even notice its presence on the end of a pistol or rifle. In its shorter configs, it’s just plain cool.

If nothing else, the Q Erector represents the next generation of modular silencers.

Specifications: ERECTOR by Q

Weight: From 0.91 ounces to 2.6 ounces
Length: From 1.75 inches to 7.6 inches
Diameter: 0.99 inches
Materials: stainless steel blast baffle, aluminum mount and baffles
Finish: Not specified (I believe PVD on the blast baffle and beat blast on the aluminum)
Caliber Rating: .22 LR (presumably .22 Short is also fine)
Full-Auto Rated: No
MSRP: $499 (~$450 on Silencer Shop)

Ratings (out of five stars):

Form Factor * * * * *
It’s all the forms in one, and super lightweight regardless.

Sound Performance * * * * *
It’s as quiet as any rimfire suppressor on the market. Or it’s not. Up to you.

Utility * * * 
The Erector takes a hit on utility because of its caliber limitations, which are more restrictive than the norm. Additionally, aluminum baffles further hinder the owner’s suppressor cleaning options. The Erector makes up for these restrictions with its adjustable size and extremely light weight.

Overall * * * * 
As someone’s second rimfire can, the Erector could easily be a five-star choice. As a first rimfire can, I simply can’t see recommending it over Q’s El Camino or similar suppressors. Nothing’s similar to the Erector, though. Shortest, longest, quietest, loudest…lightest. Awesome.