Selecting a suppressor — especially a first suppressor — is difficult. With the generally high cost of entry, $200 NFA tax, and ~nine-month wait in addition to various other fees and hassles, it’s a big decision. If you ask me, the Liberty Cosmic is the best first suppressor available.
Rated for use on at least 66 calibers, the Cosmic provides huge bang for the buck. After the expense, hassle, and long wait, there’s major payoff from a suppressor that works on practically everything. As a basic rule of thumb, if it fires a .45 caliber or smaller projectile through an AR-15/AK-47 or smaller firearm, it’s good to go. Just note that rifle calibers producing 45,000 psi or more of chamber pressure require a 16″ or longer barrel.
I’ve been shooting my Cosmic regularly since mid-June of 2016. It has seen .22 LR, .22 WMR, 9mm, 9×25 Dillon, .40 S&W, 10mm Auto, .45 ACP, .460 Rowland, .30 Carbine, 5.56, 300 BLK, and .458 SOCOM through it.
The first thing I did after picking up my Cosmic (bottom) from NFA approval purgatory was compare its stainless steel guts against those of my Mystic X (top). Dimensionally, the two suppressors are identical. They use the same mounts and, not that I actually did this because I’m not sure it’s technically legal, even the titanium tubes can be swapped between monocore baffles.
As you can see, there isn’t a lot of similarity in baffle design, though. The Cosmic uses “Bi-Directional Baffles” and fewer of them (five vs the Mystic X’s 11). Liberty’s Centurion, which I borrowed from Silencer Shop for its own review, is seen at bottom.
No surprise, then, that the Cosmic is lighter. With all other components being equal, the difference is entirely in the core. The Mystic X’s tips the scales at 7-7/8 ounces.
While the Cosmic’s core is over an ounce lighter at 6-3/4 ounces.
The second thing I did with my new Cosmic was hit the range. I was most curious to shoot it back-to-back against my Mystic X on a 9mm to see how much louder the .45-bore suppressor with fewer baffles was.
As it turned out, I was the baffled one. A friend and I both gave the slightest of nods to the Cosmic as the quieter suppressor on a 9mm pistol and on my 9mm CZ Scorpion Evo. It could be that it has a marginally lower tone and that just makes it seem quieter. But as I’ve now shot both suppressors on 10 or more 9mm firearms of various sorts, I can say with complete confidence that the Cosmic does not sound louder on 9mm than the Mystic X.
Which is to say, it’s one of the quieter 9mm suppressors available. Somewhere in the range of 124 dB with subsonic ammo.
On a .45 ACP like the SIG P220 seen above, it’s louder. I had previously attributed the larger bore diameter to most of the sound level difference between suppressed 9mm and .45, but the Cosmic proved otherwise. That said, at about 131.5 dB on a .45 ACP pistol, the Cosmic is also one of the quietest .45 cans available.
Shooting 300 Blackout I think the Mystic has a slight edge, whereas on 5.56 / .223 they were equivalent as far as I could tell. On .22 LR, any large pistol can is going to be really quiet. The ability to easily disassemble and clean these Liberty options is a big plus, though.
Running the impressive .458 SOCOM through the Cosmic via a CMMG ANVIL, the suppressor is not rated as hearing safe. Detroit Ammo Co’s 350 grain subsonic loads almost certainly skirted under the 140 dB threshold, though, while 500 grain subs were clearly louder. Still, the Cosmic makes this heavy-hitting caliber more pleasant to shoot with a noticeable reduction in recoil and blast.
Part of the Cosmic’s industry-leading caliber handling capability is due to the strength of its monocore baffle design and titanium tube. The other important feature is an interchangeable mount system. Liberty makes boosters and fixed mounts for just about every thread pitch and QD attach you can imagine, and will even whip up custom ones if needed.
My next mount purchase will be Liberty’s Low Profile Fixed Barrel Adapter (or two). Instead of the normal FBA, which is a couple inches long to help act as a blast chamber, the low profile version adds only 0.1″ to the length of the monocore. This would knock about an inch-and-a-half off the length of my Cosmic (or Mystic X) when used on a fixed barrel gun like the CZ Scorpion Evo seen above or a 300 BLK shooting subsonic ammo. The larger adapter is needed for rifle-power calibers.
Ultimately, if I were hitting the suppressor market fresh today I wouldn’t purchase the Mystic X again and would make a Cosmic my first can. Given the expense and wait time involved in buying a suppressor, the ability to use it on 66+ calibers provides incredible bang for the buck and makes the Cosmic arguably the best first suppressor on the market. Yet at a scant 9.5 ounces (plus a mount, which will vary from 0.4 oz to about 3.3 oz) with industry-leading sound suppression ability, it will remain a go-to even as one’s stamp collection grows.
A Liberty Suppressors Cosmic, a rimfire suppressor, and a .30 caliber rifle suppressor will cover 99% of the guns 99% of the shooters will want to suppress. And, technically, the rimfire one is optional since the Cosmic has all of those calibers covered, too. It’s a great can.
Specifications: Liberty Suppressors Cosmic
Caliber: .45 ACP
Length: 8″ (Suppressor module only)
Diameter: 1.375″
Material: Titanium / Stainless steel
Weight: 9.5 ounces (a mount adds 0.4 oz to 3.3 oz)
Approx dB Overall: 131.9 dB (including First Round Pop, on .45 ACP)
Approx. dB Reduction: 30 – 31 dB (on .45 ACP)
Mounting Type: Multiple Mount Solutions
Finish: C-Series Cerakote
MSRP: $799 (approximately $100 less via Silencer Shop)
Ratings (out of five stars):
Utility * * * * *
The Cosmic can be used on at least 66 calibers and its swappable mount system ensures firearm compatibility. Basically, if the bullet will fit through the Cosmic’s .45-caliber bore and the cartridge produces 45,000 psi of chamber pressure or less, the Cosmic is in play.
Suppression * * * * *
It’s probably in the top 10% of the market for sound suppression performance on pistol calibers. I was shocked how quiet the Cosmic is on 9mm in particular.
Overall * * * * *
There’s nothing I can think of that would prevent the Liberty Cosmic from achieving a full five-star rating. While it’s slightly on the long end as compared to much of the pistol suppressor market, it’s still lightweight and it’s incredibly quiet. Officially rated for 66 different calibers, there’s little else that can provide the value of the Cosmic.