It has been teased for decades but it looks like the Magpul and ZEV FDP, in both carbine and pistol format, will be headed to market in 2025. It’s real, and we’ve shot it.
If ever a gun was wish-cast into existence, it is this one.
This strange path, of producing an innocuous-looking box that could transform as if by magic into a PCC, started with Francis Warin’s boxy ARES project in the 1970s – which used a German MP28 magazine, of all things – then quickly moved on to Utah Connor’s “boom box” (complete with collapsing antenna) style Undercover 9 or UC-9, and James Boatman’s companion DEB M-21.
The latter gained everlasting fame in the 1990’s “Robocop 2.”
Connor called his one-of-a-kind weapon the “Undercover 9” or UC-9 back in the day and people have been chasing it for 50 years.
In 2008, Magpul reimagined the UC-9/M-21 in a concept gun that dropped the dated portable boom box disguise and updated the look to that of an extra laptop battery (which was a thing at the time).
Dubbed the FMG-9, it remained vaporware until Magpul succumbed to public demand in 2021 and announced what was then termed the Folding Defensive Pistol-9 and a Folding Defensive Carbine-9, using a ZEV OZ9 operating system inside a Magpul chassis.
While Magpul brought prototypes to the last three SHOT Shows since then, the FDP and FDC have yet to appear, which is something of a bummer.
But 2025 is set to be a year of sweet, sweet fulfillment as the now FDP-C carbine and FDP-P pistol are headed to market.
The terms “silencer” and “suppressor” are used interchangeably in the firearms community, and we are here (hear?) to tell you the story of how this came about and which term is more correct.
Going back to the 19th century, “devices for the lessening the noise of firearms” were patented as far back as 1894. However, it wasn’t until Hiram Percy Maxim, a man uniquely obsessed with making loud things quiet for the sake of hearing protection, that the first trademarked “Silencer” (big S) came about in 1909.
Dr. Shush
Why was Maxim interested in hearing protection? A big part of this was because his father, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, generally regarded as the inventor of the modern belt-fed machine gun, went quite deaf after long periods of exhibiting his guns for interested clients sans ear protection.
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim seen showing Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII, around his gun, and depicted in a 1904 caricature.
The junior Maxim began working on his acoustical mufflers in 1902 and by 1909 started securing a series of patents on “Silencer” and “Silent firearm” devices. His Connecticut-based company first was branded as the Maxim Silent Firearms Company, and later the Maxim Silencer Co.
Maxim, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, even marketed himself as “Dr. Shush.” Following in his father’s footsteps, he was his own best spokesman for his products and stressed how they made shooting safer and more enjoyable.
Maxim was a showman. (Photos: SilencerCo)
He successfully landed a series of large newspaper interviews in 1909.
The allure of a “noiseless gun” was sure to draw headlines. (Photos: Library of Congress, Chronicling America newspaper archive)
The company sold not only a series of Silencers but also couplings to attach them to barrels and instructions for gunsmiths and hardware shops to thread barrels for the screw-on devices, interestingly advocating a rather fat (by today’s standards) 20-thread pattern. Silencers could be purchased by mail order for $5, about $160 in today’s inflated dollars.
Were Maxim’s designs truly silent? Not at all, but it was great branding, especially when he had to fight for market share against a crowded field of contemporary competitors. Matthew Moss, writing for Small Arms Review, notes at least nine inventors at the time (Harry Craven, Anthony Fiala, Charles H. Kenney, Herbert Moore, Robert A. Moore, Eugene Thurle, R.M. Towson, Andy Shipley, James Stinson, et. al) were seeking patents for similar devices, with several ultimately going on to market them with mixed success.
There are few period tests between these 1910s-era firearm mufflers. The Army’s Ordnance Bureau, which ordered 100 of Maxim’s devices and 100 from Robert A. Moore’s firm for tests on the M1903 Springfield, preferred the former, noting that “it was possible to give perfectly audible instructions when the Silencer was used.” It was estimated to have reduced noise by as much as two-thirds. Given the technology of the era, that had to be what could best be described as a wild guess.
World War I era cutting edge: M1903 Springfield with the M1913 Warner & Swasey Musket Sight mounted. It also mounts a Maxim Model 15 “Government Silencer,” October 1918. The Army maintained its stocks of Silencers until 1925. (U.S. Army photo via National Archives)
Common Vernacular
In the end, Maxim’s Silencer (which wasn’t silent), won the marketing war and emerged as the Dr. Pepper among a crowd of Mr. Pibbs. Teddy Roosevelt used one to quietly zap tin cans around the yard without disturbing the neighbors and exchanged personal correspondence with the inventor. Period cartoons even gagged about noisy diners being offered “Maxim Soup Silencers.”
Maxim’s company went on to market Silencers for motorboats and automobiles on much the same principle.
Maxim upsized his Silencers for other applications.
The public had so associated the Silencer with firearm report moderators by 1934 that the National Firearms Act hearings – which largely started as an effort to ban most guns in the country, including all common pistols and revolvers – used the term no less than eight times. While handguns escaped the government regulation, silencers (little “s”) did not. Never being banned outright on the federal level, they were instead hit with a $200 tax, which adjusts out to $4,800 in today’s terms. The silencer term, enshrined in 1934, is still on the books in the U.S. Code, retained in the 1968 Gun Control Act, and used by the ATF today – an organization that was only established in 1972.
In the meantime, the repressive tax largely killed the American suppressor industry until the 1970s, when companies like Mitch Wer-Bell’s SIONICS and Dr. Phil Dater’s AWC (now Gemtech) began quietly (see what we did there?) operating. By then the stifling NFA tax, frozen at $200 since the Depression, had been whittled down to a more manageable outlay thanks to the federal government’s habit of printing fiat currency in an economic pinch after Nixon ended the gold standard.
What About the Term Suppressor?
In today’s terms, “suppressor” has largely supplanted and replaced “silencer” in use, starting with patents filed in the 1980s. The term is more correct as, while the devices moderate and reduce the sound signature of a muzzle report, they do not remove it. In most cases, despite what Hollywood would lead us to believe, while suppressors paired with subsonic ammunition that removes the “crack” of a projectile breaking the sound barrier can be made hearing safe, you can still hear the gunshot, albeit muted.
As detailed by the American Suppressor Association, suppressors typically “reduce the noise of a gunshot by an average of 20 to 35 decibels, which is roughly the same as earplugs or earmuffs.”
Even the most effective suppressors, on the smallest and quietest calibers (.22 LR), reduce the peak sound level of a gunshot to between 110-120 dB. To put that in perspective, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), that is as loud as a jackhammer (110 dB) or an ambulance siren (120 dB). For normal caliber handguns and rifles, suppressed sound levels routinely exceed 130 dB, just shy of OSHA’s “hearing safe” threshold of 140 dB.
For reference, check out this Taurus TX22 with a SilencerCo Switchback, one of the better rimfire cans on the market, firing standard velocity .22 LR ammunition.
It’s quieter, but you can still hear it.
In addition to noise abatement and hearing protection, the use of a suppressor can also help with firearms training, especially as it curbs the traditional “crack” to a more manageable “pop.”
Is it a “silencer?” Not really.
Is it a “Silencer?” Only if made by Mr. Hiram Percey Maxim’s Silencer Company.
Is it a suppressor? Yup.
So in other words, to turn a phrase, a Silencer is a suppressor but a suppressor is not a silencer, despite what the media says about potatoes.
Held Veterans Day weekend at the 17 South Rod and Gun Club in sunny Savannah – where the temps hovered in the low 80s in November! – the event is now in its second year. Organized by the fine folks at Recoil with the support of more than 60 industry sponsors including some big players like B&T, Daniel Defense, FN, KAC, Kalashnikov USA, Maxim, PTR, SIG Sauer, SilencerCo, and Staccato, you can bet that it had something for everyone.
Open to the public, a $50 general admission ticket got you on the range for the day for unlimited shooting at every lane with all ammo included, while VIP and Premier tickets got you into the whole weekend including night shoots with both white light and NVGs and a swag bag that included a free suppressor (not a misprint).
While I’ll have several follow-up articles this week diving deeper into some cool new developments in the quiet space that I ferreted out at the show, check out this preview to get a general feel for the event.
Who doesn’t love a suppressed M2 50 cal?
Dead Air was there doing Dead Air stuff. We call dibs on the Spiker.
What’s your pick?
B&T had their Station SIX? (AKA the modern Welrod)
As part of this complete breakfast
Gemtech, one of the oldest names in the suppressor game, was there with lots of goodies all on parent company S&W’s new stuff, including the new FPC folding 9mm carbine.
Kalashnikov USA was out in force with lots of cool guy stuff…
Recently celebrating their 15th anniversary, SiCo did a short run of Titanium Sparrows that sold out in a day. Maybe it will become a regular item. Maybe.
SIG brought lots of stuff Including the MCX line, which the Army is putting through its paces currently for the Next Generation Squad Weapon program.
The new Hellcat Pro Threaded model in Desert Flat Dark Earth debuted on Monday and is the first model to ship in that colorway with an extended threaded barrel and both 15+1 round flush fit and 17+1 round extended magazines.
Why would you want to have a threaded barrel on a micro 9mm subcompact?
When it comes to the reasoning behind the Hellcat Pro Threaded, it all just comes down to value added. Users can opt to carry it as bare bones as possible, with no lights, optics or muzzle devices, and have the flush-fit mag inserted with the extendo as a spare should things get really really real, and the platform is still very concealable. Then, for quiet time on the range, a suppressor can be added without degrading performance. If weight and concealability is not a factor, say, for home defense, a user can add all the bells and whistles and run the larger mag full-time.
Plus, there is always the scenario of using a loaded-out Hellcat Pro Threaded as one’s home defense pistol while keeping a standard, more bare-bones, Hellcat Pro for carry use. This keeps the same manual of arms and practice factor across both duties while being able to share mags, most holsters, and spare parts. Could be a win on a bunch of fronts.
When I do a gun review, I typically only have a chance to kick it around my local climes– the swampy Gulf South, where humidity is as thick as the gumbo and sand is only something you find on the riverbank or the beach.
Well, I had a special chance recently to hammer away on a test carbine in a class at Gunsite in the high mountains in Northern Arizona during monsoon season, where the moon dust turns a unique bubblegum consistency and sticks to everything.
Then, switching gears, I was able to bring said carbine back home and continue the T&E period with another 700 rounds in between Sazeracs and crawfish boils.
The gun was a Northstar NS-15.
This thing…
You may not have heard of them, but North Star has some pretty interesting sister companies.
An offshoot of RSW Aviation, North Star Arms is the second and more commercial firearms endeavor that has sprouted from the Arizona company. The elder RSW-related gun company is the better-known Profense, a maker of improved M134 Mini Guns in 7.62 and its downsized 5.56 little brother that started when RWS was looking for gun pods for its aircraft.
And I have to admit, the NS-15 proved super accurate and durable for a mid-length carbine with a 16-inch barrel.
North Star uses Ballistics Advantage barrels and ships with a sub-MOA guarantee
I’ve been wringing out the SFAR for several weeks and, with the first 500 rounds in the rearview, decided to go for some quiet time.
Ruger’s new Small-Frame Autoloading Rifle is aptly named, as it is a 308 Winchester-chambered AR that, rather than dog pile atop the familiar AR-10/SR-25 competition, hit the market in a very AR-15 size. We are taking 6.8 pounds in weight and just 34 inches long when fresh out of the box in its shorter carbine variant that sports a 16-inch barrel.
Ruger’s SFAR, in its 16-inch carbine format. They also make it in a 20-inch model, which is probably a waste of time.
The handy little rifle is almost perfectly set up to mount a suppressor via its adjustable gas port and standard 5/8-24 TPI muzzle threads.
With the Boomer brake removed and Omega 36M mounted in its long configuration, we found the overall length of the SFAR to still just hit 39 inches with the stock collapsed. Weight, with the can, EoTech XPS, and sling installed, was 8.5 pounds. You could shave a few ounces and inches from even these figures by running the Omega in its shorter configuration.
I’ve been looking at the new Tisas PX-9 Gen3 Tactical for a few months now and have found a lot to like about it. The third generation of the Tisas-made polymer-framed striker-fired pistol includes a 5.1-inch extended threaded barrel, accepts easy-to-find SIG P226 pattern double-stack mags, is offered in three finishes (black Tenifer, OD green, or FDE Cerakote), has a decent 4.5-pound flat-faced trigger, comes with steel suppressor-height Glock-pattern sights with a front fiber-optic, and has a factory micro red-dot slide cut in a Trijicon RMR/SRO pattern.
Proving reliable across the first 1,000 rounds of Barnaul import, CCI Blazer Brass, and Federal American Eagle 115-grain FMJ, I recently quieted down a bit and tested it with a suppressor.
A big one.
For reference, the overall length in this format was 16 inches and it balanced well between the full mag and the can. Keep in mind you could always shrink that down, for instance, the SilencerCo Omega 36M shown can be dropped to its short format, or you could use a lighter can such as an 8-ounce Osprey 9 2.0, but we are getting too much in the weeds here. You get the idea.
One issue that many AR users run into, especially with today’s often over-gassed guns, is a hot blast of gas to their face. This is particularly noticeable when using a suppressor. Not a deal-breaker, mind you, but one that puts a crimp on creating a more comfortable and enjoyable shooting experience.
While visiting with SilencerCo in Utah last October, I sat down and talked about that sometimes aggravating problem.
Jacob Turnblom, one of SiCo’s engineers, me he had purchased several AR-pattern charging handles billed as reducing gas blowback over the years, for his own use. Most of these handles used side ports or channels to divert those remnant gasses away. Even before that, a common hack for users was to put RTV silicone sealant around the top edge of a GI-style handle, to try and buffer the gas away.
“I shoot almost exclusively suppressed,” Turnblom said. “So, I was really just on a mission to see if this was just all snake oil or if one of these actually worked better than the other.”
With that, he started a project where he pitted every charging handle he could find that was advertised as having a gas-taming enhancement, loaded them in a stock Colt M4 with a GI handle, and ran the tests.
“We took some really close up high-speed video, down in our test range, of the backs of these charging handles, to see if they lived up to the hype,” he said.
They didn’t.
With that, SiCo developed the Gas Defeating Charging Handle, a “gas busting” handle that actually works.
The GDCH, top, has a proprietary design feature that incorporates an O-ring seal to prevent gas from escaping from the most prominent point of egress. This seal mitigates the amount of gas that is blown back into the shooter’s face. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
A couple of months ago I went out to SilencerCo’s place in Utah and had a chance to play with some of their toys, some of which were under wraps. One that just went public is the Harvester EVO, a sweet little (6.24 inches long and with a weight of 10.8 ounces) tubeless suppressor intended for serious hunting use.
The EVO, about the size of a Red Bull, is meant to be maneuverable and take up negligible space on long treks, where every inch and ounce matters while still being able to make everything .300 Win and smaller hearing safe.
The EVO is rated for centerfire calibers from .223 Rem to .300 Win, and I ran it through a Tikka T3x in 6.5 CM while visiting SiCo in Utah earlier this year with no problem. Yes, my old sailor ink is sneaking out.
Utah-based SilencerCo on Tuesday announced a new addition to its lineup, the Hybrid 46M, billed as “the world’s first and only truly modular large-bore suppressor.”
Built to a design that incorporates titanium, 17-4 heat-treated stainless steel, and Inconel, the full-auto-rated Hybrid 46M adds modularity to the company’s already popular Hybrid 46. In its long configuration, stretching over the front module and endcap, the suppressor runs 7.72-inches and weighs 14.9 ounces. In its shorter format, ideal for SBRs or pistols, it tapes out at 5.78 inches and weighs 12.2 ounces.
When it comes to accommodating calibers, it is omnivorous and is rated for all centerfire pistol and rifle calibers– including 45ACP, 10mm, .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, .45-70 Government, .338 Lapua Magnum– up to .460 Weatherby Magnum. This gives it the appeal of being a single can for just about everything in the gun safe.
