Hard Use Suppressors: while the definition can vary, in my mind a true hard use suppressor has no barrel restrictions for caliber and capable of full auto or sustained fire without damage to the suppressor or host weapon. Sounds simple but reality has proven different. Many are full auto capable but restricted to barrels 14.5 inches or longer. Others are suitable for short barrels, but only full auto capable on longer barrels.
Dead Air has pulled the hard use suppressor off with a full auto capable hard use suppressor with no barrel restrictions. It is not overly heavy or long and designed to accept multiple attachment methods, including their KeyMo, Zeno, Direct Thread, as well as others with HUB compatibility including Rearden / Atlas adapters. Baffle design results in minimal back pressure as well as excellent sound suppression making it pretty hard to beat.
Meet The Lazarus 6
Dead Air designed the Lazarus 6 for strength using Haynes 282, the latest state of the art in strong, light and heat resistant material. Their Triskelion Gas Management System provides solid sound suppression with minimal back pressure.
Talking to Mike Pappas from Dead Air, he told me it was designed to be a true do it all suppressor balancing all the most important factors. While the industry offers a few “low back pressure” designs, most are pretty loud. Several have significant barrel restrictions and can be quite long. Moving towards one direction or the other tends to compromise other factors.
The Lazarus 6 balances them all, quiet, it has minimal back pressure, weight right at a pound depending on the attachment system. Shortest at just under 6 inches using Zeno, a tad less with my Rearden system, and longest at 6.4 inches with KeyMo. Which is about normal for the 6mm or 5.56mm. There are no barrel restrictions and is capable of use with 6mm ARC and 6mm Creedmoor.
Multi-Weapon Testing
After some initial testing for a different event the Lazarus 6 impressed me enough to buy my own, allowing me to perform some of the most thorough suppressor testing completed in years. Its versatility allowed me to work through a number of different systems in my inventory to see if it truly was hard use with no barrel restrictions.
Testing started with the addition of a Rearden HUB adapter to work with my Primary Weapons Systems FC brakes on the 5.56 rifles, and Rearden Brake for the 6 ARC and 6 Creedmoor. Having used these for the last few months they attach without movement while allowing it to be removed. Brakes are usable without the suppressor with little or no blast at the shooter making them versatile.
The Firearms
First on the 5.56mm list was my Primary Weapons Systems MK107 SBR with a 7.75” barrel. Mated to my Desert Tech Quattro lower it was used for some training and work at Gunsite Academy. While the adjustable gas block helps, this platform is not particularly suppressor friendly. Standard designs make it harsh at best, but the Lazarus 6 worked perfectly on the suppressor setting. Soft shooting, 100 percent reliable with no excess gas it was pure joy to run. Over the course of over 500 rounds it never missed a beat.
Next was my IWI USA Galil Ace 2 chambered in 5.45x39mm with a 13.5 inch barrel. Again, only suppressor so far to work on this AK based system with no need for an adjustable gas piston. Soft, reliable and it did not make it overly heavy or lengthy. There was some back pressure for sure, but not excessive, and it did not affect operation or send gas into my eyes.
My IWI US Carmel was another winner, softer, no excess gas even on the standard setting. Using my Desert Tech Wolverine, a piston driven bull pup design with an adjustable gas system you did not know it was suppressed other than the lack of sound and added length.
Last on the list was my Geissele URGI 14.5” upper, a fixed Direct Impingement gas system it works suppressed but is a gas making machine with brass ejecting at 11 o’clock. Brass ejected at closer to 3 o’clock with much less gas at the port. All in all it worked great on 5.56mm rifles from 7.75” to 16” with less pack pressure, less gas at my face, and remained workably quiet, as quiet as some conventional suppressors without the baggage.
6 ARC & 6mm Creedmoor
Maybe the most impressive was use on my 6 ARC, and 6mm Creedmoor. The 6 ARC is based on the LWRCI Six-8 platform using an 18.5” Proof Research barrel. Surprising how quiet it was and how little effect it had on operation. Using a fixed gas block it does not like to be suppressed as a rule, this was different. Brass ejection changed little, no gas in my face, and it was 100 percent reliable and accurate.
Performance from the Desert Tech SRS A2 bull pup bolt rifle with a 24” 6mm Creedmoor barrel was excellent. Dead Air’s Nomad Ti is normally used, and it was difficult to tell the difference in sound suppression. Most importantly it had zero effect on bolt lift, no sticky bolt during rapid fire strings. A tad heavier than the Nomad Ti for sure, but it’s shorter and just as quiet.
Bottom Line On The Lazarus 6
Having tested, deployed, and used suppressors for nearly three decades not much surprises me, but this Lazarus 6 has. Along with being plenty quiet without all the excess gas, it had little to no impact shift , a huge factor. Shift on all the carbines using an RDS was minimal to nonexistent at 50 yards (my zero). Moving to 200 yards all tagged the 12-inch steel easily with no change in zero. Shooting a ladder from 50 – 300 meters there was no change in holds with or without the suppressor including the 6ARC.
On the 6mm Creedmoor there was less than a .5-inch change in zero with or without the suppressor. At 800 meters it center punched the 18-inch steel using Hornady Black 105 grain BTHP with no change in hold, pretty impressive.
Dead Air’s Lazarus 6 has been an absolute workhorse and will continue to be used on a number of my rifles. Having put over 2K of various ammo through it so far it has remained 100 percent reliable. If you are looking for a truly versatile suppressor this needs to be very high on your list!
