Anyone who knows anything about suppressors has likely heard of the big names. Silencer Central, Dead Air, SilencerCo, SureFire, Rugged and Yankee Hill just to name a few. These companies are heavyweights in the world of firearm-suppressor manufacturing, but would it surprise you to discover that there is a company much bigger that many have never heard of? KGM is one of Americas most prolific suppressor manufacturers and the 5.56 NATO cans it produces are ruggedly built.
KGM is a service-disabled veteran owned company operating out of Georgia, U.S. The company produces an astonishing 20,000 suppressors per month on average. Some of these cans are sold under as KGM suppressors, while also being an OEM manufacturer for some of the other companies in the industry. KGM’s manufacturing processes are first-rate, and other companies make good use of that fact.
There’s a reason so many companies trust KGM to build products which will bear their name. KGM has been awarded numerous government and military contracts over the years due to the quality of the products it offers and the scale at which it is able to produce them. Take a look at the KGM website sometime. The no-frills design and lack of elaborate marketing techniques allows the quality of the company’s products to speak for themselves. KGM’s cans are built for serious, hard-use under strict SOCOM standards and requirements. The current list of KGM branded suppressors displayed on the website includes a rimfire can, a 9mm, one for belt-fed machine guns, and hard-use 5.56/7.62/6mm and Titanium options of those same calibers. The company has all the important bases covered.
The suppressor I chose is the R556. I’ll admit I didn’t know much about KGM besides seeing that name emblazoned on the advertisements for Daniel Defense’s suppressor launch a couple years back. They caught my attention again when I saw the R556 advertised at an attractive price so I jumped on it immediately. I believe the reason for the low prices over the last year is because the new and upgraded version of the R556, the R556A1 and R556A2, are now the new flagship models for KGM. Although the R556 is a little “seasoned” and not the latest and greatest, it is still an impressive beast of a can. A low-back-pressure type design, the R556 was ahead of its time. A fully laser-welded construction built for duty use with reduced back pressure are its main selling points. The R556 is constructed of hardened stainless-steel and is by no means a ‘lightweight’ can. It’s specifically designed with an internal geometry and proprietary ported-end cap which facilitate more gas to flow through the suppressor. The ratcheting lock mounting system locks up rock-solid to the supplied flash-hider and is easy and intuitive to use. Including the muzzle device is a nice touch and doesn’t burden the consumer to purchase anything else to get started, and that’s exactly what I did.
Performance
In short, this affordable suppressor performs just as good, if not better, than suppressors twice its price. I used another suppressor for comparison, and side-by-side, shot-for-shot the R556 sounded almost identical to a top-tier competitor. I made this determination in person and also by listening after the fact on camera. The tones were slightly different, with the edge in favor on tone and sound going to the KGM. The most interesting part of this comparison however, is that the competitor was on a 16-inch-barreled rifle while my KGM was on an 11.5-inch host, with both using the same 5.56 NATO 55-grain Hornady Frontier ammunition, so in theory the 11.5-inch gun should have been inherently louder. The R556 was able to achieve superior sound suppression from a shorter barrel with 50-percent less gas blowback. Keep in mind the R556 was also able to achieve this at less than half the price. This can really blew me away. But, as any suppressor connoisseur will tell you, there is more to suppression than just sound.
Companies like KGM and others focus on flash signature and sound suppression but more importantly, point of impact shift on the target when attaching a suppressor. The difference in my group at 50 yards suppressed vs. unsuppressed was noticeable but insignificant. I measured about a .5-inch difference in point-of-impact from group to group. At 100 yards this could translate to an inch, which is still minimal. As long as you know your shift, you can account for it and still be accurate. Group size itself remained constant. I was not able to shoot in complete darkness, but at dusk in low-light flash was undetectable to my naked eye. At almost identical specs in weight, length, and width, the R556 came out on top versus the more expensive suppressor I compared it with.
The only gripe I have with KGM is the coating on my specific can. All descriptions I can find list the coating as “Black Cerakote” which is what I was expecting from my purchase. The can arrived in a gun-metal gray type color instead, which looks great but wasn’t as described. I cannot confirm whether this is Cerakote or just a raw finish but through a couple hundred rounds and getting the can extremely hot, I did not see any variation or degradation in the color or coating whatsoever. Otherwise, this can punches well above its weight class and for the price, it cannot be beat. If you’re in the market for a hard-use 5.56 NATO suppressor, go the source and check out KGM.
KGM R556 Specifications:
- Make: KGM
- Model: R556
- Caliber: 5.56 NATO
- Construction: Fully laser welded stainless steel
- Diameter: 1.5 inches
- Length: 6.4 inches
- Weight: 16.4 ounces
- MSRP: $850
In the box: Suppressor, muzzle device, carrying pouch, removal tool/wrench.
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