We are here for a free exchange of ideas so I definitely do not take disagreeing opinions from my own as being 'offensive'. I actually learn from honest debate and disagreements so please share differing opinions. I like it because I am open like that.
Anyway my experience with Griffin has been good. I know some people have poo poo'ed on them especially when they had a factory move because they did drop the ball on some clients and a few products were not being produced for a while such as their 3 lug mounts. They moved from a small shop to another much bigger shop and hired and trained more new people and in that process emails were ignored, three lugs were not being made, social media was not being updated, etc. All that is true but my experience has been great and consider those things as 'one off' due to the move. Even I ordered something from them and the FNG instead of asking if what I ordered was the right size or even the compatible part, he just said fine, and sent it. I got the correct product mailed out for free within a day or two and about 3 or 4 days later they sent me an RMA so I could send back the (wrong) part...they got me what I needed and that was that.
I got into it with one guy online though where I had a fundamental difference with him. He mounted a can on a machine gun and left it for a year all the while constantly ratcheting down on it with a strap wrench. In his case
the can never failed he however went on a rant online for several months about how "terrible" the brothers were etc which had zero to do with the actual problem. Griffin makes cans that are designed to be pinned and welded, but that guy didn't understand simple science that when metal gets heated it expands and if you strap wrench it dozens of times while it's hot, it's going to be tight.
That particular guy had an ax to grind from his OWN failure to follow instructions and didn't want to take responsibility for HIS actions. Keep in mind that I am not defending Griffin with that statement... I would defend just about ANY manufacturer if someone were to unfairly go online and launch a jihad like that. It would be akin to not changing the oil in your truck for 40,000 miles and then when it dies going on a vicious rant about how Chevy sucks for the next six months. I think the guy that owns Q has a head that would need three man crew to fit through my front door, but their products are good and I would similarly defend them against similar attacks as well, as a manufacturer in general that is. Basically not all gun owners are smart.
I try to look at both sides of things and get to the core. Yes Griffin did drop the ball during their move and possibly at other times too, and some of that came from lack of training of new employees during expansion but overall I try to give the benefit of the doubt to manufacturers just as much as I do people who are critical of the product.
That same guy who was crapping on Griffin was also trying to say that 'Griffin's three magazine limit didn't constitute being fully auto rated'...but what was actually said was that 'for general consumer use, and to ensure long suppressor life more than three mag dumps (of 5.56) can decrease the suppressor life'. That same guy's complaint came from a man who ran a Griffin can for 14 months straight with zero service, full auto all the time, and who wasn't even complaining that the suppressor failed, but rather that he was having a hard time getting it off of his muzzle.
Basically there are a lot of big egos involved and as far as I am concerned there was
some deserved criticism, but that most of it was a lot of ego driven gun drama because people don't like to be open to the idea that they ever did anything wrong.
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As far as metering goes, there should be a giant grain of salt taken with that because not everyone gets it right. Recently IV8888 did a video about this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINzGn-Dyds
There are so many variables involved it just gets silly. If it rained that day or not will give different numbers than if the testing was done in Arizona or not. That said the general physics of how things work apply to all suppressor manufacturers regardless.
One thing that I did learn here on the forum (which I have had an absence from for a while now) was that ammo matters. The engineering of the can is one thing but good ammo with the right bullet designs can make things super quiet. If I shoot that Remington white and green 220 subs box stuff it will ring my ears, but if I shoot Hornady 208 grain subs it's super quiet. There is noticeable difference there and some of my home grown loads are quieter than that even.
All in all though if we are chasing decibels that's one thing, but if we are looking at overall system performance that's another. A short, light, mini can will not suppress as good as a full size can, but if your job is being a SWAT officer that mini can has it's place.
As for me I have kind of graduated at least some from just looking only at muzzle numbers. Yes I look at them, but I balance them with other factors too because at the end of the day it's all about shooting.