The Dead Air Sandman-K is a cool, super-compact 7.62 suppressor measuring only 5.4″ long and weighing in at a slim 12.8 ounces. The standard Keymount muzzle break serves as the Quick Attachment point. The beauty of this system is that it only adds 2.9″ to your overall rifle length.
Nice twist on the pricing. Dead Air is offering the Sandman-K for sale at a heavily discounted price of $699. This special price is good until the Hearing Protection Act moves out of committee. At that point, the price jumps to $950. The HPA has certainly had some interesting consequences on the industry, don’t you think?
Dead Air Sandman-K
Just for grins, I decided to test the Sandman-K on my new Ballistic Advantage 300 BLK build. This is a premium SBR I recently built using an Aero Precision lower, Ballistic Advantage 10.3″ 300 BLK upper, VLTOR rail, VLTOR buttstock, Fail Zero BCG, and Tac-Con 3MR trigger.
So how does this super compact suppressor – with very little internal baffle stack volume – stand up to a SBR?
First, note that Dead Air rates the Sandman-K for up to 300 Win Mag. The spec sheet states, “No Restrictions” for minimum barrel length. So we are good to go.
Dead Air Sandman-K
We were testing using the Sig Sauer Elite Performance Ammunition in 120gr (supersonic) and 220gr subs. Shooting was done at our private facility to steel targets on a perfect fall day in South Texas.
I loaded up 12-15 rounds of 220gr subsonic and handed the mag to our shooter. He racked, and sent several rounds downrange. “Are these the 120gr supers?”
The minimal volume of the Sandman-K is not a good match for an SBR. No surprise really, everyone wants “short, shorter” until they have to live with the reality. I tend to run my longer cans on my SBRs for this very reason. The Sandman-K on the 10.3″ BLK was certainly not hearing-safe by any means – even with subsonic loads.
This is no knock on Dead Air or the Sandman-K. I was just curious how it would perform on this configuration. Of course, the Sandman-S at 6.8″ would perform better. And the Sandman-L at 8.9″ is fantastic. You just can’t beat physics. 
Dead Air includes a lifetime warranty on their Sandman line of silencers. The welded Stellite baffle core and Cerakote finish on the stainless steel tube are very nice. In case you are wondering, the fine folks at Wikipedia inform us that “Stellite alloy is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. It may also contain tungsten or molybdenum and a small but important amount of carbon.”
The Keymount muzzle brake design comes down to personal preference. It is designed so that the suppressor can only fit on to the mount one way. This keeps any point of impact shift repeatable and consistent. We were just banging steel so did not get around to measuring POI but it must have been negligible. Due to the nature of purchasing silencers (i.e. $200 tax stamp and wait times), I’m not a fan of anything that might break or that seems gimmicky or prone to failure. The Dead Air Sandman system is not my favorite, to be honest. Too many moving pieces. That said, they do offer the lifetime guarantee and lots of people swear by them. Freedom of choice.
Dead Air Sandman-K
Dead Air Sandman-K
The Dead Air Sandman-K is probably ideal for those who already own a Sandman or two and want to share mounting systems across multiple platforms. For $699 you are getting a high quality suppressor from a very reputable company that includes a lifetime guarantee. If you are looking for Hollywood quiet this isn’t it – step up to its bigger brothers.
As of the date of publication, the Silencer Shop has the Sandman-K on sale for only $569.
Mike Coker
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