If you have been following my reviews one thing you might notice is that I have a penchant for lightweight silencers. I just prefer them to heavier ones. I like to get out and move. Yes, you can do it with the heavier cans but lighter is better in my opinion. This really helps shooting offhand as well.  Titanium is used instead of steel in a number of silencers to keep the weight down.  I also believe that lighter silencers introduce less downward point of impact shift.

Today I review the Gemtech Dagger from our good friends at the SilencerShop

Overview

So, what is the Dagger? Well, in short it is a direct thread, lightweight titanium can that is rated for up to 300 WinMag on barrels down to 18″.  You can run it on a 308  SBR with a 12″ barrel, on a 6.8 or 5.56 down to 10.3″ and 7.5″ on a 300 Blackout..

This is a direct thread silencer weighing in at 15.5oz and 8.8″ in length.  It is a full titanium unit.  It features  a welded baffle stack construction that is threaded into the outer shell and then finished welded before being Cerakoted.  It has a service life of 100k rounds on a bolt action or semi auto.  I wanted to clarify the full auto rating and so I contacted Gemtech and spoke with Jody the lead tech.  While it can withstand the occasional full mag dump it is really designed for select fire operation meaning a few bursts.  The Dagger is well suited for precision use on semi autos or bolt actions.

Testing

I tested the Gemtech Dagger on a Wilson Combat 18″ 308.  This is a great test platform rifle in that it is extremely accurate with a variety of ammo, most can produce sub .5″ groups.

What is important to me when testing, especially what I would consider is a “precision can” are 4 things:

• Group size (Should not open up from what is considered normal, and a good can usually tightens them up)
• Repeat-ability (Consistency in point of impact when I remove and reattach the silencer)
• Point of impact shift (Ideally, I want none, but SOME is OK if it slight and preferably straight down under .5 mil)
• Sound reduction and tone (A full length silencer on an 18″ rifle should be hearing safe and comfortable to shoot without ear protection and to my ears a deeper pitch is more pleasant than a higher pitch)

My testing revealed that the Gemtech Dagger passed on all criteria.

• Group size averaged .5″ or better with several factory match loads
• I had the same point of impact on 10 different tests removing and reinstalling with the same ammo (Black Hills 178g OTM)
• Point of impact shift was .3 mil straight down and ever so slightly to the right with the silencer installed.
• The rifle was pleasant to shoot unprotected and while I don’t have access to a proper DB meter I can’t really say it was truly “hearing safe”.  But I suspect that it is based on past experiences doing some testing when we had a legitimate DB meter in place testing various silencers.

Conclusion

I would be happy to own this silencer and run it in the field hunting or shooting long range.  I would like to try it again on my 6.5 Creedmoor bolt action and think it would be a good fit.  I would also recommend this silencer to anyone in the market for a good 30 caliber silencer for a precision bolt action or a semi auto.  It would make for a good hunting or PRS competetive silencer.

Click here for details at the Silencer Shop

Gemtech Dagger 300 Silencer

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ccoker

Founding staff member, avid shooter, hunter, reloader and all around gun geek with an obsession for perfection

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