If you’re a suppressor fiend like me, you’re probably living your best life this year as all the new suppressor options come out (not to mention Form 1-less purchases in many cases). The incredible growth in the suppressor industry has given rise to many new technologies and manufacturers, and today I bring you a look at one of them. Wolfpack Armory has been making custom AR-style rifles for a decade now, and more recently they’ve turned their attention to the suppressor market.
WA’s Disruptor series of suppressors offers a more traditional construction, but today we’re taking a look at the Romulus 556 suppressor. The Romulus uses DMLS (direct metal laser sintering) commonly called 3D-printed technology. This allows WA to make heretofore unprecedented designs both possible and affordable.
A quick look at the Romulus 556 tells you its a little different. Lets start at the front, where some curious structures adorn the muzzle end. The shapes incorporated in the muzzle are designed to disrupt airflow as it exits the crown, but there is more. There’s also a series of tiny holes, ports where gas is allowed to exit. These ports seem to shroud the main gas flow from the crown of the suppressor, creating additional disruption.
It’s a little hard to see what the internals look like because the Romulus is a sealed design. Much like my own internals, I hope to never see what’s inside my Romulus as only a catastrophe would allow that. But you can see the radial seam in the structure that show the helical design of the suppressor’s internals.
Instead of a traditional baffle design, which holds back gas pressure in waves as it travels from one baffle to the next, the Romulus draws the gas out through a series of helical channels, slowing gas expansion and disrupting its escape from the suppressor. And its inconel material (there’s a titanium version, too) ensures durability against high heat and abrasion.
At the breech end of the Romulus, you will find the familiar HUB mounting system that matches what the industry is doing with 1.375×24 threads. This allows you to use the Night Howler Plan B mount and HUB that comes with the Romulus, or any other HUB compatible mounting system you’d like. With its high flow, reduced backpressure design, the Romulus is optimal for gas operated semi-automatic rifles. But I ended up using it on both semi-autos as well as bolt action rifles.
When I opened the box, I was impressed with the size and weight of the Romulus. For a full-auto rated suppressor, it’s neither oversized nor particularly heavy. \
Aside from the included Plan B mount, the Romulus also came with a set of hook spanner wrenches to aid in changing the mounting HUB. I wasted no time and hurried into my cave to get the Romulus mounted on a rifle.
Using the Nighthowler and some other direct thread mounting options, I would eventually run the suppressor on a variety of rifles. Shooting the Romulus both at indoor ranges as well as in the high Rocky Mountains and the open plains of Wyoming.
My initial impressions of the Romulus were that it sounds great. It has a lower pitch than most suppressors, which makes your shooting a little more anonymous and tolerable to the ear.
Several of the first host rifles I used were semi-automatic, my Desert Tech WLVRN bullpup, as well as a couple of different AR-15 rifles. Direct impingement rifles like these AR’s are more susceptible to over-gassing issues when shooting with a suppressor. The short-stroke piston operated WLVRN has an adjustable gas setting allowing you tune it for operation with a can.
I was happy to find that the high flow Romulus didn’t cause any noticeable negative effects to the function of any of the hosts. I left the gas settings where they were on the adjustable rifles. I just let the DI guns eat the way they were.
Of course there’s always going to be some additional gas pushed back into the action when shooting with any suppressor. I noticed some additional gas escaping from the action, but it wasn’t enough for me to even consider mitigating it.
Over the course of the last few months I’ve brought the Romulus with me everywhere I go. I don’t think I’ve put a thousand rounds through it yet, but its getting close. I’ve even run it on a 5.56 machine gun, with an 11-inch barrel and everyone who was there was impressed with how little fire and flash was coming from the muzzle.
Shorter barrels like that often don’t burn all the powder, leaving some of it to be consumed by flames in the can itself like some sort of afterburner. The Romulus did very well at keeping flash to a minimum, even under 30-round full auto mag dumps.
I had very few bones to pick with the Romulus 556. It sounds fantastic on every rifle that’s hosted it without any ill effects. Inconel is extremely durable, and very capable of standing up to full-auto fire. Wolfpack also gives it a lifetime warranty. With the HUB mount, it has the mounting flexibility that today’s riflemen really want and even comes with a great muzzle mounting option of it’s own.
The only possible problem I came up is a hypothetical one…the smaller vent holes in the front of the suppressor seem like they could get fouled with carbon after enough time and rounds down range. Maybe like the diesel emission filters, I could dump some DEF in the can and mag dump it to burn it all out. But that’s probably just me being dramatic, as I’m sure the manufacturer has put exponentially more rounds through the cans than I have or will.
Wolfpack Armory’s Romulus 556 suppressor brings great new technologies to the shooting experience. with reduced backpressure for semi- and full-autos and excellent sound and spark suppression. And with the infinite HUB mounting options, there’s literally nothing stopping you (aside from a lack of disposable funds) from getting one. I expect to continue using mine as part of my daily rifle carry, and soon enough, I’ll have its larger twin, the 30 caliber Remus suppressor. Watch for that soon.