The Mojave 45 from Dead Air Silencers rides the cutting edge of sound suppressor technology. It's 3D-printed from titanium for light weight and rugged durability, and it's rated up to subsonic 450 Bushmaster. It can also be easily assembled in either long or short configurations. This allows the user to maximize either performance or stealth.
The new threaded 1911 Operator AOS from Springfield Armory continues the company’s decades-long tradition of producing some of the finest 1911 pistols on Planet Earth. Featuring custom G10 grips, a tritium-enhanced front sight along with a tactical rack rear, and a forged stainless steel match grade barrel, the Operator AOS is the cumulative result of generations of mechanical evolution.
In a world covered in a thin layer of plastic pistols, this Operator is the handgun for the shooter of distinction. Now, hold that thought…
Operating
The term Operator has been around since at least the Vietnam War. In the old days before the Internet there was typically some telephonic connotation. In military parlance it now typically means any tip-of-the-spear special forces soldier regardless of branch. The Operator moniker obviously originates from underneath the umbrella world of Special Operations.
I am a veteran, but I was a helicopter pilot. The only way I might kick in a door is if I accidentally locked my keys inside and the building was on fire. I interacted with those guys back in the day, but that was not my world.
Special Operations Forces are expected to perform the hardest missions under the most arduous of conditions. They are afforded advanced training as well as custom weapons and equipment. In the synergistic combination of this new Springfield Armory 1911 and the Dead Air Mojave 45, you find the sort of bespoke combat handgun system befitting our most audacious special operators.
The Gun and the Build
Springfield Armory supplied 1911 pistols to the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT). The team is generally recognized as the most elite Law Enforcement tactical team in the world. With such stuff as a basis, Springfield Armory has learned how to build an exceptionally nice 1911 combat handgun.
This is a manly gun. That means .45 ACP chambering and a forged carbon steel frame Cerakoted black. The gun feeds from an 8-round single-stack magazine, of which it comes with two. The pistol alone weighs a whopping 42 ounces, but that’s not a bad thing.
The .45 ACP is a serious cartridge designed by a serious guy to allow serious people to do serious things. The legendary John Moses Browning dreamt the round as a better replacement for underpowered .38 Long Colt, which performed so poorly during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the 20th century.
Few cartridges are more effective than the .45 ACP, even today, particularly when stoked with modern high-tech expanding projectiles.
The new Operator AOS sports that legendary single-action flat-faced trigger for which Springfield Armory is justifiably well known. The slide rides across the frame like motor oil on Teflon.
There are deep gripping grooves both fore and aft as well as a railed dustcover for accessories. I outfitted this example with a Streamlight TLR-8X combination light/laser and a Vortex Defender-ST red dot sight. The end result is as fine a combat pistol as mankind can produce.
The Can - Dead Air Mojave 45
The Mojave 45 from Dead Air Silencers is custom-designed to suppress the .45 ACP round. Despite being a high-volume, high-efficiency design, the suppressor’s titanium construction keeps weight manageable.
The patent-pending Triskelion Gas Management System minimizes back pressure while producing class-leading acoustics.
Sundry mounts adapt the Mojave 45 to a wide variety of hosts utilizing both fixed and tilting barrel systems. The suppressor comes from the factory with a .578x28 piston compatible with most .45 ACP threaded pistols, and it's offered in both black and flat dark earth.
The 3D-printed baffle system comprising the can’s entrails is meticulously crafted to slow and disrupt hot muzzle gases for maximum sound suppression. There’s more science packed into this thing than first sent men to the moon.
Materials Science and Titanium
Titanium is a lustrous transition metal with exceptional strength for weight that's also superbly resistant to corrosion. By alloying titanium with other heay metals like iron, aluminum, molybdenum, and vanadium, it can be used in a wide variety of civil and military applications. Titanium is a critical component in most all modern aircrafts, spacecrafts, and missiles.
These exceptional mechanical characteristics make titanium the ideal material from which to craft sound suppressors. However, it demands particular techniques for proper manufacturing.
Dead Air Silencers has clearly broken the code on that. The Mojave 45 is as attractive as it is functional.
Dead Air Mojave 45, Springfield, and Streamlight: Synergy
Add these three things together — the Springfield Armory Operator, the Dead Air Mojave 45 sound suppressor, and the Streamlight TLR-8X light/laser — and you have the ultimate close-combat tool.
The brilliant tactical light dispels the darkness, while the combination of the Operator pistol and the Mojave 45 thoroughly tame the .45 ACP round’s prodigious recoil. This rig shoots like a 9mm despite the added power of those big honking bullets.
Exceptional equipment makes for exceptional performance in the hands of anyone who puts in the work to learn it. This gun shoots laser-straight and was completely reliable once broken in. This is a tight, precision instrument. Break-in requires about 100 rounds, then the gun runs like a scalded ape. Magazine changes set the standard by which all others are judged.
After a little trigger time, you can bang steel with this puppy all day long and look awesome doing it. It will ruin you to your cheap plastic pistols. This gun projects authority downrange in keeping with its mission and execution. Whether the task is home defense, security on the road, peace of mind in austere spaces, or actually kicking in doors, this is as good as it gets.
The end result groups beautifully and is actually comfortable without muffs when fired outdoors. In my experience, this is incredibly rare in a .45 ACP can. As standard .45 ACP ball is naturally subsonic, there is no annoying sonic crack.
Ruminations on the Dead Air Mojave 45 and Springfield Operator
Fewer than 20% of uniformed soldiers actually serve in combat roles. Everybody else supports those who do. Close Quarters Battle (CQB) looks great in the movies, but out in the real world, CQB is frenetic, desperate, and terrifying. Those who do that for a living are the true Operators.
Even if you’ve never seriously considered the Navy SEALs Green Platoon or taking a shot at Delta Force Selection, there yet remains a place for such a rarefied offensive handgun system.
Let's talk cost for a second. The MSRP’s are $1,289 for the gun, $1,099 for the can, and $220 for the light/laser. Add everything up, and that’s a chunk of change. However, that’s actually quite reasonable for gear of this provenance.
When you are awakened at 2 a.m. to the sound of glass breaking downstairs, you want every conceivable tactical advantage. That means regular range time and the best ammo money can buy.
That also demands some proper gear. Springfield Armory, Dead Air Silencers, and Streamlight will get you there. This is the sort of stuff used by real live Operators.
Dead Air Mojave 45 / Springfield Armory Operator: Specs
SA 1911 Operator
Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 5.75 inches
Overall Length: 17.75 inches
Weight (as tested): 3.8 pounds
Finish: Black Cerakote
Sights: Tritium Front/Tactical Rack Rear
MSRP: $1,289 Operator / $1,099 Mojave 45 / $220 TLR-8X
Dead Air Mojave 45
Caliber Rating: .45 ACP, .357 Mag, .300 BLK (Subsonic), .300 BLK Supersonic, .350 Legend, .400 Legend (Subsonic), .450 Bushmaster (Subsonic), .44 Magnum
Length: 8.6 inches
Diameter: 1.48 inches
Material: 6AL-4V DMLS Titanium
Finish: Flat Dark Earth Cerakote
Weight: 12.7 ounces
Full Auto Rated: Yes
Suppressor Mount: .578-28 Piston, Accepts P-Series Adapters
Includes: 5/8-24 piston & spring
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