YHM - Yankee Hill Machine Titanium QD Phantom 3300 .30 Caliber Suppressor Review
There are the reference standards in life which we all fall back on which range from sandwiches, songs, trucks, and tools. We look to these benchmark standards not necessarily because they are the absolute best at everything, but because they do a damn good job to fill a wide range of emotional, physical, and task based needs. Sure my classic ham sandwich with ham, mayo, dijon mustard and aged cheddar is not ideal during more refined gourmet events, but its freaking awesome the other 99% of the time when I am hungry. The YHM Phantom .308 suppressor line has become that “benchmark standard” in the rifle suppressor industry. The result is that many articles will reference a direct comparison to the YHM Phantom during suppressor reviews. |
| My custom and highly accurate Aero Precision .308 build with the YHM 3300 Ti Phantom attached. |
The original stainless steel YHM Phantom was heavy, did not deliver all the “pretty” looks of today’s modern designer suppressors and weighed in at a brick breaking 2lbs, but you could beat the living crap out of it and it still worked like it did when it was new. The patented SoundTech baffles also made the Phantom line of suppressors sound pretty darn good as well. YHM become the go-to .30 caliber suppressor many shooters, LEO and military folks over the years. YHM did sex up the Phantom .308 suppressor a bit over the years by adding on a QD (quick detachable) system and also offering a lightweight Titanium Phantom suppressor model as well. What is probably most sexy about the Ti Phantom is that is dropped the weight from nearly 2-lbs to 15-ounces compared to the stainless model. For a rifle suppressor, the hardly new Phantom Ti is still one of the lighter titanium .30 caliber QD suppressors on the market.
 |
| YHM Blast Shield attaches directly to the QD mount and reduces the confusion felt by the shooter and fellow shooters. Highly recommended accessory. |
The YHM Phantom suppressors has remained one of the most popular rifles suppressors on the market because of the value, performance, rugged toughness, and variety of QD mounts the company has offered. In short, the YHM Phantom has been a flexible and tough suppression system to beat competitively when buyers are looking at quality $1200-$2000 rifles suppressors.
FIT, FINISH, FEEL, FEATURES, & FUNCTIONS
 |
| The YHM 3300 Ti Phantom attached to a Remington 700 .223 Bolt action barrel. |
YHM does also make 5.56 suppressors as well, but the .30 caliber has been the most popular due to its multi-caliber flexibility. YHM noted to me that the Phantom is optimized for the .308 and similar rounds but can suppress any caliber from .17HMR through .300 RUM/.300 WIN MAG which allows a huge range of firearms to be used on the same suppressor. YHM even noted that the Titanium Phantom can even be used for limited shooting with the very dirty .22LR rounds but it does need to be either ultrasonic cleaned or shoot a few times with .308 to clean it back out. This is an extremely flexible suppressor. To date, I have shot the Ti Phantom 3300 attached to various .22LR, .223/5.56, .308, 7.62x39, 5.45x39, and 300 Blackout in every format from bolt action, AR15 rifle and AR15 pistol builds. The system is extremely flexible. My only challenge is having enough QD mounts to go around. The quality of the YHM Titanium 3300 Phantom suppressor is beautiful simplicity… well it looks like a well made titanium tube void of a bunch of weld lines.
The QD mount system is innovative, secure, quick and easy to use. YHM manufacturers a variety of proprietary muzzle brakes and flash hiders that will fit the .30 caliber Phantom suppressors. The QD mount uses an aggressive thread mount which only requires about one full turn to attach and ratchets on to prevent movement. Once attached, the mount setup is rock solid and according to YHM preserves zero. I have never had any issues through the course of 1000s of various rounds assuming I did snugly tighten the suppressor down in the first place. A strong suggestion is to attach all the QD mounts to the barrels with red/permanent loctite as there can be a substantial amount of force applied to the QD mount during attachment and removal.
Notably I was a little confused initially about which muzzle brake and adapter would fit my suppressor, however I was overthinking YHM’s design simplicity. All YHM QD muzzle devices (including the 5.56 QD devices) will fit all the .30 YHM QD suppressors, however the larger and longer .30 muzzle devices will not fit on the 5.56 suppressors to prevent firing a .30 caliber round in a 5.56 caliber suppressor. YHM offers both short 5.56 sized and longer/larger .30 caliber sized flash hiders and brakes. For the .30 YHM supressor owner, they have the option to use the shorter 5.56 muzzle devices or the longer .30 caliber devices which offers a lot more flexibility with builds. I also opted for one of the YHM Blast Shields which attaches to any YHM QD mount when the suppressor is not being used and provides some sound redirection to improve comfort and limit the amount of other shooters I annoy.
The beauty of any .30 caliber suppress concept is simple - buy one .30 caliber suppressor and you can use it on any rifle caliber up to .300 RUM/.300 WIN MAG. Add a YHM QD flash or brake to you AR, bolt action, and short entry AR15 pistols and you can just move the Titanium Phantom around from gun to gun. It really is a great system which requires just one suppressor and one tax stamp.
My primary testing platforms for the YHM Ti Phantom suppressor included a couple custom AR15 pistols. The first was an Aero Precision custom lower with a short 8” Ballistic Advantage Hansen .300 Blackout barrel. The second AR15 pistol build was a Houlding precision custom lower with a Phase 5 billet upper with Ballistic Advantage .223 Wylde Hansen barrel. Both these setups had YHM QD flash hider mounts attached for use with the suppressor. These pistol build should technically put a lot of stress on the YHM Phantom mounts however even during quite a bit of extended mag dumps, I had no issues with the mounts coming loose. The primary rifle testing platforms were a custom .223 chambered Remington 700 bolt action nestled into a Whiskey 3 chassis and a custom Aero Precision .308 build with a match grade Feddersen barrel. Using the 5.56 QD adapters with ½-28 threading, I was able to do some testing on several .22LR rifles as well.FINAL THOUGHTS
Hopefully with the new Hearing Protection Act (HPA) hitting the Congress floor in 2017 we can finally purchase all the suppressors we want without the ATF hassle, but for now we need to send in all the paperwork and wait. For this suppressor my paperwork arrived in about 4-5 months and I was able to pick up the suppressor. Notably every suppressor manufacturer is extremely hopeful about the possibility of the HPA passing, however all have noted that it will still be a very long road which could easily extend into 2019 even if everything goes well. The recommendation is that if you want a suppressor, buy now, pay the $200 tax stamp fee and if the HPA passes you will get a refund check back.
The YHM Ti Phantom 3300 is a great suppressor with good sound and tone, rugged durability and able to accommodate a very large range of calibers. The YHM QD mount system makes applying that versatility across multiple platforms quick easy and secure. I have a number of suppressors at this point, the thread on suppressors usually end up staying put once mounted, but the YHM Ti Phantom with its lightweight and easy versatility gets used constantly. The new hot thing now in suppressors is multi-caliber flexibility… the funny thing is that YHM is the notable benchmark standard which has been doing that multi-cal thing for years with the Phantom line.
SPECS
Caliber .30 Cal.
MSRP $1117
Overall Length. 8.500"
Diameter 1.60"
Weight 15 Oz.
Suppression Level .137 dB on 20" .308 Win
Material. Grade 9 Titanium and Heat Treated Inconel 718
Finish Natural Matte Finish
Method of Attachment Q.D. Flash Hider (or Muzzle Brake)
Rating .17HMR through .300 RUM/.300 WIN MAG
Full Auto Rated Limited Full Auto Rated
A choice of included QD mount from the following options.
Flash Hider QD Mount Thread Options: 5/8"-24, 1/2"-28, 1/2"-36, M15x1 RH, 9/16-24 LH, 9/16-24 RH, M14x1 LH, M13x1 RH, 19/32-32, Muzzle Brake Mount Thread Options: 5/8"-24
SOURCES
YHM Yankee Hill Machine - http://yhm.net