Guardian 22 User Manual

Your Guardian 22 suppressor has been designed for a lifetime of enjoyment. As with anything else, you have to take care of it.

.22 caliber ammunition is dirty. Actually, dirty doesn't cover it. Filthy is better. It leaves lead residue, carbon, dirt and other little nasties everywhere it travels, including inside your Guardian 22 suppressor. That's why we made it 100% user servicable. As with any other firearm, the more you clean it, the better it will perform.

We recommend you take your Guardian 22 apart and clean every time you shoot it to ensure that it doesn't seize together, and at least every 1-2,000 rounds, depending on your host weapon and the ammo you use. One of the laws of physics state the more unjacketed .22 ammo you shoot through your Guardian 22 the harder it is to take apart and clean (OK, maybe it's not a law of physics, but it is true). We recommend you take your suppressor apart after about firing the first 500 rounds so you can see how difficult (or not) it is to get it apart and estimate how often you should clean the suppressor.

We also HIGHLY recommend you remove your Guardian 22 from the host weapon when you store it in your safe. Moisture can acumulate in the suppressor and work its way into your barrel.

Guardian 22 Cleaning Instructions

Important safety notice: Make sure your weapon is unloaded before trying to clean your suppressor. Seriously. Remove your suppressor from your host weapon prior to cleaning it. Do not try to disassemble your suppressor while still mounted on your weapon. And whatever you do, don't try to get the baffles out by taking the front end cap off and shooting your weapon. It won't work, and if we find out you did it we'll post your picture on the Internet.

Disassembly

Remove both end caps. You can do this with a 1" wrench, socket, adjustable wrench, or even a bench vise. NO SPECIAL TOOLS REQUIRED!! You can hold one side with a wrench and loosen the other side. If you can't get the second cap loose you can use a strap wrench around the body of the suppressor tube. Remember, your tube is thin walled aluminum. Don't crush it. We can replace it if you do, but you'll have to pay the federal tax again. Ouch.

Remove the baffles. They will be hard to take out if you have several thousand rounds through them, as the lead splatter has essentially started to weld your can together. Soaking the can in WD40 will help if you cannot get it apart. Use a wooden dowel rod or peice of aluminum to push the baffles out. You may need use a hammer or tap the dowel rod on the bench. The baffles can be pushed in either direction, and you may need to go back and forth to break them free.

Cleaning

Clean the baffles. This can be done by hand with a nylon brush and some Hoppes #9 or any other gun cleaning solvent. DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH AMMONIA IN IT ON YOUR GUARDIAN 22! You'll screw up the finish. Spray your baffle and gently brush the lead and other contaminants from the baffle. Do the same with the tube. The more lead that is on you baffles and tube the harder they will be to clean. The least labor intensive and most thorough way to clean your baffles is to lightly bead blast them. Remember, your Guardian 22 suppressor is made of aircraft grade aluminum. While robust, it can be damaged if abused.

Reassembly

Now that your suppressor is clean, let's put it back together.

We highly recommend applying anti-seize to the threads of the end caps prior to assembly. Loctite Heavy Duty Anti-Sieze, Part # 51609 is metal free and rated for high temperatures. It's what we use. You should too.

Install the rear end cap. Make sure it seats snuggly to the suppressor tube. Don't screw it on too tight or you'll damage the tube.

Your Guardian 22 may have a little spacer called a blast chamber. This is the first thing to install in the tube. it goes in next to the end cap that attaches to the muzzle of your weapon. It's the one with the bigger hole.

After you've installed the rear end cap and blast chamber (if you have one), stand your suppressor on a flat surface with the rear end cap facing down. To reinstall the baffles, take each baffle, flat side facing down, and drop it into the tube. If you did a great job cleaning the baffles, they'll drop straight to the bottom of the tube. If they are snug, you can push them down with the next baffle until you've reinstalled them all. If they won't go in or are very hard to push down, stop. You'll damage your tube and the baffles if you continue. Remove the stuck baffle and clean it the way you should have to begin with.

Looking into the cone of the baffle, you'll see two holes; one is straight through is is where the bullet passes through. The other is cut into the side of the baffle. This is called a mouse hole. The orientation of the mouse holes is somewhat important to maintain consistent point of impact shift after removing the baffles. Thinking of a clock, as you reinstall the baffles, drop the first baffle with the mouse hole at 12 o'clock. The mouse hole in the second baffle should be at 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and so on.

Finally, reinstall your front end cap. Don't forget the anti-seize.

Finally

If you don't like to clean your suppressor, you can always send it back to us and we'll clean it for you, We're gonna charge you for cleaning it, but in the process we'll restore it to like new condition.

Your Guardian 22 is designed for a lifetime of use. Cleaning it periodically ensures you get what you paid for.