Which 3 Lug Mount is Right for You

A 3 lug mount is used to quickly attach/detach a suppressor to a 3 lug or 3 lug adapter. Generally, 3 lug mounts are used with pistol caliber carbines and subguns, however they can be used with leverguns and 300blk subsonic. In addition to providing a fast connection, 3 lug mounts prevent the risk of walk off. Walk off is when a suppressor slowly unthreads from the firearm, which can cause end cap strikes due to misalignment.

In order to decide what 3 Lug Mount will work for you, you'll have to decide what caliber and suppressor you plan to use. Rugged Suppressors offers 3 different options: a 45ACP 3 Lug Mount for the Obsidian45™, a 9mm 3 Lug Mount that will work for the Obsidian45 and Obsidian9™ and the Rugged Universal 3 Lug Mount (RU³) for 9mm rated HUB/universally threaded suppressors like the Sub9™. 

It's important to note that these 3 Lug Mounts aren't limited to just 45ACP or 9mm. While these are the most common calibers used for each 3 Lug Mount, the 45ACP 3 Lug Mount is rated for any handgun or straightwall caliber with a bullet diameter of .460 or smaller (45ACP, 450 Bushmaster, 45-70 etc.) and the 9mm 3 Lug Mounts are designed for  any handgun or straightwall caliber with a bullet diameter of .360 or smaller (9mm, .357 mag, 350 Legend etc.). 

In order to properly use a 3 Lug Mount, you'll need a 3 lug also known as a 3 Lug Adapter on your firearm. In order to simplify things think of the 3 Lug which attaches to your barrel's threads as the male connection and the 3 Lug Mount is the female connection. The 45ACP 3 Lug Mount attaches to our 45ACP 3 Lug Adapter or any other B&T spec 45ACP 3 Lug (the most common 45ACP style 3 Lug). The 9mm 3 Lug Mount and Rugged Universal 3 Lug Mount attach to our 9mm 3 Lug Adapter or any HK spec 9mm 3 Lugs (the standard for 9mm 3 lugs).

Since the 9mm 3 Lug Mount and Rugged Universal 3 Lug Mount are both compatible with the 9mm 3 Lug Adapter and are designed for 9mm calibers, there can be some confusion for the purpose of each mount. The simplest way to differentiate them is that the 9mm 3 Lug Mount is designed for the Obsidian9/Obsidian45, while the Rugged Universal 3 Lug Mount is for 9mm HUB/universal suppressors like our Sub9 or Alaskan360™. The graphic below illustrates this:

The biggest choice you need to make when choosing a 3 Lug Mount will be for use with the Obsidian45. The reasoning for this is that the Obsidian45 is rated for nearly all handgun and levergun cartridges making it compatible with the 45ACP and 9mm 3 Lug Mounts. To simplfy things, if you have an Obsidian45 and want to suppress calibers with a bullet diameter of .460 or smaller (45ACP, 450 Bushmaster, 45-70 etc.), you'll need the 45ACP 3 Lug Mount and 45ACP 3 Lug Adapter. If you want to use your Obsidian45 on a caliber with a bullet diameter of .360 or smaller (9mm, .357 mag, 350 Legend etc.) you'll need a 9mm 3 Lug Mount and 9mm 3 Lug Adapter.

Since the Obsidian9 is only rated for calibers with a bullet diameter of .360 or smaller, it simplifies things as the only option is a 9mm 3 Lug Mount and 9mm 3 Lug Adapter. If you own a 9mm rated HUB/universally threaded suppressor like the Sub9 or Alaskan360, the Rugged Universal 3 Lug Mount is your best option.  If you already own a 9mm 3 Lug Mount or prefer that mount style, you can purchase a Universal Cage that converts HUB/universal threads to Obsidian threads and will allow you to use Obsidian mounts with your HUB/universal suppressors.

Suppressor mounts can get a bit confusing with the how many options are out there. We hope this article helped you decide which 3 Lug Mount is best for you. If you have any other suppressor related questions check out our blog or reach out to us here. We know that suppressors can be overwhelming at first and we'd love to walk you through everything.