{"id":1406,"date":"2024-11-29T02:03:49","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T02:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/?p=1406"},"modified":"2024-11-29T02:03:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T02:03:49","slug":"practical-pistol-suppression-gun-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/?p=1406","title":{"rendered":"Practical Pistol Suppression – Gun Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This Banish 45-suppressed Sig Sauer P322 is a great utility pistol that rides in the author\u2019s side-by-side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

For the average shooter, when and where is a suppressed pistol practical?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Movies directly influence the firearms market. In 1971, the movie Dirty Harry<\/em> made the .44 Magnum revolver famous. The mention of the Glock pistol in Die Hard 2<\/em> in 1990 helped popularize those pistols. In 2014, American Sniper<\/em> made everyone want a long-range rifle. And, the 1895 Marlin became famous in the 2017 Wind River<\/em> film. I could go on, but I think you get the point.<\/p>\n

Another gun-related movie influence is the suppressed pistol. Countless scenes depict assassins, special agents or tactical operatives screwing a suppressor on a pistol, giving the impression that all the cool kids use suppressed pistols.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a fan of suppressed shooting, especially when it comes to hunting \u2026 and when the firearm used is properly configured for suppressed fire. With rifles, the current trend is shorter barrels to make them more suppressor friendly. The problem with pistols is that we can hardly shorten the barrels any more than they already are. This means that, for some applications, a suppressed pistol doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense. This is especially true when it comes to concealed carry; turning a 7-inch handgun into a 13-inch handgun makes it nearly impossible to conceal or carry comfortably.<\/p>\n

\"banish
Through not practical for concealed carry, a suppressed pistol can be a lot of fun on the range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I know that it seems like all high speed, low drag, special operations units run suppressed pistols as do a lot of SWAT teams. For these operators, suppressors provide the advantage of reduced noise in confined spaces, reduced recoil permitting faster follow-up shots and a reduced muzzle signature to help limit detection and flash blindness. These are all good things, but keep in mind these soldiers and cops aren\u2019t trying to conceal their suppressed handguns while ordering up a happy meal at a fast food restaurant.<\/p>\n

So, for the average shooter, when and where is a suppressed pistol practical?<\/p>\n

Facts First<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pistols\u2014even rimfire pistols\u2014are loud. It\u2019s not a good idea to shoot any pistol without hearing protection. A 9mm pistol will generate about 160 decibels, and a .22 rimfire pistol will generate about 150. Anything beyond 140 decibels is dangerous to your hearing, and ideally you do not want to expose your unprotected ears to decibel levels above 120.<\/p>\n

A good handgun suppressor can reduce decibel exposure by as much as 36 decibels, which is in the marginally safe range with both rimfire and centerfire supersonic ammunition. However, when you use subsonic centerfire and rimfire ammunition with a good suppressor, both become hearing safe and what I\u2019d call \u201ccomfortable\u201d to the unprotected ear.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s something other than sound that needs to be considered when it comes to suppressing a pistol, and that deals with your pistol\u2019s sights. When you screw a suppressor on the barrel of your handgun, it\u2019ll most likely prevent you from seeing your sights on the target. You can overcome this problem with the installation of what are known as suppressor-height sights, or a reflex sight.<\/p>\n

Suppressed Pistol Practical Applications<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve already established that a suppressed pistol isn\u2019t suited for concealed carry, but that doesn\u2019t mean it has no place in the personal protection arena. If you keep a specific pistol just for home defense, outfitting it with a suppressor might be a good idea. It\u2019s not a pistol you\u2019ll need to conceal, and it\u2019s not a pistol you\u2019ll need to holster. Most likely, it\u2019s a pistol you\u2019ll keep in your bedside drawer or gun safe. In a home-defense situation, a suppressor can benefit you in the same ways it benefits military operators and SWAT teams.<\/p>\n

For the obvious reason, a suppressed pistol can also be a lot of fun for recreational and some competitive shooting. And in most cases, it\u2019s a great idea for a pistol used for hunting. A suppressor reduces noise and cuts down on recoil, which are two things that can make shooting a pistol\u2014especially for new shooters\u2014uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t shoot suppressed pistols that often, but my wife and daughters prefer it. I do, however, keep a suppressed pistol in my side-by-side that I run the ranch with. It\u2019s a Sig Sauer P322 that rides in a homemade holster just in front of the seat. I routinely run across vermin that need to be dealt with, and often these encounters don\u2019t allow the time required to put on hearing protection. Having a suppressed .22 pistol handy is nice for those instances, and sometimes\u2014just because I get the urge\u2014I\u2019ll stop at my range and plink off a full magazine just for fun.<\/p>\n

Silencer Central\u2019s Banish 45<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I currently own nine suppressors, but only one is designed for pistols. It\u2019s the Silencer Central Banish 45, and it will work with any pistol from rimfire up to .45 Auto. This is a titanium modular suppressor that\u2019s user serviceable, and it can be shortened from 8.6 inches (11 ounces) to 6.7 inches (9.6 ounces). Shortening the suppressor reduces the decibel reduction it offers, but it allows you to tune the suppressor to the size and to the amount of sound reduction you need.<\/p>\n

\"banish\"banish<\/figure>\n

The Banish 45 is also compatible with pistol-caliber carbines, and because it uses a unique swappable piston, you can pair it with any thread pattern. Silencer Central also offers a fixed-barrel spacer for the Banish 45 that lets you use it with fixed\u2014nonmoving\u2014barrel firearms.<\/p>\n

\"pistol\"pistol
The Banish 45 suppressor utilizes different pistons so it can pair with most any thread pattern and they\u2019re easy to swap out. If you use a Banish 45 on several pistols with different thread patterns, you\u2019ll need several pistons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because of the compact nature of pistols, they\u2019re not as suitable for suppression as rifles\u2014but that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t a viable reason to suppress a pistol. Clearly, if you\u2019re working as an assassin or for some clandestine spy organization as a hitman, they make perfect sense. And, they can add enjoyment to recreational and competitive range sessions and hunting. Suppressors are also beneficial in comforting new shooters.<\/p>\n

However, from a personal protection standpoint, a suppressed pistol is pretty much limited to home defense duty, or for use as a truck or ATV gun for the outdoorsman. Regardless of how you might like to use a suppressor for a pistol, I suggest you start your search with the Banish 45. I got no complaints with mine.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note:<\/strong>\u00a0This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of\u00a0Gun Digest the Magazine<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

More On Suppressors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This Banish 45-suppressed Sig Sauer P322 is a great utility pistol that rides in the author\u2019s side-by-side. For the average shooter, when and where is a suppressed pistol practical? Movies directly influence the firearms market. In 1971, the movie Dirty Harry made the .44 Magnum revolver famous. The mention of the Glock pistol in Die […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tactical-gear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1408,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406\/revisions\/1408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}