Are pistol suppressors worth the expence,,,

Arby

Outside of some reduction in noise I do not see much benefit in having one...am I missing something?

I don't know what is involved to put one on a 1911 but I imagine that the expense in gunsmith work as well as the cost of the suppressor would be rather substantial.

I have been told that suppressors can have a negative effect on accuracy, which begs the question, as compared to what?

I do not have a burning desire to own one...I'm just curious.

mrmike08075

It's a noise suppression device...

You need special subsonic ammunition for it to work effectively...

If you are target shooting subsonic ammo may not cause any accuracy or performance issues...

Some semiautomatic pistols / firearms will not correctly feed and cycle subsonic ammo without some gunsmithing and parts swapping...

I have never heard a reason for a drop in accuracy being attributed to a properly engineered silencer...

Shooting through a plastic pop bottle filled with fluffy gauze or cotton or other non baffle noise reducing medium theoretically might hurt accuracy because of deflection or projectile surface degradation or damage I suppose.

Again most think of or see silencers used in very close range applications as portrayed by popular media or fiction and you would never notice any accuracy loss under those circumstances...

Having a proper stamped and taxed and registered silencer on your gun for use say at an indoor range might very well provide for a quiter gentler shooting experience - many of us suffer from hearing loss caused by shooting (not wearing proper hearing protection the right way or at all)

Subsonic rifle ammo might provide for a lower realized recoil but you don't need a silencer for that - it's a causal effect

I never see sights on a silencer - you could extend the sight radius of a gun by having the front component of an iron sight set installed further away from the rear sight...

I we would own one for the experience - to round out my collection of accessories were the price right

I believe that silenced have a life span - only effective after so many rounds through the can - they make guns with integral silencers so there must be a method that avoids that...

I would put one on a .22 rimfire semiautomatic pistol assuming it would function well with subsonic ammo.

Some hunters use them in special circumstances

I don't know that there is a practical reason or need to own one outside of military applications or as a hobbiest / collector curiosity

Soon many will be along with good info that reduces most of this thread response as incorrect or obsolete or in dispute

I have only fired a silenced pistol once - what was believed to be attributed to the mossad for short range wet work

Mike

nmyers

I think Mike did a great job of describing suppressors.

If you are really curious about them, you need to do some reading. You can search all GunBroker forums on the key word SUPPRESSOR, & find close to 200 discussions of the topic.

You can get a copy of the September Guns & Ammo at your local store, & read a great article on the new SilencerCo Maxim with integral suppressor. (A dealer has them listed on GunBroker for $1,500 MSRP.)

We've seen great improvements in technology recently, & many more shooters now think that it IS worth the expense. OTOH, some of us just don't want anything that requires registration with the federal government.

Neal

"Sound suppression costs money; how quiet do you want to be?"

charliemeyer007

I don't think the weapon will shoot better with a can but you might.

Mobuck

Pretty much depends on your intended use of the pistol. A suppressor upsets the weight , handling, and nearly every other aspect of the pistol. For "general use" on a centerfire handgun, I don't see much good results.
As a "fun gun" for just shooting at stuff, it's hard to beat.
I don't have any suppressed center fire handguns but a muffled 22 pistol is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. No muffs, no plugs-just load it up and PFFTTT, PFFTTT,PFFTTT
Regarding the accuracy: My muffled 22 is a Ruger 22/45 w/4" barrel and a Form 1 7" can. With the Burris FastFire 3 mounted and using CCI sub-sonic HP ammo, this piece delivers consistent hits on an 8" circular steel swinger AT 100 YARDS. Accurate enough???????

mark christian

The majority of suppressors in civilian hands are purchased, just like most NFA weapons, as toys for the entertainment of their owners. In states where they are legal for hunting some folks use them on rifles. With most centerfire rifle cartridges being supersonic, the true reduction in noise is minimal, but the suppressor makes the location/direction of the hunter difficult to pinpoint (which is why snipers use them). If you live in a rural or semi rural area where shooting on private property is allowed, quite a few shooters use suppressed firearms in order to reduce the noise signature for their neighbors. Most neighbors would consider those shooters to be good neighbors.

FYI: The 1911 is notoriously difficult to suppress. The Government models just don't like to run with a can hanging on the end of the barrel. If you want a suppressed .45 you might want to look for another platform.

llama

quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
Pretty much depends on your intended use of the pistol. A suppressor upsets the weight , handling, and nearly every other aspect of the pistol. For "general use" on a centerfire handgun, I don't see much good results.
As a "fun gun" for just shooting at stuff, it's hard to beat.
I don't have any suppressed center fire handguns but a muffled 22 pistol is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. No muffs, no plugs-just load it up and PFFTTT, PFFTTT,PFFTTT
Regarding the accuracy: My muffled 22 is a Ruger 22/45 w/4" barrel and a Form 1 7" can. With the Burris FastFire 3 mounted and using CCI sub-sonic HP ammo, this piece delivers consistent hits on an 8" circular steel swinger AT 100 YARDS. Accurate enough???????



The one exception to this are the integral units for the Ruger Mk series (replaces the upper w/ a suppressed upper) and Browning Buckmark.

And yes, shooting them is quite nice - but unless you are on a private range, you need ear protection anyway 'cause of the other shooters.

Mobuck

"but unless you are on a private range, you need ear protection anyway 'cause of the other shooters."

Private is the only kind here.

asop

I was under he impression the a "sound suppressor" would require a "spring" change out??

andrewsw16

The cartridges need to be subsonic to take full advantage of the suppressor. That usually means lower power which, in turn, frequently means less reliable functioning of semiautomatics, which then leads you to installing a weaker spring to allow the slide to function with the lower power cartridge. Each factor leads to the next. [:)]

Mobuck

"I was under he impression the a "sound suppressor" would require a "spring" change out??"
Using a "can" on a recoil operated semi=auto center fire pistol may require several "tweeks".
On both of our Ruger 22/45 pistols, nothing has been changed and function is fine with sub-sonic ammo.