I'm Thinking of Getting My First Suppressor

DMW1116 said:

Is it generally better to have a suppressor dedicated to a particular rifle or pistol? If I got one, I'm sure I'd want to get a threaded barrel for my 9mm pistol. Is switching back and forth a problem?

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When I started out with cans not too long ago I thought I would swap them between hosts when needed. That idea rapidly went by the wayside for several reasons. First, the cans get hot quick, making changes on the fly a bit tricky. Yes there are gloves and such, bit it just slows down actually shooting. Secondly, I rarely have to worry about where I put a certain can if I am getting my gear together (I do have a couple cans that move but the guns they go on usually all go to the range together).

DMW1116 said:

Is it advisable to get a general use suppressor? Maybe a 45 caliber one that would work from 45 down? Do they even work that way? As the difference in size gets greater, does effectiveness get worse?

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I see this a lot from many people and I can't say I understand it. One silencer to rule them all is about the same thing in my mind as the phrase "Jack of all trades and master of none". You might get the same level of suppression for a smaller caliber using a larger diameter can (i.e. a .45-cal can on a 9mm host) but the physics of the larger can itself can't be ignored - it will be larger and heavier than it needs to be. If you own multiple guns to put your cans on you can afford (or save up for) multiple cans. IMO you will be better off for it too.

DMW1116 said:

As with many things firearm related, would it be better to start with a 22 and move up from there? I don't have a suppressor ready 22 at the moment, but I am looking into a bolt action rifle for target use.

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I didn't get a .22 can until fairly late relatively. They are awesome and highly effective with standard velocity ammo or slower. There's no reason not to get one, but equally it shouldn't slow you down from getting a centerfire can or two either.

DMW1116 said:

One of my wish list items is a suppressed lever action rifle in 45 Colt. Nothing like a 300+ grain bullet to up the power when velocity stops below 1,100 fps. For practical and financial reasons, a 300 Blackout bolt action is more likely if I jump into this.

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I actually have a bolt action Blackout that is looking for a new home - not because of any failing of the gun, but because I'm a lefty and operating the action is a bit tedious. I ended up making a left-hand friendly Blackout to keep a quiet centerfire in my stable. Manually operated guns are fantastic with a can on; with my bolt action all you hear is the firing pin, a tiny bit of noise from combustion and the impact on the target.

DMW1116 said:

I only have one suppressor ready firearm, a Sub2000. I haven't had it very long and don't really have it set up the way I want. It is sighted in for my 147-grain XTP load. I just had a few questions from a potential owner.

Is it generally better to have a suppressor dedicated to a particular rifle or pistol? If I got one, I'm sure I'd want to get a threaded barrel for my 9mm pistol. Is switching back and forth a problem?

Is it advisable to get a general use suppressor? Maybe a 45 caliber one that would work from 45 down? Do they even work that way? As the difference in size gets greater, does effectiveness get worse?

As with many things firearm related, would it be better to start with a 22 and move up from there? I don't have a suppressor ready 22 at the moment, but I am looking into a bolt action rifle for target use.

One of my wish list items is a suppressed lever action rifle in 45 Colt. Nothing like a 300+ grain bullet to up the power when velocity stops below 1,100 fps. For practical and financial reasons, a 300 Blackout bolt action is more likely if I jump into this.

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Yes you should get a suppressor I wish I hadn’t waited as long as I did to get my first I dearly love it and there will be more to come for me

My personal opinion is to get a 46 caliber can and a 22 can to start off.

People make more to do about levels of suppression than is warranted in my opinion. A 46 cal can suppressing 22 cal up to 46 does a good enough job for me.

Now after one has the two mentioned above is when I would start looking at a couple of dedicated cans. But my thoughts are get one or two suppressors that can be used widely and enjoy them.

Unless you are going to be metering the sound coupling off your suppressor or are shooting next to a suppressor snob a 46 cal suppressor makes a whole lot of sense.

DMW1116 said:

Is it generally better to have a suppressor dedicated to a particular rifle or pistol? If I got one, I'm sure I'd want to get a threaded barrel for my 9mm pistol. Is switching back and forth a problem?

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While changing hosts is certainly possible, changing from rifle to pistol can be an issue at the range.
You run it without a piston on the rifles, and with a piston on the pistols.

DMW1116 said:

Is it advisable to get a general use suppressor? Maybe a 45 caliber one that would work from 45 down? Do they even work that way? As the difference in size gets greater, does effectiveness get worse?

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I have a 45 cal can that went between a 40 cal AR and a .38 SPL lever gun, used 3 lug adapters on both and it worked well.
Since, I have gotten a 9mm can for the lever and run the 45 can dedicated to the AR.
And I have used the 45 can on a 9mm pistol to see if it worked. (yes it did, but almost certainly not as good as a 9mm can does).

DMW1116 said:

As with many things firearm related, would it be better to start with a 22 and move up from there? I don't have a suppressor ready 22 at the moment, but I am looking into a bolt action rifle for target use.

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No. You don't need to start with a 22 rimfire or centerfire can.................But you will find out that once you get the first one................well..............................more are certainly to follow.....!!!!

You will enjoy any suppressed firearm you use.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CHOICE(S), and HAVE A BLAST.........!!!

@Havok7416 pretty much nailed it.
Getting a versatile larger bore can isn't a terrible idea, but have a plan for it down the road because like mentioned it likely won't do anything really well.
I started with a Gemtech ONE and a 22 can, The ONE is supposed to be the only can you need for everything 30 cal and down. Obviously it's way bigger than necessary for rimfire, but I didn't anticipate wanting a dedicated direct thread for my precision rifle and the backpressure issues it caused in AR10 platforms. So I added a Dead air Sandman and a couple OSS cans.
22 cans are sooooooo fun but screwing them on an off isn't so I now own 4.


Bottom line plan to buy more than one lol.

mavracer said:

Getting a versatile larger bore can isn't a terrible idea, but have a plan for it down the road because like mentioned it likely won't do anything really well.

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Do you have experience using a larger bore suppressor on smaller calibers?

In real world experience with an average user's hearing when firing in the open between a matched caliber suppressor and an oversized suppressor the difference is not hugely significant. Once one puts aside the "hollywood quiet" notion that is a huge disservice to the suppressor industry, the expectations of suppressors can align with what one can expect from trying to quite an explostion and 60k+psi in pressure. These are my opinions based on personal experience.

Do matched caliber suppressors both in bore size and suppressor volume help in suppression, yes; but for a person's first suppressor and when one has the intention of running larger caliber subs in the future anyways (as the OP suggested) a do all suppressor is a great asset, with very little down sides.

This won't be the OP only suppressor that I can attest to. Once he enjoys shooting suppressed he will want others. At that point with all bases covered with a 46cal can, the OP can start down the road of dedicated cans.

All of what I said above comes from personal experiences of myself and those close to me. I've had friends that I counseled to get a larger bore can to move around to multiple platforms in the beginning so they can use it widely and take advantage of all the money and time put in to getting a suppressors. Some heeded my advice and some didn't. Once hearing my 46cal suppressor on 308, one of them wishes he would have just got a 46cal can rather than a 30cal can so that he had more options with his first suppressor and the difference in suppression wasn't enough to reduce it's ability to move around to different hosts.

Now if someone said what are 4 suppressors that you would recommend me getting. My suggestion would have been very different.

With the 10 month wait for the stamp - go all out and get 3 cans. 1 - pistol cal can, 1 rifle cal can, and 1 22LR cal can.
That's what I should've done. I got a 9mm can (Gemtec Lunar 9) and a rifle can - 300win and below (Dead Air Nomad-L).

I was chatting with a fella at another gun shop that recommended the Griffin Optimus that allows you to shoot 22LR through 300win for rifles.

Tip - don't over analyze suppressors to the point of inaction. I did that and it's the reason it took about 10 years for me to buy anything.

I find I prefer to shoot my pistol cal can on my pistol caliber carbines using an HK style 3 lug mount. I keep my Dead Air Nomad mounted to a AR15 pistol. The original plan was to mount it to a bolt action hunting rifle but I'm still working on that.

BreechFace said:

Do you have experience using a larger bore suppressor on smaller calibers?

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Yes and I agree they sound ok, I actually like the way my Gemtech ONE sounds on a 5.56 it has a little deeper tone and it doesn't have as much back pressure. But it's large and I also have an appreciation for small cans that just make a SBR 5.56 tolerable.

BreechFace said:

Once hearing my 46cal suppressor on 308, one of them wishes he would have just got a 46cal can rather than a 30cal can so that he had more options with his first suppressor and the difference in suppression wasn't enough to reduce it's ability to move around to different hosts.

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Like I said just plan ahead that 46 caliber rifle can is going to be unwieldy on a handgun, so a person will probably end up with a more dedicated pistol can and if they don't have a big bore rifle to suppress they might have been just as well off with a 30 cal rifle can.

BreechFace said:

Now if someone said what are 4 suppressors that you would recommend me getting. My suggestion would have been very different.

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IMHO without having more information on what guns a person is interested in suppressing and what type of shooting they do, you really can't give good advice on what to get.
So again a versatile big bore can is a fine place to start but have a plan for it once you start branching out.

You don't really want a boosted can on something like a sub2000.
Swapping sucks, that's why I have like a dozen silencers now.

Spats McGee said:

I don't even look at .22s without threaded barrels any more, and threaded barrel .22s are very easy to find these days.

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I'm with you!!

drobs said:

With the 10 month wait for the stamp - go all out and get 3 cans. 1 - pistol cal can, 1 rifle cal can, and 1 22LR cal can.

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This is generally the best way to start. You really don't want a "do-all" can like the SilencerCo Hybrid 46, Griffin Buswhacker 46, our Accipiter 458 or the Dead Air Primal as your "one can" unless you happen to be trying to suppress big bore rifles like .45-70, .458 Socom, etc. They excel in that role, pretty much suck for everything else, doubly so on handguns due to sheer size and weight. Our Accipiter 458 is noticeably louder on my .375 Ultra Mag than the Accipiter 375 of the same length. There's an interesting phenomenon that seems to occur when your baffle bore size exceeds ~.43" that I do not have the scientific knowledge to explain, but I can tell you that the change in volume with a .300 Win Mag going from a 9" Accipiter 375 with a.435" bore to a 9" Accipiter .458 with a .52" bore is substantial.

Once you've decided on doing those 3 starter cans, though, the challenge is choosing them.

On rimfire, it's really pretty easy. Any of the top tier cans are gonna be good performers, a lot of them are rated for rounds like 5.7x28 and .22 Hornet as well. Just avoid cheap crap and monocore stuff, you'll be fine.

For rifle, most people are well covered by a good general purpose .30 cal can. If you don't have anything over .30 you want to suppress, don't buy a larger bore can, because it's probably gonna suck on stuff like 5.56, .243, 6.5mm. Some of the .338 cans do OK with much smaller rounds, but that's because they tend to be enormous suppressors, often 1.75" or larger diameter, 9-10" long or more, and well over 20 ounces. If you are trying to suppress larger bore rounds like .338 win mag, .35 Whelen, .375 H&H, you're going to have to look more closely at the limited options; You don't really need a .338 Lapua can for those rounds burning a lot less powder, and you don't want the drawbacks of the .46 cal stuff if you can avoid it, but there are relatively few .338, .36, .375 cal cans that have those rounds burning 50-80 gr. powders charges in mind.

On pistol cans, similar deal. If you have .40 and .45 cal hosts, the decision is easy; buy a .45 can first. If you do not, though, no reason to tolerate the greater size & weight and/or reduced efficacy of a .45 can on a 9mm/.38 cal or smaller host weapon.

Eventually you will have a battery of suppressors to fit many roles, but it's definitely not a cheap game to play, so choose wisely in the beginning to benefit the most with the least!

I agree, not such thing as a do all silencer.

mavracer said:

22 cans are sooooooo fun but screwing them on an off isn't so I now own 4.

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Ditto! One 300 and four rimfires.

I highly recommend starting with a rimfire suppressor. All of mine are truly “Hollywood Quiet”. It’s the easiest way to become a stamp collector. Even supersonic rimfire is easy on the ears, equating to just little more than an air rifle. And depending on how fast they are loaded, they may not make noise for long.

I can tune my 300AR down to just about hearing safe, it doesn’t hurt anyway. But it won’t hold the bolt back on empty, testing for last round bolt hold open success leads to just this side of too loud for me. But I’ve done it once or twice. I hope to only imagine that it would be much nicer during use to communicate with others and to keep a better awareness of the situation at hand.


I think every new firearm should come with one!

BreechFace said:

My personal opinion is to get a 46 caliber can .....

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Every customer that Ive sold a .46cal can has expressed his disappointment with its performance on every caliber rifle or pistol its used on.

dogtown tom said:

Every customer that Ive sold a .46cal can has expressed his disappointment with its performance on every caliber rifle or pistol its used on.

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Odd, that they are one of the hottest sellers.

My experiences and those around me have determined that there is enough suppression across our calibers for a "do-all" suppressor to play a great role as a first suppressor.

BreechFace said:

Odd, that they are one of the hottest sellers.

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They're really not, though. Rimfire stuff, .30 rifle cans and 9mm pistol cans account for the extreme majority of suppressor sales.

Like I said, if you have a big bore rifle, they can be a good starting point that works well on that and sorta OK on other things. If you don't have any starts-with-a-4 rifles, though, I recommend against them. Poor performance on sub-caliber rifles, too dang big and heavy for handgun use. If you never have, try hanging a Hybrid off the end of a pistol and then shoot one with a proper lightweight pistol can of smaller diameter. Night and day difference.

x

BreechFace said:

Odd, that they are one of the hottest sellers....

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Not on this planet.
If they were, more manufacturers would offer them and offer more than one version.
Rimfire and .30 have been the most popular by far, followed by 5.56, 9mm and .45 pistol cans.

.46 is distant, maybe only a slower seller than .50 and shotgun cans.

This silenco is a lot of fun. It’s rated for full auto 223. The price to properly convert that huntsman including shipping both ways was as much as simply buying the Ruger 22/45 light. I am shooting cheap ( oops, there is no cheap 22 anymore) bulk high speed 22 in my backyard and it’s subsonic. Sounds like a pellet rifle. Even people who don’t like guns like shooting suppressed.

I’ll add that if you buy from a dealer, they can e-file a form 4. My understanding is 90-120 days for e-file. Also, I was put on a trust for the above suppressor and an 9mm suppressor. 3 of us are sharing 2 suppressors.

My most recent e-file took 7.5 months, I was told under 90 days so there’s that…

smkummer said:

I’ll add that if you buy from a dealer, they can e-file a form 4. My understanding is 90-120 days for e-file. Also, I was put on a trust for the above suppressor and an 9mm suppressor. 3 of us are sharing 2 suppressors.

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Whoever told you that doesn't sell many silencers. eForm 4's from mid March are just now being approved. I have yet to get an April eForm approval.

While some of the earliest eForm 4 submissions experienced very quick processing, that ended within a few weeks.
In May or June ATF reprioritized the processing of paper Form 4's that they had stupidly backburnered in December in order to run out eForm 4's as fast as possible.

Last December, in a training video for dealers, ATF said "NFA is committed to our processing goal of 90 days...".......that's a goal, not a promise or estimate.
Here's the video, fast forward to the 29:34 mark: https://www.atf.gov/firearms/applications-eforms/video-tutorial-form-4. IMO, Silencer Shop and others did the gun community a disservice by promoting the 90 day nonsense. It sure as heck put silencer sales into overdrive, but once customers found out 90 days was a myth they got pissed. I made sure my buyers knew it would be faster than paper, but it sure as heck wasn't likely to be 90 days.

My eform 4 was submitted the end of August. I fully expect that I won't get my can out of jail until the end of February at the earliest.