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 Hard 2 in 1990 helped popularize those pistols. In 2014, American Sniper made everyone want a long-range rifle. And, the 1895 Marlin became famous in the 2017 Wind River film. I could go on, but I think you get the point.
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.
I’m a fan of suppressed shooting, especially when it comes to hunting … 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’t 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.
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’t trying to conceal their suppressed handguns while ordering up a happy meal at a fast food restaurant.
So, for the average shooter, when and where is a suppressed pistol practical?
Facts First
Pistols—even rimfire pistols—are loud. It’s 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.
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’d call “comfortable” to the unprotected ear.
However, there’s something other than sound that needs to be considered when it comes to suppressing a pistol, and that deals with your pistol’s sights. When you screw a suppressor on the barrel of your handgun, it’ll 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.
Suppressed Pistol Practical Applications
We’ve already established that a suppressed pistol isn’t suited for concealed carry, but that doesn’t 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’s not a pistol you’ll need to conceal, and it’s not a pistol you’ll need to holster. Most likely, it’s a pistol you’ll 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.
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’s 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—especially for new shooters—uncomfortable.
I don’t 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’s 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’t allow the time required to put on hearing protection. Having a suppressed .22 pistol handy is nice for those instances, and sometimes—just because I get the urge—I’ll stop at my range and plink off a full magazine just for fun.
Silencer Central’s Banish 45
I currently own nine suppressors, but only one is designed for pistols. It’s 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’s 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.
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—nonmoving—barrel firearms.
Because of the compact nature of pistols, they’re not as suitable for suppression as rifles—but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a viable reason to suppress a pistol. Clearly, if you’re 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.
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.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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