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Theohazard · September 19, 2013, 04:28 AM

1) .22 will be the most fun gun to suppress by far. And due to the lead build-up it's usually not a good idea to run a larger-caliber can on a .22 (the SWR Octane is a notable exception).

2) The Ruger Mk III 22/45s with the threaded barrels are my favorite hosts, but it doesn't matter that much which pistol you use; with a .22 pistol, almost all ammo will be subsonic, even .22 Mini Mags, so they make great hosts. If you have a rifle then you're going to need subsonic ammo to keep the noise down. Ruger makes some tactical models with threaded barrels and even offers the Takedown with a threaded barrel now, but a lot of people buy aftermarket threaded barrels. The Tactical Solutions SBX barrel is a great way to screw on a suppressor without adding much extra length.

3) I've never seen a .22 suppressor that isn't threaded for 1/2x28 (yeah yeah, the Gemtech G5-22 doesn't count). There are a few .22 pistols with threaded barrels thinner than 1/2" thick (P22, SR22, M&P22), but it's easy to find an adapter to get them to fit the standard 1/2x28 thread pattern. Keep in mind that some .22 rifles have 1/2x28 threads that are too long (like the M&P-15 .22) and the suppressor either doesn't properly shoulder or it shoulders but the the crown is too close to the first baffle. If the suppressor doesn't shoulder properly it will be misaligned and you can get baffle strikes. And if the suppressor shoulders but the bullet exists the barrel too close to the first baffle, it can cause the bullet to be unstable and you could get baffle strikes. (I saw this happen with a Spectre II on a M&P 15 .22; the baffles on a Spectre 2 are asymmetrical, and the fact that the bullet exited too close to them cause it to keyhole in the target. Luckily there were no baffle strikes.) But this is all easy to fix with a $10 spacer like the one from Gemtech.

4) Almost all handgun suppressors these days are designed to be shot dry or wet (there are a few ones that are smaller and designed to be shot only wet, but they get really loud as they dry up and they're not popular at all). Older wet/dry handgun suppressors were much quieter wet but got a lot louder as they dried up. Newer designs are also really quiet when wet, but don't get much louder when they're shot dry, so most people don't bother with the hassle and mess of shooting them wet. Rimfire cans are already really quiet and really dirty, so most people don't shoot them wet. And it's not a good idea to shoot a center fire rifle can wet, there's too much pressure in both the can and in the rifle's gas tube.

5) I don't pay too much attention to decibel ratings, especially with .22 cans; first the host and the testing method can change a lot, and the actual tone matters a lot too. And also first round pop (FRP) matters a lot too; some great cans have a lot of FRP (the Sparrow comes to mind). That said, most good .22 cans these days provide about 40 dB reduction or more.

6) The current trend is to have .22 cans that are quiet but are also super-durable, are rated up to 5.7, and can be taken apart easily for cleaning. The SWR Spectre II and the Silencerco Sparrow are the two most popular, both have their pros and cons. I've shot them both and taken both apart when they were dirty and leaded up. These days more and more people are staying away from cans with aluminum baffles because of durability concerns and because some cleaning options are hard on aluminum, and they're also staying away from non-serviceable cans because they want to be able to take them apart to clean them.

September 19, 2013, 04:28 AM	#3
Theohazard Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2012 Location: Western PA Posts: 3,829	1) .22 will be the most fun gun to suppress by far. And due to the lead build-up it's usually not a good idea to run a larger-caliber can on a .22 (the SWR Octane is a notable exception). 2) The Ruger Mk III 22/45s with the threaded barrels are my favorite hosts, but it doesn't matter that much which pistol you use; with a .22 pistol, almost all ammo will be subsonic, even .22 Mini Mags, so they make great hosts. If you have a rifle then you're going to need subsonic ammo to keep the noise down. Ruger makes some tactical models with threaded barrels and even offers the Takedown with a threaded barrel now, but a lot of people buy aftermarket threaded barrels. The Tactical Solutions SBX barrel is a great way to screw on a suppressor without adding much extra length. 3) I've never seen a .22 suppressor that isn't threaded for 1/2x28 (yeah yeah, the Gemtech G5-22 doesn't count). There are a few .22 pistols with threaded barrels thinner than 1/2" thick (P22, SR22, M&P22), but it's easy to find an adapter to get them to fit the standard 1/2x28 thread pattern. Keep in mind that some .22 rifles have 1/2x28 threads that are too long (like the M&P-15 .22) and the suppressor either doesn't properly shoulder or it shoulders but the the crown is too close to the first baffle. If the suppressor doesn't shoulder properly it will be misaligned and you can get baffle strikes. And if the suppressor shoulders but the bullet exists the barrel too close to the first baffle, it can cause the bullet to be unstable and you could get baffle strikes. (I saw this happen with a Spectre II on a M&P 15 .22; the baffles on a Spectre 2 are asymmetrical, and the fact that the bullet exited too close to them cause it to keyhole in the target. Luckily there were no baffle strikes.) But this is all easy to fix with a $10 spacer like the one from Gemtech. 4) Almost all handgun suppressors these days are designed to be shot dry or wet (there are a few ones that are smaller and designed to be shot only wet, but they get really loud as they dry up and they're not popular at all). Older wet/dry handgun suppressors were much quieter wet but got a lot louder as they dried up. Newer designs are also really quiet when wet, but don't get much louder when they're shot dry, so most people don't bother with the hassle and mess of shooting them wet. Rimfire cans are already really quiet and really dirty, so most people don't shoot them wet. And it's not a good idea to shoot a center fire rifle can wet, there's too much pressure in both the can and in the rifle's gas tube. 5) I don't pay too much attention to decibel ratings, especially with .22 cans; first the host and the testing method can change a lot, and the actual tone matters a lot too. And also first round pop (FRP) matters a lot too; some great cans have a lot of FRP (the Sparrow comes to mind). That said, most good .22 cans these days provide about 40 dB reduction or more. 6) The current trend is to have .22 cans that are quiet but are also super-durable, are rated up to 5.7, and can be taken apart easily for cleaning. The SWR Spectre II and the Silencerco Sparrow are the two most popular, both have their pros and cons. I've shot them both and taken both apart when they were dirty and leaded up. These days more and more people are staying away from cans with aluminum baffles because of durability concerns and because some cleaning options are hard on aluminum, and they're also staying away from non-serviceable cans because they want to be able to take them apart to clean them. __________________ 0331: "Accuracy by volume."