Suppressor questions

[dayman]

Last night a fox tried to break into my duck house. Fortunately I woke up, got outside, and managed to wing him as he retreated off into the woods.
However, the ruckus woke up my parents (next door @ ~100yds), and possibly my neighbors on the other side. It got me to thinking that maybe I should look into getting a suppressor.
And, having zero knowledge on the subject, I figured this would be a good place to start.

There are a few things.
First, I want something that's good quality and will last for a good while without crazy maintenance, but I'm not going to be using it on an SMG or in a war zone, so I'd prefer to spend as little money as possible. Not to say I want the cheapest thing out there, but neither do I need/want the very best/coolest.
Second, it's probably going to go on a Glock 19. Some of them appear to be "multi-caliber" (which confuses me as to how that would work), and if I could get something that would work on a .22 all the better, but if there's a significant difference in price/ease of maintenance/reliability/performance what I'm really looking for is something to suppress 9mm low enough that it won't kill my ears of wake up my neighbors.
Third, I'd be the only one shooting it. My dad might try it out when he comes over, and it's vaguely possible I might convince my wife to shoot it a couple times, but I have my own range behind the house, and I don't really "share" guns with anyone. Would that mean I could avoid the hassle of having to set up a trust?


So we come to a question of equipment.
First I would obviously need a can. A half hour or so of online research this morning lead me to the Thompson Machine Isis-2. It seems to have good reviews, and it's quite reasonably priced. I have no emotional ties to it though, and am certainly open to suggestion. It seems there are various internal systems suppressors use, and I really don't know how they compare to each other. Directions to non-biased "info for dummies" would be greatly appreciated as well.
Second, I'd need to get a threaded barrel. Are there any that are noticeably better or worse than others for use with a glock? The two companies that come to mind (only because I've heard them mentioned several times) are lone wolf and Bar-sto.
Finally, Sights. Will it be necessary to get high mount sights? The glock is a part of my carry rotation, so it would be nice - for my day to day use - if I could avoid putting great big high mount sights on it. I assume that would make finding holsters difficult. As much as I'm not a fan, maybe a laser would be an option when using the suppressor? Having never used one, I'm not sure exactly how much a suppressor interferes with using normal trijicons.

That was way longer than I expected. Hopefully it's not too meandering.

[AK103K]

I have an AAC "Eco-9" on my one Glock 17. Im using a LWD threaded barrel with it. Total cost, including stamp was just under $800.

With subsonic 147 grain loads (and even with standard loads), I can shoot it in my car port without hearing protection. I cant hear for days if I shoot a .22 in the same place. Its quiet enough that my son, whose bedroom window is in the carport, thought I dropped something (I did ) when I shot a possum in the trash with it. Its about as loud as a heavy car door being shut.

As far as sights, I just use the standard three dot night sights on the gun. While the sights are behind the suppressor, if you shoot with both eyes open, and just use the dots, you shouldnt have any troubles.

[MarkDozier]

This is a great place to be told about "SilencerTalk.com" the best website on the web for surpressor infomation.

[Lark]

What state do you live in? 12 states do not allow unlicensed civilians to own silencers. Check out http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/ where they will give you opinons on what silencer to get as well as sugggest that you might be better off with a rifle or carbine for pest control instead of a 9mm pistol.

You do not need a trust to own a silencer unless you are unable to obtain the CLEO signature on the ATF form 4. But a shared revocable trust allows any trustee you designate to possess the silencer so you don't have to be present when it is used.

[dayman]

They're legal in my state. However, they aren't legal for hunting - at least deer.
I'll need to check in to whether that means they're also not legal for shooting marauding varmints.
I'll check out the other forum too, thanks.

[Captains1911]

If you want to shoot .22 your way better off getting a dedicated rimfire can, I have a Silencerco Sparrow and love it, I also have a Gemtech Outback IID that's ok. You can shoot .22 through a centerfire can, but it's not practical due to the size of the can, and it will fill it up with crap if not user serviceable.

The other thing to consider in regards to a centerfire can is that you can shoot any caliber and smaller through it, so if you think you may want to shoot .40 or .45 at some point, consider a .45 can for versatility. If I was in the market for a centerfire pistol can I would go with the Silencerco Osprey.

[Theohazard]

If you want a very good can that will work on a 9mm or a .22, you want an SWR Octane 9. The Octane is the only user-serviceable center-fire can I know of that is fine to shoot .22 out of. On sealed cans like the Osprey, the lead from the .22 (even with copper plated bullets) will eventually fill up the can. And with most serviceable cans like the ACC Ti-Rant, the baffle design is such that the lead will fuse the baffles to the inside of the can, making it very hard to dissemble when dirty. Plus, many cans have aluminum baffles which limits your options for lead-removing chemicals.

I've shot quite a few suppressors, and the Octane 9 is by far my favorite pistol-caliber can. As far as quietness, it will go toe-to-toe with the quietest cans on the market, but it's more durable due to the stainless steel baffle design. It has piston mounts available for any handgun thread pattern you can think of, plus a 5/8x24 option for 300 Blackout rifles (subsonic only). Heck, it even has a 3-lug mount available in case you ever get a hankering to throw it on a full-auto MP-5. I know full-auto isn't what you're looking for, but it shows how durable this thing is.

I never realized it was fine to shoot the Octane with .22 until my buddy was taking to a Silencerco rep (they bought SWR) and he said it was fine due to the baffle design. So we tested his Spectre 2 (one of the quietest .22 cans on the market) against the Octane 9 using a Ruger Mk 3 as the host. The Octane was significably quieter than the Spectre 2, which means the Octane 9 is probably quieter with .22 than any .22 can on the market today.

As for the host, a Glock is not a great suppressor host due to its loose, unsupported chamber; more gas escapes from the chamber area making it louder than some other hosts. To minimize this, you want a threaded barrel with a tighter chamber like those from Storm Lake or KKM. Lone Wolf barrels are cheaper, but the chambers have never been all that tight and the newer ones seem like they're looser. If you want maximum reliability, go with a factory Glock threaded barrel (if you can find one), but if you want maximum quietness go with a tighter match barrel like Storm Lake. As for thread pitch, unless you're getting a factory Glock barrel that only comes in 13.5x1 LH, go with the standard 1/2x28 thread pattern; most Octane 9s are going to come with 1/2x28 pistons in them already and that's the same thread pattern as almost all .22 threaded barrels out there.

As far as sights, you're not going to be able to see over the can unless you get really tall sights, but if you have high-visibility sights you may not find that to be much of an issue. When I shoot a pistol with normal sights and a can, I just line the sights up anyway even though the top of the can is blocking the target just above my sights. I find I'm still pretty accurate this way for most shooting. If this bothers you, most rail-mounted lasers will work fine with the Octane 9 and allow you to be a little more precise.

Another way to minimize noise is to run the heaviest recoil spring you can; this will keep the breech locked just a little longer and further minimize noise. I just ordered several different spring weights for my Glock 19, but I haven't tested them yet.

As far as trust vs. chief law enforcement officer sign-off, that all depends on where you live. Where I live a CLEO sign-off is virtually impossible to get, and in many other places it's the same or just very difficult. In that case, a trust can be a lot easier to set up. I work at an LGS that's a very high-volume suppresser dealer and we offer a free trust. We can get your trust done and your Form 4 paperwork ready to be sent out in less than 15 minutes from when you walk in the door. But even if you need to pay a third party to do a trust for you, it could be easier and faster if your CLEO won't do it or just takes a while.