First silenced/suppressed pistol - SIG Sauer P220 or P229?

[Fossil4Life]

So, I'm intending to trade in my pristine SIG P239 in .40 for either a P220 or P229 (.40 S&W). Both are available with an optional threaded barrel and I was tossing around the idea of purchasing one or the other.

My question is this: Is it silly to purchase a P220, which shoots a .45, and slap a suppressor/silencer on the end of it? My thinking is that the .45 is a big and slow round anyway (compared to a .40) and a suppressor/silencer would only make it that much slower, thus affecting its kinetic energy upon impact.

Are there any drawbacks for implementing a silenced/suppressed .45? I love the .45 formfactor (price be damned!) but I like the .40 S&W platform just as much. What kind of negative and/or positive differences can I expect in a silenced/suppressed P220 and P229? Do you guys have a preference? If so, which one and why?

Thanks!

[ungawa]

I don't think slowing down the projectile is a concern.

I think most .40 ammo is supersonic, correct? Not sure. If so, you will pay more for ammo to make it quiet while .45 is quiet right out of the box with cheap ammo.

I've never suppressed either round.

[fastfive0]

You will not lose enough velocity to affect performance of the .45 round. Secondly .40 is one of the worst pistol rounds to try and suppress. Go with the .45 get a good can and be done.

[coppery]

Suppressors rarely, if at all slow down a projectile, if anything it increases velocity by 1-3 fps. Also, since most .45 loads are subsonic, your sound reduction affect will in turn benefit when you slap on a suppressor. You also gain some accuracy when you add on a suppressor.

May I suggest a Silencer Co. Osprey. They are comparable to AAC's Ti-rant, if not better, and more sights will clear over the top of the can.

[Fossil4Life]

Thanks to all for the responses. In your estimation, are silencers and suppresors the same thing, or do they fulfill different purposes?

Secondly .40 is one of the worst pistol rounds to try and suppress. Go with the .45 get a good can and be done.

Can you explain why .40 is one of the worst pistol rounds to suppress? I am guessing that because it's a higher velocity round that it is more difficult to suppress/silence? Other than this, is there any other reason why .40 is a bad idea to silence/suppress?

Lastly, is it stupid/silly/dumb/crazy to want a suppressed semi-automatic pistol? Do most people just not bother with it because of the added expense of it? I don't want to be one of "those" people that get a suppressed pistol to have bragging rights or to look "cool". Like anything else, weapons are a tool, as is the accessories (such as suppressors/silencers) that you can buy for them.

[ungawa]

Thanks to all for the responses. In your estimation, are silencers and suppresors the same thing, or do they fulfill different purposes?

They are not different things, just different names for the same thing. You can't put a suppressor on one side of a table and a silencer on the other. There is no difference.

Can you explain why .40 is one of the worst pistol rounds to suppress? I am guessing that because it's a higher velocity round that it is more difficult to suppress/silence? Other than this, is there any other reason why .40 is a bad idea to silence/suppress?

Like I said, I THINK the common practice ammo for .40 is supersonic. If that is true, it's going to sound like a .22 rifle even if you suppress it completely.

Lastly, is it stupid/silly/dumb/crazy to want a suppressed semi-automatic pistol? Do most people just not bother with it because of the added expense of it? I don't want to be one of "those" people that get a suppressed pistol to have bragging rights or to look "cool". Like anything else, weapons are a tool, as is the accessories (such as suppressors/silencers) that you can buy for them.

The only handguns commonly suppressed are semiautos. For the most part, revolvers cannot be suppressed effectively. There are some exceptions, but that would be a special or historical project and not something ordinary people would do.

[Franky4Fingers]

I dont think any one gun is worse than the other to suppress. Its just a matter of money, knowledge, and availability. For instance, if you want to silence a 9mm you either have to load light loads or buy 147gr and pay more money. Sure, you can shoot super sonic loads in the suppressor, but it kinda defeats the purpose. I think with 40's you have to buy the 180gr bullets in order to get sub sonic. Not sure on that though. Bullet velocities vary between companies of course, but you'll usually have to stay on the upper side of the scale.

.45's on the other hand...pretty much every round you buy and fire from a handgun will be subsonic. However............and don't quote me on this. Being the .45 has the bigger blast, I THINK you have to run the silencers wet in order to get adequate suppression out of them. If you fire them dry, they don't work as well. Perhaps some of .45 suppressor owners here can chime in on that. I know thats the case of any silencer (providing its OK to run it wet), but my point is, a dry .45 silencer doesnt do that good of a job. So the irony is, that the .45 might actually be the worse of the two to suppress.

Plus, I think this thread is in the wrong forum.

[coppery]

Lastly, is it stupid/silly/dumb/crazy to want a suppressed semi-automatic pistol? Do most people just not bother with it because of the added expense of it? I don't want to be one of "those" people that get a suppressed pistol to have bragging rights or to look "cool". Like anything else, weapons are a tool, as is the accessories (such as suppressors/silencers) that you can buy for them.

Does it sound silly or dumb to not want to blow out your ears in a in home defensive shoot? Is it dumb or silly to slap on can to teach a buddy to shoot without using ear-pro while at the same time preventing flinching?

There is nothing wrong with wanting the gun to look cool either. If you like it, then you like it. The benefits of the can will pay and explain for itself.

Franky4Fingers: If you get a higher quality suppressor, you don't need to run them wet. I have seen videos of the Silencer Co. Osprey(run around $850) fired dry during testing using Remington UMC .45 and the reduction is pretty considerable no earpro used. Here is a video of the can I mentioned used on different host guns, all .45 acp.

[Fossil4Life]

Plus, I think this thread is in the wrong forum.

Thanks for the heads up! I imagine that this thread should be moved here then?

http://forum.pafoa.org/nfa-class-3-title-ii-34/

If so, how would I go about having it moved there?

Does it sound silly or dumb to not want to blow out your ears in a in home defensive shoot? Is it dumb or silly to slap on can to teach a buddy to shoot without using ear-pro while at the same time preventing flinching?

Thanks for the clarification coppery. Appreciate yours and everyone elses insight on this matter! =)

[Franky4Fingers]

Thanks for the heads up! I imagine that this thread should be moved here then?

http://forum.pafoa.org/nfa-class-3-title-ii-34/

If so, how would I go about having it moved there?


Thanks for the clarification coppery. Appreciate yours and everyone elses insight on this matter! =)

Its not a big deal bud, your new, and this forum is massive. its easy to miss something. I'm sure if its an issue, a moderator will move it. The guys here are pretty good.



Coppery. Thanks for the info. I know those osprey silencers are pretty good...but, are they the ONLY cans that are that good? If so, maybe our OP isn't wanting to spring for that kind of cash. Also, last I checked, osprey cans can't be disassembled. You hear guys say they don't "need" to be changed.....but I'm not buying it. Thats like saying your transmission fluid is good for 100,000 miles. Yeah, you COULD wait that long, but by then its all crap. I was in the process for a .22lr silencer till the shop went out of business...so my plans got set aside for a while....but another shop tried to sell me a can that wasnt able to be dissembled. He said it didn't "need" to be taken apart. Im like...uhhhh, yeah. I still want to be able to take mine apart and clean it. All that lead and fouling are going somewhere. Plus that ruins the efficiency of the unit making it louder......but I digress