9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

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SpeedyR
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9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by SpeedyR »

I"m looking at getting a suppressor in the near future in a handgun caliber. I know I"m getting a 22lr suppressor but the next step is a centerfire suppressor. Now for my dilemma- which caliber to choose?

I'm currently more of a 40 S&W fan and have a glock 22 and taurus PT101. have no plans to suppress the PT but definitly want to suppress the G22. Most of the ammo I shoot is handloads, so therein lies the problem. I know that pretty much all commercial 147grain 9mm is subsonic by nature. So I can just buy or reload 147 grain loads and be good to go for ammo. if I go the 9mm route, I will buy a conversion barrel for the G22 that's threaded and be set. Well, and i'd have to buy different magazines. Another advantage of having the 9mm would be to buy a 9mm upper for my AR and I can use it on that as well. easy and cheap to shoot. I have dies to reload 9mm but don't currently have any 9mm pistols (well, I do have an old Luger but that's not going to see any use any time soon). I have plenty of 9mm brass around as well. would probably end up with a G17/19 at some point to have a dedicated suppressed setup.

That being said, after reading some of the reloading manuals, it looks like with the 40 S&W if I just load up some heavier bullets (165-180 grain) with the right load of powder it's easy to keep the fps subsonic. advantage is I can keep my G22 stock with a threaded barrel, and maybe get a threaded barrel for my PM40. I have lots of 40 brass and bullets. disadvantage is I haven't seen a 40 AR upper yet. ;) but not a big deal i'll end up with a suppressor for the AR further down the road (5.56 and 6.8).

So any thoughts on which caliber works best suppressed? I had been all set to go the 9mm route because of the easy availability of subsonic ammo and other reasons stated above, but thinking about what round I like better and the ballistics when handloaded, I'm considering the 40 again.

either way will probably go with a ti-rant in 9mm or 40 if that matters. if the 9mm works better (i.e. quieter and bigger range of subsonic ammo) I'll go that route. 90% of my shooting is with handloads if that matters.

TIA!!!
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2manygunz
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by 2manygunz »

FWIW, I'm a big .40S&W fan and finally threw in the towel and went 9mm for my suppressor platforms. In fact, just changed out my Sig 239 last week and will do same for the 226 next week.

The short answer, in my experience, is that .40S&W suppressors are relatively rare and there never seems to be conventional threaded barrels in that caliber. You can get threaded aftermarket 40 barrels, but when I tried to do that, at least on the SIgs, the threading wasn't the same as what's available on the suppressors, which sent me off for converters. Too much of a PITA.

Anyway, if you stay with .40, then I'd suggest trying to go with a .45 can and just find the right barrel, adaptor combo. This way you have something that you can use on the larger caliber for your time investment.

Perhaps others here had an easier time and can share a different experience. For me, it was just easier to order a few 9mm cans and switch over to 9mm.
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Diomed
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by Diomed »

I have a .40 silencer (YHM Cobra M1). It's never been shot.

I got it to use on a Glock 22. Getting a barrel/thread combo was easy, Lone Wolf provided. Unfortunately, the feedramp/chamber mouth geometry was out of spec so I couldn't get ammo to feed from the mag.

Just something to keep in the back of your mind, if you decide to get a .40 can.
700PSS
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by 700PSS »

Been the .40 route and regret it. Go with 9mm. Currently available .40 suppressors are still pretty loud dry. 9mm suppresses much better.
chase
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by chase »

I have an HK USP40 for which I found a factory 14.5X1 LH threaded O-ring barrel at Midway. I bought O-rings to go with it and had to get the barrel fitted by a gunsmith so the slide wouldn't shave the O-ring on one side. I can still use the standard barrel but just keep the threaded barrel on with a protector. I put Meprolight tall adjustable night sights on it, so it's a "Tacticlone." I have a YHM Cobra 40 M1 on it and it runs great. It is loud dry but is fine wet. As a result of my experience, I have just paid the Major for a Silencerco Osprey 40, which he should have in stock over the next few weeks. I look forward to hearing it dry. I don't have a serial number yet but hope to have the transfer done by about September.

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arrowshot
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by arrowshot »

2manygunz wrote:FWIW, I'm a big .40S&W fan and finally threw in the towel and went 9mm for my suppressor platforms. In fact, just changed out my Sig 239 last week and will do same for the 226 next week.

The short answer, in my experience, is that .40S&W suppressors are relatively rare and there never seems to be conventional threaded barrels in that caliber. You can get threaded aftermarket 40 barrels, but when I tried to do that, at least on the SIgs, the threading wasn't the same as what's available on the suppressors, which sent me off for converters. Too much of a PITA.

Anyway, if you stay with .40, then I'd suggest trying to go with a .45 can and just find the right barrel, adaptor combo. This way you have something that you can use on the larger caliber for your time investment.

Perhaps others here had an easier time and can share a different experience. For me, it was just easier to order a few 9mm cans and switch over to 9mm.
I bought an extended barrel for my Browning .40, got an extender made and am using my Cobra M2 .45. I really haven't had a chance to run a lot of handloads through it but with the right loads it quiets it down some (not expecting serious quietness). Need some more time to really work with some handloads though. I have a Ti-Rant .45 on order so will also be trying it eventually. AAC has mentioned the possibility of producing a .40 Ti-Rant (they might after they catch up - I would email Mike Mers and ask him) and I would be very interested in seeing how that would work on my .40 as well as with an adapter on the .9mm. I might end up working very well especially if you like the .40s which you seem to do.
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Selectedmarksman
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by Selectedmarksman »

Arrowshot, who made the extender? I'm thinking of doing something similar (9mm to .45acp) while I wait from a 9mm can purchase.
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arrowshot
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by arrowshot »

Hoop from Hooper Ordnance made the adapter for me but I also got one from TROS (Mark). Of note though, I had my .40 barrel (got the barrel from Barsto) threaded at 1/2 by 28 when I believe the normal threading for a .40 barrel is 1/2 by 32. Mark was kind of concerned that 1/2 by 28 wouldn't leave much barrel but it seems to have worked out fine. So I ended up with an adapter that is 1/2 by 28 (RH) and 1 X 16 (LH) as the normal host for my Cobra M2 is my HK USP Tactical.
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Selectedmarksman
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by Selectedmarksman »

Awesome, Hoop is getting my Ruger MK III for threading shortly. I may have to hit him up again for an adapter, if possible. This will be for an MP5 clone SBR. I already have a .578x28 thread-pitch .45acp can (with fixed barrel spacer) but can't get a piston in 1/2x28.

Thanks for the info :D
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arrowshot
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by arrowshot »

Hoop did the threading for me on my .40 Barsto barrel and it came out great. I dropped off some other items for him to work on last weekend. He is busy though. Told him he needs to give up his day job. :)
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by cyclesarge »

I got a Trident 9 even though all my handguns WERE .40 or bigger (except my .22s). For one thing it gave me a reason to buy a MPA MAC 11, :lol: , 9mm AR uppers are plenitful (got one of those to) and then got a threaded conversion barrel for my XD40 which I shoot a lot without the suppressor because it's quite a bit cheaper. If I were gonna suppress a .40 I'd probably go with a .45 can to increase the versatility.
codefinger
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by codefinger »

Hi folks,

I'm new to the subject, please forgive my questions if I've already missed the point somewhere. I understand ballistics, but I know relatively nothing about the differing acoustic qualities of different loads.

If a .45 ACP can be sufficiently silenced, what makes .40 more difficult? On that note, wouldn't a silencer made for a .45 work just as well with a .40? Why is 9mm more easily silenced as well?

Thanks

CF
codefinger
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by codefinger »

Subject: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?
chase wrote:I have an HK USP40... As a result of my experience, I have just paid the Major for a Silencerco Osprey 40

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Chase,

Have you had a chance to try out your Osprey yet? How is it possible to attain a 130dB reduction as the website claims? (Dry no less?) Feel free to re-educate me folks, but it sounds like they're talking 'mouse-fart' quiet here.

Thanks again
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Davo5o
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by Davo5o »

"Mouse Fart Quiet" is a Hollywood misconception.

My first can was an Evo-40 and I was all about it for a dual purpose can. 22, 380, 357, 9mm, 35 whelen, 40, and 10mm, I've done it all with my evo40, subsonic of course. When shot wet with 9mm it's just as quiet as my tirant9, but only stays that way for a mag. The evo 40 is very loud when shoot dry.

That said. I do really enjoy being able to load up mags and shoot all day with my tirant9 and not deal with wetting the can every 2 mags.

Both cans can be "Jail Broke" for cleaning which is a good thing.

I'd say get a Tirant45 or osprey45 and buy the 40 and 9mm piston and just shoot everything.

If you need the absolutely quietest handgun suppressed, then go with the 9mm.
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Re: 9mm vs. 40 suppressed?

Post by RTS »

I use the SWR GS40 and it's almost as quiet on my hosts as my 9mm hosts with Trident, Evo and TiRant cans. These are all dry.

Barrels were the issue - If I had it to do over again, I'd pass on the 40s and stick with 9 and 45. .40 sub ammo isn't as readily available as 147gr 9mm and most .45 I've shot is subsonic out of my hosts. YMMV.
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