Poll: Is your HD handgun suppressed?

[solv3nt]

Erratum - 'most revolvers aren't suppressible'.

You can suppress all revolvers, it just won't do much for noise

 

[CHLChris]

I have a pistol can, and I have a threaded barrel, but since we all now have to store it in a safe, I keep it in a quick-access thing next to the bed. There's no room for a can.

So I keep the can on a PCC in the master closet safe. There's a suppressed rifle in there, too. I'll use the un-suppressed pistol to fight to the suppressed long guns. In theory, at least.

 

[nammac]

I want a 2" suppressed .38 special revolver from those 70's and 80's cop shows. That should do the trick. Appearantly, they were deadly accurate too.

 

[TTSX]

I'm considering suppressing every single firearm I have that has strong potential to be fired without hearing protection. My tinnitus and low pain threshold in my ears tells me I should have years ago. Even if I can only bring them down into the 140s, it's a whole lot quieter than the 160s and I'd like to not be saying "WHAT????" in my 40s

 

[CHLChris]

I completely agree, @TTSX ! But storing it locked up becomes a non-trivial problem. What lock-up devices fit a handgun with a can attached?

 

[TTSX]

I completely agree, @TTSX ! But storing it locked up becomes a non-trivial problem. What lock-up devices fit a handgun with a can attached?

If having access to an unlocked firearm is what got me hung by the jury, it wasn't a clean shoot to begin with. But to answer your question, there are quite a few locking containers/options out there. One could also buy any number of quick attach devices, or like Ian of forgotten weapons, buy a maxim 9 and it's a total non issue.

 

[Member 34319]

Seriously, what happens when you use a suppressor in a self defense situation? Does it get taken with the firearm as evidence?

 

[CHLChris]

Maybe, but we know what happens when you use a pistol defensively without a suppressor. Hearing loss. I'd rather have suppressor loss.

 

[Mygrainman]

Seriously, what happens when you use a suppressor in a self defense situation? Does it get taken with the firearm as evidence?

This! I already waited to get my cans out of ATF jail once…

 

[v8engin]

Suppressed AR-9. 30 round mags. Red-dot and flashlight. Best home defense weapon there is. Especially if you have kids ears in the house.

 

[CHLChris]

Suppressed AR-9. 30 round mags. Red-dot and flashlight. Best home defense weapon there is. Especially if you have kids ears in the house.

Maybe, but perhaps a 45acp PCC (I know they are much more rare than 9mm's) would be even better because the rounds are by nature subsonic and thus even quieter!

Or for that matter, this is where 300blk really SHINES! A braced 300blk pistol with a 10"barrel, shooting 220gr subs, suppressed with a 30cal can, would be the most awesome! And probably easier to put together than a 45...and same power.

 

[pdx225]

I completely agree, @TTSX ! But storing it locked up becomes a non-trivial problem. What lock-up devices fit a handgun with a can attached?

https://products.fas1safe.com/product.sc?productId=16

 

[GWS]

The human ears tune things out, like a shot gun or pistol blast, so a blast inside an enclosed space isn't going to be a big deal. ( Unless its something YUGE, like a .300 win mag) so permeant hearing damage isn't as big a deal as folks would have you believe! Second, suppressed isn't actually that quiet unless you use dedicated ammunition I.E. Subsonic, so,............

Sorry but you are wrong in saying a gun shot won't cause permanent hearing damage.
That you are so focused on the event that you don't hear it is true, but that sound is still impacting on your hearing, regardless of whether you noticed it at the time. Ask any audiologist, ENT or even your physician. They will all tell you that damage is done when you shoot without hearing protection.

Hence my HD weapons are suppressed. I don't want to waste precious time looking for hearing protection if there's a rat in the house, nor do I want dear wife's hearing damaged as it will only give her another excuse to ignore me.

ETA Dang I should have read further before posting. @asiparks said it first

well, the ear doesn't actually do much- it's the brain that becomes hyper focussed and selects what info it's going to pay heed to.
So even if you don't "hear " it, your ears will still be getting damaged by the pressure blast

 

[CHLChris]

https://products.fas1safe.com/product.sc?productId=16

Very interesting, thank you! The description is pretty good, but their photos are crap. I'll have to look at it on a real computer and not just my phone.

 

[Hawaiian]

Not all, but my bedside handgun is. If I have to shoot in the house, I want to still have good hearing. There could be more than one intruder, and if there is, I want to be able to hear him moving around.

For things that go bump in the night.

 

[Dinglenutz]

In the most recent Forgotten Weapons episode, Ian goes on about why it is a good idea, in his mind, to have a silencer on your home defense handgun.

My HD pistol is an AR carbine in 300blk with a pin & weld silencer on it to make it just over 16"; my ears being ruined doesn't mean I want to ruin those of my entire family, let alone make mine worse. Even silenced, the AR will probably still be plenty loud in a tight space.

I don't have any silenced pistols, although I'm not against the idea, they seem awkward and counter the idea of the pistol being a compact option compared to a carbine or shotgun.

 

[jbett98]

Couldn't you just take off the suppressor before the cops show up.

 

[papersoldier]

I think this is one of the only times I've disagreed with Ian on something firearm related. While I own suppressors, I do not use them on any of my home defense guns. Hearing loss / damage is a valid concern in an HD situation, but I would much rather leave my HD guns unsuppressed just so that all my neighbors will immediately know that something is amiss if I have to defend myself in my home during the middle of the night. I want everyone to know that there's trouble at the Papersoldier house if I'm touching off rounds at a home invader. That way it's much more likely the police will be contacted in the event I or my family members are unable to call them during a home invasion.

 

[asiparks]

Seriously, what happens when you use a suppressor in a self defense situation? Does it get taken with the firearm as evidence?

This! I already waited to get my cans out of ATF jail once…

In the event of you having to shoot someone(s) in your house, I think this will be pretty low on your list of concerns;
Een in the most justified of circumstances, your whole life could well be turned upside down; civil suits, press attention, attention from "others", social media doxxing , consequences at work etc.

Sorry but you are wrong in saying a gun shot won't cause permanent hearing damage.
That you are so focused on the event that you don't hear it is true, but that sound is still impacting on your hearing, regardless of whether you noticed it at the time. Ask any audiologist, ENT or even your physician. They will all tell you that damage is done when you shoot without hearing protection.

Hence my HD weapons are suppressed. I don't want to waste precious time looking for hearing protection if there's a rat in the house, nor do I want dear wife's hearing damaged as it will only give her another excuse to ignore me.

ETA Dang I should have read further before posting. @asiparks said it first

It's important and worth repeating- my hearing loss started when I was shooting outdoors with crappy foam foam plugs instead of proper protection- ringing and "dullness" in my right ear- it got marginally better after a while but never close to what it was.

 

[asiparks]

I think this is one of the only times I've disagreed with Ian on something firearm related. While I own suppressors, I do not use them on any of my home defense guns. Hearing loss / damage is a valid concern in an HD situation, but I would much rather leave my HD guns unsuppressed just so that all my neighbors will immediately know that something is amiss if I have to defend myself in my home during the middle of the night. I want everyone to know that there's trouble at the Papersoldier house if I'm touching off rounds at a home invader. That way it's much more likely the police will be contacted in the event I or my family members are unable to call them during a home invasion.

It's an interesting POV.
I know everyones situation is different- We all sleep on the same floor, so If I'm awoken by the sound of someone breaking in, ( alarm, splintering wood, breaking glass ), I'm corralling the family to a defendable position- wife gets a gun and everyone has a cell phone- I'm not going off house clearing. They can take laptops and TVs; we'll pull videos and pics of the event from cloud storage afterwards.
If i can't get my phone, then getting my gun is unlikely as it would mean I'm probably still in bed and things have already gone beyond tits up and we're stuffed.( yes, there are other guns and weapons in other places- but I'm assuming that if they got in past alarms and motion sensors, they're smart enough not to let us wander freely around ).

End of the day, if it comes to worrying about whether my HD weapons are or aren't suppressed, many things elsewhere down the defensive line have failed miserably.