Suppressors come with a whole host of benefits, but the simple truth is, not every caliber suppresses well. Luckily, that is not the case for 9mm, which suppresses beautifully when used with proper ammunition.
To get the best suppressed performance from your 9mm handgun, though, you’ll need the right suppressor.
Understanding Handgun Suppressors
Rifle suppressors tend to be relatively straightforward, and while handgun suppressors aren’t exactly complex, they do involve a few more moving parts.
Because most semi-automatic pistols for sale utilize a moving barrel of one type or another, adding a suppressor (or any 9mm muzzle device) to the end of that barrel can have a detrimental effect to the firearm’s reliability, even in some cases to the point of preventing the gun from cycling at all.
To remedy this, handgun suppressors commonly use a Nielsen device, also sometimes referred to as a piston or booster. This device increases the amount of energy that is directed rearward into the firearm’s barrel, counteracting the weight of the suppressor at the end and aiding in unlocking the action during the firing cycle.
However, some pistols have action types that are more tolerant of the additional weight of a suppressor than others. Pistols with rotating, sliding, or fixed barrels may not need a piston at all, particularly with lightweight titanium suppressors.
Regardless of your pistol’s action type, you’ll need to make sure you get a model with a threaded barrel if you want to attach a suppressor, or even a different muzzle device such as a 9mm compensator. While most pistols have aftermarket or OEM barrels available, you can save yourself some work, and often a bit of money, by buying a threaded barrel handgun from the factory.
In most other respects, handgun suppressors function in mostly the same manner as rifle suppressors. They have the same benefits to hearing safety, flinch response, and muzzle flash and blast. They even help to limit recoil to a small degree, but if controlling kick is your top priority, we recommend checking out our article on how to control pistol recoil before you start buying attachments.
And like rifle silencers, they never make a firearm truly silent—but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a huge benefit to your shooting experience.
Key Considerations for Choosing a 9mm Suppressor
To pick the best 9mm suppressor, you’ll want to carefully consider a handful of different parameters. Each of these is interconnected and affects the others, so it’s important to consider them holistically as well as individually.
Material
The two primary materials used to construct suppressors are steel and titanium. Other materials are used, such as aluminum, Inconel and Cobalt-6, but the first two are the primary ones to be concerned with. They are the most common, and whether a suppressor is primarily made of steel or titanium will factor heavily into other factors like weight, durability, and flash suppression.
Steel suppressors are heavier, but are typically more durable. They can handle heavier firing schedules and higher overall round counts before servicing or replacement is needed. Titanium can sustain damage if it reaches an excessive temperature during firing, meaning that full-auto fire or multiple sequential mag dumps can be dangerous.
However, these limitations tend to be minimally applicable to 9mm suppressors. Even supersonic 9mm ammunition imparts relatively little heat and pressure into the suppressor, so most users would have a hard time firing fast or long enough to endanger their suppressor.
For this reason, titanium is becoming more and more common in 9mm pistol suppressors. The weight reduction offered by titanium can help with reliability in tilt-barrel pistols, and even with fixed-barrel designs like pistol-caliber carbines, a lower weight at the end of the barrel tends to be more comfortable to use.
Size
All else being equal, larger suppressors with greater internal volume tend to be quieter. Of course, all else is seldom equal—baffle design and other features will always have an effect. Still, the fact remains that larger suppressors are generally quieter than smaller ones.
But, a bigger suppressor also usually means more weight. This can be alleviated by choosing a lightweight material like titanium, but a large suppressor will always weigh more than a small one if they are both made of the same material.
Larger suppressors also increase the overall length of your firearm, which is of particular concern with pistols. One of the primary benefits of a handgun is its compactness, which makes it easy to navigate tight indoor spaces or move around obstacles during a competition. Adding a large suppressor can double the overall length of a pistol, significantly reducing the compactness and limiting its utility for purposes like home defense.
Weight
Adding weight to a firearm is always a double-edged sword, particularly when that weight is located at the end of the barrel.
On the one hand, additional weight helps to soak up the energy produced by the gunshot, reducing felt recoil. On the other, it also makes the gun more front-heavy, increasing muscle strain during extended use and the time it takes to swing between targets. If the gun becomes burdensomely heavy, it may also be difficult to keep on target when shooting freehand, reducing accuracy.
In the case of pistols, this additional weight also can make the firearm less reliable, unless counteracted with a Neilsen device, as we’ve already covered.
For these reasons, weight is a critical factor to consider when choosing a 9mm pistol suppressor. It’s directly related to size and material, though, and all three tend to correspond to noise reduction, so it can be a complicated variable to decide on.
Diameter
As we’ve touched on previously, internal capacity tends to directly correlate to suppression capability. This means that the more space a suppressor has inside for the gas to expand and cool, the quieter it will perform.
There are two ways to increase a suppressor’s internal volume: by adding length, or diameter.
Adding length tends to mostly affect weight and maneuverability, which we’ve discussed above. Increasing diameter, though, doesn’t generally affect either.
Diameter is rarely a reliable indicator of weight due to variations in internal baffle structure, material density, and other design aspects. As such, suppressor thickness tends to have a negligible impact on weight, and really in no measurable way impacts maneuverability. It does, however, have the inconvenient side-effect of obscuring your sight picture.
Most suppressors will obscure standard-height iron sights, rendering them functionally moot. Thicker suppressors may even partially or totally obscure extra-tall sights or lower-profile red dots and are usually better suited for 9mm PCCs than handguns.
Thread Compatibility
Obviously, you must be able to mount your suppressor to your handgun. Most 9mm firearms with a threaded barrel will come with 1/2×28 threads, which makes it easy to find a compatible suppressor since nearly all 9mm adapters and pistons are in that thread pitch.
However, some firearms feature other thread patterns, such as 1/2×36 in the case of certain PCCs, or M13.5x1LH for some imported firearms.
In any case, it’s essential to verify the thread pitch of your firearm’s barrel and ensure that there is a compatible adapter before purchasing your suppressor. If you’re not sure about your firearm’s thread pitch, consult your manual or check your 9mm thread protector—the pitch is sometimes stamped there.
Best 9mm Suppressors
Everyone’s priorities will be a little different when shopping for a suppressor, so there’s no one best can for all users. Some will want something small and lightweight to take the edge off of the gunshot; others may want a large, highly effective can that’s safe to shoot without ear protection with subsonic ammo.
Ultimately, only you can decide what suppressor is best for your applications, but below, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular models in a few different categories.
Best Compact 9mm Suppressors
If you don’t want to add a ton of extra length to your firearm, then a compact suppressor is exactly what you’re looking for. These pint-sized cans sit right around 5″ in length, offering enough internal volume for adequate suppression but minimizing any additional bulk.
YHM R9
Yankee Hill Suppressors is one of the oldest names in the industry, producing a large number of popular and iconic models. Their compact 9mm suppressor, the R9, is one of their most popular.
The YHM R9 is just 5.2″ long and weighs a scant 9.3 ounces, despite its full stainless steel construction. It’s among the most durable handgun suppressors in production, capable of not only handling full-auto 9mm fire but also suppressing full-power rifle cartridges like 5.56x45mm and .308 Winchester, albeit with some barrel length restrictions.
The R9 utilizes HUB adapter threads, so users can install a YHM Neilsen device for use on a handgun or their choice of direct thread or QD adapter for carbine use.
CGS Mod-9K
CGS is often on the cutting edge of suppressor technology, and the Mod-9K is no exception. At just 4.8″ long and barely 6.6 ounces, it’s the smallest can on our list, but it punches well above its weight class.
The Mod-9K features CGS’s second-generation Orion baffles, which have been painstakingly engineered to optimize sound reduction. Their specialized cut pistons work in concert with the suppressor to limit first-round pop, ameliorating one of the more common complaints about pistol suppressors.
Made primarily from aluminum with stainless steel blast baffles for durability, the Mod-9K is nearly as small and light as suppressors get.
Quietest 9mm Suppressors
Of course, there are many for whom size and weight are non-issues—they just want the quietest suppressor possible. While the industry is constantly innovating, and newer, higher-performing products are being invented every day, at the time of this writing, the following are some of the most popular suppressors for absolute noise reduction.
CAT Mobster
While additive manufacturing is certainly nothing unique in the suppressor industry, it’s not often used for handgun suppressors. The CAT Mobster is the exception, crafted using laser powder bed fusion with a low back pressure design to help minimize back blast with pistols and overpressure with carbines.
The Mobster is constructed fully from titanium for weight savings and features HUB mounting threads, allowing users their choice of booster assembly or mounting adapter. It also has interchangeable end caps, although it comes with a flash-reducing cap preinstalled.
Q Erector
The Erector is a unique Q suppressor featuring an innovative design in which each baffle is individually threaded. This design allows users to customize their baffle stack, adding or removing suppressors as needed to achieve their desired balance of size and weight to suppression.
This modularity allows it to be both a highly compact or high-suppression silencer, but not both at the same time. Adding baffles will further dampen the noise of the gunshot, but add length and weight at the same time. Still, in its full-size configuration, the Erector is one of the quieter 9mm silencers available.
The Erector is made primarily from aluminum but utilizes stainless steel blast baffles to ensure longevity.
Best 9mm PCC Suppressors
Usually, when we talk about 9mm suppressors, we’re talking about pistols, but that’s not always the case. Pistol caliber carbines have grown rapidly in popularity over the last decade, and are excellent platforms to suppress.
Dead Air Mojave 9
The Mojave 9 from Dead Air is a modular suppressor designed to maximize suppression while minimizing blowback. It features Dead Air’s new Triskelion baffle system and utilizes a two-piece tube design, allowing users to choose between a compact configuration and a full-size one.
Constructed primarily from titanium using additive manufacturing technology, the Mojave 9 weighs only 8.2 ounces in its full-size configuration. While it does not offer HUB threading, it is compatible with most Dead Air mounts and adapters, including KeyMicro, 3-lug, and Xeno mounts, as well as Dead Air’s booster assembly and piston.
PTR Vent 2
Another low back pressure design, the Vent 2 from PTR Industries is also 3D-printed from titanium. Unlike the Mojave, though, the Vent 2 utilizes a monolithic design, meaning that the tube and baffles are one contiguous piece.
This type of design maximizes strength and durability by eliminating weak points and welds but at the cost of user serviceability. With modern advances in suppressor maintenance and the low service needs of 9mm suppressors, though, the drawbacks are often well worth the benefits.
The Vent 2 utilizes a sophisticated baffle design and internal venting system to maximize suppression while significantly reducing back pressure, making it an excellent choice for carbines that lack efficient tuning systems, such as many AR-9s.
Conclusion
9mm firearms make excellent suppressor hosts. The low cost and easy availability of subsonic ammo make them a top choice for quiet range plinking, but when loaded with proper hollow points, they still make effective self-defense firearms.
With the right suppressor, a 9mm pistol or carbine is a pleasure to shoot and a popular mainstay for nearly every range day.
