Pistols may be ballistically inferior to rifles. But there’s a bright side to this: pistols are much easier to suppress than rifles.
It takes a lot less to make pistol rounds hearing safe, especially larger rounds like .45ACP that are naturally subsonic. So it’s easy to make your pistols hearing safe for you and your family, should you need to use your handgun for personal defense.
And a suppressor makes you look 2x to 3x cooler when you go shooting. Besides the price, there’s very little downside to getting a suppressor (or two or three).
Our Best Choice
SilencerCo Octane 45K Silencer
SPOILER—if you’re ready to get a pistol suppressor right now, get the SilencerCo Octane 45K Silencer. It’s an excellent all-around suppressor. And it’s surprisingly affordable. You can’t go wrong.
If you’re ready to check out all the best pistol suppressors out there, so you can really dial in your purchase, we’ve got you. Scroll on to find the best pistol suppressor for your shooting context.
Top Pistol Suppressor on the Market Today
Best Pistol Suppressor Reviews - Be Silent
The very best pistol suppressor will get reviewed first, as usual. The best pistol suppressor in each price or performance category is presented in order of price.
The most mildly priced suppressors are at the top.
The most wildly priced suppressors are near the bottom.
Let’s check the sound signatures.
1. SilencerCo Octane 45K Silencer - Overall Best Pistol Suppressor
SilencerCo is easily at the top of the list of companies that make the best silencers. The SilencerCo Octane 45K Silencer is one of their flagship suppressors. And it’s a solid performer in every aspect.
It easily makes .45ACP and 9mm rounds hearing safe. A .45 round measures in at 133 decibels with this suppressor. So you won’t get any permanent hearing damage from limited exposure.
The mounting hardware is easy to change. It’s relatively easy to use this suppressor on a pistol with direct threading and a pistol caliber carbine with a 3-lug mount. This is a good option if you want one suppressor for multiple guns.
And you can easily disassemble this suppressor for cleaning and maintenance. So it’s no problem to get the maximum service life from this model.
Last, but not least, this suppressor is full-auto rated. If you want to run your suppressor in training or competition, this one will hold up.
The only downside is that this suppressor is a bit on the bulky side. It’s 8.7 inches long, which is an inch or so longer than many of the competing suppressors. But it’s not unmanageable, by any means.
Even with the slightly larger size, this is still an excellent suppressor when you consider everything, including the price.
Pros
Cons
2. Sig Sauer SRD45 Suppressor - Budget Pistol Suppressor
The Sig Sauer SRD45 Suppressor is quite affordable. Affordable isn’t Sig’s usual style. But here we are.
“Budget suppressor” doesn’t mean “budget sound attenuation,” though. This suppressor brings the report of a .45 down to 133 decibels—well below the hearing safe threshold. And it’s near the pain threshold. So this suppressor makes it quite bearable if you need to shoot without hearing protection.
And this model is constructed from titanium with stainless baffles. It’s more durable and long lasting than a suppressor with stainless steel and aluminum baffles.
Also, this suppressor is only 7.9 inches long. It’s not the shortest on the market. But it’s shorter than many competing suppressors and quite manageable on a pistol or a pistol caliber carbine.
This suppressor uses a booster piston, which needs to be changed out for mounting on different caliber pistols. So it takes a bit of work if you want to swap this suppressor between handguns. But it can still be done.
Even so, this suppressor is still a great deal. If you want a solid suppressor for a fair price, get this pistol suppressor.
Pros
Cons
3. SilencerCo Osprey 45K Suppressor - Value Pistol Suppressor
The SilencerCo Osprey 45K Suppressor utilizes a unique design that helps you save money on suppressor height sights. So the overall cost of this suppressor is a bit lower than some competing suppressors.
But does it make your pistol hearing safe? Yes. It reduces the report of a .45 round to 137.3 decibels. It’s not the quietest suppressor in the world. But it will make your shots hearing safe.
However, it’s just 6.4 inches long. So it doesn’t add much to the overall length of your gun.
It also only weighs 8 ounces, which is lighter than almost any other pistol suppressor.
But, even though it’s easy to handle, this suppressor won’t reduce muzzle flip as much as a heavier suppressor.
And the offset baffle design keeps your line of sight clear and eliminates the need for suppressor sights. You can just throw this can on your pistol without any modifications.
The only bummer about this suppressor is that not all the baffles are stainless steel. Some baffles are aluminum. It keeps the weight down. But aluminum requires a bit more maintenance to maximize the service life.
However, this SilencerCo suppressor offers good sound suppression in a very small package. And it costs less than most other suppressors when you factor in the cost of suppressor height sights.
Pros
Cons
4. Advanced Armament Illusion 9 Suppressor - 9mm Pistol Suppressor
The Advanced Armament Illusion 9 Suppressor is another suppressor that addresses the cost of pistol height sights. And this suppressor arguably does the best job of solving the suppressor sights problem.
The main advantage this suppressor has over other offset designs is the sound attenuation. This suppressor attenuates the noise level of a 9mm round to about 137 decibels, which is pretty decent, when you consider that 9mm is louder than .45ACP without subsonic ammunition.
And it’s fairly light weight. It weighs only 10.4 ounces. It’s not the lightest suppressor you can get. But it’s lighter than some other suppressors.
However, the light weight does come at a cost: only the blast baffle is stainless steel. The other baffles are aluminum, which requires slightly more maintenance than an all-steel baffle stack.
On the bright side, the baffles are designed to ensure reliable operation with any pistol, which is very valuable if you use this suppressor on a defensive gun.
But, the offset design removes the need for suppressor height sights, which saves you some money.
Overall, though, this Advanced Armament suppressor would be excellent even if it required suppressor height sights. It performs well. And it’s well-priced.
Pros
Cons
5. SilencerCo Omega Silencer - Compact Pistol Suppressor
The SilencerCo Omega Silencer is probably the shortest suppressor you can get that makes all pistol rounds hearing safe. It actually offers some of the best sound suppression around, even though it’s small.
The 9mm version attenuates 9mm rounds to 131.5 decibels, which is well below the hearing safe threshold. If you shoot .45, this suppressor brings the sound level of .45ACP down to 135.9 decibels, which is also hearing safe.
And SilencerCo managed to pack all this sound suppression into a suppressor that’s just 4.7 inches long in 9mm, and 6.4 inches long in .45ACP. It’s remarkably short in either caliber. So your pistol is still quite easy to handle with this suppressor attached.
Additionally, the baffles are stellite, which lasts even longer and requires less maintenance than stainless steel. The outer tube is stainless steel. All this makes for an incredibly durable and long-lasting suppressor.
The robust baffle design also makes this suppressor suitable for full-auto operation and 300 Blackout rifles. So this is a great suppressor for those who want to suppress their pistols, pistol caliber carbines, and 300BLK rifles.
And this suppressor weighs just 10.7 ounces at most (the 9mm model is even lighter). There are lighter suppressors out there, but not many.
Actually, there just aren’t many suppressors on the market that are as versatile and effective as this one. And when you consider the price, this suppressor is a really great buy for anyone.
Pros
Cons
6. GEMTECH Tundra & Blackside Suppressor - Home Defense Pistol Suppressor
The GEMTECH Tundra & Blackside Suppressors (9mm and .45 caliber, respectively) aren’t the most compact. But, the sound attenuation is solid. And small enough that you could easily handle your pistol in any home defense scenario.
First, this suppressor will make 9mm and .45 rounds hearing safe, even if you have supersonic ammunition, which is important for home defense.
However, this suppressor also has surprisingly strong flash suppression capabilities, which keeps your muzzle flash from blinding you in low light situations.
Even with these capabilities, this suppressor weighs just 9 ounces (8.5 ounces for the 9mm model). So it’s fairly light and not too bulky. Not bad.
Unfortunately, only the blast baffle is stainless steel. The other baffles are aluminum. This keeps the weight low. But aluminum simply isn’t as durable or low-maintenance as stainless steel.
And it might not matter to everyone, but the 9mm model is almost exclusively available in FDE. It’s tough to find a GEMTECH Tundra in black for some reason. If you’re into FDE, it’s cool, though.
But, overall, this suppressor offers solid sound suppression, even with supersonic ammunition. It’s not too bulky, though it might be a bit much on a carbine. And it’s pretty affordable.
Pros
Cons
7. Advanced Armament Ti-Rant 45 Auto Pistol Suppressor - .45 Pistol Suppressor
The Advanced Armament Ti-Rant 45 Auto Pistol Suppressor is one of the best pistol suppressors you can get in any caliber (the Ti-Rant 9mm is occasionally in stock). But the .45 model outperforms competitors a bit better than the 9mm model.
The main thing about this suppressor is the sound attenuation. It reduces the noise level of a .45 round to the low to mid 130’s, which is a handful of decibels below the hearing safe threshold. So it does a suppressor’s job better than most suppressors.
However, it also weighs just 8.6 ounces, which is lighter than most other .45 suppressors. And it’s only 7.75 inches long, which is shorter than many competing suppressors. So it delivers solid sound reduction, without adding a ton of bulk to your handgun.
The outer tube is titanium. But only the blast baffle is steel. The remaining baffles are aluminum.
The construction is lightweight. However, aluminum baffles aren’t quite as good as steel baffles.
But this suppressor is still durable. It just requires a bit more cleaning than a suppressor with an all-steel baffle stack.
It also uses the Advanced Armament booster system, which makes this suppressor reliable with just about any pistol, semi-automatic or otherwise.
This Advanced Armament suppressor might run a bit on the high end of the price spectrum. But it performs very well. And operates reliably with almost any .45 pistol you might have.
Pros
Cons
Turning That Noise Down
If your pistol is part of your home defense plan or if you just want a more pleasant shooting experience, a suppressor is a good piece of gear to have in your bag. It helps protect your hearing and makes your gun easier to control.
So there are good reasons to wrap your muzzle.
If you think a suppressor is a good idea, but you’re still not sure which one to get, just pick up the SilencerCo Octane 45K Silencer. It gives you excellent sound suppression for an excellent price. And you shouldn’t pass that up.
That’s it for our pistol suppressor rundown. We’ve removed all the excuses. It’s time to get a pistol suppressor and stop making so much racket.