Experience or info on suppressed M9's (or 92-FS)...

Animal8526 · 12-19-2009, 01:33

First, I want to apologize if this has been covered before. My search was fruitless... Though, the engine tossed out "M9" as being too short, so I couldn't pull up any specific results for "suppressed M9", but I digress.

Anyways, the last few trips to the range with my wife have been more productive than previous times out, and we've come to some conclusions...

A.) Getting her some shooting gloves is in order.

B.) Her (rather bad) habit of anticipating recoil has less to do with physical recoil, and more to do with muzzle blast/retort. Enough time at the range and I could get her past it, but she won't put in the trigger time needed unless she's enjoying herself, which brings us to the purpose of this thread.

She made the comment that the noise bothers her even more than the recoil, and asked "can we get the Beretta a silencer or something?". Like I need more of a reason to pick up a can. Since we've already determined that the 92 is her favorite handgun to shoot (out of what I own), I'd like to pick up a can for it, but I want some more input before I pop on one. I figured if any place has a user group with experience using suppressed 92's, this might be it.

First, it appears that there is enough of the barrel protruding from the end of the slide that I should be able to have my machinist gunsmith buddy thread the stock barrel without a problem. From my brief look on google this appears to be a common solution. Does this jive with whatever experience members here have?

Second, I'm looking to pick up a .45 suppressor so that I can use it with all my handguns, from that caliber down. I know that on paper I'm loosing efficiency suppressing a smaller bore round out of a larger bore can, but I simply don't have the means to buy separate cans for each caliber. My machinist buddy has plenty of experience shooting with suppressed weapons, and assures me this won't be a problem, but he's never shot a 92 suppressed so I want to cover my bases.

One issue I foresee is that with a larger caliber can I'll be further obscuring the target within the sight picture, which may not be ideal when the purpose of the can is to get my wife out to the range more often to work on her shooting skills. I'm not sure what to do about this, but I may add a burris speed dot or something of that nature in place of the sights.

What can (.45) would members suggest? value is my first concern, as my budget is not huge. But, I don't want to skimp either.

I'm eager to hear any opinions or advice regarding this particular weapon. And thanks in advance.

Tim

**The Reaper** · 12-19-2009, 11:10

Why not step back down to a .22LR till she gets used to the report? This strikes me as a training issue, not a mechanical one.

You will likely need a longer barrel on a M-9 to have enough threads to be able to align a suppressor properly.

There will be a significant amount of blow-by with a .451+ suppressor bore and a .355 bullet passing through it.

Do you plan on keeping the can on it when she is carrying it or using it for home defense?

Suppressors are not like the movies. Do not count on the small amount of noise they portray, especially with a supersonic round like the 9x19 passing through an overbored suppressor. I would want to try one in that configuration before I plunked down close to a grand for the can.

I like the idea of having a suppressor. I am not sure that it is going to be the answer you are looking for.

TR

JJ_BPK · 12-19-2009, 15:12

What TR says,,

Additionally, Look at spending some money on good ear protection. Peltor 7S for about 120 USD will make a significant difference. There are other more expensive and possibility better models by Sordin & Peltor, your mileage will vary.. Minimum protection is the Peltor 6S model (70 USD).

Smaller caliber,, less recoil,, less noise,, better ear protection,, KISS..

AND if you lady can't palm a bowling ball, stay away from double stack mags,, Most ladies have small hands. Revolvers like the S&W J frames fit their hands better, are safer, easier to load, and generally make training simpler.

Animal8526 · 12-19-2009, 15:55

Rgr gentlemen. Perhaps I should clarify a few points...

The wifey already rocks solid with the rimfire pistolas. Previous to me buying the Berettas, our P-22 was her favorite handgun to shoot, and the only handgun she liked to shoot. She shoots well with it even.

Problem was, she didn't like shooting any of my "grown up" handguns, and because of that I wasn't real happy leaving her with any of them as the "nightstand" gun for when I wasn't around, though I did anyways.

First time out to the range with the 92, she stated that she likes shooting that more than her P-22 even, but the issue of recoil anticipation has cropped back up, where it wasn't with the .22.

Now, I'm not so much interested in the can primarily to fix her training issue... Honestly just using it as the excuse I need to pick one up. But, the can I pick up does need to be usuable on the 92/96 I have, as that's the impetus to get one. Otherwise, it'll be primarily used on the .40's and .45's I have.

I wasn't aware that 9mm was supersonic though. I thought it was just on the subsonic side.

Animal8526 · 12-19-2009, 15:59

Oh, and I do have experience shooting suppressed weapons. Not a ton, but enough that I understand the limitations and realistic application of them.

MP-5SD is prob the most fun I've ever had making money fly down a barrel. And suppressed 10/22's with subsonic loads are tons of fun too.

Sinister · 12-23-2009, 00:13

I don't believe anyone's ever made a suppressor that has allowed a 92F/M9 to operate semi-automatically.

I had several issue purpose-built Knight suppressed Berettas, and they sucked mightily.

You might be better off buying her a Beretta 84 (double-stack .380) if the noise bothers her that much.

Oldschool45B · 12-23-2009, 00:33

There are several cans that work 100% on the Beretta. I have an AAC EVO-9 and a YHM that work just fine on the SIG and the M9. They do tame the recoil a bit, but you get force pushing it back forward causing nose drop. There is enough threads on the end for the can, you just stop a fraction of an inch before the slide to keep the two from hitting each other. A decent gunsmith can do this without issue.

Here is the problem you will have with using a .45 can on the smaller calibers. Outer barrel diameter. Measure the outer diameter of the 45 barrel and then your M9 barrel. Pretty big difference. Unless you get some kind of thread adapter you are a no-go.

And this is just a recommendation from someone who has seen it time and again in the military and leo community. DON'T teach your wife to shoot. You can be a professional instructor but first and foremost you are her husband. Have someone else work with her.

**The Reaper** · 12-23-2009, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinister

I had several issue purpose-built Knight suppressed Berettas, and they sucked mightily.

Aha!

You may have identified the source of your problem, hermano!

TR

12-23-2009, 12:24

If recoil is a big issue but she enjoys shooting the pistol otherwise, check out the SGS compensator here. I have one of my own and enjoy taking it to the range; the rise from recoil is almost unnoticeable. Here are some pictures of my tacticooled out 92FS. You do not need a new barrel; you need to provide measurements for your dust cover, and the actual compensator is secured to the pistol by way of an extended guide rod. The compensator screws into the guide rod and uses the recoil spring you already have.

http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/f...392resized.jpg
http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/f...422resized.jpg

Tuukka · 12-23-2009, 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinister

I don't believe anyone's ever made a suppressor that has allowed a 92F/M9 to operate semi-automatically.

I had several issue purpose-built Knight suppressed Berettas, and they sucked mightily.

You might be better off buying her a Beretta 84 (double-stack .380) if the noise bothers her that much.

On the contrary, many of the U.S. and also European suppressor manufacturers have suppressors for the Beretta M92F/M9 ( and for almost any other service calibre pistol ) that allow the weapon to cycle reliably.

A good source for independent suppressor info and test results is www.silencerresearch.com. The site is run by John Titsworth and he has put a lot of time and resources to conduct the testing.

He does charge a fee ( $30 ) for most of the recent reviews, but that money is well spent if one is seriously looking at purchasing suppressors, especially when compared to the cost of the suppressors vs. the review fee.

Another site is silencertalk.com, started by Robert Silvers as an independent test site, but he has since moved on to work for AAC.

Plenty of good info there, but the amount of BS posting & trashtalk can make finding the good info nuggets harder.