• Length: 4.1 inches
• Weight: 2.7 ounces
• Material: Titanium
• Thread: 1/2x28
• Expected Sound Reduction: 26 dBs
• Calibers: 9mm, .380 ACP, 5.7x28, .300 BLK
   

Firearms for Testing

Silencer Central’s website includes a disclaimer for the Banish 9K that reads: “When using the BANISH 9K – or any suppressor – on a pistol, minor adjustments to springs, weights, or ammunition may be needed to maintain factory-like performance.”

Therefore, I will test the Banish 9K with two unmodified firearms to see if it will function as described in this disclaimer.
 

Everyone is familiar with or owns a Glock pistol, so I will rely on my Glock 17 Gen II 9mm as my primary test bed. Except for the threaded Faxon barrel, it is a stock handgun from the mid-1980s. I estimate over 1,500 rounds have been fired through this reliable handgun that I have owned for over 35 years. 

Faxon makes a quality drop-in Glock 4.5-inch barrel threaded 1/2x28 to fit most suppressors, and I have retained the original recoil spring and heavy steel slide. Other suppressors will cause this pistol to fail to eject when fired without a piston and spring.  
 

I’ll also be shooting the CMMG Banshee MK17, a 9mm carbine with a Radial Delayed Blowback action that provides a user-friendly, soft recoil impulse. It is different than most blowback pistols and will be an interesting test gun for the Banish 9K.
 

Test Ammunition

PMC Bronze 115-grain FMJ: This is my favorite ammo for testing firearms but did not function my Glock 17. Failures to eject occurred due to the light bullet. It functioned flawlessly in the CMMG Banshee.

Handload #1: 4.2 grains of Alliant Bullseye powder behind a 124-grain FMJ bullet. Estimated Velocity 1,060 fps. This ammo also would not function my Glock 17 due to failures to eject. It functioned without jams in the CMMG Banshee. 

Handload #2: 4.4 Grains of Winchester 231 powder behind a 125-grain JHP. Estimated velocity 1,043 fps. This ammo functioned well in my Glock 17 and the CMMG Banshee with Banish 9K. (Handloads were obtained from the Lyman Reloading Handbook, 49th edition.)
 

Shooting Results

As usual, testing was conducted at my Area 52 site in southern Arizona. PMC Bronze 115-grain FMJ ammo were the only factory rounds available to me for this test, but due to its failure to eject, I proceeded to use my handloaded ammo. Of these two loads, only the Winchester 231 powder with 125 JHP functioned in both firearms.
 

I measured sound with a Tadeto SL720 decibel meter. Its range is from 30 to 130dB, but this device’s performance was disappointing. It read 89.8dB and 89.5dB from the Glock 17 and the CMMG Banshee, and test firing without the Banish 9K seemed to make little difference in its readings.

Although I was unable to record a decibel reduction with the available sound meter, it is obvious that the Banish 9K does suppress both my Glock 17 and the CMMG Banshee by a noticeable degree. I feel it is mandatory to wear some ear protection while shooting suppressed, but the extremely loud bark of my Glock 17 is tamed. The Banshee’s bang is also reduced significantly. 
 

Full-powered ammunition is required to cycle the full-sized Glock 17. Light loads with light 110-grain bullets will not move the slide far enough to the rear to allow proper ejection of the spent case.
 

PROS & CONS