What say ye???

I've been reading a lot of great reviews which lead me to pickup a SpectreII. My dealer luckily had one in stock and submitted the Form 4 efile last Thursday.

I am interested in everyone's opinions on what the quietest pistol host would be running Federal bulk pack? The host would absolutely need to keep the bulk subsonic. Also, for ease of use I'd prefer not having to cut/re-thread any barrels.

Sights or rails are fine....would rather put the cost of re-threading towards a really nice red dot instead...Deltapoint/Trijicon/Burris

Order of importance: 1a Quiet, 1b Quiet, 2 Accurate, 3 Reliable

Some of the contenders:

A. Walther P22
B. Ruger SR22
C. M&P 22
D. Ruger Mark 3 Talo 4" - http://ruger.com/products/markIIIDE/spe ... 10154.html
E. Ruger 22/45 4.5" TB Rail/ Fixed http://ruger.com/products/2245ThreadedB ... 10149.html
http://ruger.com/products/2245ThreadedB ... 10150.html
F. Ruger 22/45 Lite 4.4" TB - http://ruger.com/products/2245Lite/models.html
G. Buckmark URX Lipseys 4" TB - http://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail.aspx? ... 051-493490
H. GSG 1911

I was strongly leaning towards the P22 but became concerned when I began reading about the poor quality/ reliability. Are they really that bad? All of these can be found within about $100 of one another. If not a p22, what's the quietest in second place?

I will mostly be plinking, shooting around with friends or trying to turn heads on the range. Wifey will use some too. A Ruger would solve the reliability issue - but which Ruger is the quietest among the bunch (almost excluded the SR22). I could also drop in an upgraded trigger and mag disconnect to make one even more reliable.

While not a Spectre II, I really like the Ruger TB. Very quiet with bulk. Accurate and reliable. Ton of aftermarket for the Ruger and love the VZ grips. I have done away with the mag disconnect with Sam Lam's bushings and have a Volquartsen sear.

The SR22, GSG (or Sig, exactly the same pistol) 1911 .22, and M&P .22 are all very good suppressor hosts, being available already threaded, needing only an adapter to mount the can. They are all very quiet, too. Another outstanding choice would be a Ruger MK III 22/45 Lite as they are also readily available already threaded for pretty reasonable money.

I have all 4 as hosts, and they run like sewing machines, with excellent to outstanding accuracy. Of the bunch, the best is the MK III, IMO, followed closely by the SR22. The others are just a bit less accurate. All run very well with bulk pack ammo, and remain subsonic.

My .02 worth, FWIW.

I have both the M&P22 and the 22/45 Lite. Both are great hosts, quiet and totally reliable. My hands down favorite is the 22/45. Sure, it needs a few aftermarket parts to bring out it's true awesomeness,but it is well worth it, IMHO. Shoots like a dream,and with any cheap ammo I put through it.
The most accurate are going to be the Ruger Marks and the Buckmark. Those are also the only ones you can really get a great trigger with. My 22/45 trigger pull is short, very crisp and just slightly over 2 lbs. Nearly the best trigger I have ever pulled.
With my .223 can on it, as my .22 can should be getting approved next month:

Keep your barrel length at 6" or  less and most any HV bulk pack ammunition should stay sub-sonic.

Some great replies and it's awesome to hear from people that own, have had a chance to fire a lot of rounds and try out a lot of different hosts.

It seems that the majority recommend the Rugers and Buckmarks - at the end of the day they're the most accurate, reliable AND as long as the barrel is below 5" keeps bulk quiet, all else about equal.

Do you find the 22/45 Lite to be a little front heavy at all?  Wax thinking about the Mark III Talo but it's a whole 15 oz more than the Lite....Talo

Shooting the 22/45 Lite is almost like a Styrofoam weapon. No hang weight, When a suppressor is attached it seems much better. Prefer a little muzzle heavy when shooting.

Then look at a S&W 41, Ruger MkII, or RIA XT 22

Is there a noticeable difference in noise level when shooting with the .223 can vs a 22 caliber suppressor? I imagine the extra volume helps, but is it well beyond the point of diminishing returns?

I haven't had a .22 can to compare it to. But I will tell you in a week or so, since my Warlock II was approved on 3/28 and I am waiting on the shop to receive the stamp.

Ruger

Closed slide = more quiet

Closed slide = less suppressor junk (carbon and vaporized lead) blowing up your nose.

Closed slide = sights stay fixed and you can mount mini red dots with far less stress on the small optics

A 223 can on a 22lr pistol would be comically heavy and also throw a lot of gunk into the 223 can (vaporized lead deposits).

Well, mine weighs 12 oz.(Ti & Inconel),which is twice what most stainless rimfire cans weigh, so it is a bit front heavy, But I wouldn't call it "comically heavy". I have no problem hitting 6" steel plates at 75 yards or squirrels at 15-25 yards with it on and shooting offhand.

I don't care about the gunk, as it is a serviceable can.

I've been shooting .22 through it and my 9mm cans daily for over a year now.

The configuration of your silencer is more the exception than the rule.  

I would agree with you based on your configuration.  Ti cans are really sweet.

But I'd be right with the majority of 5.56 cans.

I was definitely just speaking for my can, since most .223 are sealed. And granted it is a tad heavy for a pistol, it worked in a pinch. It now alternates between my 11.5" 5.56 and my 4.5" SBR.

Definitely a difference. Not super huge, but .223 can is noticeably quieter with no FRP. Warlock slightly louder and higher pitch sound with noticeable FRP.
IMO, not worth the extra weight on the pistol, but well worth it on my .22 SBR.

The type of ammo will have more influence on noise level than the gun.
Shooting bulk pack ( which is high velocity / supersonic - at least in rifle length barrels)  is counterintuitive to suppressors use - you want quiet shoot standard velocity ammo all of which are subsonic

Most any handgun with a 5.5", or less, barrel will shoot bulk pak ammo and remain subsonic, though depending on atmospheric conditions, sometimes a 5.5" barrel will throw one with a supersonic crack, but not very often.

My 5.5 MK II will stay quiet about 98% of the time, every once in a great while making the sonic crack. I have never heard any of my 4.5" pistols do that, ever.

Absolute quietest .22 host gun for bulk packs, a TC Contender with a 4" to 5" barrel. You could buy a used .22 barrel and have ADCO cut it down to 4" and thread it.

Mine has a 9" barrel but when shooting subsonics through the suppressor, the hammer blow seems as loud as the report.

We were using Gemtech 42gr (CCI made I think) and a Sparrow, and tested an SR22, 21A, buckmark 4" (from hi-desert dog) and ruger 22/45 (4.5" barrel).

We didn't have the best decibel-tester, but had a few different ones (one real decibel meter that goes up to 130dB, and two crappy phone apps that didn't work well, but seem to give us a good "relative-to-each-other" measurement).  I don't remember the exact results, but the Buckmark won (even though it has a slide)--it was something like 112-113 decibels, but the SR22 and 22/45 were right behind it in a dead heat with only 2 decibels more.  The 21A was a bit louder.  

We didn't do it scientifically (we squirted a little wire-pull gel in the suppressor at the beginning of each test and measured the 2nd, 3rd and 4th shots).  The only gun that SOUNDED louder to me was the 21A, but I thought the 22/45 beat the SR22 we shot before it and Buckmark we shot after it...even though it didn't appear to on the meters.

Great info!  Tks for sharing.

I have a Lipseys model Walther P22 and a Spectre II. I've shot the check out of it with bulk federal, cci pistol, cci standard
And several other brands. I've not had one malfunction that wasn't ammo related. As long as it's lubed it cycles fine and is super quiet.

Here's what I use for bulk pack ammo. Had the barrel cut down and threaded: