I am interested in getting a silencer for my Kimber 5" and I need some info:

1.  How much quieter is it?
2.  Does threading a barrel reduce its structural integrity due to the lack of material that will be at the muzzle?
3.  Overall, is it worth it?

Thanks in Advance

Brian

Tag in hopes of some pics.

It should work since the .45 is a slower round. With a good can it should wisper.

Quoted: It should work since the .45 is a slower round. With a good can it should wisper.

I crono'ed some Rem-UMC 230g out of a 1911 at 10 feet a while back, IIRC it was between 850-900fps. Well below the speed of sound.

I remember .40sw 180g out of a Glock22 was a little faster but still below sound barrier; just FYI.

This is of interest to me as well.

Tell me about your setups!

The problem that you are going to have is with getting the gun to run.  IIRC they require a recoil booster, and they make dissasembly a real pain.

BUMP for someone who knows.

Steven Seagal had one in a movie I was watching the other night.

Seriously, I hear you have to go through the pistol pretty thoroughly to get it to function properly.

I've read quite a few stories about old 1911's with very low spring rates and a slide lock to keep the action from cycling. So basically you have to manually cycle it, but they were built that way so they were quiet. Supposedly, they were still capable of cycling properly with the slide lock and the suppressor off.  

I've never seen a picture of a suppressed 1911 and the stories I've heard, may be just that. I hope someone in the know can drop some factual info as it's a pretty interesting topic.

I too, am hoping to see pictures.

My friend has one I'm probably going to purchase, and I've shot it.  It's a SA Mil-Spec with an AWC suppresor and AWC installed match barrel (Bar-Sto if memory serves).  

-As far as how quiet it is, I guess all I can say is that it's quiet.  230Gr. loads are definitely subsonic, and all that I shot out of it.  I've shot supressed 9mms, .40s, .308s, .223s, and .22s, and it's defintely quieter than all but the supressed .22s and 9s I've shot.  

-Threading will not weaken the barrel.  The threads are shallow.  It's no different than the thread used on most 1911 compensators.

-Is it worth it?  I don't know.  How do you define that?  Let's face it, suppressors for most of us are stritly for fun.  Unless you intend to take out a person where stealth is paramount, or maybe to save your hearing during indoor CQB entries, or want to use it for pest control in a semi rural area where it's legal and you want to keep the noise down, isn't a suppressor just a cool toy?  

Figure on spending $400 up to $1000 just for the can, and then the tax stamp, and then the barrel threading.  Also, there are many avenues for having a barrel that will accept the can, from buying a crappy aftermarket drop in threaded barrel, to buying a decent quality one, to buying a good quality aftermarket oversized barrel, to having a smith thread a barrel for you.  Also, you will need to consult the suppressor manufacturer on what spring to use.  My friend's gun runs flawlessly, and though I can't remember the recoil spring weight, it's ridiculously low, like 9 lbs, or something.  Also, good luck being able to see the sights over your can, though there are other options for this too.

Thanks for the info Guys!  That answers most of my questions, but now I have another:

Does having a spring of a lesser weight affect how the gun will run without the supressor?

Also....I never thought about seeing the sights, I guess that right there might just make this entire endeavor completely impractical.  I would still like to see some pics, though

Thanks again.

Brian

I think the De Lisle would be fun too!  

If you want a suppressed .45, I think the USP Tactical is the way to go.

The DeLisle is the best thing the Brits (IIRC) ever did.

The Tactical would be a great choice, but a little to common for my tastes. Go for the 1911 and have something unique!

Quoted: The DeLisle is the best thing the Brits (IIRC) ever did. The Tactical would be a great choice, but a little to common for my tastes. Go for the 1911 and have something unique!

Something unique that doesn't work nearly as well in that application? You will spend a lot of time and money on the 1911, and in the end you will probably still wind up with an inferior suppressed weapon platform. That's not to say that the 1911 is inferior to the USP on its own merits. Just that when you're talking suppression, the USP Tactical is the way to go.

There was no pun intended. I agree the USP would be a better choice logically, I just find the 1911 to be cooler as it's an uncommon practice to suppress one.

I use one on Ghost Recon!

As far as the sights go, I played with a Sig 220 with an AAC can. While you couldn't see the sight over top the can, you can still use them. It just doesn't work to say, put the targets head on top of the front sight. Instead, you guesstimate the POI with the sights probperly aligned like normal.

In other words, think of it as shooting with a 4 MOA dot. You can put the dot center mass and shoot and hit the target, or you can balance the small target dot on the top of the 4MOA dot and hit more accurately.

So it's not ineffective, and as Hobbs said, there are ways around it.

higher custom sights or M6 laser light or crimson trace, etc.