Suppressor on a j-frame

[libertasdon]

I have a few j-frames in .38 spcl. and .357 mag. I wear hearing aids. I am thinking about putting a suppressor on my house guns. Is that feasible and reasonable on a snub? A 3-inch barrel? A 4-inch barrel? I am looking to save what remains of my hearing should I be forced to discharge a round or two.

 

[Richard Simmons]

Because of the cylinder gap you won’t get the suppression like on a closed breach pistol. The only revolver that I know of that can be successfully suppressed is an 1895 Nagant.

You’d be better off getting a pistol with a threaded barrel or getting a threaded barrel for an existing pistol.

 

[michpatriot]

I like this angle! Might just be able to convince your wife..that a supressor makes sense..it will help with sound levels but not as much as a semiautomatic for the above mentioned cylinder gap. But if you search there is a guy who suppressed a NAA22 revolver and it does work pretty good!

 

[murphydog]

An easier solution may be to keep noise suppression ear muffs near your house gun. But a revolver silencer sounds like more fun.

 

[teletech]

Better than nothing, but far from ideal.
Costs you all the concealment of the j-frame and you get very poor suppression. Not to mention it will be expensive to do since you'll need a modified barrel with relocated sights to see over the can.
It will be far cheaper and more effective to go with a semiautomatic that comes already threaded.

I guess since you have to do barrel work anyhow, you could turn the barrel back a thread ind set it up for like .001" gap. You'd have to turn the cylinder as well to make sure it was true. Then you would have to make sure to clean the B/C gap of debris *very* often to guarantee reliability. That would at least give you a fighting chance. Still, totally not worth it.

 

[DonD]

I like this angle! Might just be able to convince your wife..that a supressor makes sense..it will help with sound levels but not as much as a semiautomatic for the above mentioned cylinder gap. But if you search there is a guy who suppressed a NAA22 revolver and it does work pretty good!

That simply makes no sense at all. Noise reduction is likely minimal at best and if there's any backpressure from a suppressor, more barrel/cylinder gap blast.

The ONLY solution is a semi auto with a threaded barrel set up for a suppressor.

Who cares about anything related to a NAA22? It's a very poor choice for self defense. Don

 

[colt_saa]

But a revolver silencer sounds like more fun.

A few years back I was channeling my inner Maxwell Smart

I have a few j-frames in .38 spcl. and .357 mag. I wear hearing aids. I am thinking about putting a suppressor on my house guns. Is that feasible and reasonable on a snub? A 3-inch barrel? A 4-inch barrel? I am looking to save what remains of my hearing should I be forced to discharge a round or two.

as others have mentioned, there is a HUGE opening before the muzzle, it is the barrel/cylinder gap

With the exception of the Nagant M1895, no revolver can be suppressed down to a Hearing Safe level.

I knew this before I set up the revolver pictured above. I only did this one as a conversation piece.

I am against the idea of trying to locate and put on hearing protection when you need to bring a firearm into play for personal defense. The time lost could be catastrophic.

The odds of a homeowner being in a firefight are so small, that I would not stress out over it. Should you ever need to fire a weapon in personal defense, a partial loss of hearing is an acceptable trade off as opposed to the alternatives.

The one thing that you should be looking to save is your life and the lives of those around you. Do not complicate that end result

The majority of Law Enforcement Officers go through their careers with out ever being in a firefight and they knowingly walk into bad situations all the time

Many years ago, in the wee hours of the morning, I fired 4 rounds of 45ACP +P Hydroshok through the front window of my Dodge K-car at two perpetrators. The entire incident popped up and was over in 15 seconds or so. Even if I had ever trained to put on hearing protection, there was not enough time.

 

[Chubbs103]

With the exception of the Nagant M1895, no revolver can be suppressed down to a Hearing Safe level.

That is mostly true. It CAN be done and HAS been done with K frame Smiths by the U.S. military. The concept was resurrected years later by Knights Armament using a Ruger Redhawk frame as the base.

It required special "piston" rounds, so the OP will NOT be doing it with his J frame.

If you google some combination of suppressed, revolver, Vietnam, and tunnel rat you will find an interesting read. I am fascinated by the concept even while I do not see the point when compared to suppressing a semi-auto.

 

[MP-5]

The Suppressed revolver 1895 Nagant... Quiet

 

[chief38]

After much hearing loss I am super cautious about wearing hearing protection while normal shooting at the Range and even while bird hunting. That said, I would not wear them in a SD / HD scenario. I'd want to hear everything just prior to having to pull the trigger!

While the shot or shots I might have to take might indeed worsen my hearing, I don't think it would make it bad enough to risk not hearing what was happening just prior to taking the shot. I don't think that would go over well in a court room either!

 

[Murdock]

Post military retirement I wear hearing aids, that my Uncle Sam bought me, and like the OP try to protect what I have left. Tinnitus is always there.

One day recntly on the way into town (I live 20miles out in the country) to meet a buddy for coffee I encountered a juvenile porcupine that had been hit by a car, and was dragging itself off the pavement with its back obviously broken. I was carrying my SIG P229 .40 that day. I dispatched the poor little critter on the shoulder of the road, forgetting to remove my hearing aids in the process. Oops! Unfortunate error on my part but not a disaster.

If one must use a gun in one's home to save a life (and why else would one do this?) there are far more things to be concerned with than any additional hearing loss. Shoot straight to minimize the number of times the trigger needs to be pulled and worry about the ears later.

 

[gwpercle]

For Concealed Carry ... Or To Keep in the Bedroom / House ?

The details make a huge difference ! ! !
Gary

 

[DonD]

Many years ago, in the wee hours of the morning, I fired 4 rounds of 45ACP +P Hydroshok through the front window of my Dodge K-car at two perpetrators. The entire incident popped up and was over in 15 seconds or so. Even if I had ever trained to put on hearing protection, there was not enough time.

Enquiring minds want to know how the perpetrators fared? Don

 

[colt_saa]

Enquiring minds want to know how the perpetrators fared? Don

Both were dead at the scene

 

[JonE406]

Back in 1978 I had a situation to return fire outdoors at several suspects when I carried a mod 586 L frame 6" without hearing protection... never got that ringing noise in my ears after either with magnum loads. Suspects were GFS from the scene, to unknown parts.

 

[cmj8591]

But they work in the movies.

 

[shocker]

A 22 short is still ear ringing loud from a 3" J-frame.
If I were in your situation, I'd consider a pistol caliber carbine. 38+P or 9 mm out of a 16" barrel shouldn't be catastrophically loud.

 

[03hemi]

...but, but they did it in Magnum Force? lol

 

[rays44]

I have a few j-frames in .38 spcl. and .357 mag. I wear hearing aids. I am thinking about putting a suppressor on my house guns. Is that feasible and reasonable on a snub? A 3-inch barrel? A 4-inch barrel? I am looking to save what remains of my hearing should I be forced to discharge a round or two.

Anything can be done, but it won't be effective or reasonable as has been previously mentioned.
You would completely quell the advantage of a snub.
Stick with the .38 special as a house gun with any good brand of defensive ammo and forget about the .357. Period.

 

[djohns6]

I don't know which is worse , a suppressor on a revolver or the suggestion to wear ear muffs in a home defense scenario .