The Banish 9K makes for an excellent range suppressor and also serves well on a home defense handgun in the event you have to protect your family in a close-quarters area. (Photo provided by author)
June 12, 2025
By Colton Bagnoli
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I fell into the proverbial "suppressor rabbit hole" over 10 years ago and immediately began suppressing every precision rifle in my collection followed by my handguns and gas guns. The joy of not having to wear ear protection all day at the range testing guns was a welcomed experience regardless of the costs associated. After over two decades of shooting weekly if not daily at times, my hearing was beginning to suffer even with hearing protection being worn every day, the constant blast to my left ear (facing towards the muzzle as a right handed rifle shooter) was taking it's toll. I also had a few too many rifles with brakes go off next to my head during my years of guiding elk hunts, which is likely the reason for the majority of my hearing loss. The legalization of hunting with suppressors in most of the states I hunt was a god send, only two decades too late for me.
Suppressing long rifles is easy, but suppressing handguns has always been a balancing act with larger suppressors throwing the balance and speed off for handling and driving a handgun on target. While I enjoy shooting suppressed subsonic loads in my 9mm handguns, I always wanted a shorter, lighter suppressor that would allow for fast transitions on multiple targets without weighing the gun down when running a plate rack at full speed. When I saw the new Banish 9K suppressor I ordered one immediately, hoping it would be the answer.
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The Silencer Central Process The Banish 9K suppressor looks tiny in comparison to all the Glock magazines and ammo boxes. Not something thats common with pistol suppressors. (Photo provided by author.) I ordered my Banish 9K through Silencer Central and set up my trust to see if the “suppressors delivered to your doorstep” really was as easy as they claimed. I completed the initial paperwork and received the fingerprint kit in the mail a few days later. While I had extensive experience fingerprinting people during my time in law enforcement, the fingerprinting myself was a first and easier than expected. The trick is to test the proper amount of ink and how to roll your fingers on a spare sheet of paper first before rolling into your official fingerprint card. It is a very straight forward process and took less than 10 minutes at my kitchen table to complete. After completing the paperwork and confirming the paperwork through a phone call with a Silencer Central customer service team member, I had my suppressor on my doorstep in less than two weeks. It was that easy and stress free. The Banish 9K was screwed onto my 1/2-28 threaded Glock barrel within minutes of opening the box.
Initial Impressions of the Banish 9K The Banish 9K compared to a Surefire X300U-A light. This suppressor is nearly half the length of the Author's other 9mm suppressors. (Photo provided by author.) The Banish 9K is insanely light, weighing in at 2.7 ounces. For comparison, that’s lighter than a king-size Snickers bar that everyone can relate to. For length comparison the 9K is roughly the same length as a Surefire X300 Ultra gun light. Most 9mm suppressors equipped with a piston, average eight inches in length and weigh around nine ounces with some newer models being an exception. This is where the 9K really shines. At four inches and 2.7 ounces, it’s the ultimate compact pistol suppressor.
Being so light and compact in length, this suppressor doesn’t need a piston or Nielsen device to operate on most semiautomatic handguns. When a large, heavy suppressor is added to the barrel, you need a piston to allow for reliable cycling and operation. The piston is a spring-loaded device that acts like a shock absorder between the suppressor and the barrel. After the shot, as the slide begins it's rearward motion to extract and eject the spent case, the barrel needs to tip upward to unlock from the slide. For most handgun suppressors, the piston helps with this process and allows for the firearm to operate as designed.
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Range Report The Author fired this five-shot group with iron sights from 12 yards while bracing the pistol atop the drum. The Hornady Subsonic 147-grain ammunition is deadly accurate and reliably cycles in the suppressed Glock. (Photo provided by author.) The first thing I did to test the operation of this piston less suppressor was grab a magazine full of Hornady Subsonic 147-grain ammo and shoot it into my dirt backstop from my front porch, after the delivery guy left of course. First round pop was present, then a quiet string of 16 rounds without a hitch in the pistol’s operation. The local yard deer lazily grazing on the neighbor’s property didn’t even pay attention or spook at the gun's report. I was impressed.
Over the course of the next few months of range days, this reliability was continuous throughout my first 500 rounds of testing with Hornady Subsonic 147-grain, Hornady Critical Duty 135-grain and remanufactured 147-grain subsonic “Hush” loads from Supervel. I even ran some Winchester 115-grain FMJ for a hundred rounds or so, and while it was louder, the pistol ran flawlessly. Regardless of the ammunition, the pistol operated perfectly with great feeding and ejection, as always. During this test, I passed over 40,000 rounds through my Glock 17 because it is my primary training and testing handgun.
How Quiet is Quiet? The Banish 9K doesn't need a piston or Nielsen device to operate reliably on the threaded Glock 17 barrel. Slide locked back to the rear after the last shot fired on the range marked 500 rounds tested through the Banish 9K. (Photo provided by author.) I have been called alot of things in my lifetime, but never have I been labeled as a "sound measuring device." My only means of quantifying the effectiveness of a suppressor in reducing sound is my own ears. While I can't give exact sound measurements at the muzzle or shooter's ear, I can say with the Banish 9K on my Glock, I can shoot all day with subsonic loads and never experience ringing or discomfort. I have "quieter" rated 9mm suppressors but they are nearly double in size and weight to accomplish the same task, as far as my ears can tell.
The 9K is rated as hearing safe at 132 db at the shooters ear with 9mm ammunition. It is full-auto rated with 300 BLK OUT Subsonic ammunition in an AR-15 platform as well. Constructed from 3-D printed titanium, the eight baffles are extremely effective at sound reduction while maintaining strength and durability. The new 3-D printed titanium suppressors are changing the game for what a suppressor can achieve in sound reduction with impressive results, and the Banish 9K is a great example of this new technology.
Final Thoughts The process of acquiring the Banish 9K from Silencer Central is my new preferred method to purchase a suppressor. The process is all done from the comfort of your home without having to battle traffic or even drive to town at all if you live out in the sticks. Couple the ease of purchase with a great suppressor and it’s a no brainer for adding the new Banish 9K to your gun. When it comes to balancing performance with a small footprint, the Banish 9K finds the sweet spot for a well-balanced handgun setup for a variety of applications.
