sound suppressors

Swiss Arms 1911 Tactical

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Swiss Arms 1911 Tactical

The totally tricked out rail gun Part 2 Part 1

By Dennis Adler

The Swiss Arms 1911 TRS with the JBU faux suppressor and Tanfoglio/Swiss Arms 27-round extended capacity magazine make a formidable combination both visually and in performance. While the faux suppressor does nothing to reduce the medium/high db level of the TRS, the airgun sounds similar to an actual suppressed .45 ACP when fired.

The Swiss Arms TRS, with all the accessories shown, is an exceptional CO2 model given that the retail price is still below $200. The JBU faux suppressor is also sold separately, for those who already have the TRS or other models with a 14mm threaded barrel. It retails for $39.95. This is the most realistic looking of the current faux suppressors available for CO2 air pistols.

The threaded adapter (that comes with the Swiss Arms 1911 Tactical kit) is designed to screw into the larger diameter JBU faux suppressor and step it down to the 14mm threaded adapter that fits into the Swiss Arms barrel. This adapter will also mount the JBU to all Swiss Arms 1911 models with threaded barrels. (The adapter fits other CO2 models with 14mm threaded barrels, but you cannot use it on models that have true locked-breech designs with guide rods, like the latest Sig Sauer P226 X-Five silver. The guide rod extends beyond the barrel when the slide retracts, and it will hit the back of the suppressor. Thus you need to be absolutely certain the slide can retract after fitting the JBU on a blowback action model to prevent damaging the barrel, guide rod, suppressor and slide.) There is also a process for mounting the JBU on threaded barrels. The adapter threads into the JBU counter clockwise and you need to make sure it is tight. The faux suppressor then threads into the barrel clockwise, but you need to be certain not to turn it too tight or the adapter will begin to unscrew from the back of the JBU. read more

Swiss Arms 1911 Tactical

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Swiss Arms 1911 Tactical

The totally tricked out rail gun Part 1 Part 2

By Dennis Adler

This is about as close to a realistically-sized, suppressor-equipped Model 1911 as you can get in a blowback action CO2 pistol. The Swiss Arms Tactical Rail System (TRS) pistol closely resembles the .45 ACP Colt Combat Unit Rail Gun in finish and features. The air pistols threaded barrel also makes it possible to equip it with the JBU faux suppressor. The finishing touch is the Tanfoglio extended capacity 27-round magazine which also works with Swiss Arms models.

When it comes to accessorizing a blowback action Model 1911 CO2 pistol, the Swiss Arms TRS (Tactical Rail System) pistol has the two most desirable add-on features, a JBU threaded faux suppressor and a 27-round extended capacity long magazine. In the “looks” department, a 1911 just doesn’t get any better, and there are actual .45 ACP, 9x19mm, .38 Super and 10mm models in existence that have been similarly equipped, so this CO2 model is not an exaggeration.

Think of this as a “kit” gun. You can buy the TRS by itself or as a Blowback Kit from Pyramyd Air, which includes the JBU threaded faux suppressor. The Tanfoglio extended capacity magazine is sold separately. Put them all together and you have one very remarkable looking CO2 pistol.

The Swiss Arms difference

The success of dustcover rail-equipped 1911s has become almost standardized as a model variation for U.S. and foreign manufacturers of the Colt M1911 and M1911A1 platform. The Colt 1911A1 Rail Gun, a 21st century tactical version of the most successful semi-auto pistol in history, was first built by Colt for the Marine Corps in 2013, which led to other manufactures (the Colt patent is long expired) to produce similar rail gun designs. Today both full size Government Models and Compact 1911s are available with accessory rails. In 2016, Colt’s introduced the Combat Unit Rail Gun with a blackened stainless steel receiver and frame. The Swiss Arms 1911 TRS is very similar to this model using anodized black all-metal (alloy) construction. The blowback action pistol has the Colt Combat Unit Rail Gun-style integral dustcover rail and uses correctly sized, self-contained CO2 BB magazines. The extended capacity magazine shown is actually made by Tanfoglio for their 1911 CO2 models, but is completely interchangeable with the Swiss Arms semi-autos. read more

Faux Suppressors

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Faux Suppressors

Not the sound of silence

By Dennis Adler

A short history of faux suppressors is also a history of semi-auto air pistol designs since 1999. At the rear the hefty tactical model of the original Umarex Beretta 92FS, the XX-TREME with quad rails surrounding the frame and slide for optics, lights, and laser sights. It came with the most effective faux silencer built, which when mounted added a full inch to the barrel length. At center, the original faux suppressor, the Umarex Walther PPK/S, and the latest suppressor-equipped 4.5mm semi-auto, the Sig Sauer P226 ASP.

A reader recently asked about the Air Venturi faux suppressor for the threaded barrel Sig Sauer P226 ASP semi-auto air pistol, and if it either increased velocity or accuracy since it extends the length of the barrel. The answer is no, but to understand why, you need to know a little bit about how real sound suppressors (silencers) work and what effects they have on a pistol, aside from the obvious.

Different designs over a period of 18 years begin in the middle with the .177 caliber Umarex Walther PPK/S, which used a faux silencer with an internal liner. Larger than the barrel, it did nothing to increase velocity or accuracy. At top, the Umarex Beretta 92FS XX-TREME used a faux silencer that threaded into the barrel and extended barrel length by 1-inch inside the suppressor body. The latest, and simplest design is for the Sig Sauer P226 ASP, a simple faux suppressor tube that threads onto the barrel to look exactly like a suppressed pistol. Again, it does nothing to suppress sound, increase velocity or accuracy.

Silencers have been around for a very long time, since about 1902, and in the last 115 years there have been an infinite number of improvements in design, manufacturing, materials, and applications. What most people don’t know is that there is no such thing as a fully silenced firearm, maybe in the movies, where sound effects technicians give silencers the sounds we expect to hear. In reality, the sound varies from silencer to silencer, both by design and by the caliber of gun and type of ammunition being used. And there is no way to suppress the sounds made by a gun’s action; the cycling of a slide, for instance, makes the same noise no matter what’s hanging off the end of the barrel. With a suppressor, a pistol’s discharge is not muted but rather reduced to something akin to a snapping sound, similar to the spring tension being released when firing a small air rifle; nothing that would resemble the report of gunfire to an untrained ear. read more