BANISH 12 Shotgun Suppressor: Full Review

Don't risk your ears on your next turkey hunt, take a BANISH 12 along with you. Here's a full review.

February 12, 2026 By Mark Fingar

Into the field, shotgunners often go without hearing protection, which can obviously lead to hearing damage. Some feel the need for unhindered situational awareness, to hear the rustle of game, or communicate with other hunters (including beloved gun dogs). The Banish 12 is a dedicated 12-gauge shotgun suppressor. It was designed to provide hunters of waterfowl, turkey and upland game with a quieter and more pleasurable experience. Trapshooters, recreational shotgunners and new shooters also benefit from the sound and recoil-reducing characteristics of the Banish 12. Try a Banish-suppressed 12 gauge, and it’ll make you a believer.

gaad-banish-12-02 — The Banish 12 kit includes the choke mount, three chokes and a mounting wrench. The choke mount is specific to different models of mounting interface. The Banish 12 is compatible with Benelli, Beretta, Browning, Mossberg and Remington chokes. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Universal?

The Banish 12 attaches to many popular shotguns using a shotgun-specific choke mount. It’s compatible with traditional 12-gauge shotshells, from No. 8 to No. 2 shot, plus BB, BBB, 00 buck — even slugs! The Banish 12 can be used with all types of shot, too, including lead, steel, bismuth and tungsten. It’s a one-piece suppressor that comes complete with the choke mount of your choice, three endcap chokes, and a wrench.

Assembly is simple. Remove your existing choke, replace it with the Banish choke mount and tighten it with the supplied multi-wrench. The suppressor then slides onto the end of the mount. With a twist of a threaded collar, it draws the suppressor against a high-temperature O-ring to a complete stop. The supplied wrench is then used to secure the assembly tight in place. This design allows for an easy upright index of the suppressor and can quickly be installed in the field.

gaad-banish-12-04 — The Banish 12 mounting process is quite simple: First, Install the choke mount into the shotgun barrel that is then tightened with the included wrench. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Users can change between different shotguns with the purchase of optional choke mounts. The mounts are machined using 17-4 PH stainless steel and are black-nitride coated for ease of cleaning and corrosion resistance. Mounts are available for Benelli Crio and Mobil chokes, Beretta Optima HP, Browning Invector Plus, Mossberg Accu-Choke, Remington 870 and Remington Pro Bore.

The profile of the Banish 12 may appear odd, but it isn’t a traditional sound suppressor. Generally, the larger the internal volume of a suppressor, the better the sound reduction. Unlike a rifle suppressor that can be much longer with a smaller diameter, a shotgun suppressor must be short enough to accommodate the shot, wads and other materials that exit the barrel. The longer a shotgun suppressor is the more internal abuse it’ll endure, reducing its lifespan. Banish designers needed to be creative with the shape, optimizing internal volume, while leaving room for a proper sight picture. The result was a stout footprint of 3.2 inches with a height of 2.4 inches and an overall length of 8.55 inches. The flattened top of the Banish 12 is low enough to clear front beads and factory sights, providing an unfettered view side-to-side for tracking targets. The pleasing slope towards the center helps the user with centering the shotgun.

gaad-banish-12-05 — Once the the Banish 12 is attached to the mount, tighten the mount to the can and insert the choke. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The Banish 12 is manufactured using additive manufacturing, otherwise known as “3D metal printing.” The process uses a laser to fuse layers of metal powder, which enables rapid production of complex and strategically hollowed designs that were impossible for CNC machines to create. Banish has experienced success with 3D-printed high-performance metals, including Inconel and titanium used in making its Speed K 5.56mm and Banish 9K 9mm. To keep the Banish 12 lightweight and strong, titanium was selected for its overall construction. Weighing 17.6 ounces, it keeps perceptive weight at the end of the barrel to a minimum.

Inside the Banish 12 are seven conical-type baffle sections with 12 longitudinal spars running the length of the suppressor. Since it is 3D printed, it is a solid rigid piece. The spars act as a fence to keep wads and debris from entering the baffles. The design also generates added turbulence within the suppressor, effectively slowing down the expanding gases and reducing the sound. The main body is finished in your choice of black or tan Cerakote finishes.

gaad-banish-12-03 — The Banish 12 suppressor is not user-servicable. Due to the longitudinal spars, it cannot be taken apart, either. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Unlike other shotgun suppressors, the Banish 12 has interchangeable chokes on its endcap so shooters can modify the pattern. Chokes simply screw into the front of the suppressor, the same way you would install a choke into a barrel. Each choke is labeled with dots for easy identification. The Banish 12 ships with a Full (1 dot) choke installed, while separate Improved Cylinder (4 dot) and Modified (3 dot) chokes are in the kit. Built to last, Banish 12 chokes weigh only .3 ounces and are 1-inch long. They’re crafted from 17-4 precipitation-hardening (PH) stainless steel and given a black nitride finish. Cylinder and Improved Modified chokes are available on the Banish website.

Shooting Impressions

Benelli sent Guns & Ammo a Super Black Eagle 3 ($2,199, benelliusa.com) for testing the Banish 12. As expected, the Benelli’s factory sights cleared the top of the Banish 12 when obtaining a sight picture. G&A’s staff decided to install an Aimpoint ACRO S-2 ($755, aimpoint.us) on the shotgun’s rib for additional testing. It worked well, providing a full view downrange. With a variety of shotgun shells, we headed to the gun club. Test ammo included Federal Top Gun 23/4-inch, 71/2 shot; Remington Gun Club 23/4-inch, 8 shot; Winchester Super Target 23/4-inch, 8 shot; and Winchester AA 23/4-inch, 8 shot. All were in the 1,145 feet per second (fps) range. For comparison, we also evaluated Federal’s Ultra-Shok 31/2-inch, No. 4 steel shot at 1,550 fps. (Note: According to Banish, users should not use shotgun shells with flight-control wads, including Federal’s Black Cloud and Prairie Storm. Also, users should not attempt wadless slugs or rifled slugs. Lastly, steel shot should not be used in conjunction with the full choke.) For testing with Ultra-Shok, we changed to using an Improved Cylinder choke tube.

At the Range

Starting with Federal’s Top Gun load — unsuppressed — we recorded a baseline and checked the ACRO’s zero. The noise level was typical. Adding the Banish 12, we fired a few shots — and wow! It was quiet enough to remove hearing protection and go through the remainder of the box. (It sounded like shooting .22 Shorts.) Benelli’s 28-inch barrel put the sound forward enough that most of the sound was directed beyond the muzzle. A person standing 15 feet to the side said, “It sounded like a normal shotgun about 200 yards away.” While not scientific, you get the idea. It was quiet. We tested a few rounds of each 23/4-inch shell; same result.

Moving to the Ultra-Shot, the Banish 12 brought down sound levels, but we opted to keep the ear protection on. It had a bit more bark, akin to .22 LR.

gaad-banish-12-06 — With or without an optic sight, the Banish 12 shotgun suppressor does not obstruct the view when aiming at birds or clays. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Banish claims that the Banish 12 provides up to 21 decibels (dB) of sound reduction. With 23/4-inch (No. 8 shot) shells measuring 134 dB and 3-inch (No. 2 shot) shells measuring 138 dB, that was approximately the sound level we experienced. Since decibels are logarithmic units — each reduction of 10 dB reduces sound by half to the human ear — a 21-dB reduction brings the sound to a more comfortable level, about the sound of a .22 LR rimfire. For a 12 gauge shotgun, that’s a significant improvement!

Overall, the Banish 12 will make shooting a 12-gauge shotgun more enjoyable for anyone who tries it. The balance at the end of the Benelli felt great, as well. Though there is some weight added to the muzzle of the barrel, which can carry momentum in the swing, we had no problem seeing and dusting clays while tracking and leading them. The next test will be afield on a game bird adventure.