Silencer Central Banish 9K: Full Review

Forgoing a booster, the Banish 9K is compact and lightweight, while still muffling the bark of most handguns.

July 07, 2025 By Mark Fingar

Weighing only 2.7 ounces and measuring only 4.1 inches in length, the Silencer Central Banish 9K suppressor may be small, but it’s a really big deal. The Banish 9K is constructed of 100-percent high-strength, lightweight titanium using an additive manufacturing process commonly known as 3D metal printing. This process allows the production of complex parts by fusing layers of metal powder with a laser, resulting in a final solid shape otherwise impossible to manufacture using traditional CNC-machining or investment casting. Exotic high-performance metals such as Inconel, titanium, stainless steel and cobalt chrome are commonly used in the process. Banish has already had great success with its 3D-printed Speed-K 5.56mm in titanium and Inconel, and the lessons learned were being applied to the Banish 9K.

Taking advantage of 3D printing technology and clever engineering, the Banish 9K has an incredibly strong titanium unibody design composed of eight conical-style baffles featuring rows of U-shaped notches, ending with an endcap. The one-piece structure is robust and reinforced in all critical areas and is rated for limited full-auto use with 9mm supersonic and .300 Blackout subsonic ammunition. A tapered rear section houses a beautifully machined direct-thread interface in a choice of either 1/2x28 or 13.5x1LH threads. The 9K’s small 1.3-inch diameter allows the use of most factory pistol sights and all slide-mounted mini-red dot sights. Molded into the design’s exterior is the trademark twist pattern that not only looks nice, but it also helps with tightening and loosening the suppressor on the firearm.

gaad-banish-9k-02-1200x800 — (Photo by Mark Fingar)

A keen-eye will notice that there is no booster assembly in our testing. The Banish 9K is so lightweight, it has no need for a booster (also known as a Nielsen Device). Boosters are traditionally required for use with autoloading pistols with tip-up barrel designs to aid in the cycling of the action. Boosters are relatively big and heavy, adding around 2 1/4 inches of length and can easily weigh more than an entire Banish 9K. Boosters also require regular maintenance to function properly, since they get blasted with carbon and unburnt powder. If left unchecked, they quickly stop doing the job correctly. Furthermore, changing a traditional 9mm suppressor from a pistol to a sub-gun, or pistol caliber carbine (PCC) usually requires the removal of the booster assembly and the installation of a direct-thread adapter. It can be a pain, often requiring special tools, which will get filthy in the process. In contrast, a 1/2x28-inch threaded Banish 9K can quickly be swapped between .380, 5.7x28mm, 9mm and subsonic .300 Blackout ammo for firearms with a 1/2x28-inch thread pattern. No tools are required and no filthy hands. Users can simply unthread it and screw it onto another firearm. In my opinion, the absence of a booster might be the Banish 9K’s best attribute.

Not only is the Banish 9K lightweight and strong, it’s one of the shortest suppressors ever marketed. Incidentally, the “K” is a universal firearms abbreviation for “kurtz,” or “short” in German. There are many benefits to a short suppressor, mainly maneuverability. Most 9mm pistol suppressors on the market are 6- to 8-inches long. That’s a big object to swing around at the end of any firearm. Many 9mm suppressors are modular and can be taken down near the midsection and reconfigured as a shorter version. While this is a good feature, if you really need a shorter suppressor, it’s at the cost of several baffles and quite a few decibels. The Banish 9K fits eight baffles in 4.1 inches, making it an excellent choice for a nightstand pistol or PCC. You’ll still want hearing protection for regular training, though.

gaad-banish-9k-03-1200x800 — (Photo by Mark Fingar)

A short suppressor usually means a loud one, but that’s not the case with this suppressor. The Banish 9K’s eight notched baffles are optimally designed to create turbulence, slowing gasses down and helping reduce sound to a published 132 decibels. That’s a sound reduction of 32 decibels for most 9mm ammunition — amazing for something so small. There might be quieter 9mm suppressors out there, but I’m aware of nothing that comes close to the 9K’s size and simplicity.

Shooting Impressions

I eagerly headed to a gun club with a host of applicable firearms, including a Walther P-22, a Kimber R7 Mako Tactical, an HK SP5K, a Ruger LC Charger in 5.7x28mm and a SIG Sauer Rattler in .300 Blackout. My objective was to get a good feel for reliability and sound reduction, and I tested several different types of ammo with each firearm. I also setup a Garmin Xero C1 chronograph to see what affect the suppressor had on bullet speed, if any. I didn’t do any formal sound metering as I wanted to subjectively observe and hear, to my ear, how each firearm acted suppressed. I continued to be impressed with how incredibly light the 2.7-ounce 9K was. To give you an idea of how lightweight that is, a couple of AA batteries weigh about the same.

gaad-banish-9k-04-1200x800 — (Photo by Mark Fingar)

First up was the Walther P-22, but I wouldn’t recommend regularly running rimfires through a non-serviceable suppressor. However, I was curious and shot a couple mags of 40-grain CCI Quiet 22 and Remington Subsonic. Since the barrel in a P-22 doesn’t tilt, I expected everything to run fine suppressed. It did. Both types of ammo cycled and ran without a glitch. As expected, both were super quiet. If you do shoot a lot of dirty rimfire ammo, the 9K can be cleaned by dropping it in an ultrasonic bath with a cleaner of your choice, then blowing it out with compressed air.

Next, I moved up to 9mm and put the can on the Kimber R7 Mako. The compact Mako makes an excellent suppressor host. Since the ejection port is on the side, the front lens on a red-dot optic stays clear of the extra back blast caused by most suppressors. I started soft with some handloaded 124-grain subsonic ammo tailored to run at about 900 feet per second (fps). They ran perfectly. Then, I switched to some UMC 124-grain FMJ ammo and worked my way up to a couple mags of 124-grain Federal Personal Defense HST. I didn’t experience a single hiccup. Point of impact shift wasn’t noticeable at 15 yards, probably because the pistol didn’t know the suppressor was there. Out of curiosity, I added a little wire-pulling gel so that I could hear how it ran “wet”: Again, not a single problem. I would say the 9K is definitely hearing-safe when run wet.

When I got done with the Kimber, I turned to the HK SP5K. The barrel threads on the HK run long, so I put an eighth-inch threaded spacer on first to give the 9K some breathing room. I ran a couple mags of my homegrown 124-grain subsonics into tight little groups, as well as the rest of the UMC ammo that I brought. As expected, it was impressively quiet, short, and it ranked high on the cool-scale. Hands-down, it was my favorite setup of the day.

gaad-banish-9k-05-1200x800 — Large pistol suppressors such as the Banish 45 (above, top) require a booster (middle) to aid in cycling. The Banish 9K does not require a booster for autos to operate, yet its sound reduction is near 26 dB. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Once I got done with the HK, I headed to the outdoor rifle range where I attached the 9K to a Ruger LC Charger in 5.7x28mm. The 2.7-ounce suppressor was unnoticeable on the end of the LC Charger. The sound-reduction definitely put a smile on my face. While I couldn’t feel a difference, the look was balanced.

In keeping with the full regime of calibers applicable with the 9K, I then attached it to a SIG Sauer Rattler in .300 Blackout. Unsuppressed, the Rattler’s 5.5-inch muzzleblast is hard to tame, and I had a hard time getting my head around the little suppressor holding up. I brought along a couple boxes of Hornady’s excellent 190-grain Sub‑X Subsonic ammo, as well as a box of Freedom Munition’s HUSH Subsonic 220-grain HPBT for some quiet plinking. The 9K did a better job than expected. The fact that the 9K only protruded from the handguard about a half inch was pretty nice, too. Of course, I had to put on a 5/8x24 to 1/2x28 thread adapter in order to mount the 9K, but it worked great and brought the sound down nicely.

As for the velocities, a suppressor typically would give you a bump in velocity sometimes as much as 20 to 30 fps. The 9K bumped velocities by around 10 to13 fps across the board. This helped the auto-loading function when using lower-power subsonic loads. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. The little Banish 9K will leave you, too, with a big smile on your face.