I just got an email from a friend asking about suppressing a .45 for home defense and my thoughts on it. I'm conflicted in my reply, so I thought it best to open it up for discussion here.
First and foremost, I'm not a fan of handguns for home defense. The advantage of handguns is that they are portable, concealable, and can be taken anywhere with you that isn't protected by a magical No Guns barrier (said barriers only are effective against the law abiding, alas). Their disadvantages are that they take more skill to wield properly and are underpowered compared to a long gun. However, a handgun for home defense is much better than a cordless phone for dialing 911.
Now, I've had the luxury of being in a VERY confined space and having a .357 Magnum go off (friend had an ND in a vehicle). For two weeks, I could not hear people talking to me if they were more than a foot away. Eventually, my hearing returned to normal, but that one experience taught me how important hearing protection was. Outside, I've fired plenty of guns without protection and never really had much more than mild ringing for a day or two, not that it's a smart idea mind you, but in a confined space of a room or a car, the pressure is going to do a number on your hearing.
First conflict is that yes, suppression will protect your ears when you'll need it most if you use it for the home. However, remember that the concussive blast serves a purpose as well. Original long arms weren't very effective and in fact, bows and arrows were still much more lethal (this is before rifling), however it was the loud bang that had a psychological effect on the enemy. The same effect can be used in home defense. A thug in your house will react to the loud report of a firearm in much the same way.
My experience with suppression has been with relatively small and / or slow calibers. Suppression of subsonic ammo, while not the 'fweep' you hear in the movies, is pretty quiet nonetheless and I wonder if the lack of a boom could possibly convince any thugs in the house that I'm not really shooting at them.
Second conflict is that while I'm more than happy to waste a few hairs in my cochlea to protect my family, I'd prefer it if they didn't have to worry about hearing loss themselves. I can't guarantee they'll be far enough away that the pressure doesn't affect them.
Final conflict is that suppressors on a handgun somewhat augment the problem of handguns requiring a bit more skill to handle. You're adding on length and weight, and I can't imagine that does much to improve your ability to hold it straight enough to do what needs to be done, but this is complete conjecture as I've never fired a suppressed pistol before so anyone with expertise in this area please feel free to chime in (Ry maybe?).
So, what are your thoughts on suppression for home defense?