Gear Review: SilencerCo Threaded Barrel (SIG Sauer P226, 9mm)

SilencerCo’s threaded barrels have been around for about three and a half years now – approximately half as long as it took the company to bring them to market – and they’ve held their own, earning a rightful place as a standard aftermarket option and favorite among owners of SilencerCo silencers.

With a newly-inked NFA tax stamp for a pistol-caliber silencer as my excuse (and not wanting to pay SIG prices) I recently picked up a SilencerCo threaded barrel for a SIG Sauer P226R Enhanced Elite.

The P226 being a fairly common pistol in the USA to outfit with a threaded barrel, it was nice to find the SilencerCo pistol barrel available at standard pricing through a variety of online and local retailers.

SilencerCo produces the 5-inch-long 9mm pistol silencer ready barrel (above, behind) from 416R stainless steel and bores a standard 1:10 RH twist from breech to muzzle.  Dimensionally accurate to a hundredth of an inch or better, it’s an easy drop-in replacement for the P226’s factory 4.4-inch barrel length blued barrel.

Instead of a factory-style bluing, SilencerCo chose to coat their threaded barrel with an even, black nitride finish. The dark finish is consistent across the barrel, looks great, wears better than bluing, but can chip if dinged.

The muzzle of the barrel features nicely-cut 1/2×28 threading. The threads are clean and precise, but not sharp, and the black nitride finish evenly coats the threading – no deposits in the crevasses.

The barrel comes with a thread protector that adequately covers the 1/2 x 28 threads and locks up evenly against the shoulder.

A small SilencerCo logo is engraved into one of the eight recesses cut around the outside of the thread protector. The recesses are precise right angles, making it very easy to grip and manage the thread protector with two fingers.

At the other end of the barrel, SilencerCo shows us that it wasn’t enough to simply stamp their logo on the top of the chamber. They also stamped their name on the angle-cut adorning the top right corner. A little over the top for my taste, but I know many folks who do like this feature, and it is well-done.

And I do like the angle-cut a lot. It’s an attractive look that fits in well on the P226. I just think it’d look a lot better without anything stamped in that area, let alone an advertisement that the end-user essentially pays for.

The barrel’s feed ramp is cleanly machined and black nitride-finished up into the bore. Feeding rounds connect with the ramp slightly higher than on a factory barrel, indicating a slightly steeper ramp angle.

At the range, the SilencerCo threaded barrel was easily swapped-into the P226 before mags were loaded with Freedom Munitions 115-grain Round Nose (new) 9mm cartridges.

At a distance of 25-yards the SilencerCo threaded barrel performed nearly identically to the factory barrel, begging the question, “Why pay more for a factory SIG threaded barrel?”

Averaging five 5-shot groups in each barrel, the factory barrel’s advantage was calculated at +0.1″. The factory SIG P226 barrel averaged 2.20″, while the SilencerCo barrel averaged 2.31″; a negligible difference. Best groups shown above.

Throughout the course of the day’s session I put 250 rounds downrange sans-silencer. I didn’t experience a single failure with the Freedom Munitions 115-grain RN New 9mm; the firearm’s action cycling smoothly with every shot and the barrel showing appropriate wear.

Dead Air’s GHOST 45M silencer paired very well with SilencerCo’s P226 threaded barrel. The silencer spun onto the barrel with very little play as the threads matched-up and the GHOST 45M’s 1/2×28 piston snugged flush to the shoulder behind the threading.

After 100 rounds through the silencer’s long configuration and then 150 with the short, I was pleased to have experienced zero failures across a total of 500 rounds. The pistol ran reliably in all configurations, but, of course, the short suppressed configuration was by far the most fun.

SilencerCo is a silencer company first so I understand why people may be skeptical of their barrels or buy them for the branding. I tend to prefer companies that focus on producing one type of product really well, but when significant savings come into play, I’m all eyes and ears.

I believe SilencerCo took a good approach by not rushing to market with their line of threaded barrels, and after using the P226 drop-in barrel and encountering zero issues and essentially identical results on paper compared to a factory SIG Sauer barrel, I’m confident in their product.

Suppressing a firearm is always a fun experience and the P226 threaded barrel from SilencerCo is a great option for quieting your 9mm SIG Sauer.

Specifications: SilencerCo Threaded Barrel (SIG Sauer P226, 9mm)

Material: 416R Stainless Steel
Finish: Black Nitride
Length: 5″
Thread Pitch: 1/2 x 28
Twist Rate: 1:10
Compatibility: SIG Sauer P226, 9mm
Price as reviewed: $220.00 MSRP

Ratings (out of five stars):

Design: * * * *
SilencerCo’s threaded barrel for 9mm P226 is a factory-accurate drop-in barrel. The threading is crisp and clean, and the black nitride finish is even and consistently dark. The angle-cut chamber provides a neat look, but is more of an advertisement than anything.

Durability: * * * * *
The barrel’s black nitride finish over 416R steel is a great combination for longevity.

Functionality: * * * *
The barrel produces factory accuracy with standard 115-grain round nose 9mm rounds, mates-up to 1/2×28 silencer pistons without issue, and delivered zero failures during testing.

Overall: * * * *
SilencerCo’s 9mm P226 threaded barrel is a reliable and accurate alternative to a factory threaded barrel. If you have a threaded barrel on your wish list, definitely give SilencerCo’s barrels a look.