Questions about silencers...

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Jan 15, 2005
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First off no, I am not looking to knock anyone off. Of course it seems like in every mystery book I read or TV show these days someone is shooting another with a supressed weapon.

My curosity is what it really sounds like. Of course it is always described in books/TV as a pffft like sound. But I would think on semi-automatic weapons or revolvers you would have the noise of the slide racking or the cylinder/action turning. I know TV/fiction writing always plays in the super stealth mode ninja type killer so that is not accurate.

I'm sure some folks here have experience with supressors.
 
I always laugh at the scene where the assassin shoots his victim in bed without waking the woman sleeping next to him. No. "Silencers" reduce the sound, but they don't elliminate it.

I especially like them for home defense. In an emergency, you won't have time to put on hearing protection and you'll need your hearing to help assess the situation. But, if you fire a .45 in a confined space like a hallway or even a bedroom, the sound will leave you temporarily all but deaf. This, they also don't show in the movies.
 
Much depends on both the caliber and the velocity of the round, you may not realize it but you asked a rather complicated question...lol. I will try to give some basic answers but will be happy to answer specific questions. All suppressors are considered Class III weapons.

Suppressed .22 rimfires that are subsonic do sound like the movie guns, subsonic centerfire have a similar sound signature but louder, volume depending on caliber. If there is enough power to work the action then you will have that noise as well.

If a standard round is used that breaks the sound barrier you will have a sonic boom which will result in a crack noise down range. What a supressor does in the case however is still to reduce the volume by about 70-80% max as well as make it nearly impossible to determine where the shot came from.

Revolvers, with the exception the Nagant designs, are nearly impossible to suppress because of the gas escaping from the cylinder gap. The Russion Nagant cylinder moves forward when the action is cycled sealing the brass, cylinder and forcing cone together.

Currently I have several suppressors, one in 9mm, and 2 in 30 caliber. One of the 30 calibers is for a Ruger 77 in 308. using subsonic rounds in a bolt action rifle is as good as it gets as far as noise reduction. The other 30 caliber is set up on an AR-15 chambered in the 300 whisper cartridge which was designed to be suppressed, it is my favorite suppressed firearm. I have also shot JD Jones 500 whisper, it is an awesome piece of gear as well.

my 300 Whisper...
whispersmall.jpg
 
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I always laugh at the scene where the assassin shoots his victim in bed without waking the woman sleeping next to him. No. "Silencers" reduce the sound, but they don't elliminate it.

I especially like them for home defense. In an emergency, you won't have time to put on hearing protection and you'll need your hearing to help assess the situation. But, if you fire a .45 in a confined space like a hallway or even a bedroom, the sound will leave you temporarily all but deaf. This, they also don't show in the movies.

+1:thumbup: soo true!
 
My curiosity is what it really sounds like.

That depends on many factors.

To simplify things consider what noise sources will exist. In a normal gunshot noise is created by the gun's mechanical operation, the sonic boom, and the rapidly expanding gases. With a suppressed shot using subsonic ammunition nothing breaks the sound barrier; therefore we're left with the bolt & such and the hot gases. The more efficient the suppressor the better these gases are contained and cooled.


I've heard that an HK MP5-SD5 firing full auto sounds like shaking a pop can full of sand and gravel.
 
Using a subsonic 22 rimfire in a handgun that will not cycle with the low power round such as a Ruger Mark II it is completely plausible to shoot some one in the same room with someone else sleeping in it without waking them as long as death is instantaneous. I agree it is unlikely but it is possible. I would love to see this one tested on MythBusters, be easy enough to set up using a five gallon bucket of wet sand to catch the bullet.

The movies use to show revolvers with cans on them but these days they try to be a bit more accurate and you don't see that mistake as often now.

I owned a suppressed MP5 and to me it sounded like...please pardon the description...a rather nasty fart. I was a Class III dealer for about 20 years and competed in various suppressed matches. Not all suppressors are created equal, some are much better than others.
 
:thumbup:You guys have the sweetest guns I've ever seen on ANY forum.I'm so jealous:grumpy:
 
Aw 'Cmon! I have a pair of earmuffs right next my guns all the time
I always laugh at the scene where the assassin shoots his victim in bed without waking the woman sleeping next to him. No. "Silencers" reduce the sound, but they don't elliminate it.

I especially like them for home defense. In an emergency, you won't have time to put on hearing protection and you'll need your hearing to help assess the situation. But, if you fire a .45 in a confined space like a hallway or even a bedroom, the sound will leave you temporarily all but deaf. This, they also don't show in the movies.
 
I read "Wild" Bill Donovan's book on the OSS years ago. He mentions a variety of "secret weapons" that were developed by the OSS, some practical, some not so much. (like the "bat bomb...")
Anyway, he said that they had developed a silenced .22 pistol that was extremely quiet. He arranged to demonstrate it for Roosevelt by having some sandbags strategically placed in one of the White House offices. When the president was doing some paperwork, Donovan fired the thing into one of the sandbags.
The president looked up and said, "Hi Bill, what's up?" Donovan then showed him the pistol, and Roosevelt was wildly enthusiastic about it.

Supposedly, some of these ended up in the hands of the nascent Israeli forces as they fought the British...

True? Donovan was a "wild" character....
 
Aw 'Cmon! I have a pair of earmuffs right next my guns all the time

My Wolf Ears live next to mine, I like the fact I can hear better with them than without them.

The pistol used in WWII was the High Standard HDM, a heavily modified High Standard Military with an integral suppressor. Special 22 rim fire FMJ rounds were developed so the ammo wouldn't violate the Geneva Convention.
 
I've only had the pleasure of firing a suppressed weapon once in my life (a Glock 19 with an AAC can) so I can't comment much from personal experience. I will say that it was awesome being able to hear the bullet hitting the dirt backstop.

Anyway, although it's no substitute for a live demonstration, but there are tons of videos online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVZq_icIFAw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrVFMwCiEwM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNwecxMlvog&feature=related

If you search some more you'll find videos where they compare unsuppressed to suppressed.

...and why you'd be stupid to use a "potato silencer" like they talk about on TV and the movies (and why you should always follow proper safety measures at the range)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7xwnHdeC5k&feature=related
 
The sound is reduced but as the wipes in the silencer wear, the sound level increases. The increased level does not have the signature "crack" of a bullet. Also using subsonic ammo helps.
 
Here's an awesome one, especially since in the beginning they highlight the difference between using supersonic and subsonic ammo in a suppressed weapon.

Notice how for a number of their configurations, the sound of the bullet hitting the steel at 100yds away is significantly louder than the weapon itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq6o-GR72FY

That subsonic .308 is amazing.
 
The sound is reduced but as the wipes in the silencer wear, the sound level increases. The increased level does not have the signature "crack" of a bullet. Also using subsonic ammo helps.

I load sub sonic for my Ruger 77 using Lapua subsonic brass. They have reduce capacity in order to increase SD and accuracy when using such a small powder charge. The 300 Whisper uses 221 Fireball Brass necked up to 30 caliber and naturally has a small capacity for powder. I use the same 240 bullet in both.

300comparecopya.jpg


Not all suppressors use the rubber composite wipes. All three of mine use metal baffles which with proper cleaning and care do not wear out with normal use. The rubber wipes are most often used in .22s.
 
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Interesting article on Wikipedia on the British Welrod, I have pasted it below. Apparently very effective as it was designed from the start to be suppressed.

It was used primarily by the British SOE but was also used by the American OSS. The Welrod, also known as the "Assassin's Pistol", was extremely quiet for a gun, producing a sound of around 73dB when fired[1]. Examples were made in 9 mm Para and .32 ACP, with capacities of five and six rounds in the magazine respectively. The Welrod took the form of a 1.25 inch diameter cylinder about 12 inches long[2]. The rear of the cylinder contained the bolt, the middle the ported barrel and expansion chamber of the suppressor, and the front the baffles and wipes of the suppressor. There was a knurled knob at the rear that served as the bolt handle, and the magazine was also the grip. Removing the magazine/grip made the weapon easier to conceal.

The Welrod was provided with sights marked with fluorescent paint for use in low light conditions. Although it had a maximum range of 23 meters, it was intended for use far closer—up to point blank. The muzzle end of the gun was cut away so that it could be fired in direct contact with the target. This would reduce the sound levels even further, and removed the chance of missing.

The ported barrel of the Welrod served two purposes; it released the powder gases gradually into the rear of the suppressor, reducing the sound of firing, and it reduced the velocity of the bullet to subsonic speeds (especially important in the 9mm version since the standard 9mm loading is supersonic). The baffles and wipes that follow the barrel serve to further slow the gases of firing, releasing them over a long period of time and avoiding the sharp explosion that occurs when high pressure powder gases are suddenly released to the atmosphere.

The Welrod used a bolt-action design because it was simple, reliable, and quiet. The bolt-action has only the noise of the firing pin hitting the primer, and the bolt can be cycled quietly. While single shots were the norm for the missions the Welrod was used in, the action could be cycled and a new round ready to fire in less than a second.[citation needed]

The Welrod was a "sanitized" weapon, meaning that it had no markings indicating its manufacturer or country of origin; all it was marked with was a serial number and some inscrutable symbols and letters. The Birmingham Small Arms Company confirmed that they manufactured some of the Welrod pistols, but that they put no markings at all on them, so any markings were likely added by the British military after delivery.

The Welrod was widely used in Denmark during World War II, and is reported to have been used during the Falklands War of 1982. The Swedish police claim that they captured two Welrod pistols issued to Estonian hitmen in the summer of 2001[citation needed]. The alleged hitmen were hired to kill the State prosecutor Mr. Gunnar Fjaestad and a senior case officer at the Swedish police.

The name Welrod comes from the custom that all the clandestine equipment devised at Station IX in Welwyn had names starting with Wel, e.g, Welbike, Welman. A document was produced towards the end of World War II to ensure that the right persons were properly credited for their inventions at Station IX. This document reveals that the inventor the Welrod was Major Hugh Reeves who was also responsible for the Sleevegun and several other important inventions.[2]
 
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