home made silencers

.22 L.R

I recall seeing in a movie once where a person put a empty plastic soda bottle(cap end) over the end of the muzzle to make a silencer. Is this just another hollywood piece of garbage or does something like that really work. I and a friend of mine were discussing it and couldn't really decide what the answer would be. We didn't care to try it since we didn't know what potentially could happen.

He Dog

It works in Hollywood.

iwannausername

There's a couple ways to "silence" a gun. One is to really use a silencer, tax stamp, etc. and all. You can get 'em quiet enough to hear firing pins drop and actions cycle. What the bottle (or potato, head of lettuce, pillow, etc) will do is muffle the sound somewhat, and change the sound so that it isn't instantly recognizable as a gunshot. They way a real silencer works is to slow/contol the gas expansion, much like a car muffler.

abcguns2

O.K. , sounds like a good way to end up with a room-mate named Bubba !
Good try , see if you could get some-one on here to put thier foot in thier mouth and give you instructions on 'how to' .....
Sincerely !!!
d.a.stearns
Gunsmith / LEO
Niota , Tn

My dog is the best person I know...
If only more people could be as loyal and honest as my dog!!!

I love guns & Shooting!

rhmc24

Back in the 1930s I made a silencer that was quiet enough you could hear the hammer fall and a sort of "chuff" sound with .22 shorts. We never shot long-rifle ammo due it cost a quarter a box while shorts were 15 cents. At that time the state had tax tokens called mills that were worth one-tenth of a cent. They were about ths size of a quarter, made of thin aluminum and had a hole in the center. I took a piece of brass tubing that the mills fit into and made spacers so they would be about a quarter inch or less apart, drilled the hole to a quarter inch and made a friction fit adapter to hold it on the muzzle of the rifle. Overall length was about 5 inches. I never used it for anything and don't recall what became of it. Just a kid project.

Been there! Done that!

Cubslover

quote:Originally posted by rhmc24
Back in the 1930s I made a silencer that was quiet enough you could hear the hammer fall and a sort of "chuff" sound with .22 shorts. We never shot long-rifle ammo due it cost a quarter a box while shorts were 15 cents. At that time the state had tax tokens called mills that were worth one-tenth of a cent. They were about ths size of a quarter, made of thin aluminum and had a hole in the center. I took a piece of brass tubing that the mills fit into and made spacers so they would be about a quarter inch or less apart, drilled the hole to a quarter inch and made a friction fit adapter to hold it on the muzzle of the rifle. Overall length was about 5 inches. I never used it for anything and don't recall what became of it. Just a kid project.

Been there! Done that!


22 shorts aren't much louder then that anyway. Like someone snapping their fingers. Why would you need a silencer?

"Better to carry a pistol and not need it than need a pistol and not have it." - Me

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modoc

Heck,it wouldn't hurt anything to try it.As long as it was mounted on a rifle barrel.I wouldn't tyr it on a short pistol barrel as the bottle might pop before the bullet exited..My quite shots are taken with a Sheridan pellet rifle..No Uncle Sam to contend with and kills nicely up close..modoc

BILL
KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY.BUT NOT HOT.....single action S&Ws are keepers

rrfhunter

It doesn't work. I tried it out of boredom. I took a 2 litre soda bottle and stuffed it with toilet paper. It barely worked but it shoots out lots of TP confetti!! LOL

I hear baby bottle nipples really work good. Hmmmm not much on TV tonight.....

....I never met a gun I didn't like!

Cyclonus

your not supposed to fill the bottle with anything just put the open end over the barrel tape the threads to the barrel to be sure no air escapes.

Revenge is a double edged sword that only kills its wielder

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"No im a combat correspondant"
"Well you seen much combat?"
"Yeah I seen a little on TV"
"Youre a real comedian"
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SP45

Yes it does work. Remember what causes the noise from a fired round. 1, Sonic boom from supersonic ammo so use subsonic and it takes care of that. 2, Rapidly expanding heat and gasses as the round esits the barrel. The 2 litre bottle is simply an expansion chamber to capture the expanding gasses and allow the heat to cool in a controled environment. #3, The sound the action makes. Therefore a bolt action will make less noise than a semiautomatic.

Nwcid

Well it will work somewhat, and it will work quite well if filled with some medium weight filler like soft foam. That being said ANY ITEM used to muffle, or reduce the sound of a firearm is a SILENCER, SUPPRESSOR, CAN, QUIETER, or whatever else you want to call it. If you have and or use said item it is considered and NFA suppressor, end of story. Having an UNREGISTERED NFA item is a federal offense, that could carry 10 yr, $250,000 fine. Are you going to get in trouble for having pop bottles around the house NO. What are the odds of you getting caught, slim, but if you do you will be having a real bad rest of your life. Now as dumb as it sounds ATF has declaired that shoe strings can be machineguns, so go figure. Now with all that being said if you use a pop bottle or buy a top of the line $2000 can it is LEGAL if it registerd properly. The ATF sees no difference between a pop bottle, potato, or top of the line can. Just some things to keep in mind.

Just remember there are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking questions.

Anyone who would sacrifice freedom for security deserves neither!!!

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John

gunnut505

Okay, NOW you got me curious; exactly where did ATFE state that shoestrings are comparable to a "machine gun"?

Oh yeah, the pop bottle should work, but I think pvc holds more promise.

"Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit" --OVID

surbat6

I have seen pop bottle adaptors for sale. They thread on to your threaded barrel and allow you to screw the soda bottle to the other end of the adaptor. IIRC, the adaptors must be registered the same as regular suppressors.
The soda bottle suppressor is essentially a one-shot deal. All the tests I've seen of this suppressor indicate it's an empty bottle on a small caliber pistol. I suspect accuracy would be a literal "hit-or-miss" proposition.
Apparently, simply owning a gun and having a couple of empty 1 or 2 liter soda bottles isn't going to get you in trouble. However, any evidence of attempts to mount those bottles on the gun, may result in a federal felony charge(I expect that half-a**ed shoestring full-auto conversion would be a similar situation).


"I think of my gun as a tool for converting worthless human garbage into valuable fertilizer." John Dollar in the novel "Bridge City" by Fred Rexer

agman1999

The ATF issued a ruling that determined a shoestring is a machinegun, based on the section of the NFA stating that any item manufactured specifically for the purpose of making a firearm full auto is a machinegun in and of itself.

For your reading enjoyment, I present a link to said ruling: http://www.jpfo.org/shoestring.jpg