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suppressor noise levels
5mmgunguy
Member Posts: 3,853
How quiet are suppressors? I was reading about one that the designer claimed sounded like a BB gun. I find that hard to believe from a suppressed 45 ACP. I was wondering if people who really owned one would be willing to share what they own and how noisy or quiet it really is. I understand most of the noise is in front of the muzzle, true?
Comments
Now that same suppressor on my 77/22 bolt gun has about the same noise as dry firing it. No that is not a typo, that is how quite it is. I use the Agulia 38gr subsonic in this gun.
I have a suppressed 9mm AR upper in transfer right now. I have only shot 3 rounds inside a small room at the shop to test it. At this point I would say that this suppressor is about as quiet as the .22 semi autos. I will have a further report when I actually get it, hopefully in a couple weeks.
It wasn't absolutely silent, but it was pretty quiet. I could barely hear it with ear protection on, if that gives some clue. With ears off, it made somewhat of a pop, though not one immediately recognizeable as a gunshot.
I've heard what Nwcid has said with regards to .22s. If you have a good suppressor, a long barreled gun, and subsonic ammo, they are essentially silent. IE you hear NOTHING whatsoever, except the click of the firing pin and maybe a TINY "whoosh" out the barrel.
As above, the "trick" to getting the most effect from a suppressor is just to start with a round that is really quiet to begin with!
That means not only a subsonic round, but also a longer barrel.
Remember, all a silencer really does is act as an expansion chamber for the hot gases behind the round, cooling them, and slowing down their exit (which is what makes the "bang").
Via the same principle, all else being equal, the more volume there is in a barrel (ie the longer the barrel), the quieter the round is going to be when it exits because there is more space inside for the hot gases to expand in before leaving the gun.
With a .22, which has a very low powder charge and produces little gas to begin with, the effect is more pronounced.
Glock 17 suppressed in the link above, pretty impressive.
Glock 17 suppressed in the link above, pretty impressive.
Sound recording equipment on video cameras and the like DO NOT accurately record the sound of gun shots. That is why Hollywood films use enhanced sounds.
Nice try though.
quote:Originally posted by SuburbanNoize
Glock 17 suppressed in the link above, pretty impressive.
Sound recording equipment on video cameras and the like DO NOT accurately record the sound of gun shots. That is why Hollywood films use enhanced sounds.
Nice try though.
Hollywood films use "enhanced" sounds because people aren't firing live ammunition on set!
Any quality microphone should capture the sound of a gunshot relatively accurately, though a handheld camcorder likely doesn't have a particularly good microphone, some audio quality has probably been lost in conversion to the You Tube video, and your computer speakers aren't likely to be able to accurately reproduce a gunshot signature anyway.
But this is all a little off the topic. Back on topic, you can expect a high quality silencer to lower the sound signature of a gun by about 20-30 decibels depending on type, caliber, etc That doesn't look like a lot but the decibel scale is logarithmic, so a 20 db decrease is actually a decrease in sound intensity of 100x.
Also adding water to the "can" can help decrease the sound further, in some models.
There is lots of information on this on the internet, if you just do a quick search. Some individual experiments here:
http://www.silencerresearch.com/lrm_m169_review.htm
http://www.silencerresearch.com/gemtech_trinity1.htm
quote:Originally posted by SuburbanNoize
Glock 17 suppressed in the link above, pretty impressive.
Sound recording equipment on video cameras and the like DO NOT accurately record the sound of gun shots. That is why Hollywood films use enhanced sounds.
Nice try though.
Then, How do they record those "enhanced" sounds?
Just Kidding.
I would think microphones would clip the upper end of noise "Crack" but should do the job on suppressed sounds from a pistol.
BTW I've never been impressed with Suppressors While they look cool, never though the need for quiet hunting... for me anyway.
Have Fun!
some are superb ,some useless.
i have them on all my guns, & the diffrence is outstanding. but, there is no whisper !! unless its a 22 R/F .