Sound Suppressors and the NFA

[charliedontsurf334]

Yesterday, I got the chance to fire a firearms with a sound suppressor (In AZ of course). I was not impressed. The only noticeable difference firing suppressed and unsuppressed was lack of the pop of the rifle that injures one's ears.

So my question is why did the government decide to regulate the under the NFA?

I thought that happened before the movies dubbed the Silencers.

[mdimeo]

I've nothing to back this up, but I seem to recall the suppressor ban (really, an oppressive tax) was put in mostly to prevent poaching of game out of season.

[MKfan]

It was to keep the poor from poaching during the Great Depression

[winnre]

Sounds like you used supersonic ammo. If you shoot .22 standard ammo, or 45ACP you can avoid the supersonic crack and the loudest noise will be the action of the firearm cycling in a new round.

[Flopper]

Yesterday, I got the chance to fire a firearms with a sound suppressor (In AZ of course). I was not impressed. The only noticeable difference firing suppressed and unsuppressed was lack of the pop of the rifle that injures one's ears.

All but the least powerful of calibers will still damage your ears even when suppressed. That being said, I'd still prefer to have a suppressor so I wouldn't have to double up ear pro anymore.

As for combat, suppressors reduce the volume of a gunshot enough to make the gunshot less recognizable as such, which is obviously useful.

[wash]

I really hope that the supressor ban gets thrown out eventually.

I've got a gun that would work really nice as a straight pull bolt action and could send out 400+ grains of lead subsonic...

[Kharn]

A 22lr suppressor on a 4.5" barrel with standard velocity ammo is 'hollywood quiet'
Just about anything else is still going to be very loud, it just might not damage your hearing if fired outdoors. I still wear plugs and muffs when shooting my 9mm suppressor at the indoor range and its considered "hearing safe".

[Maestro Pistolero]

Suppressors in combat are more useful as flash arresters than sound suppressors.

[tozan]

All of what everyone else said... Sub-sonic is quieter.... than Non-subsonic.

A few other things...
The majority of silencers will affect the accuracy in a very negative way. 12 inch groups at 25 feet. with a handgun.
Also a Revolver CAN NOT be silenced regardless of what Hollywood does... lol
A cheap silencer can be made for under $2 bucks but will cost you 10 years and 10 grand if you get caught with it... lol

The cans we made at Knights Armament in the 80's were state of the art. I had a Can on my M-16 that when you fired full auto most people could not tell what the noise was. It also eliminated all muzzle flash and made determining the direction fire was coming from all but impossible. When we did a demo at Quantico for several government agencies we fired a gun into the air and 95% of the time the agents could not accurately determine the source and I think the other 5% were lucky guesses... lol
Our M-16 can also shot the most accurate at the time.

[Flopper]

All of what everyone else said... Sub-sonic is quieter.... than Non-subsonic.

A few other things...
The majority of silencers will affect the accuracy in a very negative way. 12 inch groups at 25 feet. with a handgun.
Also a Revolver CAN NOT be silenced regardless of what Hollywood does... lol
A cheap silencer can be made for under $2 bucks but will cost you 10 years and 10 grand if you get caught with it... lol

The cans we made at Knights Armament in the 80's were state of the art. I had a Can on my M-16 that when you fired full auto most people could not tell what the noise was. It also eliminated all muzzle flash and made determining the direction fire was coming from all but impossible. When we did a demo at Quantico for several government agencies we fired a gun into the air and 95% of the time the agents could not accurately determine the source and I think the other 5% were lucky guesses... lol
Our M-16 can also shot the most accurate at the time.

I almost hate to do this considering all your other info is spot on, but I just can't stand inaccuracies

At least one revolver in history has been capable of being effectively suppressed because it had an unusual "gas-seal" system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagant_M1895

[tozan]

I almost hate to do this considering all your other info is spot on, but I just can't stand inaccuracies

At least one revolver in history has been capable of being effectively suppressed because it had an unusual "gas-seal" system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagant_M1895

I humbly stand corrected there was at least one revolver that could be silenced... lol

[NorCalDustin]

lol

[dr_communist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvF4yurWSc0

video cant embed but here is a silenced nagant revolver

[NSR500]

Wow! That Nagant was very quiet.

[Kharn]

The majority of silencers will affect the accuracy in a very negative way. 12 inch groups at 25 feet. with a handgun.

That has not been true for years, modern wipe-less cans will cause a POI shift but will still group consistently.