Alkarii wrote:I found out this morning that virtually every depiction of suppressors that I'd seen is wildly inaccurate. An ambulance siren is typically about 120dB, and OSHA requires hearing protection in work environments where the noise level reaches 140dB or louder.
Suppressed rifles can typically reach 130dB or so.
https://warisboring.com/heckler-kochs-s ... s-a-shout/
70 DB for the H&K MP5 - it all depends on the gun, the round, etc, etc. So it depends
The _main_ purpose of a suppressor is to muffle the detonation noise (shockwave) that happens immediately after the bullet exits the barrel of the weapon. A supersonic round still has the very loud CRACK!, and a subsonic round will have a sizzle. Ported barrels are similar, in that they vent the gases over a longer period - with the downside of losing muzzle velocity and increasing visibility.
If you want to understand some of the difference between them, take two guns to the range. 1) a revolver. 2) a semiautomatic. Use similar calibers if at all possible, like 38 special and 9mm NATO. (often called 9mm Luger). (There are 3 9mm rounds. 9x17, 9x18, and 9x19. In order, that's .380 auto, Makarov, and Luger, now NATO)
If you can, get an 1895 Nagant as well.
With the revolver, you lose gases at the gap between the cylinder and the rear of the barrel. This tends to give _two_ separate detonation sounds if you listen closely. Thus the 'ba-boom' in comics and such). The first is when the bullet enters the barrel, and the still burning propellant explodes out the sides of the front of the cylinder. The second is when the bullet leaves the barrel.
With the semi-automatic, you _also_ lose containment twice, but in a different way. The detonation pushes the bullet into the barrel, but it ALSO shoves the slide backwards (Newton wins again) When the slide reaches a certain point, it opens a hole into the firing chamber, and the empty shell is thrown out. In a gun like the CZ-52, this can cause enough rotational force that you have to deliberately compensate for it, or watch your hand twist, and the barrel go .. interesting directions. The other is, of course, when the bullet leaves the barrel. I don't remember in which order they occur (bullet escape and ejection).
The interesting puppy is the 1895 Nagant. The Nagant brothers put together a bunch of different people's ideas, and came up with a -gas sealing revolver-.
http://www.guns.com/review/what-we-want ... revolvers/
If you fire it, the _only_ explosion will come from the end of the barrel. From the cartridge to the end of the barrel is an unbroken tube once you've pulled the trigger, until you then release the trigger. This reduces the noise to a single event. As the round is already sub-sonic, adding a suppressor gives you the closet thing to a true assassins weapon that you'll see outside of the specially redesigned semi-automatic .22 shorts. (Slide doesn't go back, subsonic round. One shot, but deadly close up)
Fun gun to shoot, PITA to reload, and even more of one to clean.
So - even with a silencer, most revolvers are noisy as snot. Semi-automatics are quieter, but still create noise with the slide action. If you want to stun a burglar, fire a shot from a revolver - the shock wave alone will knock them back a step, especially if they're used to pop-guns and the movies.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.