Witnessed a silencer in action today.

[CoalCrackerAl]

When i pulled up to the rifle range today. A few others where there. One guy had a can on his rifle. It was pretty long too. I shot from the 300 yard area. I was about 50 yards away from the main range. I could hear the bullets whistling down the range. And when he shot. It sounded like an air rifle. Impressive.

 

[Catshooter]

I don't really care for one on a pistol (balance) much. But on a rifle? Oh man! I shoot 10.5" 5.56 & full power .30-06 and suppressed is the only way to fly. Neither one will activate the electronic ear muffs, so I don't wear them. Love them.

Light loads in any caliber just make you giggle.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I shoot 10.5" 5.56 & full power .30-06 and suppressed is the only way to fly. Neither one will activate the electronic ear muffs, so I don't wear them. Love them.

Light loads in any caliber just make you giggle.

Something must be wrong with your muffs. Either way, full power rifle loads generally do no suppress into the hearing safe range, in large part due to the supersonic crack of the bullet. You might want to reconsider wearing hearing protection.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Something must be wrong with your muffs. Either way, full power rifle loads generally do no suppress into the hearing safe range, in large part due to the supersonic crack of the bullet. You might want to reconsider wearing hearing protection.

Sure they do.

The sonic crack doesn't propagate right out of the muzzle, and there is considerable attenuation by the time the first shockwave reaches the shooter's ear.

How loud the crack actually is depends on bullet velocity, size and profile, though. .17 Rem or .220 Swift with small, very aerodynamic bullets at extremely high velocity produce rather little crack. The crack of rounds like .45-70, on the other hand, with big, blunt bullets doing typically somewhere in the 1,400-2,000 FPS range are pretty loud.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Sure they do.

The sonic crack doesn't propagate right out of the muzzle, and there is considerable attenuation by the time the first shockwave reaches the shooter's ear.

How loud the crack actually is depends on bullet velocity, size and profile, though. .17 Rem or .220 Swift with small, very aerodynamic bullets at extremely high velocity produce rather little crack. The crack of rounds like .45-70, on the other hand, with big, blunt bullets doing typically somewhere in the 1,400-2,000 FPS range are pretty loud.

No, most full power rifle rounds do not suppress to below 130 db. Damage still occurs at 130 db. CDC lists pain and injury occurring above 120 db.
https://decibelpro.app/blog/how-loud-is-130-decibels/
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html

When you look at suppressor results for these loads, you get a bunch below 140 db (but not all), but you don't get many below 130 db.

Since the op was talking about .223, here are the results from a longer 16" barrel, not exactly hearing safe with numerous suppressors as you can see...

 

[MachIVshooter]

Since the op was talking about .223, here are the results from a longer 16" barrel, not exactly hearing safe with numerous suppressors as you can see...

OP did not mention a host weapon or cartridge.

ARs, even gas adjusted, have significant port noise in the mid-high 130s that is well above the attenuated SPL of a 5.56mm sonic shockwave. Unadjusted will be over 140 at ear, as will all other gas operated semi autos.

Rounds like .30-06, .300 win mag can absolutely be under 130 at shooter's ear. So can .223/5.56 from a manual action firearm.

Take the time to check out some of the raw videos Ray Sanchez (Thunderbeast) puts out metering their cans and others on the B&K Pulse, a much more accurate system than the 2209 used in the video above. Hansohn Brothers put our 8" Accipiter .30 on their Pulse using 150 gr. ball ammo on a 20" .308 bolt rifle, 128 dB at ear. The 9" comes in at 125.

 

[mavracer]

I wish I hadn't waited as long to get one.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Yeah i should have asked about it. But i try not to be nosy .

 

[Catshooter]

Double Naught,

If these aren't ear safe, then why don't any of my four ear pro activate? I shoot with three friends and theirs don't either, so I'm not understanding.

 

[GONRA]

GONRA's suppressed Vector UZI 9mm SMG sounds like a Big Woodpecker.

 

[Demi-human]

Demi-human likes that GONRA talks about GONRA in the third person.
Demi-human just received his fifth tax stamp last night. Four rimfires and a thirty round out his cashe.
Never enough, shooting for 1:1.

Two days short of three months since filed. Looks like .gov is making good on their F-1 goals.
Now if they could de-muck the form 4s.
A year for agents to merely check paperwork is ridiculous.

 

[a_canadian]

I've always had excessive sensitivity to high intensity noise, so I've protected my hearing instinctively since childhood, like shoving fingertips into my ears when ambulance or police or fire sirens come within a block of me. Hence my shooting every firearm I have suppressed, except my heavily modified 'shorty' 870 12ga, and I've not shot that any more than necessary to know it's functional and that I can aim and control it well. For that I use custom silicone earplugs, moulded to go past the second bend of the ear canal.

My main squeeze is a 9mm PCC. Just so much fun to shoot. Integrally suppressed with a 9" barrel, 8 x 1/8" ports at the mid-point to vent into the first half of the tube, 14 shallow 'ported' cones for baffles in the last 7". It's shooting at about 125dB with 147gr at a metre to one side of the muzzle. But my ears aren't there. My ears are about within a foot or so of the ejection port, and though I've added tungsten to slow uncorking and done other mods to optimize for heavy subsonics, that's a bit louder, around 130dB. It isn't painful in my perception, even in a small room into a soft trap. But if I'm dumping more than a couple of shots I always throw on earpro.

My 6.5Creedmoor has a big heavy can mounted. Haven't shot it unsuppressed and likely never will. With the silicone plugs it's very comfortable, like a well-suppressed .22lr rifle without earpro in place. I intend to try 1 shot without hearing protection, out of curiosity, next time I take it out. But I suspect it'll be uncomfortable, so won't be making that a habit, even though it's a bolt rifle hence no port noise. The echoes off the hills are substantial.

 

[243winxb]

sounded like an air rifle.

Only when projectiles are at the same velocity as an air rifle, below speed of sound. None are quiet like on TV, that i have seen at the range. Not even the 22lr with special sub ammo,* Aguila 22lr subsonic 60 gr lead, 950 fps. , fired in a semi auto handgun. . *edit*

Needed a locked breach.

Mostly just a "cool" factor for most. Imo. Will take a shooter next to me using a suppressed gun over a muzzle brake any day.

Seen a store bought suppressed AR 223, fired brass completly soot covered . The PCP pipe home made one was different.

The high power rifle, with factory ammo at normal velocities, still bad for unprotected ears.

 

[Demi-human]

None are quiet like on TV, that i have seen at the range. Not even the 22lr with special sub ammo. Needed a locked breach.

I must differ here. With subs, my AR22s and MKIII stay closed long enough to sound just like an air rifle, perhaps even quieter.
My bolt action sounds like a broken air rifle, it really is Movie-Quiet. A click and a sound of someone saying “Pshhht”.

I will say that every firearm and suppressor is different, so if you’ve seen some loud ones I am also not surprised. Just the nature of things.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I will say that every firearm and suppressor is different, so if you’ve seen some loud ones I am also not surprised. Just the nature of things.

100%

The frequency (tone) matters every bit as much as the decibel level. Lower frequency sounds are less offensive and less damaging at any level.

Where autoloaders are concerned, host makes a huge difference. Take my S&W 4506 or 4566 vs. the Remington RP45 or Glock 21; the long lock time of the Smiths makes them far more pleasant with much lower port noise. Likewise, the 6.3" barreled Stribog SP9A1 is a much quieter host than the Calico Liberty 100 with 10" barrel, despite the latter being roller delayed blowback.

 

[mavracer]

The high power rifle, with factory ammo at normal velocities, still bad for unprotected ears.

I have a Torrent T9K that I use on my 12.5" SBR, it's a short 9mm bore can with only 3 baffles. I'm not sure what it meters but it's loud suppressed.
I'd still rather shoot it suppressed without earplugs that shoot the darn thing without the can while wearing plugs.

 

[Catshooter]

100%

The frequency (tone) matters every bit as much as the decibel level. Lower frequency sounds are less offensive and less damaging at any level.

Where autoloaders are concerned, host makes a huge difference. Take my S&W 4506 or 4566 vs. the Remington RP45 or Glock 21; the long lock time of the Smiths makes them far more pleasant with much lower port noise. Likewise, the 6.3" barreled Stribog SP9A1 is a much quieter host than the Calico Liberty 100 with 10" barrel, despite the latter being roller delayed blowback.

Yes, this. ^^^

Sounds, and how/if they're offensive is much more involved than just a simple DB meter in a quick Youtube video. I'm an old man who protects his hearing, don't need hearing aids and really don't want them. My guns, with my loads and my silencers all combine to not hurt my ears.

I love 'em!