• cm0002@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Silencers aren’t actually silent, they’re still quite loud, it’s nothing like in shows and movies

    In real world usage, they’re really only useful for reducing the decibels a bit for hearing protection reasons

    Suppressor is a more apt term for them

      • Miles O'Brien@startrek.website
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        3 days ago

        Personally, I think suppressor should be the least of illegal things about firearms.

        The majority of the people I know with one have it so they don’t bother their neighbors as much and they have a little extra buffer zone for their earpro.

        I’d much rather it sound like my neighbor is using a large sledgehammer all day than gunshots.

        The masks, lack of clear identification (not “I’m a cop” but actual identifying information), and what looks like 270 rounds of ammo waiting to go for a supposed kidnapping deportation are of FAR greater concern.

        • flandish@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          you don’t need to strike through “kidnapping” - it is exactly what it is, even if done by ice, as they do it without due process.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      they’re really only useful for reducing the decibels a bit for hearing protection reasons

      Given that a couple decibel is a big range that can mean the difference between permanent damage and no damage at all, I’d call that pretty damn useful!

      But yeah, you’re otherwise absolutely right, of course 😁

    • bluGill@fedia.io
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      3 days ago

      If you must shoot where there are non target animals with ears then you should protect their ears by using a suppresser. Non target includes the person holding the gun.

    • CptOblivius@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      It’s the patent term, not a descriptive term. It is a perfectly viable term as it is the one used for more than 100 years.

      • PyroNeurosis@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        It depends on what you shoot, also. A subsonic 22lr will sound like an airgun. A 55gr 5.56 (common to AR-15s) will still be loud as shit from the sonic boom.

      • Itd4n@ani.social
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        2 days ago

        Agree. A 9mm with a nice suppressor? All I can hear is the “action” of the gun: Click. Click. Click.

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        Compared to…?

        It’s extremely quiet compared to shooting a gun without a silencer. Sure, but guns are incredibly loud.

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        The ammunition is, but the mechanical parts of the gun are still fairly loud.

        You can get the sound down to maybe 100 dBA. That’s much quieter than the 160ish that you get without a suppressor. But, that’s still loud. Things that are around 100 dBA include blenders, electric drills, motorcycles, etc. It’s only a very brief sound, but it’s loud for that moment. The Guinness record for loudest finger snap is 108 dBA. So, the quietest gun will be much louder than the average finger snap.

        That means those movie scenes where people are having a shootout with silencers in a library and nobody notices, or even in a crowded train station. That’s not realistic. People might not recognize the sound as a gun, but they’d definitely be looking around for the source of that snapping sound. It also means the scenes where someone is sneaking through a house at night killing people without being noticed are not realistic either. If you’re asleep, a loud finger snap might not wake you up, but if you’re awake you’re definitely going to notice it.

        • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          That means those movie scenes where people are having a shootout with silencers in a library and nobody notices, or even in a crowded train station.

          Don’t get me wrong, I’m under no impression that the scene from John Wick is realistic (at least not with the way current firearms technology functions).

          When speaking about subsonic ammunition, the greatest impact is mainly how far away you can hear the weapon. Guns are loud, yes — something that cuts the sound down from 5 city blocks to 1 (hyperbole, I don’t know the exact numbers but I do know it considerably decreases how far the sound travels) is pretty fuckin quiet.

          And .22lr subsonic really is movie quiet, not that it matters - you’re practically shooting a suped up BB at that point.

          • merc@sh.itjust.works
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            2 days ago

            And .22lr subsonic really is movie quiet

            “Movie quiet” would be so quiet that you can shoot the gun next to someone in a library and nobody would look up. Nothing is that quiet. Even if you were dry firing with no rounds at all, the “click” would be so loud that it would draw a lot of attention.

            A realistic movie take on a gun with subsonic ammunition and a silencer would be one where if someone was shooting, people would be looking around for the source of the clicking / snapping sound but not worried about guns because the sound is so unlike a gun that it wouldn’t register to them as a gun.

      • FauxPseudo @lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I don’t think I’ve ever met a single person using subsonic 556. Subsonic 22LR? Every day. But not 556. 223? Only when hunting deer. Not for social work.

        • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
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          3 days ago

          If you’re going to be spending money on getting a suppressor and shooting subsonic rounds I think most people will probably go for .300 blackout.

        • hoch@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          That’s because a subsonic 5.56 has barely more energy than a .22 LR. It probably wouldn’t even cycle the gun without modifications.

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Most rifle rounds depend on speed for their energy.

        A subsonic 5.56 is only going to have 15-20% the muzzle energy of a standard round at best.

      • frezik@midwest.social
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        2 days ago

        The reason we jump to that is because it’s common misconception, and that misconception directly leads people to support bans on suppressors.

            • TachyonTele@piefed.social
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              2 days ago

              I’m not. Nobody has tried claiming they’re silent. Silencer is a very very common term for that attachment, and you know that, but you felt the need to chime anyways.

              If anything, it’s you being unpleasant here, not me.

              • kuhli@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                2 days ago

                Explaining that they aren’t silent and just make guns less likely to damage hearing is the most appropriate answer to someone asking why they’re needed.

                Its also reasonable to assume someone asking why they’re needed assumes they’re used similarly to how they’re presented in pop culture

                  • Norah (pup/it/she)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                    2 days ago

                    You keep repeating this like they were speaking to anything other than the common parlance term? Where did they say they were addressing someone in this post?

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
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      3 days ago

      the decibels a bit for hearing protection reasons

      I mean, I’ve heard that from groups trying to pass laws to get rid of the tax stamp, but in all honesty everyone I’ve known who has a suppressor only has one because they think they are cool.

      I mean you still have to wear hearing protection with them, especially if you’re at a range where the vast majority of people aren’t using a suppressor.

      • frezik@midwest.social
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        2 days ago

        Right now, the market for them is distorted by the tax stamp. Only a few people bother with the paperwork and fee (even though it’s been highly streamlined in recent years). That means companies producing them have to make up their costs with high prices rather than volume. It’s almost a stealth tax on top of the stated tax.

        That results in only a few well off people getting them. This has little overlap with skill or appreciation for the hobby.

        Drop them from the NFA, and now everyone with a 3D printer can just run one off. Even in traditional manufacturing, you have a much larger customer base, and the company can sell on volume rather than high prices.

        • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
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          2 days ago

          Right now, the market for them is distorted by the tax stamp. Only a few people bother with the paperwork and fee (even though it’s been highly streamlined in recent years). That means companies producing them have to make up their costs with high prices rather than volume. It’s almost a stealth tax on top of the stated tax.

          Oh I agree, I’m not saying that the system we have is great. I just don’t think the majority of people are buying suppressors because of the added hearing protection.

          Personally I just don’t see the point of suppressors. Maybe if I had a bunch of land or something and got to shoot by myself all the time. But me having a suppressor isn’t going to help much if the guy in the lane next to me is shooting with a muzzle brake.

          The cost of subsonic ammo alone is enough that I wouldn’t run a suppressor even if they were cheaper.

          • frezik@midwest.social
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            2 days ago

            If I had a suppressor on my AR-15, I’d still be using hearing protection. I really should be doubling up on ear plugs and muffs together, but I tend to have a lot of earwax buildup, and properly inserted ear plugs tend to compact that problem.

            Subsonic 5.56NATO is a joke.

            • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
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              2 days ago

              Yeah, I double up on ear pro. It’s not comfortable, but I already have some hearing damage from my job.

              If I ever ran a suppressor I’d rebuild my upper receiver for .300 black out, but I can’t see myself shelling out the money for the rebuild, tax stamp, suppressor…and paying a buck a round.