I thought the proper term for them was suppressors, but apparently I was wrong.
The Firearms Silencer, patent # 916,885, was issued March 30, 1909 by the U.S. Patent Office
Source: TheTruthAboutGuns.com ACC: It’s called a “Silencer.”
So Gem-Tech was right:
Right, if you’re team’s objective is to kill the bad guy without losing your hearing, the product works. My question is this:
1. Why do I have to go through hell to buy a suppressor? Are my civilian ears less worthy than those of a cop?
2. Since suppressors decrease the lethality of the bullet, does it make sense for cops to use them?
3. Isn’t the whole point of being a cop to be visible, to be heard? Is ever cop a member of SWAT nowadays? And what about the innocent people that get shot by cops because they did a no knock raid at the wrong place and the homeowner tried to fight back?
Here’s a cheaper alternative, assuming the cops are buying their tools with our tax dollars:
On sale at Amazon for less than $5
A reader questioned what I wrote about lethality, here’s what science has to say:
To fire a bullet from a gun, gunpowder is ignited behind the bullet. The gunpowder creates a high-pressure pulse of hot gas. The pressure of the gas forces the bullet down the barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the end of the barrel, it is like uncorking a bottle. The pressure behind the bullet is immense, however — on the order of 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi) — so the POP that the gun makes as it is uncorked is extremely loud.
A silencer screws on to the end of the barrel and has a huge volume compared to the barrel (20 or 30 times greater). With the silencer in place, the pressurized gas behind the bullet has a big space to expand into. So the pressure of the hot gas falls significantly. When the bullet finally exits through the hole in the silencer, the pressure being uncorked is much, much lower — perhaps 60 psi. Therefore, the sound of the gun firing is much softer.
Source: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question112.htm
Less pressure equals less lethal power. Maybe that’s why US Army Snipers don’t always use them:
As for using silencers as a sniper, it completely depends on the mission set. Without getting too specific, most of the time you won’t use a silencer as a sniper. Snipers are designed to provide pinpoint direct fire at a distance. Because of the distances snipers maintain from their target the use of a silencer is pointless in most mission sets.
A silencer tends to have an adverse impact on the projectile once it leaves the weapon, especially for long distance, it all comes down to ballistics. But, you will learn all of this in Sniper School. So while you might use a silencer on some missions you won’t use it all the time.
Source: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091011182404AAxmuZ3
I was wrong about one thing, the proper term is silencer:
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Gregory Smith
What?!?
First of all, Gem-Tech knows exactly what they are doing. “Silencer”, unfortunately, is the legal term for suppressors. But that is just semantics. As for the civilian ownership of suppressors, I agree they should be removed from the NFA registry, but that is for congress to change. Local PD’s have little to do with it. I think every officer should have a can on his rifle.
Second, how did you come to the conclusion that a suppressor has any effect on the terminal ballistics or lethality of a bullet? Hint: there isn’t.
I didn’t come up to that conclusion, science did
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question112.htm
Can you tell me where on the page it explains the trajectory being affected? I’m curious, because that’s news to me too. But your source for it doesn’t seem to actually mention it having an affect on trajectory. Thanks.
Silencers, suppressors, do not affect the bullet after it leaves the barrel. Some suppressors use a ported barrel system (the barrel has holes drilled in it to bleed off high pressure gas) to reduce the velocity of the bullet to below subsonic. That is probably where the idea that lethality of the projectile is reduced. Suppressors that are just added to an existing firearm do not change the lethality of the projectile. In some designs, they cause a slight increase in velocity.
Silencers are much better for hunting, because they allow you to hear your surroundings while having your hearing protected.