WHAT DO SUPPRESSOR’S (SILENCERS) DO AND WHAT ROLE DOES AMMUNITION PLAY?
There are a few different ways you can reduce the sound of a gunshot: simply sticking a potato on the barrel (which, by the way, doesn’t work so well) to adding a suppressor or silencer to your gun. The terms “suppressor” and “silencer” are used interchangeably and are used to significantly reduce the sound of the gunshot by the way they vent off the gasses. Both the United States Department of Justice and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) refer to suppressors as "silencers.”
Keep in mind that a suppressor (silencer) does not completely silence the shot, but knocks it down to a whisper of its former amplitude. Often the loudest thing about a suppressed firearm is the sound of the action itself as it ejects and reloads for the next shot. Suppressors (silencers) are National Firearms Act ("NFA") items and are regulated by the federal government, requiring approval and registration. Suppressors (silencers) are illegal in some states.
While Suppressors address one part of the gun noise, subsonic ammunition addresses the other. The speed of sound is a bit over 1100 feet per second, so any bullet that exceeds that velocity will cause a mini sonic boom when it leaves the gun. You can eliminate a sonic boom by using ammunition that is subsonic. However, the use of subsonic ammunition generally will not be worth it without a suppressed weapon.
While suppressors are also referred to as "silencers," the latter is misleading because no firearm can be made completely silent, as the term "silencer" implies. Functionally, a suppressor is meant to diminish the report of a discharged round, or make its sound unrecognizable. Other sounds emanating from the weapon remain unchanged. Even subsonic bullets make distinct sounds by their passage through the air and striking targets, and supersonic bullets produce a small sonic boom, resulting in a "ballistic crack." Semi and fully automatic firearms also make distinct noises as their actions cycle, ejecting the fired cartridge case and loading a new round. Despite being misleading, the term "silencer" is still widespread.
