The first commercial sound attenuator for the firearm was introduced by Hiram Maxim in the early s. Called the Maxim Silencer, this sound suppression device was designed to reduce the noise of a rifle shot by diverting into its baffle system some of the gasses produced by the burning powder. This is not unusual and can be seen in other products. Over time, the Maxim Silencer was shortened to just Silencer and moved into the public domain as a generic term synonymous with sound suppressor.
A sound suppressor is a device that either attaches to or is integral with the barrel of a firearm. Conventional suppressors allow gas from a fired cartridge to escape into baffles or expansion chambers.
By doing so, the gasses slow and cool thereby creating less noise as they exit the gun than they would normally produce. If you are interested in the physics of this, Fred Mastison gives a more detailed explanation on how suppressors work.
Many things go into how well a sound suppressor works, but silencer efficiency is something that is greatly exaggerated in popular culture. A quality suppressor attached to the muzzle of a gun, may attenuate the noise by as much as dB. This is significant, but it is not nearly the magical sound attenuation portrayed in novels and on the big screen.
Decibels, or dB, is a unit of measurement for sound intensity. Gunfire is frequently measured at dB — well above the safety threshold. By comparison, a gas-powered lawnmower is about 90 dB. If a highly effective sound suppressor reduces a dB gunshot to only dB, that suppressed gun shot is still many times louder than a lawn mower.
The point is that a silencer will reduce the noise created by a gunshot, but it is unrealistic to think that normal sound suppressors achieve results like those shown in movies. The ammunition also plays a role. Damping the amount of noise created by a firearm is a worthy goal.
While Hollywood depictions of noise attenuation are unrealistic, using a silencer to suppress gunshot noise is worthwhile for the following reasons:. Harmful noises come in a variety of forms that are often categorized by the characteristics of duration and intensity.
In general, the higher the intensity the less duration is needed for permanent hearing loss. Gunshots are impulse noises of short duration but extremely high intensity. A sufficiently intense single gunshot can cause permanent damage to your hearing. As stated earlier, many gunshots fall between and dB. Experts generally agree that a single gunshot with a sound intensity of dB or greater can cause immediate, irreversible hearing loss. Instead, the loss is likely to be very small that builds with more noise exposure over time.
Repeated gunshots can increase the amount of damage. Suppressors can help mitigate the damage to your hearing by reducing the noise before it ever leaves the firearm. You might suggest that a silencer offers the same protection as a set of hearing protective earmuffs. The best muffs can deliver about dB of noise attenuation.
Many sets offer less — typically 24 or 25 dB of reduction. Depending on the quality of the suppressor, this would put the two devices in the same general range of protection. Here, the silencer is the superior form of hearing protection. Further, the single suppressor protects everyone in the vicinity from damaging noise. This momentary lapse of judgement had a permanent impact on their hearing.
Suppressors prevent this accidental hearing damage. The ideal situation is to use a gun mounted suppressor with earmuffs. These two safety devices would combine to provide even greater hearing protection.
One of the struggles that instructors and range officers have is being heard. Loud gunshots combined with sound-reducing earmuffs and earplugs makes it very difficult for shooters to hear range commands. Sound suppressors reduce the volume of noise on the range and can even remove the need for individual hearing protection in some cases.
This means that a range officer can give clear safety commands easily. When something goes wrong on the range, it is imperative that every shooter hear and understand the commands given. There are few defensive shootings where the defender has enough time to don hearing protection. In these cases, a firearm equipped with a silencer can be a major advantage. A gun with an equipped suppressor is most likely going to be a rifle kept for home defense due to the size limitations of most concealed carry situations.
So, a suppressor makes the most sense here. Should you ever need to shoot a firearm in self-defense, the gunfire may reduce your hearing ability substantially for a short period of time. That makes it harder to communicate with your spouse or other family members or to hear where a suspect might be. Further, it diminishes your ability to communicate with a operator. Responding police officers may initially treat you like a suspect when they arrive due to miscommunication or other circumstances.
It would be tragic indeed to have defended yourself against a home invader only to be shot by a police officer who you could not hear telling you to put your gun down.
Live The Armory Life. The latest content straight to your inbox plus an automatic entry to each of our monthly gun giveaways! A more enjoyable experience encourages the additional range time and target practice needed to train breath control, sight alignment and trigger squeeze. NFA items can be registered to an individual, a living trust or a corporation. To legally purchase or possess a firearm suppressor you must:. Although impact noise is still created downrange when the bullet strikes a solid mass, a firearm suppressor dramatically decreases noise associated with muzzle blast.
The first step to purchase a firearm suppressor is to locate a Class III dealer in your state of residence who either has or will order your suppressor.
It may make more sense to register the suppressor to a living trust or a corporation. Only then may the dealer allow the transferee to take possession of their new suppressor. A copy of the stamped ATF Form 4 must accompany the suppressor at all times.
The original ATF Form 4 should be stored in a safe deposit box. Firearm suppressors can be transported to other states which allow ownership, but transporting a suppressor into one of the states which prohibit private ownership may subject the owner to state felony charges.
As legal use of firearm suppressors for hunting continues to grow, we must educate ourselves about the latest equipment and legislative issues in our state to be informed GameKeepers.
Innovative landowners and wildlife managers with modern products and methods play a critical role in effectively managing future wildlife, feral swine and coyote populations on their property.
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The hearing safe level drops for continuous noises, like a jackhammer. The first silencer development is generally credited to Hiram P. Maxim around His intention was to create, in essence, a muffler for a gun — much like a muffler for a car. The laws today have remained largely unchanged, with the exception of two amendments: inch-barrel rifles centerfire and rimfire — amended out by Silencers have improved greatly over the years, with huge technological advancements.
However, the purposes are still the same as they were in when they were first created. Generally, the decreased sound and increased firearm control make suppressed firearms much safer and more enjoyable to shoot. Due to the provisions of the NFA, buying a silencer is a little different than buying a firearm. You must legally be able to purchase a firearm.
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