Does a silencer take some power away from the orignal impact of the bullet?

Answer 1

There are several types of silencers. They can be classed into those that fit on the muzzle of the barrel, or telescope back from the muzzle several inches. Then there are those that contain wipes (rubber disks with slots cut in them) or metal mesh which may contact the bullet, and slow it down, reducing power and accuracy. Much more common are the silencers that use baffles to deflect the powder gases inside of the silencer body to reduce the noise level.

Some of the silencers that cover a portion of the barrel behind the muzzle have holes (ports) drilled into them to allow gases to bleed off into the back of the silencer body before the bullet leaves the barrel. These silencers also extend several inches past the muzzle and will have baffles inside also. A ported barrel will reduce bullet velocity, while non-ported barrels will not. One of the good things about silencers that telescope over the barrel is that they mount very sturdy, and are hard to knock out of line. They are usually a bit less noisy too.

Most silencers are made to screw or lock directly onto the muzzle. Special care must be made to ensure the silencer is properly aligned to prevent baffle strikes by the bullets. These silencers as well as any silencers on non-ported barrel will make the bullet move 0-30 feet per second faster than the same barrel without the silencer attached. The reason for this is that the gases are still pushing on the bullet a little bit as it passes through the silencer. This is known as suppressor (silencer) boost.

Silencers are useful on rifles shooting supersonic ammunition. The muzzle blast is by far the most noisy part of the firearm. While no rifle can be made completely silent, they can be suppressed down to about 115 decibels (22 rimfire) or about 125 decibels for an M16. A silencer reduces hearing loss when shooting, both for the shooter and for bystanders The pain threshold is about 140 decibels. Subsonic (less than 1100 fps) is less noisy, but less powerful, and drops much faster past 200 yards than supersonic ammo.

Just to clear up a few misconceptions, most rifles are either single shot, or magazine fed. Many rifles have an internal magazine, instead of a detachable one, but it is still a magazine if the firearm holds additional ammo in it other than the round in the chamber that is ready to fire.

Ranb

Answer 2

yes and no. the silencer itself doesnt reduce velocity of a bullet, in fact in many tests velocity was increased due to having a longer barrel/silencer acting as barrel.

the thing to remember is that when using a silencer subsonic ammo must be used. a silencer cannot stop the "crack" of the bullet exceeding the sound barrier.

in pistols this isnt a huge factor since .45acp is a borderline subsonic round and 40s&w and 9mm subsonic ammo can be purchased however with rifles specialty subsonic ammo can be harder to find.

subsonic rifle ammo will use a much heavier bullet and will be greatly limited in range due to reduced muzzlevelocity to under 900fps.

also firing standard 7.62 nato ammo in a rifle equipped with a silencer will not reduce the sound noticably and will likely destroy the silencer due to much higher pressures at the muzzle

Answer 3

Just to clarify...
American sniper rifles are rarely magazine fed...the barrett .50 would be an exception...has a removable box magazine.

The Marine corps sniper rifle is a highly modified Remington 700, chambered in 7.62x51 NATO. The military designation is M40A3, and it has a five round internal box magazine. The Army uses the M24SWS, and it is a Remington 700 action as well.

The split, worldwide, is about fifty/fifty bolt action/ semiauto, but the bolt is usually credited with having the best accuracy at longer ranges

Answer 4

Actually, it takes away more than most people understand. It will reduce the muzzle velocity and the penetrating distance of the bullet. While the bullet can still kill someone, it may not be able to go through a wall to do it.

Answer 5

Your question has been answered, just thought i'd clarify something. Military sniper rifles are not single shot, they are magazine fed rifles. The Barret .50 cal is a single shot in some cases, but they seem to be going with the box magazine fed semi automatic rifle. Many accurised competition rifles are single shot ( PALMA) but you won't find these on any battle field.

Answer 6

It depends on the caliber. A 9mm must be loaded down so it goes no faster than 950 fps. so it does not have a sonic crack. A .45 is by nature under 1000 fps. and the reduction of power is minimal.

Answer 7

Technically yes, but not much. A semi-automatic or full automatic action takes away a whole lot more, but the manufacturers won't tell you this. That's why sniper rifles are single shot bolt action, and your best hunting rifles are bolt action, even though they may be magazine fed. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

it's negligible. the friction slows the muzzle velocity....but not enough that you would notice unless you were shooting long range....

Answer 10

yes but not a whole lot