Don,
I think very few people have ever got to play with silencers for obvious
reasons, but I have been fortunate in that respect. I have not only played
with designing them, I have had the opportuity to shoot professionally built
silenced weapons. My experience includes revolvers, semi autos, rifles in
both forms and submachine guns in many calibers. First silenced or
suppressed weapons are not silent or even quiet. That is a wives tale. They
are quieter than without. As an example, on a 25 M range, 20 ft wide and
open at the top with concrete side walls, the shooter cannot safely shoot
without ear protection. There is an exception to that last statement and
that is the new MP7 from HK. This submachine gun CAN be used safely without
hearing protection. The sub 5mm round travels in the 900 MPS range.
Additionally, the sonic crack, although present, is very, very quiet. I
believe this performance is due to the very small round. Another observation
that I have made is the longer the silencer, the quieter the weapon is. As
far as action noise, yes it is there, but it is low volume and local. Loose
actions make more noise that tight ones. Plastic receivers are quieter than
all metal. Inverted cone designs are quieter than designs using packing.
Steve

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
I've read here that silencers are not compatible with revolvers.
The question of why that might be so has bugged me since I read it.
Why is that so? Does it have something to do with clearance between
cylinder (chamber) and barrel?

How about rifles that are not gas-actuated semiautos, i.e. bolt,
lever or pump actions? Perhaps it's not feasible to effectively
suppress the report of a rifle with supersonic muzzle velocity, which
(I think) includes most modern centerfire rifles.

I certainly have no need or desire for a silencer, but I'm curious.