Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidJayUden
In Europe I'm told that suppressors are much more accepted, presumably due to higher population density.
Here in the US they are regarded with suspicion. Thanks again Hollywood...
dju
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Yes.. and no
It's far from a dense population where I live, but silencers are sold freely without any restrictions.
It has become so common these last 10-20 years, that most hunters and shooters use them.
Silencers are great.. not just for the .22, but also for the larger calibers.
+ usually improve accuracy
+ saves the hearing (reduces about 2/3 of the sounds energy)
+ significantly reduces recoil (about 50%)
+ significantly reduces muzzle flash
+ gives a little more muzzle velocity
+ just unscrew it and attach a muzzle brake if preferred.
+ more easy to concentrate
+ less noise for the surroundings or the guy laying next to you at the shooting range.
+ with some ammunition/silencer combinations, you can hear the impact on the game and by that know whether it was a miss or not.
- affects balance (therefore it's common to reduce the barrel length)
- more easily problems with mirage when shooting rapidly
- expensive (but has become a lot cheaper recently, probably as the market is growing)
- there is no way around the fact that bigger silencers are better than the smaller ones. So usually one need to find a compromise.
I use it on several guns, here's two of them;
..and yeah.. it's not like in the movies
But it does make it possible to shoot without hearing protection, but it's no "pchh". Unless loaded sub sonic..
Just for fun, I occasionally load some subsonic rifle ammunition in 223 (makes it basically a more expencive .22), 30.06, 30-30win and 6.5x55. I then use a small amount of pistol powder and the bullet seated pointing the wrong way.