Yep, I don´t know if it´s some kind of Doppler effect that the noise doesn´t go back at You, but spreads in all other directions, but, yes, I´ve noticed the same fenomenon. (another fellow at the range was testshooting a .44 Magnum, sh*t, those beasts hurt in many ways)

BTW, just the other day I saw a notice that the "stadsskytt" (city shooter?) was going to reduce the number of crows in my area. They have multiplied a bit too heartily. The most spectacular job I heard about here in Jönköping was a young moose who had strayed all the way into the local hockey arena (not kidding) and had to be shot. I guess tranquilizers had been regarded, but the moose was killed in the end.

Groth, do You know if the stadsskytt is authorized to use silencer, since he´s shooting inside urban areas? I just asume You´re swedish, since You mentioned swedish laws.
regards
Mikael S.

Mikael, you've got me confused with PlawsWorth. I'm in the US.

Oddly, we have a crow problem here too. I use an air-rifle on them - reasonably quiet and sufficiently powerful.

groth, i'm sorry, i'm as pro-gun as the next crazy fool, but that's just rediculous. it really is, you can't compare guns to cars. i _seriously_ hope you were joking.

opus:

great, i'm glad you enjoy your legally owned device :) and yes, with a handgun, you can often get better groups, it does increase accuracy.

however, could you not achieve the same benefits of a silencer with a can (fake silencer) and good hearing protection?

btw, do you have a full FFL, or how does that work? i was reading into the FFL procedure, and it's seems like way too much hassle. however, i was considering getting a C&R instead. there are a number of old ww2-era rifles i'd like to pick up in the near future, and a C&R sounds like a good way to do that, without so much hassle...

i probably could, but then i couldnt go to a public shoot with a 'homemade'. that would be a quick boot in the ass straight to jail :)
you dont need a full FFL. basically what you are doing is paying a $200.00 for a 'tax stamp', a mother of a background check, and a signoff from the local sheriff or DA that gives you the greenlight for permission.

you are now the registered owner of a single class III item (automatic weapon/silencer/whatever) and that particular item is registered to you. if you break it, the original manufacturer must be the one to do the repairs, and if necessary transfer the serial number (if you broke it that bad) to a new item of the same descripton. if you lose it... well.. time for a new tax stamp :(.

as for C&W licenses, those are pretty damn cool. basically it is a 'joe average' FFL. you can order complete vintage firearms via the mail, and skip the background check process when buying a valid item. i would like to get one of those myself.

bbl

i'm not subjected to background checks either. in nebraska, to buy a handgun they require (i'm pretty sure it's required) to have a handgun purchase permit. it takes about 3 business days through the sherriff's office, and once you have it, it serves as your background check when purchasing firearms. walk in, walk out, no hassle. kinda nice, actually :)

anyways, i haven't decided if i'm going c&r or not. i would like to collect several ww2 rifles, the main variants, and i know such as the nagants, i can get them for less than half the price online. just wether i go through the c&r and $30 for all that, or just have a local shop do an ffl transfer. i think it still takes like 6 months for a c&r to go through tho.

hrm... $200... how much is an m249?? lol. any class 3 items are SO EXPENSIVE just for the hardwar :/

Half joking, I don't think my savings on mufflers would make up for the lost sleep. But the point was serious - the "desire for silence = ill intent" argument is absurd, as is the declaration that an object is evil.

Yep, it's ridiculous.

I just think a silencer for may .45ACP would be fun as hell.

I mean, you could go all James Bond on a target, or poster of Clinton or something.

[quote=Groth]Mikael, you've got me confused with PlawsWorth. I'm in the US.

QUOTE]

True, my mistake. "Fort fast fel" (quick but wrong) as the saying goes. PlawsWorth it should be.

Sandman, does a silencer do any good on a semiauto without a slidelock?
regards
Mikael S.

on a 45??? the neighbors will still call the police on you at 2 in the morning!

"hello, 911"
"uh... someone has some bigass firecrackers nextdoor"

Not really, you just have to get some subsonic bullets. Just put some heavy bullets, and some slow powder in.

as far as i know it the big bang you hear is the bullet breaking the sound barrier..

Sound is just a change in pressure. The 'bang' comes from the release of gasses when the bullet exits the barrel. Think of it as popping a (really high pressure) balloon.

The idea of a silencer is to capture those high pressure, high velocity gasses; to slow them down and spread out their release in both space and time. Less pressure change, less sound.

Yep, the silencer slows down the gasses, but, as Sandman points out, the bullet must be kept from causing a sonic bang.
Regarding the slidelock: The silencer takes care of the gas coming out of the muzzle, but there´s a lot of gas coming out through the ejection port as well. A slidelock keeps the slide in place and the ejection port closed until the slide is manually cycled, way after the gas has left the gun.
regards
Mikael S.

The 'sonic bang' from super-sonic bullets isn't really significant. Bullets don't displace enough air as they travel to produce high pressures and sharply defined shockwaves.

Unless you're using heavy artillery.... :D

Larger caliber rifles do too. And, if you wanna be silenced anything helps.

Ever hard a rifle bullet go over your head? it's loud.

I was out a shoot competition at Camp Perry around here. And, I was down in the bunker scoring when thye let loose with about 200 Garands. You can definatly hear them going over.