Can anyone explain to point me to a place that can explain how silencers work.  I mean I really want to know how they silence a friggin gunshot.  Do they slow the bullet down?  I mean what do they do, I have no idea.  Thanks.

Not my words...

Silencers work by suppressing the gases that leave a gun barrel when it is fired. Special ammunition used with silencers travels slower than the speed of sound, avoiding the sonic boom caused by ordinary bullets.

Silenced firearms are not entirely silent -- they do not muffle the mechanical sounds of a gun's moving parts -- but they do reduce the sound to a level that is not noticeable in a crowd or from far away. The silencer also hides the bright muzzle flash that usually appears when a gun is fired.
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Here is another explination.

It is amazing that gun silencers are able to silence guns, but they work on a very simple principle.
Imagine a balloon. If you pop a baloon with a pin, it will make a loud noise. But if you were to untie the end of the balloon and let the air out slowly, you could do it making very little noise. That is the basic idea behind a gun silencer.

To fire a bullet from a gun, gunpowder is ignited behind the bullet. The gunpowder creates a high-pressure pulse of hot gas. The pressure of the gas forces the bullet down the barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the end of the barrel, it is like uncorking a bottle. The pressure behind the bullet is immense however - on the order of 3,000 PSI - so the POP that the gun makes as it is uncorked is extremely loud.

A silencer screws on to the end of the barrel and has a huge volume compared to the barrel (20 or 30 times greater). With the silencer in place, the pressurized gas behind the bullet has a big space to expand into. So the pressure of the hot gas falls significantly. When the bullet finally exits through the hole in the silencer, the pressure being uncorked is much, much lower - perhaps 60 PSI. Therefore the sound the gun makes is much lower.

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Btw,  I'm going to be purchasing a few within the next few weeks.  A 10/22 integrated silencer and probably something for my M16

They work by cancelling out sound waves, much the like the muffler on a car.  Go to askJeeves.com for more...

Yeah I went to jeeves and they were useless.  So if they were to slow down the bullet below the speed of sound, wouldn't that severely hamper its range as well as killing ability?

BTW: I am writing a book that is why I want to know as well as common knowledge

Check this site for a description of suppressor technology:

[url]http://www.guns.connect.fi/rs/general.html[/url]

ask jeeves this:  "How does a gun silencer work?"  It gives a very short, succinct explanation, without a lot of complicated jargon.

For some other basic yet good info go to www.hkpro.com , select the rifles section, select the MP5SD, and read on.
Regards,
CS

The way most modern suppressors work is that as the gas leaves the barrel it is under very high pressure.  While under pressure it is forced through a series of small holes/baffles that have a large area inside.  Once the gas is inside it expands and cools making the pressure much lower and it is not able to exit throught he small hole as quicky as it entered.  Therefor the speed that the gas escapes is greatly reduced, reducing the sound.  You will still hear the sonic crack of the bullet unless you are at very close range or using subsonic ammo.

I have 3 suppresors now and I am in the process of buying them for more of my guns.  I have a .22lr suppressor that screws onto a 10/22 or 22/45 (this is the most fun out of all of them), one for my m11/9 smg, and a suppressed 9mm upper for my AR.  I am buying a .223 suppressor for my AR and a .30 cal that will go on my .308 and .300 Win Mag bolt guns.

Suppressors work like 7 said.  Rather than allowing the gases to escape into the atmosphere, it escapes into the cylinder filled with baffles and expansion chambers.  The net result is that the gas is cooled and slowed dramatically prior to reaching the atmosphere.  What this means is that there is much less atmospheric disruption, ergo...no noise.

This means that with ammo remaining constant, the efficiency is determined by the design/size of the the baffles and chambers.  A tiny suppressor will not be able to cope with a large amout of emergent gas, but could easily handle a .22 rimfire or .32.

A supersonic bullet cannot be quiet as you get the supersonic crack (small sonic boom).  A subsonic bullet fired through an efficient suppressor is indeed silent.  Some ammo is by default subsonic, where others can be made subsonic by downloading it or simply using a heavier bullet.  The standard .45 ACP round is subsonic by default, whereas the 9mm can be made subsonic without a download by the use of abnormally heavy bullets.

I fired a full auto suppressed uzi with standard 9mm and subsonic 9mm.  The result was that the standard 9mm had a loud crack, but no blast from the muzzle.  I ran through a magazine of the subsonic stuff and the damn thing sounded like a sewing machine.

What is a good site to find out how to get one.

This brings up a good question:  to have a LEGAL silencer/sound suppressor, what criteria must a gun meet to not be illegal without having a Class III license for it?

I know 10/22 silencers are legit, but what makes owning one for an AR15 or Kimber .45 not legal for your average civilian?  Does energy/FPS of the load put through it have anything to do with it?

I'll probably never get a chance to own one, at least not for my highpower's, but I would like to know exactly WHY.

Jewbroni~

Silencers reduce flash and objectionable noise of a firearm discharge by:
-cooling the gases created by the burning propellant
-containing, directing and delaying the exit of the exhaust gases to the outside air

Due to the flight noise of a supersonic projectile, silencers won't reduce the absolute sound level of a discharge much unless you're using subsonic ammo.

Silencers can be a high-tech titanium quick-detach item, or a $2 rig consisting of a 500ml plastic coke bottle lightly filled with a few moist rags and affixed using a hose clamp to a muzzle that has been built up with repeated wraps of electric tape.  All NFA rules apply...

I'm told that firing a silenced firearm allows you to hear more of what you have been missing - bullet flight and impact noise, the action cycling on your gun, etc.  Your ears will also thank you for protecting your hearing.

I believe that ALL silencers require a Class III/tax stamp but if I'm wrong let me know.

The reason that silencers are illegal for a lot of AR15's is that they are also classified as a Flash suppressor, so if your rifle is "post ban" a silencer would put it over the "evil feature" limit. (unless you took off the pistol grip or made the magazine permanently attached).

just my $.02  others, correct me if I'm wrong!

Steven L.

Jewbroni, Perfectly legal for any type of supressor in AL, you just have to do the usual class 3 paperwork and pay your $200 tax.

Some US makers:

[url]www.gem-tech.com[/url]
[url]www.awcsystech.com[/url]
[url]www.subguns.com/products/cans/[/url]

GreenTalon is correct in that you can't put one on a postban AR as they are considered a flash supressor.

OK, well that's what I said; I know you have to have a Class III "license" (i.e. paperwork and tax stamp).  I just originally thought that some guns were OK to have them, and some not.  I guess I was mistaken - they're all Class 3.

Jewbroni~