Author Topic: Subsonic means quieter... right?  (Read 12250 times)

Rastus

  • Mindlessness Fuels Tyranny
  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6769
  • DRTV Ranger
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 563
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2008, 06:39:48 AM »
Permanent minor hearing loss.  Perhaps a ringing in the ears for life.  A small price to pay, but a nuisance none-the-less.

I'm there with the hearing loss and ringing...it's been my companion for 25 years.  Still a bother.

If you can afford a supressor...get one.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
-William Pitt, British Prime-Minister (1759-1806)
                                                                                                                               Avoid subjugation, join the NRA!

ellis4538

  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3455
  • DRTV Ranger
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2008, 07:15:38 AM »
Ear muffs are good but make sure you get a pair of electronic muffs so you can hear sounds but GS's are muffeled!

Richard

PS:  Muffeled...is that a word?
Used to be "The only thing to FEAR was FEAR ITSELF", nowadays "The only thing to FEAR is GETTING CAUGHT!"

tombogan03884

  • Guest
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2008, 11:48:46 AM »
Ear muffs are good but make sure you get a pair of electronic muffs so you can hear sounds but GS's are muffeled!

Richard

PS:  Muffeled...is that a word?

Yes it's a word, but it's spelled "MUFFLED" according to my spell check  ;D

PegLeg45

  • NRA Life, SAF, Constitutionalist
  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13068
  • DRTV Ranger
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 1014
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2008, 02:15:22 PM »
That has been my thought as I read this thread.  Not that you want to regularly shoot without protection, the few shots for self protection should do minimal hearing damage.  Or, do you live in an area where you deal with weekly home invasions  ;)

I would worry more about stopping the intruder than a minor hearing loss.  I would compare this thought to thinking if you just drove below thirty miles per hour all the time you would not need to wear seat belts or have an airbag, because at full speed they may break your ribs or nose if you are in an accident.  :-\ 

Purchase the ammo that will do the job, and hope you never need to use it.

I think you are spot-on, m58.

Even if auditory exclusion causes you not to hear the bang, the damage is still done. But not enough damage to override the alternative. Better to have a little hearing damage than to be a helpless victim at the mercy of a thug.
"I expect perdition, I always have. I keep this building at my back, and several guns handy, in case perdition arrives in a form that's susceptible to bullets. I expect it will come in the disease form, though. I'm susceptible to diseases, and you can't shoot a damned disease." ~ Judge Roy Bean, Streets of Laredo

For the Patriots of this country, the Constitution is second only to the Bible for most. For those who love this country, but do not share my personal beliefs, it is their Bible. To them nothing comes before the Constitution of these United States of America. For this we are all labeled potential terrorists. ~ Dean Garrison

"When it comes to the enemy, just because they ain't pullin' a trigger, doesn't mean they ain't totin' ammo for those that are."~PegLeg

Fatman

  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1454
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #14 on: December 11, 2008, 02:21:11 PM »
I think subsonic is more effective with a suppressor than supersonic and doesn't damage the  baffling in the suppressor as quickly.

Just tossing that out as I vaguely remember discussing this with a Special Forces fella.
Anti: I think some of you gentleman would choose to apply a gun shaped remedy to any problem or potential problem that presented itself? Your reverance (sic) for firearms is maintained with an almost religious zeal. The mind boggles! it really does...

Me: Naw, we just apply a gun-shaped remedy to those extreme life threatening situations that call for it. All the less urgent problems we're willing to discuss.

Sponsor

  • Guest
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #15 on: Today at 04:02:14 AM »

Houngan

  • Forum Member
  • **
  • Posts: 2
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #15 on: December 11, 2008, 02:22:09 PM »
Not necessarily.  The sub/super matters because noise is being generated outside of the suppressor, thus reducing its effectiveness.

What actually matters for the "bang" is the pressure of the gas coming out of the barrel, and the size of the barrel.  For the same bullet weight and diameter, then sub will always be quieter than super, because there is lower pressure after the bullet leaves.  A good way to demonstrate this is with a .22 pistol vs. a .22 rifle.  The bullet will always leave the rifle at a higher velocity than the pistol, but the pistol is always louder.  Why is that?  Because the volume of space in the barrel of the rifle is triple or more that of the pistol, with an accompanying drop in pressure when the bullet leaves the barrel.

Now, I don't know the actual math for caliber vs. pressure and which would contribute more or less.  The area of a .45 barrel is larger than a .22, for example, so even though they may be operating at the same pressure (for argument's sake) the .45 generates more noise because there is a bigger volume of gas "shaking" the air around it, which is all that noise is.  I would guess that the proper measurement would probably be volume of gas released over a period of time, which would take into account v = nrt/p, and cover all the variables.

H.

PegLeg45

  • NRA Life, SAF, Constitutionalist
  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13068
  • DRTV Ranger
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 1014
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #16 on: December 11, 2008, 02:36:49 PM »
Not necessarily.  The sub/super matters because noise is being generated outside of the suppressor, thus reducing its effectiveness.

What actually matters for the "bang" is the pressure of the gas coming out of the barrel, and the size of the barrel.  For the same bullet weight and diameter, then sub will always be quieter than super, because there is lower pressure after the bullet leaves.  A good way to demonstrate this is with a .22 pistol vs. a .22 rifle.  The bullet will always leave the rifle at a higher velocity than the pistol, but the pistol is always louder.  Why is that?  Because the volume of space in the barrel of the rifle is triple or more that of the pistol, with an accompanying drop in pressure when the bullet leaves the barrel.

Now, I don't know the actual math for caliber vs. pressure and which would contribute more or less.  The area of a .45 barrel is larger than a .22, for example, so even though they may be operating at the same pressure (for argument's sake) the .45 generates more noise because there is a bigger volume of gas "shaking" the air around it, which is all that noise is.  I would guess that the proper measurement would probably be volume of gas released over a period of time, which would take into account v = nrt/p, and cover all the variables.

H.

Thank you....that's what I was trying to think of...SPL (sound pressure level)...we used to conduct SPL tests at my old job for OSHA.
"I expect perdition, I always have. I keep this building at my back, and several guns handy, in case perdition arrives in a form that's susceptible to bullets. I expect it will come in the disease form, though. I'm susceptible to diseases, and you can't shoot a damned disease." ~ Judge Roy Bean, Streets of Laredo

For the Patriots of this country, the Constitution is second only to the Bible for most. For those who love this country, but do not share my personal beliefs, it is their Bible. To them nothing comes before the Constitution of these United States of America. For this we are all labeled potential terrorists. ~ Dean Garrison

"When it comes to the enemy, just because they ain't pullin' a trigger, doesn't mean they ain't totin' ammo for those that are."~PegLeg

tombogan03884

  • Guest
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #17 on: December 12, 2008, 01:51:09 AM »
Sub sonic rounds will not make a pistol quieter, the reason they use sub sonic rounds with suppressors is to eliminate the"crack" when the bullet passes through the air (mini sonic boom) pretty sure most pistol bullets are just below the sonic threshold any way.

Big Frank

  • NRA Benefactor Member
  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9445
  • DRTV Ranger
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 1036
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #18 on: December 12, 2008, 09:15:00 PM »
Sub sonic rounds will not make a pistol quieter, the reason they use sub sonic rounds with suppressors is to eliminate the"crack" when the bullet passes through the air (mini sonic boom) pretty sure most pistol bullets are just below the sonic threshold any way.

Sub-sonic .22 ammo is definately quieter in pistols and rifles. I don't know about other pistols because there's usually not an option of both sub-sonic and super-sonic. Most 9mm is super-sonic. .38 Super is super-sonic too. I think the only 9mm subsonic ammo is the heavy bullets like 147 gr. I don't have a 9mm so I can't say how it sounds with any ammo. But most other pistol calibers are subsonic. Most revolvers are loud even with sub-sonic ammo.
""It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at a Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency." - George Washington. Letter to Alexander Hamilton, Friday, May 02, 1783

THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE - A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

ericire12

  • Top Forum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7926
  • DRTV Ranger
  • Liked:
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Subsonic means quieter... right?
« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2008, 09:18:49 PM »
Anything under approx 1000 fps is subsonic
Everything I needed to learn in life I learned from Country Music.

 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk