I just caught the tail end of the movie with the big shootout. It looked like the bad guys had machine guns with big silencers screwed on the end. Is it just me, or did the guns fire almost as loud as guns without silencers?
Shouldn't silenced guns in movies sound like a cat sneezing? :)
Yes, silenced guns often sound very muted in movies, which is not the way they sound in reality. The sound of a silenced gun is really almost as loud as that of an unsilenced gun.
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5184666
Very rarely do suppressors sound like they do in most movies, unless it's a .22 LR. It's on AMC right now and I caught whatshisname shooting at Coach and Roy Batty with a suppressed MAC-10. THAT particular suppressor combined with the MAC-10's .45 is actually pretty quiet, but still loud enough to be heard for a little ways off. The one in the movie was IMO "too" loud, it didn't sound suppressed at all, which is at least more realistic than the "pffft" that's usually heard.
All suppressors really do is save your hearing when shooting inside a small room and make the gunshot not sound like a gunshot, more like a roofing nailer. It can still be heard, depending on distance, but the location of the shooter is harder to determine.
That's interesting. So really purpose of the suppressor/silencer is for the comfort of the shooter rather than to facilitate a quick hit and easy getaway? And perhaps to disguise the noise so it doesn't sound like gunfire?
Movies usually present these as little "pings," but I guess it doesn't work that way in real life. Not that I care to find out.
They are suppressors.... they SUPPRESS the sound of the cartridge but the bullet still makes a crack as it breaks the sound barrier.
Not all suppressors are created equally either...some are more effective at suppressing the sound and others designed primarily to suppress the muzzle flash.
simple blownack against a spring firing from a closed bolt
simple blownack against a spring firing from a closed bolt
...except when the rounds are subsonic and don't break the sound barrier - pistol rounds, for example. Hunting rifle cartridges, on the other hand... ;)
"Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music." - George Carlin