Silencer attachments in both games and movies give the impression that weapon noise can be reduced to nothing more than a whisper. How true is this though? A gunshot creates one heck of a noise. Is it really possible to snuff it out to near inaudible levels? Apparently not.
YouTube user RagnarRox takes a closer look at the myth that is the silencer (via Reddit).
The “silenced pistol”, or suppressed-pistol, as is the correct term, has become a symbol for whisper-quiet badassery in movies and video games, but how do these things really work?
RagnarRox takes a humorous approach while still breaking down all the necessary information into bits that are easy enough for even somebody like me to understand. For starters, calling the accessory a silencer is incorrect – it’s a suppressor. Yes, I’m sure all the Call of Duty and Battlefield gamers already know that, but you can’t tell me you knew that the term silencer is wrong
A gun has three sources of noise; mechanical, gas pressure, and ballistic crack. The first is obvious, that is the noise a weapon makes when being loaded or inserting a new bullet into the chamber between shots. The second is the “bang” of the weapon, the noise of all the gas escaping the barrel. Lastly, ballistic crack is the noise the bullet makes when passing the supersonic threshold – ie, SONIC BOOM! The video takes a look at these all individually, and explains exactly how a suppressor aims to minimise their audio levels.
It’s an interesting watch, something I think all of you will enjoy.If for some reason you can’t though, what does it all boil down to? The silencer is a lie. Real life suppressors can minimise noise, but nowhere near the level that would allow you to clear a whole room of enemies without them being aware of it.
Splinter Cell? Unrealistic! Hitman? Unbelievable! All games are lies. Gaming is fake! Excuse me while I go get a reality check.
Last Updated: October 22, 2014
Darren Peach
October 22, 2014 at 21:23
Gordon Freeman is a Deaf Mute…
Admiral Chief 0
October 23, 2014 at 08:10
LOL, didn’t see your comment, man I laughed at that
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 22, 2014 at 22:00
If you want to control the SONIC BOOM you need to employ some Guile.
Ceyber, Hans
October 22, 2014 at 22:05
Shoryuken, or you could just Mach about.
August Kotzenberg
October 23, 2014 at 05:18
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10151427766587064&set=vb.460311414039270&type=3&theater
have a look/listen
modeFAN
October 23, 2014 at 06:46
This really OLD news…one of main reasons I stopped playing Call Of Duty and Battlefield, because it became too unrealistic ( weapon ranges and firing rates halved from their real counterparts, etc etc )…
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 23, 2014 at 07:22
DayZ has fairly authentic guns but as far as realism goes you die of heatstroke by wearing a sweater for 30 seconds 😛
Spaffy
October 23, 2014 at 07:38
Well, I don’t know if this is enough reason for me to stop playing games.
I mean, something unrealistic in a game? That’s 95% of the games out there.
hairyknees
October 23, 2014 at 08:24
Sorry 🙂 was new to me. Video was an eyeopener 😛
Captain JJ in the shadow
October 23, 2014 at 08:26
Definitely won’t stop me playing Splinter Cell, that game is just a little too much fun.
HvR
October 23, 2014 at 08:45
With those I can live with it is the running scoped sniper kills that grind my gears.
You will always have some limitation on reality in some way otherwise games will get frustratingly difficult.
Captain JJ in the shadow
October 23, 2014 at 07:35
This is pretty cool. I like to try non-lethal kills with Splinter Cell most of the time….until I lose my patience.
Admiral Chief 0
October 23, 2014 at 08:10
“Gordon Freeman is a deaf mute”
*dies
HvR
October 23, 2014 at 08:40
He probably should have added something about .22 pistols with suppressors since that is probably the source of the Hollywood and gaming sound of the suppressed pistol. Specially modified .22 suppressed pistol is what is used by special forces if they do want to silently dispatch someone at range. Forward the video to 2:45 and this is and short barrel off the shelf pistol.
OSiRiS
October 23, 2014 at 09:00
Suppressors also increase accuracy by a small margin and reduces recoil. It wont completely make the gun whisper silent, though it will take about 70% of the bang away and even more so when using sub-sonic ammunition ( bullets that travel just beneath the speed of sound – no sonic boom ) though most weapons recoil springs are too tight to allow the blowback to chamber another round as these bullets expec significantly weaker gas, and so the gun has to be loaded again by hand. Accuracy is increased due to the extra length added to the barrel guiding the bullet before it leaves the barrel and recoil is reduced since the gas that drives the bullet is filtered through a suppressor back and then forward again. This is why a suppressed gun doesn’t recoil upwards as much as without, but rather recoils back to front ( because of the gas in the suppressor filtering back and out front again). Recoil without a suppressor is the gas leavinghe barrel in all directions and causing the barrel to lift up ( this is why muzzle brakers have holes on the left and right, not up and down and compensators cause a gun to recoil downward). Law of physics apply here, for every action there is an opposite but equal reaction 🙂
eXpZA
October 23, 2014 at 09:07
Suppressors are used to hide the origin of the noise. Without one, it’s clear what direction the noise came from. With one, it sounds like it came from “everywhere and nowhere” – ever been sitting at home and heard a noise, but every time you think you’re walking into the room with the noise you actually end up walking away from it? That’s what a suppressor does. Makes someone being shot at unsure where the noise was coming from, almost as if it was coming from “directly above” him or her.
OSiRiS
October 23, 2014 at 09:23
Exactly 🙂
When hunters use suppressors when hunting large game the target stands still because it cant tell where the shots are coming from, unlike shooting without where the target knows where you are and runs in the bush
Rock789
October 23, 2014 at 09:19
Reality… shattered! 😉 🙂
Axon1988
October 23, 2014 at 12:33
Like LMGs in Payday 2. You can now attach silencers to them… so fire 150 bullets per magazine through that silencer in quick succession… mmmmm