The Truth About Firearm Suppressors a.k.a Silencers

First things first: this isn’t Hollywood, you’re not John Wick, and firearm silencers do not silence a firearm. Now that we’re clear on the single most important point, let’s clarify a couple of terms before we delve into what silencers really do, and why every law-abiding firearm owner should have them.

For the purpose of this article I will be referring to licensed shooters who can legally own firearm suppressors in Australia, like primary producers and contract shooters. This article doesn’t go into suppressors for handguns as these generally aren’t accessible to anyone outside of defence or government.

Silencer Or Suppressor. What’s The Difference?

A silencer and a suppressor are exactly the same thing. The only difference is the term. When the original patent was submitted it was submitted as “silencer”. A far more apt term is a “suppressor” or “moderator”, which is why you will hear these terms more commonly used instead. The main reason being that a suppressor doesn’t silence a firearm. It merely reduces the sound.

Why Are Firearms So Loud?

Most people I talk to are surprised to hear that it isn’t the gunpowder igniting that makes a gunshot so loud. Most people don’t know that the bulk of the noise and the loud crack comes from the bullet breaking the sound barrier, causing a sonic boom. The sonic boom is crazy loud and in some cases can be felt.

What Is The Purpose Of A Firearm Suppressor?

A suppressor has one job and that is to reduce the muzzle report of a gunshot from an obscenely loud level to one that is tolerable without hearing protection. I’m not in any way implying that hearing protection isn’t required as a result. However, it simply makes it far less damaging to your hearing if you need to take a quick shot without hearing protection. More on that later.

For a real-world example of how much sound is reduced by a typical firearm suppressor, let’s look at a popular firearm cartridge in Australia: the 308 Win. An un-suppressed shot from this cartridge typically rings out around the 160db mark. That’s bloody loud given anything over 85db can harm your hearing over time.

In the above example, fitting a suppressor reduces the muzzle report from roughly 160db down to 125db, which is somewhere around the noise level a chainsaw makes. This is an enormous drop and brings the noise down to a tolerable level.

Now, I’m someone who already has tinnitus from excessive noise exposure. These days, I can’t tolerate a single, un-suppressed shot out of most firearms without my ears immediately ringing, so please take hearing protection seriously.

How Does A Firearm Suppressor Work?

How firearm suppressors work is actually quite simple. Basically, a suppressor is a tube containing baffles and a barrel-sized tube with holes. Instead of gas from the shot being blasted straight out of the muzzle, the gas is diverted through these holes and into the baffled area. The baffles slow down the gas to the point where their exit does not make as much of a sound and the sonic crack of the bullet breaking the sound barrier is largely captured, majorly reducing the overall sound.

Here’s a cross-section of a suppressor, so you can see what I mean:

The threaded left-hand side attaches to the firearm's muzzle. As the bullet travels through the baffles, you can see how they capture and slow any gases along the way before the bullet leaves the suppressor. Ingenious, right!

Fear Of Firearm Suppressors And The Hollywood Myth

In Australia there is a deep fear, even phobia, around firearm suppressors and their use. So much so that some states ban them outright, even for professionals. I believe this fear is driven largely by the Hollywood myth that suppressors completely silence a firearm, meaning anyone who has one can potentially become a silent assassin. This is simply untrue and there is zero actual evidence to support this fear at all.

The sad truth in Australia is that the black market for firearms is alive and well. And no matter how hard the government makes it for law-abiding firearm owners, those who don’t obey the law have very little difficulty in obtaining illegal firearms and firearm accessories. This isn’t just my opinion, but a well-documented fact.

Since criminals have access to an extensive black market, wouldn’t it make sense that if they wanted suppressors they could have them? And if they have them, surely they would use them? Well, the crime statistics certainly don’t confirm this. The vast majority of gun crimes are committed without suppressors. These criminals want to be heard and instil fear through the noise a gunshot creates.

How Do Other Countries Approach Suppressor Usage?

Quite interestingly, just over the ditch in New Zealand, firearm suppressors are largely unregulated. This means a licensed firearm owner can walk into a gun shop and legally purchase a suppressor without any additional permit.

In the UK, suppressors are considered safety equipment and are not difficult to access for hunters and target shooters.

Many other countries all take a similar approach where suppressors are considered a safety device and nothing more. In many of these countries, shooting without a suppressor is considered the height of rudeness!

Hierarchy Of Noise Control

One regular argument against suppressor usage is “why can’t you just wear ear plugs”. Well, for starters, if we look at the hierarchy of noise control, engineering controls like suppressors are much higher on the list than personal protective equipment like ear muffs. So, in general application, engineering control takes a higher priority over PPE. PPE is the last resort once all other control methods are exhausted or in place.

As an example of “why can’t you just wear ear plugs”, would it make sense to drive a car without a muffler and wear ear plugs instead? No, that would be stupid. Can you imagine the impact that would have on your own hearing and noise pollution in general if PPE was prioritised instead of engineering controls? It’s rather obvious that the exact same principle of noise control should apply to firearms.

The Benefits Of Suppressors For Feral Animal Control

Aside from the aforementioned benefits of hearing protection, suppressors greatly aid primary producers and contract shooters in how efficiently we can engage and dispatch larger mobs of feral animals. Generally speaking, a suppressed gunshot makes it harder for a mob of feral animals to know where the shot came from and gives the shooter a far greater chance of dispatching multiple feral animals in a group, before they disburse.

Another great benefit are those times when you’re out and about on a property and need to take a quick shot, and you simply don’t have time to put ear plugs in. I know myself, I’ve been out on jobs and bumped into a mob of pigs or deer and they sure as hell aren’t going to wait around for me to put in ear plugs, and I’m not giving them the chance either. Primary producers are in this very same boat too. We don’t always have time to apply PPE before taking a shot, which is why engineering controls like suppressors are far more important than PPE.

Other benefits include a general reduction in noise pollution to nearby livestock, working animals, and other shooters. This noise reduction is of crucial importance in peri-urban areas and built-up areas like business parks, golf courses, and industrial areas, where civilians are present and will likely be alarmed by the sound of an un-suppressed gunshot.

If you’re interested in learning how it’s safe to conduct contract shooting operations in built-up areas, check out my article Everything You Need To Know About Safe Shooting In Built-up Areas.

Why All Licensed Shooters Should Have Access To Suppressors

In my home state of NSW, only primary producers and contract shooters are able to gain access to suppressors. This access is provided by means of a Prohibited Weapons Permit. This permit is a special application where you must demonstrate a genuine need to possess and use firearm suppressors. Recreational hunters are able to apply. However, at the time of this writing, even if they are able to demonstrate a genuine need, I don’t believe their applications are being processed by the NSW Firearms Registry. That said, if you're a recreational hunter, I would personally still apply and get your name in the queue just in case this ever changes.

All things considered, I don’t believe there is any genuine evidence or reason to restrict suppressors only to primary producers and contract shooters. It is both my belief and conviction that all licensed firearm owners, regardless of their genuine reason for ownership (hunting, target shooting, primary production, contract shooting, etc) should have unrestricted access to suppressors. This access should be provided as an appropriate method of hearing protection, noise control, and as a method of increased efficiency in hunting and feral animal control.

As law-abiding firearm owners, we are some of the most heavily vetted people in the country. As a result of our licensing, we are considered to be a “fit and proper person” in the eyes of the law. This is an incredibly high bar to pass. If we are a “fit and proper person” trusted with firearm ownership, this should also extend to suppressor ownership and use.