Let’s take a short look at what makes a rifle silencer seem loud when they are obviously still making the gun quieter.
When we think of what a rifle with a silencer sounds like, we automatically think of movie guns. Suppressor sounds in the movies for a long time have been creatures of the imagination of the foley artists and nothing more. This gives the general public a misconception of what a silencer should actually sound like.
The first thing we have to understand is that the bullet exiting a 30 cal suppressor, like the Amendment silencer, is basically traveling Mach 2.7 right out of the gun. So with something going this fast, there will be an associated sonic boom as the bullet passes through the sound barrier. This sonic boom is proportional in size to the object so it makes a loud “pop” instead of a boom like we are used to hearing when a fighter jet passes over that is supersonic (which as I understand it, they are not supposed to do)… This pop is very loud at about 135dB usually, this makes the bullet in flight, the loudest part of the gun firing when there is a suppressor for 6.5 grendel, integrally suppressed rifles or any other rifle silencer installed IF the measured sound comes in at about that number. Since we have no way of suppressing this level of sound this will make it to the sound meter no matter what.
The usual 30 cal suppressor, a suppressor for 6.5 grendel (we recommend the Sovereign suppressor for this application), and even integrally suppressed rifles all suffer from this phenomenon. These are some of the carbines and rifles we see that have silencers installed on them that will also have people question why the silencer doesnt make it quieter. Once we get the bullet below the speed of sound, integrally suppressed rifles in particular sounds much better.
Lastly, understand one other thing about rifle silencers as well. They are dealing with a lot more energy than pistol or rimfire calibers firearms. This fact alone makes designing a 30 cal suppressor that is super quiet a daunting task right out of the gate. We have done it with several of our models, but it is not easy to do. Even our integrally suppressed rifles like the Leonidas or Zulu are great examples of this concept. So if you have questions concerning getting a suppressor for your rifle, or just need to ask us about something we make in general, just reach out to us at 706-661-6911 and we will be happy to help. Until next time, keep your powder dry!