# Should silencers be illegal?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-silencers-be-illegal/723031>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [June 20, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-silencers-be-illegal/723031 "2015-06-20T21:45:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-silencers-be-illegal/723031/41 "2015-06-23T13:17:00Z")

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> [@Battle\_Pope](#):
>
> With high velocity ammo a silencer would reduce the noise slightly but it was still very loud and unmistakably a gunshot.
> 
> Using subsonic ammo was a very different result. It really was like dry-firing the rifle, a click, a slight ‘phutt’ sound and you could clearly hear the sound of the projectile hitting the target.

I was under the impression that silencers don’t help at all with HV rounds, as there’s still the sonic boom when the bullet leaves the barrel (silencer). Is that the case, or is it only people downrange who hear the _crack_ as the bullet goes past them?

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**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-silencers-be-illegal/723031/42 "2015-06-23T16:15:33Z")

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There is still a sonic boom, but each listener hears it as the bullet passes. The boom is “continuous” along the path of the bullet as long as it remains supersonic. It is much harder for a listener to localize the shooter than with an unsuppressed weapon, though, as he hears the crack from the bullet not the report from the gun. The .[300 Whisper](http:// [.300 Whisper - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.300_Whisper)) is an example of a cartridge designed around use in suppressors. There are others. A subsonic projectile is not necessarily lacking in useful levels of energy. Many cartridges, like the very popular .45 acp are subsonic in their standard loadings in unsuppressed weapons.

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