Suppressors
Suppressors (often incorrectly referred to as “silencers”) are like mufflers for your guns. Their purpose is to reduce the sound of a gunshot. Subject to certain limitations of design and physics, this makes the weapon a more effective tool. The gunshot is harder to detect, as is the location of the shooter. Suppressors also make the operation of the weapon easier on the shooter’s ears.
The loud report of a gunshot comes from two sources. When a shot is fired, burning powder in the cartridge expands and propels the bullet through the rifle barrel and downrange. By the time the hot gasses burst from the muzzle, they are supersonic, and that creates a loud report. The bullet itself, if supersonic, will generate a sonic boom audible all along its trajectory until it slows down.
A suppressor is a metal tube that fits onto the muzzle of a weapon. The tube contains a series of baffles (see Figure 2).
The baffles can be arranged in a number of different configurations. As the hot gasses leave the muzzle, they enter the suppressor. The baffles slow down the gasses so by the time they escape, they are subsonic. This eliminates much of the sound of the gunshot.
However, the suppressor will not eliminate the crack of a supersonic bullet. For this reason, for the greatest reduction in noise, suppressors should be used with subsonic ammunition. If subsonic ammunition is used, the noise associated with a gunshot can be reduced to the mechanical sound of the weapon’s action cycling. The Mark 23 SOCOM semi-automatic pistol made by H&K in .45 ACP has a slide-lock that can prevent the action from cycling. That effectively provides the operator the option of using the weapon as a suppressed single-shot pistol.
The .45 ACP round is inherently subsonic. For that reason, as far back as World War II, the OSS used the M3 submachine gun as a suppressed weapons system. Indeed, the suppressed grease gun was a favorite of MACV-SOG for operations into Laos during the Vietnam War (see figure 3).
This video provides an excellent discussion of the OSS M3, with its original suppressor: OSS M3 Submachine Gun with Original Suppressor.
In the 1960s, Gordon Ingram designed his M-10 submachine gun in both 9mm and .45 ACP. The weapon was designed with a dedicated suppressor meant to be sold as a package. Special operations troops in Vietnam loved it. By all accounts, MACV-SOG teams operating in Laos were chronically outnumbered, carried tons of ammunition, and regularly used their weapons on full automatic. Ingram also designed and produced a scaled-down version of the M-10 chambered in .380, designated M-11 (see Figure 4).
The M-10 had a rate of fire of about 1,000 rounds per minute. The M-11 can fire 1,500 rounds per minute. The M-10 and M-11 were the ultimate gangster guns of the 70s and 80s. The first time an M-10 appeared in film was in the hands of John Wayne in McQ. A gun moll tried to take out Al Pacino with an M-10 in Scarface. This video discusses the whole Ingram family: Ingram M-10 and M-11.
SEALs tried all kinds of suppressed weapons during the Vietnam War years and thereafter. They bought some M-10s and suppressed M-16s (see Figure 5). SEALS among our readers could tell us chapter and verse about enhancements to weapons for use in maritime environments. The M-16 Mk 4 Mod 0 was produced with a corrosion-resistant coating inside and out and had special holes drilled to allow water to drain. The charging handle was modified to reduce gas leakage when fired. This understates the problem when firing suppressed ARs – eye protection is recommended.
The suppressed M-16 is interesting because we still see this configuration in suppressed automatic rifles today. As it happens, suppressors not only cut down on the noise signature of the weapon, they also reduce flash and can improve accuracy. The added weight at the end of the barrel can dampen antinodal vibration (see my previous article on compensators, muzzle brakes, and harmonics). Of course, the 5.56mm round is supersonic, so the suppressor will not completely eliminate the sound of the gunshot.
Chigurh’s Suppressed Shotgun
I’ve saved the coolest suppressor for last. In No Country For Old Men, the walking death machine, Chigurh, carries a suppressed Remington 11-87 (see Figure 1). Even now, people watch the film and ask, “Is it real?” and “Can you really suppress a shotgun?”
To which the answer is yes. The suppressed shotgun in the movie was non-functional, and sound effects were added to make it look real. However, it is definitely possible to suppress a shotgun. This man actually made a functional suppressed Remington 11-87: Anton Chigurh’s Suppressed Remington 11-87
The video covers all aspects of the suppressed shotgun, up to and including the performance of different shot shell loads, the ability to cycle the action, and cleaning. Because suppressors capture all the junk that gets blown out of your barrel when a shot is fired. In fact, the only thing the video doesn’t cover in detail is – how to make the suppressor.
I will cover that topic in a forthcoming article.
About the Author
You may reach Cameron at: cameron.curtis545@gmail.com
Cameron Curtis has spent thirty years in the financial markets as a trader and risk manager. He was on the trade floor when Saddam’s tanks rolled into Kuwait, when the air wars opened over Baghdad and Belgrade, and when the financial crisis swallowed the world. He’s studied military affairs and warfare all his adult life. His popular Breed series of military adventure thrillers are admired for combining deep expertise with propulsive action. The premises are realistic, the stories adrenaline-fueled and emotionally engaging.
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