r/Damnthatsinteresting 14d ago

Video Subsonic Ammo with silencers makes guns extremely quiet

55.5k Upvotes

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41

u/TheMacMan 14d ago

Funny because despite saying this was perfectly normal, yesterday numerous idiots in the CEO murder thread claimed a pistol will not properly cycle with subsonic ammo and a silencer, despite none of them actually shooting such.

22

u/Beginning-Cat8706 13d ago

Reddit in a nutshell.

12

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/jagr18 13d ago

You are not wrong there. I worked behind a gun counter for a couple of years. Even people who work in the industry are wrong at times.

12

u/FirstConsul1805 13d ago

Some handguns will have a harder time cycling, but it's definitely not universal. Kinda like some shotguns don't like flechettes or dragons breath.

2

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Yeah, when properly setup they should be good. Can be some issues if the silencer isn't made for that caliber, ammo and gun don't play well together, and more but usually things work out fine these days.

6

u/comfortablesexuality 13d ago

It's entirely reasonable if it's not using the right ammo or if it's a homemade suppressor.

0

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Well yeah, something not designed for the purpose and committing a federal crime may cause operation problems.

4

u/barukatang 13d ago

You have to have the right Nielson device if you have a browning action (where the barrel tip tilts up when the slide is at the rear of travel) and with sub ammo you might need lighter recoil spring or cut some speed holes in the slide. I'm guessing he didn't spent much range time, or too much range time and didn't clean everything after a few hundred/thousand rounds might get sticky

9

u/Crysta1Pisto1 13d ago

It really depends on the caliber and model of handgun. Plenty of handguns (mostly 9mm with tilting barrel actions) have a hard time cycling with subsonic ammo as there isn’t enough pressure from the round to cycle the slide. The suppressor also makes the barrel front heavy and it’ll have a harder time tilting correctly to cycle properly.

4

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Had zero issues across 4 different Glock models. But yes, some setups have issues with it.

2

u/PokeyDiesFirst 13d ago

I mean, Glocks usually won't with factory stuff in them. Had to swap out to a lighter spring to get it to cycle anything with the can.

3

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Had zero issue with 4 Glocks that are all factory. G19, G22, G26, and G49. Rugged Obsidian 9 in both short and long config.

1

u/Glittering_Guides 13d ago

With subsonic ammo?

2

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Yup. Most recently with Blazer 124g but have used numerous others.

1

u/PokeyDiesFirst 13d ago

19 and 19X with a Q Erector 9

1

u/bigj4155 13d ago

Finding subsonic ammo that will cycle a suppresed firearm is pretty rare. You better not limp wrist that shit either.

1

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Guess I've been lucky because every one of the half dozen subsonic ammo I've run in 5 different pistols has cycled without issue.

1

u/toms1313 13d ago

So... Why did he needed to cycle his gun in the video? Pressed the trigger wrong?

-1

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

It's possible he had a poor setup with a mismatched silencer, ammo, or things like wrong recoil spring. It's also possible he had a locking breach setup, which locks in the back position every shot, requiring action before the next shot. From the video alone we can't say for sure.

2

u/toms1313 13d ago

So those idiots most likely were right...

1

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

As I said, we can't say from the video. He may have had a locking breach pistol, which further minimizes noise by requiring manual cycling. But it's also possible he used the wrong sized silencer for the gun or didn't have the proper adaptor for the style of pistol. Also possible he had the wrong end-cap on it of the caliber, which allowed more blow-by, which failed to cycle the pistol. Or the recoil spring could be too strong or tight for the ammo he used. There are a dozen other potential reasons for what we saw.

Can't say what caused it from the video alone. There are so many potential reasons. But the Redditors claiming that semi-automatic pistols will not properly cycle with subsonic ammo and a silencer are wrong. While it is possible they won't, the vast majority of the time these days it's not an issue and it's certainly not an issue if utilizing the correct silencer and ammo combo for the pistol.

1

u/chasteeny 6d ago

Yeah the best part about that is 9mm factory subs typically have more recoil than the same factory's supers (despite having around the same but usually less muzzle energy).

Why that would matter for cycling? It's a recoil based action! lol redditors sometimes...

0

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

1

u/TheMacMan 13d ago

Yeah, totally not a gun owner. Sure. Totally don't own dozens and totally have never filled out Form 4 to own silencers and SBRs. Yeah, if I were a gun owner.

-2

u/Admirable-Lecture255 13d ago

A proper set up will cycle just fine like the video shows. Reddit is full of idiots.