A device connected to the barrel of a firearm that is intended to reduce the volume of a gunshot. Do you call that a Silencer or a Suppressor?
If you are big into movies, TV, and video games you might be inclined to call these devices silencers. Hollywood has a knack for making it seem as if just about anything can reduce the sound of a gunshot. If all your knowledge of firearms comes from TV you probably believe that putting the muzzle of a gun into a pillow will reduce the sound of a gunshot significantly.
If you live in the real world or have used one of these devices you probably understand that these are suppressors and should be referred to as such. Suppressors do in fact reduce the volume of a gunshot significantly, but the noise is still loud and can be easily identified as a gunshot.
Another reason you should refer to suppressors as such is because that is what they are identified as in federal law. Whenever you hear a politician refer to these devices as silencers, know that they get their understanding of firearms from the latest Everytown pamphlet and Hollywood.
When talking about the debate as to what these devices should be called some odd examples of suppressors that can probably be called silencers come up. The Welrod is a famous historical example, this handgun had an integral suppressor that made the firearm so quiet it was not immediately identifiable as a gunshot. Some will point this out, as well as other examples, as the reason for why these devices can be called silencers. To that we can say that the exception is not the rule.
The mythos of the silencer is one that was created in Hollywood, despite the historical examples mentioned above, and it is because of this mythos that they are heavily regulated.
Before any conversation can be had as to whether or not suppressors should be unregulated or regulated, this mythos has to be dispelled. Suppressors are used mainly as a means of protecting one’s hearing and that is about it. Guns are loud, there is no getting around that, in fact they are so loud long time shooters suffer from hearing damage and even loss as a result of excessive range time. Suppressors can help prevent this damage and this is an argument made by proponents of the Hearing Protection Act and other pieces of legislation that seek to remove suppressors from the NFA.
