Sniper rifles too loud?

[Long Bow]

Now on to the part about the snipers using silencers: When a nato .308 round is fired, it leaves the muzzle at roughly 155 db (this varies from weapon to weapon). After having travelled only 15 feet the sound will have been reduced to 125 db. At ranges of 600 yards the sound of the bullet's impact will be the only thing audible. At this range the bullet will have dropped below the sound barrier. A silencer will be redundant.

Where a silencer does help is within a few meters of the sniper's location. But good snipercraft helps more.

I think I understand what your saying, but it is a little misleading. At 600yds you would still be able to hear the 155db sound from it's original location roughly (diminished in db with distance etc.) The original sound would not travel with the bullet but originate in a fixed location and radiat out. Correct??

[Skinwehr]

I think I understand what your saying, but it is a little misleading. At 600yds you would still be able to hear the 155db sound from it's original location roughly (diminished in db with distance etc.) The original sound would not travel with the bullet but originate in a fixed location and radiat out. Correct??

Sorry if I sowed any confusion, I was trying to get a lot in with little time before heading off to work.

Yes, the initial report of the gunpowder exploding will origonate at the shooter's location and radiate out. Silencers ONLY address this sound. The ballistic CRACK of the round as it travels at or above the sound barrier will still be audible for at least 500 -600 yards. This sound will be audible along the bullets travelled path. And the bullet's impact will be audible too. In addition, a "silencer" on a rifle will most likely only diminish the report from the fired shot by about 40-50% (optimally) due to the design limitation associated with a "silencer" that must withstand the rigors of combat.

At 600 yards, the ambient sounds will be louder than the residual sound waves of a rifle's report. This distance varies due to wind direction, weather conditions, Humidity, terrain and sound obstacles like buildigs. Ie., you will hear the round more clearly if you are on a desolate glasier than in a forest.

However, the sound of the bullet's impact (near you) will be louder than the report at those ranges.

A real "silenced" rifle would use a wet can which means it is packed with white grease to rapidly cool the gasses caused by the shot. There would be "wipes" inside the barrel of the can that would act as curtains closing begind the exiting bullet to further trap in sound and gasses. These "silencers" will lose their quietness with each consecutive shot as the grease burns off and the wipes degrade. You would only get a magazine or two out of it.

In addition, the weapon would use rounds which are designed not to exced the sound barrier so as to negate the ballistic crack. Most firearm actions are too heavy to cycle parabellum ammunition. Therefore, the weapon would need to be manually rechambered after each round.

Such a "silenced" rifle would be suited for assassins more than snipers. And yes, militaries all over the world have such rifles.