Gun Sounds

Available in the Apple iTunes Store

Too often we hear guns and silencers on TV and do not realize that most of those sounds are engineered and not of the real firearms. This app allows you to hear the real firearm with and without a real silencer.

All unsuppressed sounds were recorded with the same microphone levels using fixed manual gain. All suppressed sounds were at a more sensitive level – but are the same amongst other suppressed sounds. Because a typical firearm sound suppressor reduces the sound pressure level by approximately 30 dB, it is not practical to record them at the same level as unsuppressed fire. Therefore, you when you -put the silencer on- in the app, the decrease in sound is not as great as in reality. The fact is, no home stereo can reproduce the 150-170 dB sound pressure level of a real firearm.

Many have only heard gunfire in TV and at the movies and that can give a distorted feeling for just how loud a real gunshot is. The loudest rock concert in history, such as The Who in the 1970s was only in the 120 dB range. A rifle shot can be 170 db! This may not seem like a lot more but the scale is logarithmic and not linear, so the gunshot (from 1 meter away) is actually 316 times as much sound pressure!

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-soundlevel.htm

Because a gun is so loud, you cannot do the things you see in the movies. For example, you cannot shoot one in the car, in the house, or even outside and not have hearing damage. Earmuffs, if they fit perfectly, can lower this sound level by about 29 dB, but you are still left with over 140 dB (10 times as much sound pressure as that Who concert from the 1970s)!

The solution: sound suppressors – sometimes by themselves and sometimes combined with earmuffs. They are not -for assassins- as you keep on seeing in the movies. In reality they are just a way to make a gunshot not be dangerously loud. In fact, in countries such as Finland they are not regulated and in fact encouraged for public health. Making them difficult to purchase in the United States would be like banning car mufflers. Putting the muffler on the gun rather than padding your ears allows you to enjoy the shooting with others. You can talk give safety instructions, and it takes away much of the harshness of shooting so that beginners can learn not to flinch. Wearing hearing muffs is much like wearing a raincoat on a sunny day.

Silencers, or sound suppressors, were heavily regulated in the US in the 1930s for fear people who were hungry during the Great Depression would illegally hunt. That law was never changed. Because so few people have experience with them, they think guns become silent. In fact, the firearms still sound much like a gunshot without the danger of the sound pressure.

The following is from the Advanced-Armament (maker of silencers) webpage:

OWNERSHIP INFORMATION

Contrary to popular belief, silencers are and always have been legal to own under federal law. At this time, the following states allow private ownership of silencers: AL, AR, AK, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, and WY. Of the fifteen states that do not allow civilian ownership, CA, IA, KS, MA, MO, and MI allow Class 3 dealers and Class 2 manufacturers to possess silencers.

Silencers, like machine-guns, are regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, and are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The procedure for owning a silencer may seem daunting at first, but actually requires less paperwork than buying an automobile.

To legally purchase a silencer or any item falling under the purview of the NFA, you must be at least 21 years of age, a resident of the United States, and have no felony record. The first step is to locate a Class 3 dealer in your state who either has or will order the item you are interested in. Once a product and price have been settled on, the Class 3 dealer will provide the prospective purchaser with duplicate ATF Form 4's and two sets of fingerprint cards. The Form 4's must be filled out on both sides, with passport photos of the prospective buyer affixed to the backside of the form. The buyer then has the Chief Law-Enforcement officer sign the rear of the Form 4's attesting the prospective purchaser does not possess a criminal record and is not wanted. The two fingerprint cards must be completed and signed by a Law Enforcement agency. The completed paperwork is then sent to the Department of the Treasury with a check or money order for $200.00. The $200.00 is known as a "transfer tax" because it must be paid whenever ownership of the silencer is "transferred" (in this case, the dealer to the prospective purchaser). As long as ownership remains with the same person, the tax need not be paid again. Only if the owner sells it will a new transfer tax need to be paid. An owner may will his silencer to a lawful heir with no tax incurred.

Once the paper work is submitted, it normally takes 60 to 120 days to receive the approved, stamped paperwork from the NFA Branch. It is only upon the return of the approved paperwork that the dealer can allow the prospective purchaser to take possession of their new silencer. A copy of the approved paperwork must accompany the silencer at all times (the original should be stored in a safe deposit box). Silencers can be transported to other states that allow their ownership, but to transport a silencer into one of the states which prohibit private ownership can subject the owner to serious state felony charges.

For more information, please join the discussion forum at www.silencertalk.com

If you have questions please email gunsounds@silencertalk.com