Airguns are much quieter than airguns, barely topping 82db because they are powered by compressed air not exploding gunpowder. Most of the noise associated with firing an airgun comes from the piston slamming in receiver in the case of a pump or break barrel pellet gun, or the crack of the projectile breaking the sound barrier.
So why do commercial break barrel airguns in the US come with an integral baffled suppresser integrated into their barrel? Does it really reduce the sound it makes? Does the suppresser adversely effect the performance of an airgun?
With the help of my friends at the Coyote Point Rifle and Pistol Club, we set about testing a .22cal Benjamin Trail XL Magnum rifle using a PAC professional chronograph. I fired 5 shots of Benjamin Discovery 14.3gr lead pellets with the factory suppressor attached to the rifle. Then, I removed the suppresser barrel sheath and fired 5 shots with it off.
The sound of the rifle firing was noticeably louder with the suppressor removed. Using a phone App, we measured a 80-82db sound reading directly behind the rifle when firing with the suppresser. With the suppresser removed, the noise jumped up 10-15db (above OSHA requirement for hearing protection).
Measuring with the chrono I got an average velocity of 786.1 FPS with the suppresser attached and 785.8 FPS with it removed; a difference of only 0.3 FPS. Not only was the difference negligible but the velocity was higher with the suppresser attached. So all in all, we discovered that its better to have a suppresser on an airgun than not (at least for this rifle).
Available on Amazon through my affiliate link which helps support this publication
Benjamin Trail XL: https://amzn.to/3ByssCm
Benjamin Discovery Pellets: https://amzn.to/3BGUBrl
