# Sub sonic ammo ,,, Really?



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Ok so i'm buying some ammo for my 45 and see 45ACP sub sonic ammo cost more than the regular stuff.
Maybe I'm wrong but sub sonic means that the bullet travels slower than the speed of sound? That way
you don't get a small sonic boom when the bullet breaks the sound barrier when it pops out of the barrel 
.Is that correct? I didn't think a 45 traveled fast enough to break it from the start.
Am I right on this? 



And I see 22lr sub sonic also. If you are using a pistole even good top of the line ammo won't go that fast
there isn't enough burn time with a short barrel. Maybe in a rifle but not a pistole. 

I have friend that has paid all the taxes to own a few silencer he brings them over once in awhile and
we burn up some ammo just seeing what works. I have a colt 1911 22lr that came with a threaded 
barrel and it's so quite you can hear the slide working back and forth. I din't see it for myself but I was
told that you still a heck of a crack from 22lr in a rifle when you are using a silencer if it's not sub sonic.



And did you know different ammo makes different sounds? I had some ammo from Germany that sounds
like a bird tweet.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Funny you should ask that, today. Just came from a friend's farm/suppressor manufacturing place that is up the road about an hour.

Yes, the humble little .22lr breaks the sound barrier. Even from a pistol length barrel. We fired a few mags of ammo through his Ruger integral pistol, and even though the explosive sound was muffled to nothing, the crack was still there.

The .45 subsonic ammo is more about clean burns than anything else. I wasn't just up at John Killebrew's place for shooting and a little bourbon that goes along with our fellowship, but I was also picking up my .30 cal can that is not "legally" mine (thanks, ATF). Firing rounds through a .308 is much like a self-cleaning oven. Now cleaning is necessary. On the other hand, rounds like the .22lr and the .45 can leave fouling in the can, which adds weight to the end of the barrel.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Not my knowledge, by the way, but the knowledge of the guy who builds cans. I'm nothing more than a simply consumer who is fortunate enough to be friends with a brilliant mind in the bidniz.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Denton said:


> Funny you should ask that, today. Just came from a friend's farm/suppressor manufacturing place that is up the road about an hour.
> 
> Yes, the humble little .22lr breaks the sound barrier. Even from a pistol length barrel. We fired a few mags of ammo through his Ruger integral pistol, and even though the explosive sound was muffled to nothing, the crack was still there.
> 
> The .45 subsonic ammo is more about clean burns than anything else. I wasn't just up at John Killebrew's place for shooting and a little bourbon that goes along with our fellowship, but I was also picking up my .30 cal can that is not "legally" mine (thanks, ATF). Firing rounds through a .308 is much like a self-cleaning oven. Now cleaning is necessary. On the other hand, rounds like the .22lr and the .45 can leave fouling in the can, which adds weight to the end of the barrel.


 When shot my 22lr through a can I didn't get a crack at all. It was surprisingly quite. I can sit on my couch and shoot out the window and it's still not very loud even indoors. A 1911 22Lr is just way to much fun.

We shot 5.56 through it and I got a "crack" it's about as loud as a 22lr with no can.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

budgetprepp-n said:


> When shot my 22lr through a can I didn't get a crack at all. It was surprisingly quite. I can sit on my couch and shoot out the window and it's still not very loud even indoors. A 1911 22Lr is just way to much fun.
> 
> We shot 5.56 through it and I got a "crack" it's about as loud as a 22lr with no can.


I spent the afternoon firing rounds through my Savage mdl 10. The can took all but the supersonic crack out. No hearing protection needed, as long as you are behind the muzzle. In front of the muzzle, you'll notice the breaking of the sound barrier.

When I am tyrant of this country, anyone firing a weapon at the range without a suppressor will be sent to a work camp/ reeducation camp.

A vote for me is a vote against noise pollution.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I have a colt 1911 22lr that came with a threaded
> barrel and it's so quite you can hear the slide working back and forth. I din't see it for myself but I was
> told that you still a heck of a crack from 22lr in a rifle when you are using a silencer if it's not sub sonic.


Yep, 22lr is very quiet when shot suppressed. With my S&W 15-22, as you noticed shooting your gun, the loudest noise is the slide/bolt operation. If you really want to see quiet, try in on a bolt gun, like my CZ. That sounds like a pellet gun.

I have stamps for SBR, so on my 15-22, I initially went with a short 4" barrel to allow me to shoot regular HV ammo & not have it go supersonic. That actually works & some folks love it. I didn't as to me it made the gun too short, even with the suppressor and I had some feed issues. Another factor was yes, the HV ammo didn't break the sound barrier and you didn't get the loud crack, but because there is more powder in such rounds, it was still louder than shooting subsonic ammo. So I sold that real short barrel & had one cut down to 11", so that with the Sparrow attached, the barrel was back to 16" total length... which is what I prefer. This barrel length, shooting subsonic, is very reliable & very quiet.

300 Blackout is pretty damn quiet also when using subsonic & certainly packs a bigger punch. I have a Saker 762 on it & the barrel on it is 8.5" long so that it too is 16" total length. It is my preferred home defense gun. I shoot the 22lr more, as the ammo is so much cheaper. Both are pictured below.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

@******* - Sweet .22!


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

******* said:


> Yep, 22lr is very quiet when shot suppressed. With my S&W 15-22, as you noticed shooting your gun, the loudest noise is the slide/bolt operation. If you really want to see quiet, try in on a bolt gun, like my CZ. That sounds like a pellet gun.
> 
> I have stamps for SBR, so on my 15-22, I initially went with a short 4" barrel to allow me to shoot regular HV ammo & not have it go supersonic. That actually works & some folks love it. I didn't as to me it made the gun too short, even with the suppressor and I had some feed issues. Another factor was yes, the HV ammo didn't break the sound barrier and you didn't get the loud crack, but because there is more powder in such rounds, it was still louder than shooting subsonic ammo. So I sold that real short barrel & had one cut down to 11", so that with the Sparrow attached, the barrel was back to 16" total length... which is what I prefer. This barrel length, shooting subsonic, is very reliable & very quiet.
> 
> 300 Blackout is pretty damn quiet also when using subsonic & certainly packs a bigger punch. I have a Saker 762 on it & the barrel on it is 8.5" long so that it too is 16" total length. It is my preferred home defense gun. I shoot the 22lr more, as the ammo is so much cheaper. Both are pictured below.


Did you have any problem with the AR cycling? I tried sub sonice in my AR it wouldn't cycle at all.
It was like shooting a single shot. But yea it was quite.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Did you have any problem with the AR cycling? I tried sub sonice in my AR it wouldn't cycle at all.
> It was like shooting a single shot. But yea it was quite.


No but I have a 300 Blackout SBR upper from AAC, so it is designed to shoot subsonics... especially when suppressed.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Back in some old cop type training classes they demonstrated some silenced Ruger .22 pistols which were supposedly in favor by some of the biker gang hit men. They liked to shoot Winchester wildcats which would normally stay sub sonic depending on the ambient temps and humidity. Appears some other brands routinely stay subsonic anyway.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Gas piston AR. Quick turn of the nob to adjust of sub sonic and or suppression or those hotter than factory loads.


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