Silencer: History and Performance, Volume 1: Sporting and Tactical Silencers

by Alan C. Paulson (Author)

25 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0873649094

ISBN-10: 0873649095

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This is the most significant book on firearm silencers in years. Find out the story behind and incredible capabilities of modern silencers used by elite military units and secretive government agencies. Author Alan Paulson has been called "the dean of the American silencer experts today."

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Research scientist Alan C. Paulson is the suppressor technology editor for The Small Arms Review and a member of the Institute for Research on Small Arms in International Security, the National Defense Industrial Association and numerous other professional societies.

Product details

Publisher : Paladin Press (January 1, 1996)
Language : English
Paperback : 424 pages
ISBN-10 : 0873649095
ISBN-13 : 978-0873649094
Item Weight : 2.58 pounds
Dimensions : 8.75 x 1.25 x 11.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,969,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #734 in Military Sciences
- #3,267 in Conventional Weapons & Warfare History (Books)
- #3,402 in History of Technology

Customer Reviews:
25 ratings

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4 star		10%
3 star		8%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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S. Carpenter

Great from a 1990s perspective... it really is 'history'.

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2016

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I was hoping for more of a theory and practice of silencers from this book. Instead I got a lot of (somewhat interesting) history, and reviews on a bunch of suppressors that haven't been made in decades.

As a 'stamp collector' I really am interested in the 'why' of various suppressor designs, and while this book had some of that buried among the rest, they were few and far between.

If you want to know why an Uzi was hard to suppress, or the one-off ammo used by the Navy for it's 70's-ers Hush Puppy system, this is a book for you.

If you want to get into the theory and design behind modern suppressors... not so much.

Helpful

K. Parmalee

Make Some Noise About Being Quiet!

Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2008

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Such a long title deserves a long book, and this book doesn't disappoint. It covers a lot of subjects, such as political aspects of silencers, a primer on sound, health effects, test design and measurement, historical aspects, and (occupying about 130 pages out of the over 400 total) testing of over twenty .22 Rimfire silencers, both integral and muzzle-mounted. The book features several examples of disassembled silencers, which aids in understanding how they operate.

As a silencer enthusiast who knows many gun owners but few silencer owners, I feel good knowing someone out there has very similar ideas about the potential for silencer technology.

And this book generates a few questions that I'd like to share here.

The author believes silencer technology should actually be encouraged, not restricted, and uses data generated by the Finnish government to support his belief. He acknowledges the social stigma, but I would go further and translate the problem into testable hypotheses; that is to ask, "Does the ability to hear gunshots at a farther distance materially aid in the discovery of crime?" I would follow that with a second, "If it does, can we easily compensate by other means?" And maybe the last question, "If we can't compensate, does the health issue to shooters outweigh the needs of law enforcement?"

The segment on testing methods raised a thought also. Net sound reduction dominates most other benchmarks in the silencer industry. The book spends a page or two on why certain sound meters work better than others. My own research into sound meters has not found a meter that can cheaply and reliably detect sound pressure greater than 150 decibels, and I've yet to find published microphone response data. I wonder if sampling sound energy directly is the best way to measure silencer performance? Because silencers turn mechanical energy to heat, maybe we can get better data by measuring heat output. The questions I would ask are, "Does thermal sampling provide the time and intensity resolution necessary?" and "Can we reliably map heat output to sound output?"

Because the book is over ten years old, it lacks the currency of other sources, such as the web (search for "silencer tests") but one can still find some of the products tested for sale. And if my limited experience provides any guidance, the technological state of silencers has only improved in the meantime. The political and social states, well not so much.

4 people found this helpful

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McSanchez

Good technical read.

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2020

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Well written technical read on how and why suppressors work and why they're not the quiet murder machines everyone thinks they are.

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thequiet1

Fascinating book on suppressors

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2013

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The information in this book is excellent. Some of it is a little dated at this point, but most of it is still very useful and interesting. The book is the first in a series of four and covers everything from how the tests are conducted, suppressor construction and their use among other topics.

Helpful

Regina

A Must have

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2019

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Long winded but great info

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Griff Evans

Great book! I'd give this one at least 6 stars!!

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2014

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Excellent! Heavy-duty info about how and why. I learned A LOT about suppressor use & design - more than I expected! Great book!

The only complaint I had about it is the physical size. Big Book! Soft cover. Really hard to read in bed.

Helpful

Glenn DeVolder

Now this book has alot of really good info in it

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2014

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Now this book has alot of really good info in it. It is hard for me to put it down after I get started reading in it. Any one wanting to know the basics and how they work, get this book

Helpful

chris

would buy again

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

Book arrived in fine condition. Great info

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