Air Rifles w/Noise Dampeners

[Browning]

Has anyone shot either the Gamo Whisper or the AirForce Talon SS?

Gamo Whisper

Airforce Talon SS



It looks like an easy and legal way of having some fun in your backyard without disturbing your neighbors and without going through the gigantic hassle of trying to get a .22LR suppressor and going through the NFA process.

http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2007/11/testing-gamo-whisper-part-4-scope-rifle.html

The silencer has been vetted
Remember all that talk about whether the silencer on this rifle is legal? Well, a class three dealer examined it and said in his opinion it could not be removed and attached to a firearm with success. Gamo has taken pains to make the outer case tapered front-to-rear, plus they have molded two huge flutes into the side of the case. They've also made holes in the flutes that expose the sides of the baffles, which are a soft synthetic material, to the air. It was his opinion that the silencer would be too difficult to remove from the rifle without destroying it, and, even if it could be removed, that the baffles would blow out the sides if exposed to even the low pressure from a .22 rimfire cartridge. In other words, it wouldn't silence a firearm for even one shot, which is what BATF&E looks for. Of course his opinion isn't official, but it looks like Gamo had some concerns and took steps to minimize any risk.

So how quiet are they?

 

[acmax95]

I am interested in opinions as well. My dad is really wanting one of those Whispers but I have heard they are not that much quieter than normal air rifles and they only shoot around 1000 FPS.

 

[rcmodel]

they only shoot around 1000 FPS.

And what's wrong with that?

Air rifle velocity has little to do with anything, except a slightly flatter trajectory, a little further.

And the very powerful ones often are not as accurate as the more sedate ones, which are much easier to cock & shoot accurately all day.

I have two Beeman spring piston rifles, and both are rated around 750 - 800 FPS.

They are as quiet as can be, and will kill birds, squirrels & rabbits cleanly as far away as I can hit them.

rcmodel

 

[Browning]

I have two Beeman spring piston rifles, and both are rated around 750 - 800 FPS.

They are as quiet as can be, and will kill birds, squirrels & rabbits cleanly as far away as I can hit them.

rcmodel

I'm not really familar with the Beemans.

How quiet are they in comparison with an unsupressed .22LR cartridge out of a 16 to 18 inch barrel?

Do they have a noise dampener as well? Or are they just quiet naturally?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Look:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=385713&highlight=whisper

It's a good topic I'll post more on later.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Check your local laws first, some airguns are considered firearms depending on the state.

 

[rcmodel]

How quiet are they in comparison with an unsupressed .22LR cartridge out of a 16 to 18 inch barrel?

They are very quiet compared to any .22 LR in any barrel length.

There is no "crack" at all, more of the thump without the pop.

Most folks wouldn't recognize the sound from any distance unless they saw you shooting it.

http://www.beeman.com/sr.htm

rcmodel

 

[Browning]

Alright, well thank you.

 

[BUTCHER45]

If the pellet breaks the sound barrier, there will be a crack, shroud or not.

 

[jpatterson]

I have a decent break action air rifle (not the whisper) but it still pretty quiet. It makes a loud snap, but not even anywhere close to even a .22. Suprisingly accurate, I can hit a 4x4in target at 200 yards with the irons on it. Pretty cool actually, nice(and cheap to shoot ) air rifle to help learn to shoot on.

 

[JohnKSa]

The two guns listed in the first post are VERY different. The Talon SS is a pre-charged pneumatic or PCP (operates on stored compressed air) while the Gamo Whisper is a spring-piston pellet gun (operates on air compressed at the moment of firing by the action of a large spring and piston).

Ok, I'm going to omit the "crack" due to breaking the sound barrier in my discussion since that is not affected by a moderator/dampener/silencer/suppresor.

Nearly all of the discharge noise of a PCP airgun is created by air exhausted from the muzzle behind the projectile. That means that a suppressor which reduces noise due to escaping gases has a good chance at dramatically reducing the discharge noise of a PCP airgun. How much depends on how good the suppressor design is.

About half of the discharge noise of a spring piston airgun is created by the mechanical motion of the spring and piston. Only about half of the discharge noise is generated by air exhausted from the muzzle behind the projectile. Therefore even a perfect suppressor (one that totally eliminates the noise due to escaping gases) will only reduce the discharge noise of a typical springer by half. That's not to say that the noise reduction won't be significant, it's just good to have reasonable expectations.

Want to know the secret to having a lot of fun in your backyard with an airgun and not annoying your neighbors? DON'T PAY FOR POWER YOU DON'T NEED! Buy a high-quality 600-700fps airgun in .177 caliber. It will be plenty quiet and more than powerful enough for anything that you have any business shooting in your back yard. It's self-defeating to buy a magnum air rifle and pay extra for a suppressor if you don't need the power (that creates the unwanted noise) in the first place.

 

[BUTCHER45]

200yards with iron sights? With a break-barrel springer even?

Using a high-powered scope, MAYBE.

Unless your saying that you tried it 100 times and got lucky a few times, I Gotta call BS on that one. You need to provide proof along with a tale like that for any thinking person to take you seriously.

You would have to zero your springer at 100yards (good luck with that), and use like 12 feet of hold-over and that is calculated using a solid bullet. Pellets fall much faster. I have trouble accepting that you could even see your target using that much hold-over.

Just to give some perspective on how far away 200yards is to be shooting with iron sights, this is 200 meters with a more powerful airgun than most any break-barrel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5md7Ke4BsA

 

[Browning]

JohnKSa : The two guns listed in the first post are VERY different. The Talon SS is a pre-charged pneumatic or PCP (operates on stored compressed air) while the Gamo Whisper is a spring-piston pellet gun (operates on air compressed at the moment of firing by the action of a large spring and piston).

Okay, thanks.

I'll have to check out the differences between the two. Air rifle wise the only one's that I've EVER had before has been a Daisy BB gun when I was little (7 through 10 years old) and then a Chinese .177 pellet rifle that I picked up at a local gun show for $20 about a year ago.