Can it be done? Design an internally suppressed military rifle.
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kBob
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Something no one has mentioned is the effect this would have on an enemy.
The US Army thought about weapons sounds it at least as early as WWI and came to the conclusion that suppressed weapons in general issue would cause an enemy to believe it safe to stay in position rather than seeking cover. This would allow them to make their return fire much more effective and so cause greater casualties among the good guys.
The Army wanted the noise to encourage the bad guys to take cover, or run away, so not effectively return fire.
Back in the 1970s in my Infantry unit it was an article 15 offense to be without ones ear plugs. We wore them in little plastic tubes on our field jacket or blouse and the tube was taped with my unit colors around the circumference (red, green, red), I saw mine in the shop last year. I preferred the Christmas tree plugs over the mushroom of the ones then in issue. Today I use foam plugs under electronic muffs.
-kBob
The US Army thought about weapons sounds it at least as early as WWI and came to the conclusion that suppressed weapons in general issue would cause an enemy to believe it safe to stay in position rather than seeking cover. This would allow them to make their return fire much more effective and so cause greater casualties among the good guys.
The Army wanted the noise to encourage the bad guys to take cover, or run away, so not effectively return fire.
Back in the 1970s in my Infantry unit it was an article 15 offense to be without ones ear plugs. We wore them in little plastic tubes on our field jacket or blouse and the tube was taped with my unit colors around the circumference (red, green, red), I saw mine in the shop last year. I preferred the Christmas tree plugs over the mushroom of the ones then in issue. Today I use foam plugs under electronic muffs.
-kBob
Surprise nobody mentioned the new tavor suppressor made by manticore arms. It isn't necessarily integrated but it is of such a shape and size that it fits entirely within a short handguard extension, making up for its shorter length by expanding vertically and horizontally instead. It's actually very cool. Right now it is for the 9mm version but I think they will make it for the other calibers as well.
Regarding supersonic rounds, I often hear something about how even though the suppressor can't muffle the sonic boom, it still heavily disguises the muzzle report and therefore helps conceal the shooter's position etc. I'm not positive how it works but knowing that the sonic boom isn't heard until after the bullet passes by you I would deduce that if the muzzle gases are silenced and all you hear is the sonic boom, then theoretically you would hear the shot but not where it came from.
Regarding supersonic rounds, I often hear something about how even though the suppressor can't muffle the sonic boom, it still heavily disguises the muzzle report and therefore helps conceal the shooter's position etc. I'm not positive how it works but knowing that the sonic boom isn't heard until after the bullet passes by you I would deduce that if the muzzle gases are silenced and all you hear is the sonic boom, then theoretically you would hear the shot but not where it came from.
Vern Humphrey
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The primary use of a suppressed rifle in combat is to defeat the "Crack-Thump" method of locating a shooter.
When you are under fire, the first thing you will hear is a sharp CRACK! That's the supersonic shockwave generated by the bullet, and it seems to come from the closest point of approach of the bullet, not from the shooter's location.
An instant after hearing the CRACK! you will hear a dull thump or pop. That's the sound of the gas escaping from the muzzle. You orient on that to locate the shooter -- and that is the sound a suppressor suppresses.
Untrained troops can become confused and disoriented, thinking the crack comes from the shooter's location. Trained troops are alerted by the crack, and listen carefully for the thump, to locate the shooter.
So that is the primary use of a suppressor on a battle rifle. To a certain extent, automatic fire or even semi-automatic fire can subvert the suppressor, since the enemy can hear the rattle of the action, the sound of the ejected cartridges hitting the ground and so on.
And as others have said, a suppressor that doesn't increase maintenance, weight, and so on is impossible. So for other than special applications -- like sniping -- suppressors haven't proven worthwhile in combat.
When you are under fire, the first thing you will hear is a sharp CRACK! That's the supersonic shockwave generated by the bullet, and it seems to come from the closest point of approach of the bullet, not from the shooter's location.
An instant after hearing the CRACK! you will hear a dull thump or pop. That's the sound of the gas escaping from the muzzle. You orient on that to locate the shooter -- and that is the sound a suppressor suppresses.
Untrained troops can become confused and disoriented, thinking the crack comes from the shooter's location. Trained troops are alerted by the crack, and listen carefully for the thump, to locate the shooter.
So that is the primary use of a suppressor on a battle rifle. To a certain extent, automatic fire or even semi-automatic fire can subvert the suppressor, since the enemy can hear the rattle of the action, the sound of the ejected cartridges hitting the ground and so on.
And as others have said, a suppressor that doesn't increase maintenance, weight, and so on is impossible. So for other than special applications -- like sniping -- suppressors haven't proven worthwhile in combat.
Exactly what I would say. I don't want a suppressor for general combat use and I say that as a career infantry officer. I want to gain and maintain fire superiority ASAP with machine guns, grenade launchers, accurate semi auto fire and mortars/artillery if I have it available. I want to get the enemy's heads down so I can maneuver. My unit's rifles sounding like pellet guns isn't gonna help with that one little bit.
MAJ Plaster also said the same thing based on his experience with suppressed weapons on a MACV-SOG team in Nam, after the first firefight where they struggled to get fire superiority they ditched 'em.
They have a limited use for sniping and soft-touch hostage rescue/CQB ops.
barnbwt
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Wait, fire superiority, or sound superiority? I've been lucky enough to have stayed a fat and happy civilian my whole life, but it'd never occurred to me that "loud pipes saved lives" on the battlefield 
. At least with what little experience I have on gun ranges (long story that's actually kinda short) being down range of gun fire was not nearly as loud as I'd expected, but the supersonic crack seemed "all around" compared to the distance-muffled muzzle pop, if that makes any sense. I always assumed a suppressed weapon firing supersonic ammunition would both keep the enemy's head down (since he'd likely know what that sound meant) and also obscure the position of our side. But the benefit would be both less ear damage/stun/flash/recoil for our guys, which seems like a near total win. I guess if the squad LMG/SAW wasn't suppressed you'd gain back your noisemaker.
Perhaps a linear comp as opposed to flash hider would be the best solution of all; not as quiet as a suppressor, but with every other benefit?
I agree, that suppressed sub- or near sub-sonic SMGs would not have the "Wow" factor of the noisy M4 flash hider. You'd have your foes lookin' around going "sure are a lot of mosquitos out here, buddy...buddy?"
Then again, perhaps the lack of "terror" from quiet long arms is precisely why conscript Russian soldiers maintained disciplined ranks to the point of total annihilation against Finnish M31's in the Winter War. Later on, German MGs would have them fleeing back into their own machinegun fire as deserters. Entire advances were cut down by precise, open-bolt 9mm gun fire (the Finns had SMGs set up like LMGs, with a gunner and loader to keep him stocked and firing) across No Man's Land. Also, Finnish snipers...helped
TCB
. At least with what little experience I have on gun ranges (long story that's actually kinda short) being down range of gun fire was not nearly as loud as I'd expected, but the supersonic crack seemed "all around" compared to the distance-muffled muzzle pop, if that makes any sense. I always assumed a suppressed weapon firing supersonic ammunition would both keep the enemy's head down (since he'd likely know what that sound meant) and also obscure the position of our side. But the benefit would be both less ear damage/stun/flash/recoil for our guys, which seems like a near total win. I guess if the squad LMG/SAW wasn't suppressed you'd gain back your noisemaker.Perhaps a linear comp as opposed to flash hider would be the best solution of all; not as quiet as a suppressor, but with every other benefit?
I agree, that suppressed sub- or near sub-sonic SMGs would not have the "Wow" factor of the noisy M4 flash hider. You'd have your foes lookin' around going "sure are a lot of mosquitos out here, buddy...buddy?"
Then again, perhaps the lack of "terror" from quiet long arms is precisely why conscript Russian soldiers maintained disciplined ranks to the point of total annihilation against Finnish M31's in the Winter War. Later on, German MGs would have them fleeing back into their own machinegun fire as deserters. Entire advances were cut down by precise, open-bolt 9mm gun fire (the Finns had SMGs set up like LMGs, with a gunner and loader to keep him stocked and firing) across No Man's Land. Also, Finnish snipers...helped
TCB
Vern Humphrey
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It has been my experience that the sound of shots is nothing at all compared to the sound of bullets hitting and ricocheting near you.
jmorris
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This is how I made one for a 9mm AR.
16.125" with the end cap removed.
Now it's not a gas operated firearm and that would make things more complicated but not impossible.
One reason why threaded is popular is because you can use one stamped can on many firearms. If it is part of a barrel you loose that.
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barnbwt
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If you made your slip-over integral can w/ baffles attach to the barrel nut (or similar feature at the root of the barrel) any barrel below a certain diameter would work (and you could even have swappable internal baffles and endcaps of different bore size, though they would of course be controlled "silencer parts" themselves). It might not work as well as a truly tailored solution, but I'm just saying that an over-barrel system could be just as modular and serviceable as an on-barrel system, and mostly using the same design techniques. The only real trick would be a clever way to center its endcap on the bore reliably (possibly just screw the endcap onto the threaded muzzle like a "brake" to secure the front end of the main body that is secured near the breach end)
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jmorris
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The suppressor above can be opened and all the internals cleaned and reinstalled without alignment problems. Everything is round and the "sleeve" was in perfect alignment when I TIG brazed it to the barrel.
It is also not just a washer at the base welded to the barrel but two machined disks, this along with the seemless 4130 tubing made them easy to align with the bore.
Similar to the threaded attachment portion on this one.
This being the inside of the 9mm AR can. If you look close at the first photo of #33, you can see the plug weld between the tube and muzzle end disk.
I made a thread on that telescoped back over the barrel quite a way, to add volume without adding length, on my 458 socom can.
It is also not just a washer at the base welded to the barrel but two machined disks, this along with the seemless 4130 tubing made them easy to align with the bore.
Similar to the threaded attachment portion on this one.
This being the inside of the 9mm AR can. If you look close at the first photo of #33, you can see the plug weld between the tube and muzzle end disk.
I made a thread on that telescoped back over the barrel quite a way, to add volume without adding length, on my 458 socom can.
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