Quote Originally Posted by tmckay2 View Post
pretty much everyone that uses suppressors consistently shoots them without hearing protection. thats kind of the point. its not that loud. the only reason its still even that loud is because of the crack of the bullet due to speed. if you use subsonic, you basically get a click and a very soft muffled sound. sounds about like a 22. you really can't get any quieter due to simply physics. you either have a super sonic bullet and the crack that comes with it, or a sub sonic round with no crack. take your pick.

the suppressor helps drastically reduce the "boom" of the gases through the muzzle, but the only option to eliminate bullet noise is by shooting sub sonic. its not a video game.
while a suppressor does help reduce the sonic crack, a single shot such as one of those NEF's, bolt or lever actions where all the gas is vented through the muzzle end, will be much quieter than a semi.
semi's loaded with subs or regular velocity ammo still vent gas and sound back (or out) towards the shooter.
my bolts actions loaded with standard ammo using a DB meter are much quieter than the same load through my ar or ak.