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Old September 27, 2002, 02:13 PM   #1
jrsower
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Pillow as a silencer?

So give us the benefit of your expertise...will a pillow held in front of a pistol silence the shot enough to conceal the sound, say, outside the room your in?

Or is Hollywood again, the bastion of misinformation?
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Old September 27, 2002, 02:31 PM   #2
Mike Irwin
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Probably not outside the room, but it certainly does make a difference in the noise level.

A friend of mine tried it some years ago with a .357 Mag.

He touched off the shot and it looked like he was stuck in the middle of a flock of molting ducks. He should have used a polyfill pillow, not a feather pillow.
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Old September 27, 2002, 03:41 PM   #3
Neal in GA
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I've heard using a coke bottle works too. Is this true?
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Old September 27, 2002, 03:48 PM   #4
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Does this mean that the BATF will start requiring a $200 tax on pillows?
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Old September 27, 2002, 04:49 PM   #5
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A coke bottle with the bottom cut out and loose rolled wet paper towels arranged inside to leave a hole down the center, sure its possible. Maybe. Makes a .22 bearable indoors w/ no hearing protection.
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Old September 27, 2002, 04:50 PM   #6
george miller
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yes,the 2 liter plastic pop bottles do work for 2 or 3 shots.cobray or ingram,cant remember which,had an adaptor some time ago that allowed you to screw onto the muzzle a plastic pop bottle. batf got wind of it and ..well you dont see them anymore.lol in a western"the good bad and ugly",a guy used a pillow to silence his 1861 black powder revolver.just works in the movies.
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Old September 27, 2002, 04:57 PM   #7
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It would probably work a little better with a semiauto than a revolver due to the gap at the cylinder/forcing cone where a lot of gas escapes.

I'm sure that a pillow would muffle it somewhat, especially when compared to a gun fired without it. But it's not gonna work like it does on TV....

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Old September 27, 2002, 05:31 PM   #8
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I wonder if there is a fire hazard when you use a pillow? I bet a 4" 357 and 125G Federals could make a smelly mess!
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Old September 27, 2002, 08:53 PM   #9
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Stuff the plastic bottle full of steel wool. Might work better than wet paper towels, but will cost more.
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Old September 28, 2002, 12:19 AM   #10
Zorro
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I DOES work!

A guy in the hotel room next to mine got killed in 1982 when I was staying in Aurora Colorado, never heard a thing.

Burglar shot him in the head through a pillow, then robbed him.

Never caught who did it.
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Old September 28, 2002, 01:49 AM   #11
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You cannot "silence" a revolver by definition. The cylinder gap allows too much gas (noise) to escape.

Supersonic rounds (such as the vast majority of 9mm loads) cannot be adequately silenced, since the so-called "sonic boom" makes a distinctive noise.

SUPRESSION is a different matter...
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Old September 28, 2002, 09:18 AM   #12
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The idea is to trap the gases, they make the bulk of the noise. The bullet traveling downrange is another problem, but not in this case. The body itself is a good noise suppressor if the barrel is pressed against it, although this can disable some automatics. I know of an instance where a man committed suicide in the bedroom while the family was in the next room and never heard the shot. He placed the gun tight to his head and fired. The 1 and 2 liter pop bottles do work well with .22's. No filling is necessary and the bottom does not need to be cut out, just fire through it. They get progressively louder as you shoot thru it. They did make an adapter for the MAC's as mentioned, but they are now considered a NFA item subject to its rules. I'm surprised that the ATF hasn't deemed Pepsi, Coke, and other pop makers in violation for providing a NFA item. Then again, anything can work I guess, if you think about it. The whole idea behind suppressors is to lower the noise to a level that it wont be perceived as a "dangerous" noise. It doesn't necessarily have to be totally quiet. The right pillow and way its used would definitely fill this bill.
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Old September 28, 2002, 10:26 AM   #13
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Quote:
The cylinder gap allows too much gas (noise) to escape.
Granted "silence" is the wrong word but there are revolvers where the gap problem is reduced if not elimanated.

1. Dan Wesson revolvers have an adjustable gap and have been suppressed effectively

2. Nagant revolvers have a nontypical mechanism which seals the firing chamber with the barrel but I have no knowledge if anyone has tried to suppress them
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Old September 28, 2002, 10:48 AM   #14
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Wasn't the this method used in Godfather II? Al Pacino killing the Don in his neighborhood? There were feathers everywhere and the pillow caught on fire.
I would think that a pillow would work on a revolver if the cylinder was also covered. I like the coke bottle idea too, using the flexible plastic to absorb some of the noise energy.
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Old September 28, 2002, 10:51 AM   #15
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pretty sure it was a towel in GF II, which subsequently caught on fire
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Old September 28, 2002, 12:37 PM   #16
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Yea! If you put the pillow over her face when she starts to......

OOPS!! sorry wrong subject



HEE HEE HEE!!!
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Old September 28, 2002, 05:10 PM   #17
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It was a towel and it was Deniro.
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Old September 28, 2002, 05:27 PM   #18
Mike Irwin
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Croyance,

They showed this just the other night.

I believe that Vito Corleone used either a towel or blanket wrapped around his hand and gun.

He also waited until the feast of San Genaro (I believe) when there would be a lot of noise in the streets.

He also set the towel on fire after he fired three shots into Don... Crud. Can't remember his name.
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Old September 28, 2002, 06:39 PM   #19
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Old September 29, 2002, 07:33 AM   #20
CZ Gunner
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My biggest question is with this one is "WHY" ?

What did the pillow ever do to you?
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Old September 30, 2002, 11:28 AM   #21
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If you put steel wool in a pop bottle and intend to use it as a supressor, you have manufactured a silencer and are fodder for ATF.

During WWII the Brits made a supressor for a revolver. It was a jacket that covered the cylinder all the way beck to the shooter's hand. It was too big and bulkey for it's intended use, but I have seen pictures of it.
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Old September 30, 2002, 12:42 PM   #22
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Well

I would say at least go with the extra firm poly foam pillows, any size rather than the down or feather type. The feathers seem to go all over the place.
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Old September 30, 2002, 02:24 PM   #23
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Ahh, but the feathers are for dramatic effect
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Old September 30, 2002, 02:29 PM   #24
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By the way, I believe that if you place the pop bottle on the barrel of the gun, the ATF considers it a silencer/suppressor, wether its packed with anything or empty. What ever you do, make sure the Pepsi is out of it or you'll make a sticky mess of everything, especially if your buddy next to you is using the feather pillow on his gun.
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Old October 2, 2002, 11:35 AM   #25
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You realize, I hope, that this thread is liable to make California law makers to pass a law just to regulate the sell of pillows, don't you.

Will probably need to fill out paper work, have a background check and buy a safe to keep their pillows in when they're not around, so that children will not use them!

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