Effects of Sound Suppressors on Muzzle Velocity, Bullet Yaw, and Drag

TL;DR

This study investigates how sound suppressors influence bullet flight parameters such as velocity, yaw, and drag, revealing that suppressors can significantly reduce yaw and drag, with some effects on velocity, especially for yaw-prone bullets.

Contribution

The paper provides new experimental data on the effects of different suppressor designs on bullet flight characteristics in a .300 Winchester Magnum.

Findings

Suppressors can significantly reduce bullet yaw and drag.

Bullets with high yaw propensity show greater reductions with certain suppressor designs.

Suppressors have small but notable effects on muzzle velocity.

Abstract

Little has been published regarding whether and how sound suppressors impact bullet flight, including velocity, bullet yaw, and drag. These parameters were compared for four different bullets fired from a .300 Winchester Magnum under four different muzzle conditions (no device and three different suppressors). While effects were not observed in all cases, results indicate that sound suppressors can have the effect of reducing bullet yaw and drag significantly, and can also have small effects on muzzle velocity. Results further suggest that bullets with a propensity to yaw demonstrate significant reductions in yaw and drag when shot through a two stage symmetric suppressor versus unsuppressed or with a conventional mouse-hole/K-baffle design.