Quietest Non-Suppressed .22 Semi-Auto Rifle???

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  • eric001

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    I just had the wonderful experience of visiting the Crosley range down south of Vernon, IN. My buddy had both his Ruger 10/22 and Ruger SR22 rifles. I couldn't help but notice how much quieter the SR22 was when he shot that one, in spite of the fact that both rifles have common parts, and both were stock--no mods that would affect noise at all. Both rifles were being loaded with the exact same ammo, and it wasn't even subsonic, so I know it's not the ammo here...

    This got me to wondering--could this be a one-off that is particular to just that specific rifle, or are there specific models of .22 rifle that are just plain more quiet to shoot? Google-fu and reviews are one thing, but personal experience would be the most trust-worthy to me... Having only had experience with my 10/22, and one whole day's worth of shooting my buddy's SR22, I thought I'd ask the experts on INGO to find out.


    So there it is: What's the quietest regular (non-suppressed) .22 semi-auto rifle according to your personal experience??
     

    rhino

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    Were the barrels the same length? A longer barrel can result in more complete combustion of the propellant prior to the flow exiting the muzzle, which means less noise.
     

    Areoflyer09

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    The SR-22 uses the same action as the 10/22. Barrel is only 16”, unless the 10/22 was an SBR it isn’t barrel length.

    My guess would Ruger doesn’t put that steel buffer pin* (behind the bolt) in the SR-22, they may be using a rubber or polymer part there instead. My experiences with 10/22s are the actions are loud. Swap that steel buffer pin out for one of the aftermarket options and it’s noticeably quieter.

    Factory 10/22 tend to have louder actions. My TacSol X-ring is about the same as the 10/22 with rubber buffer. The HK 416D & Tippmann M4-22 I had weren’t much quieter. The S&W 15-22s I’ve heard seemed about the same. Throw a can on any of them and you’ll find out how much noise you hear is the ammo and how much is the action.

    I just grab my bolt actions at this point if I want quiet.

    *I know there is a name for this pin and I cannot recall currently if this is the correct name.
     

    patience0830

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    The SR-22 uses the same action as the 10/22. Barrel is only 16”, unless the 10/22 was an SBR it isn’t barrel length.

    My guess would Ruger doesn’t put that steel buffer pin* (behind the bolt) in the SR-22, they may be using a rubber or polymer part there instead. My experiences with 10/22s are the actions are loud. Swap that steel buffer pin out for one of the aftermarket options and it’s noticeably quieter.

    Factory 10/22 tend to have louder actions. My TacSol X-ring is about the same as the 10/22 with rubber buffer. The HK 416D & Tippmann M4-22 I had weren’t much quieter. The S&W 15-22s I’ve heard seemed about the same. Throw a can on any of them and you’ll find out how much noise you hear is the ammo and how much is the action.

    I just grab my bolt actions at this point if I want quiet.

    *I know there is a name for this pin and I cannot recall currently if this is the correct name.

    Bolt buffer or rear bolt stop.

    Quietest I ever used was subsonic ammo in a CZ 452 Ultra lux. 28" of bbl, I think. Almost like suppressed.
     

    Hohn

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    Were the barrels the same length? A longer barrel can result in more complete combustion of the propellant prior to the flow exiting the muzzle, which means less noise.

    Its actually not combustion since all the powder burns before the bullet even gets far into the rifling.

    Its just the depressurization/expansion inside the longer barrel that gets it closer to atmospheric pressure before uncorking.
     

    rhino

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    Its actually not combustion since all the powder burns before the bullet even gets far into the rifling.

    Its just the depressurization/expansion inside the longer barrel that gets it closer to atmospheric pressure before uncorking.

    You could be right about longer barrels especially with .22LR, but there are definitely components of the mixture that are still reacting after exiting the muzzle from shorter barrels and centerfires. The propellant may no longer be in its original solid form, but there is still stuff burning in that mixture of gases and particulate, including some of the soot that forms during the process. It's not like it goes straight from powder to CO2, H2O, and NOx in one step. But even though the flow is still reacting, I have no idea how much that would affect the noise level if at all.
     
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    eric001

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    All I can remember for certain is both rifles were about the same barrel length, but the SR22 was at most half as loud at the muzzle...
    Past that, all I have is questions about how/why it was so much quieter. And now I'm wondering which other .22 rifles would be even quieter.
     

    Sigblitz

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    You could be right about longer barrels especially with .22LR, but there are definitely components of the mixture that are still reacting after exiting the muzzle from shorter barrels and centerfires. Then propellant may no longer be in its original solid form, but there is still stuff burning in that mixture of gases and particulate, including soot that forms during the process.

    And exiting the barrel at the point it burns off is the key to accuracy. The bullet gets a little wonky after that. Or drops if too short.

    I would prefer a quiet 22 so I'm in. :popcorn:
     

    Areoflyer09

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    All I can remember for certain is both rifles were about the same barrel length, but the SR22 was at most half as loud at the muzzle...
    Past that, all I have is questions about how/why it was so much quieter. And now I'm wondering which other .22 rifles would be even quieter.

    My experience leads to me to believe most semi-auto 22s will be around the same noise level. Only so much can be done to dampen the sound of the actions. It doesn’t take much of a change in decibels to be noticeable.

    If you want quiet you’ll need a bolt action.
     

    1775usmarine

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    My 1940's Marlin 80 and 81 bolts have 24in barrels. With cci quiet 22 they sound suppresed. Otherwise they still are quieter with standard cci compared to my other 22's.
     

    gmcttr

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    My question is are all of the "quiet" .22lr's quieter out in front of them (as in to the neighbors) or only perceived as quieter to the shooter (behind the gun)? I'm only asking about the blast noise and not the noise of the firearm's action cycling.
     

    Areoflyer09

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    My question is are all of the "quiet" .22lr's quieter out in front of them (as in to the neighbors) or only perceived as quieter to the shooter (behind the gun)? I'm only asking about the blast noise and not the noise of the firearm's action cycling.

    I’d say that is dependent on barrel length and use of a suppressor.
     

    Hohn

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    You could be right about longer barrels especially with .22LR, but there are definitely components of the mixture that are still reacting after exiting the muzzle from shorter barrels and centerfires. The propellant may no longer be in its original solid form, but there is still stuff burning in that mixture of gases and particulate, including some of the soot that forms during the process. It's not like it goes straight from powder to CO2, H2O, and NOx in one step. But even though the flow is still reacting, I have no idea how much that would affect the noise level if at all.

    Muzzle noise is purely a result of uncorking pressure and bullet speed. For subsonic, it's just the uncorking you hear. So whatever goes into that pressure curve counts.

    Longer barrels have much more internal volume, so the expansion ratio is much higher and you end up with less noise due to reduced pressure at bullet exit.
     

    Mgderf

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    My question is are all of the "quiet" .22lr's quieter out in front of them (as in to the neighbors) or only perceived as quieter to the shooter (behind the gun)? I'm only asking about the blast noise and not the noise of the firearm's action cycling.

    No, they are much quieter, or can be.
    I have a Winchester 1885 Low-Wall that shoots .22lr.
    When I load that thing up with Aquila Quiet or CCI "Quiet" .22's, there is more noise from the bullet impact than there is from the muzzle.

    Most people that have shot this combo of mine agree it sounds more like a child's cap-gun than a firearm.
    I have pellet guns that are loader.
     

    eric001

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    Sooooo... I'm seeing a recurring theme of more barrel length = quieter. Hadn't thought about it before reading the responses above, but it does make sense.

    Now, which make/models have the longer barrels but are still semi auto? I know bolts tend to be quieter and even more accurate, but I'm trying to keep apples to apples for now.

    Thank you very much for those of you sharing your expertise--this is the true awesome that is INGO... Expert opinions and real learning!!!
     

    Areoflyer09

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    The most common factory barrel lengths I’ve seen on semi-autos is 16-18”. There are probably some models with longer barrels from the factory.

    The aftermarket is whole other ball game though.
     

    eric001

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    After doing a little Google-fu exercise--which took a lot longer than I thought it would by the way--I finally tracked down the barrel lengths of the 10/22 and sr-22...

    18.5" and 16" respectively. As if I wasn't confused before, it now looks like the rifle with the SHORTER barrel was quieter. Go figure--just when it starts making sense, the world messes with my head again.

    Good thing I lost my mind decades ago, or I'd be in trouble by now. (Left it in an old pair of pants, went through the wash and didn't recognize it since it was clean, threw it away!)
     
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