Originally Posted by GeneB
Originally Posted by JoeMartin
I was getting ready to yell, SUPPRESSOR, so loud you could here me from Maryland.
I assume you are using a slang use of the word and not the dictionary definition. by itself suppressor does not really apply without another word or two included with it to show it refers to sound.

sup·pres·sor /səˈpresər/
noun: suppressor; plural noun: suppressors

- a person or group that deprives others of power or prevents something from happening.
"suppressors of free speech"

- something that prevents the development or expression of a feeling, process, etc.
"that great suppressor of talent and imagination: fear"

- a device that partly or wholly eliminates electrical interference.
"the computer and phone line are plugged into a surge suppressor"

Maxim named his invention a 'Silencer', Parker-Hale called them 'Sound Moderators'... so I guess the correct term will depend on which one was intended to fit the gun.
maxim+silencer

silencer+definition

Yes, the Maxim's were created and marketed as silencers. But Hollywood killed that - their depictions of silencers made it seem as though guns were totally silent when fired with one, when in reality it just dampens the noise enough not to hurt your ears permanently. They did such a bang up job of spreading disinformation that silencers were included in the 1934 National Firearms Act, even though they were practically never used in actual crimes. Even today when it's trivially easy to create an adhoc suppressor, criminals don't do it. So the gun industry changed the term to "suppressors" - short, if you will, for gun shot volume suppressor - in order to fight the ignorance created by Hollywood and the anti-gun fanatics. Suppressor is a much more accurate term than silencer.

This is like arguing that the Savage 1907 is actually an automatic pistol and not a semi-automatic pistol, because Savage advertised the 1907 as an automatic. So are the anti-gunners correct when saying that criminals using automatic weapons all the time? No.. the terms 100+ years ago were frequently inaccurate.

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