Silencer is the marketing name Maxim gave to the suppressors he designed and sold. Its a valid but contentious name for them. The term does get seriously used i

Silencer is the marketing name Maxim gave to the suppressors he designed and sold. Its a valid but contentious name for them. The term does get seriously used in the modern day for example, SilencerCo is one of the larger suppressor makers. But you will get people correcting you from time to time because its a misnomer. They don't make a gun silent. A suppressor does the same thing that a muffler does on a car. It takes what would be an awfully loud noise and makes it bearable. Its a safety device. Are cars stealth and silent? Of course not. Neither are suppressed guns. But yeah Hollywood quiet is mostly a myth. It is possible to achieve a very quiet gun but you have to take some heavy compromises to do so. Two such guns were developed by the British in WW2 for commandos. The Welrod and Delisle. They have both been featured in media. Some key aspects are the use of sub sonic ammunition, massively oversized suppressors that not only have baffles but also consumable rubber wipes, and also using repeating actions instead of semi auto. They are very quiet by gun standards but even they aren't Hollywood quiet.