suppressor use

My opinions:

With all else being equal, the 5.56 will be quieter with both sub and super sonic ammo. This is due to a few things, namely the smaller bore and less explosive gas being produced.

As far as which would be a better sniper rifle, that sort of depends. The 5.56 will have a flatter trajectory but retain less energy over that distance. The 7.62 will have more bullet drop but maintain more energy, so "better" would sort of depend on what you'd be using it for?

In terms of which would be a better rifle for a mad max / post-apocalyptic scenario in terms of subsonic ammo, again hard to say. Subsonic 7.62 will have more energy than a subsonic 5.56 (which is essentially a .22 at that point), but you won't be finding much if any subsonic ammo for either, and I imagine "making" subsonic ammo for either would be equally difficult...though I suppose you'd need less materials (lead, powder, etc.) for the 5.56. If you consider an AR-15, you can buy a .22 conversion bolt and turn your 5.56 into a .22 on the fly. This would give you the ability to use subsonic .22 ammo in your AR15 which is (or was) relatively cheap to stock and super quiet through a suppressor. Not the best choice for two-legged threats but a pretty good choice for small game hunting, which in all honesty, would be more advantageous in such a scenario.

Not much into guns but after seeing this thread I thought I'd chime in what I did today.

My Dad, brother and me were up on our property today and my brother's friend came up. He had a .45 with a 12" suppressor and had me try it out. I don't shoot guns much so figuring it's a .45 I better hold firm. Well I didn't need to because that suppressor did it's job well because it felt and sounded like I was shooting a .22! It was crazy how much that suppressor changed the handling and noise, all you could really hear was the slide.

Anyway just thought I'd share real quick, this was the first time I ever shot with one and I was very impressed.

Well, most reputible rifle suppressors are capable of a nose reduction of 20 to 30 db (which would be all muzzle noise since suppressors have no impact on flight noise). 20 dbs may not seem like much, but when you're talking about the logarithmic nature of dbs, it means a 75% "percieved" reduction in loudness (every 10db halves the percieved loudness as a general rule). For example, 120dbs sounds about half as loud as 130dbs.

But you're absolutely right about the 7.62 having way more punch at 400 yards.

I purchased a drop-in conversion bolt for my AR15 several years back for about $175 with 2 magazines included, looks like they can still be had for about that price:

www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/2-CMMG22BA6E1

Other things to consider when trying to decide between a conversion kit and a separate rifle:

- getting the barrel threaded if the secondary rifle isn't threaded already (not sure of price, ~$75?)

- getting additional accessories like optics, slings, rails, etc. instead of being able to leverage the ones you already have for double duty ($50 for a cheap optic up to $1000+ depending on what all you have)

- getting use to different ergonomics instead of using a platform that you're already practiced with

- more stuff to lug around to the range (and more space used up in a safe) with 2 rifles as compared to 1 + conversion bolt

For me, I put a lot of thought and money into getting my AR15 setup just the way I wanted, and would gladly pay the extra $50 to benefit from all those things when shooting 22. When all is said and done, it was way cheaper to do it with a bolt than have to buy a second set of gear for a separate rifle.