Totally off the wall question, which I realize probably isn't very meaningful, but I was watching a movie where a character was using a suppressed rifle. Looked like an AR/.223 (I assume).
Well it got me thinking - how much can a given gun be suppressed (decibel reduction) before performance is significantly reduced (I assume it must impact performance, even if just a little since it's attenuating sound waves, which are energy, but what do I know?).
I'm sure it varies by round/load, barrel length, etc, so let's assume a subsonic .223 round in a 14" barrel (is that a common lenth?). Or if you know a specific case that's fine too.
Surely there are reasons why a given suppressor is chosen for a specific use case, and I don't know enough to see that (diminishing returns for length/weight?)
I tried asking chatgpt, but it just returned generic suppressor info.
Also, utterly ignoring the noise question, the AR platform has been adapted for almost every caliber. There are straight-wall caliber ARs. I haven't yet seen one in .50 cal, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone showed me one.
Point is, you can never guess the caliber of an AR unless you're looking at old war footage.
Look up .50 Beowulf