Like those Marlin .22 magazines that say on the package "Magazine clip", just so those assholes who adamantly say clip have some unfair leverage on the argument. I too hate that.

Well, it's not necessarily wrong to do so, just that "silencer" as a name for a can leads people to think of the magic Hollywood "thing that makes a gun silent" as opposed to the real "thing that makes a gun more silent that it would otherwise be." Suppressor is more or less just an attempt to make a name people find it harder to misinterpret.

Wasn't that what the creator of the first suppressor called it, though?

Hiram Maxim called his the "Maxim Silencer."

That is true, and I believe the whole thing comes from the fact that few sound suppressing devices actually make a gun's report completely slient.

the first time I've heard a REAL suppressor fired, I was surprised by the still semi loud sound, but still had the confidence to keep my ears off.

You'll notice though that when ballistic analysts check firearms with suppressors in indoor ranges, they still wear hearing protection. That's because if the suppressor fails, they are going deaf.

I was outside the first time I heard suppressors. In the indoor range, the only other suppressed weapon I saw was a Walther P22. this was also the place I first got a feel for a Sten gun

I just calmly refer them to this page. :P

BTW: I'm new to the forum too, but I've been around the main site for a while.

I've favorited it. Now if someone messes that up again, I can draw that site like a gun. :D