Other [SOLVED] The Forbidden Trigger Pull - A Question for the Community

[Bernie7]

Okay…. I want to try something but I’m hoping someone has already done this and can give me an idea of what to expect.

I want to do a ‘dry fire’ (obviously no ammo) of a big bore at full pressure in an apartment to perform a test.

Obviously I can’t do this without suppression. Here’s my question- Has anyone wrapped an airgun in a heavy comforter or wrapped it in blankets and pulled the trigger and did it almost entirely muffle it or was it still extremely loud/where on the spectrum did it fall? Also don’t worry, I’ll make sure to record it & get decided level if I wind up doing it and share with the community

 

[L.Leon]

Yikes! Dry fire a big bore airgun in an apartment? Sure turn up the stereo…

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

My 25 pushing 55 fpe isn't too loud if you bury the muzzle into a foam cushion. I'm sure it would be quiet if you also coveted it with the comforter. I don't know what size big bore ya got, but the bigger the bore, the louder the pop!

DEFINITELY wear ear pro.

 

[Rich_B]

I’ve found that the couch cushion does a great job with my .25 Condor, but that’s as big as I have. Maybe the couch cushion and the comforter will suffice with your big bore. Good luck.

 

[Rob_in_NC]

Putting a big bore airgun against a couch cushion is likely a great way to blow a nice hole in the cushion. To keep out of trouble with SWMBO, I would suggest doing the UNDERSIDE of the cushion.
Those big bores push a lot of air. Be careful.

 

[JimNM]

Hehe .... Do it in your car with the windows rolled up, for full effect.

Neighbors have the right to be annoyed by unknown explosive sounds. You may get a visit from the Police. Seriously, there has got to be a better place to do it than in an apartment.

 

[IndyDurtdigger]

My .45 has a report not much quieter than a mild .38 special load fired from a rifle barrel, crack isn't as sharp but noise level is similar. Knowing from military experience that a firearm report discharged in an enclosed space is amplified by the surrounding walls even if dampened or suppressed. I wouldn't.

 

[Motorhead]

The sheer QUANTITY of air being released may very well rip apart weak fabrics if up against muzzle ... Don't be stupid and get yourself in landlord trouble !!

 

[Bernie7]

Greatly appreciate the feedback from the community. Think I’ll pass based on everyone’s input but would love to perform this as an experiment the next time I can take a trip to the farm so I can collect some data and post results. I’ll do it with progressively more material and different types to see if there’s a plateau and which fabric density works the best.

Marking this SOLVED

 

[OldSpook]

Hehe .... Do it in your car with the windows rolled up, for full effect.

Neighbors have the right to be annoyed by unknown explosive sounds. You may get a visit from the Police. Seriously, there has got to be a better place to do it than in an apartment.

ROFLMAO ~~ Memory Lane Here We Come ~~

San Angelo, 1981, Alice Street Rental Property, SFC Erskine has bought his very first CVA Black Powder rifle. It's a .50 Mountain Rifle. It's a kit rifle and needs a new hammer spring so got rebuilt. I'm loving every minute and decide Step-Dad should have this rifle. Step Dad lives in Virginia which is brushy country and me thinks, I should cut this 32 inch barrel back 10 inches to lighten the rifle before I send it to him and while I'm in there I should clean out the breech plug and check the breech since the gun was bought used at a gun show.

Tear the rifle down, do the cutting clean things up and put a new hot brown finish on things. Rifle is ready to ship but hain't been proofed Pay attention now this is where it gets fun No really. How am I gonna test this thing? Ok I'll put it in a vice in the cinder block garage and stack up a pile of 4x4s against the back wall! That'll work! So ... But what charge would be a good test charge? Well, a double charge with two balls should do it! Nobody would ever load three charges by mistake! So yeah 200 grains of Pyrodex RS with two 170 grain .490 balls on top. THAT'S the ticket.

But how to set this thing off. If it explodes you don't want to be in there. I know! Close everything up nice and tight and run a long run of fishing line out side the shop!

About three minutes later the neighbor across the 4 lane street is standing on her front porch looking up and down the street trying to figure out what she just heard. I'm hiding in the house watching her. She goes into her house and I scurry out to the garage. I lift the garage door and this cloud rolls out! Looks like there was a THUNDER STORM in the garage! The barrel is still in the vice but the vice was attached to a table which is flipped over backwards. Barrel is ok so no worries there. Two lead balls went through TWO 4x4s a cinder block wall and into a pile of lumber behind the garage never to be seen again! Awesome! And to top it off the neighbors never figured out what it was! No flashy lights came to the house.

As a side note, that now 6 pound fifty caliber rifle was soon nicknamed "The Mule". It could burn 60 grains of Pyrodex RS under that 170 grain ball for 1650 fps and just a bit over 1000 fpe. but when you wanted to show someone why it was called the mule you'd load it with 90 grains of RS and a 370 grain maxi-ball. Uncle Tom didn't think much of that experience but he's the one that said the rifle didn't kick much...


Still have that rifle and it still puts three on a playing card at 50 yards with the irons.

 

[HogKiller]

Today's term of 'dry fire', drain the air and THEN hit the bang switch. If all you want to do is test the trigger pull this is the way to do it IMHO, works on my Mavericks, no issues with the valves that I can see.

 

[longdog]

ROFLMAO ~~ Memory Lane Here We Come ~~

San Angelo, 1981, Alice Street Rental Property, SFC Erskine has bought his very first CVA Black Powder rifle. It's a .50 Mountain Rifle. It's a kit rifle and needs a new hammer spring so got rebuilt. I'm loving every minute and decide Step-Dad should have this rifle. Step Dad lives in Virginia which is brushy country and me thinks, I should cut this 32 inch barrel back 10 inches to lighten the rifle before I send it to him and while I'm in there I should clean out the breech plug and check the breech since the gun was bought used at a gun show.

Tear the rifle down, do the cutting clean things up and put a new hot brown finish on things. Rifle is ready to ship but hain't been proofed Pay attention now this is where it gets fun No really. How am I gonna test this thing? Ok I'll put it in a vice in the cinder block garage and stack up a pile of 4x4s against the back wall! That'll work! So ... But what charge would be a good test charge? Well, a double charge with two balls should do it! Nobody would ever load three charges by mistake! So yeah 200 grains of Pyrodex RS with two 170 grain .490 balls on top. THAT'S the ticket.

But how to set this thing off. If it explodes you don't want to be in there. I know! Close everything up nice and tight and run a long run of fishing line out side the shop!

About three minutes later the neighbor across the 4 lane street is standing on her front porch looking up and down the street trying to figure out what she just heard. I'm hiding in the house watching her. She goes into her house and I scurry out to the garage. I lift the garage door and this cloud rolls out! Looks like there was a THUNDER STORM in the garage! The barrel is still in the vice but the vice was attached to a table which is flipped over backwards. Barrel is ok so no worries there. Two lead balls went through TWO 4x4s a cinder block wall and into a pile of lumber behind the garage never to be seen again! Awesome! And to top it off the neighbors never figured out what it was! No flashy lights came to the house.

As a side note, that now 6 pound fifty caliber rifle was soon nicknamed "The Mule". It could burn 60 grains of Pyrodex RS under that 170 grain ball for 1650 fps and just a bit over 1000 fpe. but when you wanted to show someone why it was called the mule you'd load it with 90 grains of RS and a 370 grain maxi-ball. Uncle Tom didn't think much of that experience but he's the one that said the rifle didn't kick much...


Still have that rifle and it still puts three on a playing card at 50 yards with the irons.

Cool story.
Did that happen in San Angelo Texas?
I‘m from there and still live here.

 

[superchikn]

I've done something like what OP is looking for. I have fired my AEA Challenger bullpup into a stack of hunting coats and other materials. The gun is a 357 at 190+ FPE. this was with factory shroud and baffles, muzzle pushed firmly into the pile of fabrics.
I did this in my basement a few times. It is a long way from quiet but the gun has a heck of a bark with the muzzle unhindered.

The sound certainly carried through my walls, and SWMBO heard it on the next floor up.

I did not wrap the gun in blankets or anything else. Hope this helps.

 

[Bernie7]

ROFLMAO ~~ Memory Lane Here We Come ~~

San Angelo, 1981, Alice Street Rental Property, SFC Erskine has bought his very first CVA Black Powder rifle. It's a .50 Mountain Rifle. It's a kit rifle and needs a new hammer spring so got rebuilt. I'm loving every minute and decide Step-Dad should have this rifle. Step Dad lives in Virginia which is brushy country and me thinks, I should cut this 32 inch barrel back 10 inches to lighten the rifle before I send it to him and while I'm in there I should clean out the breech plug and check the breech since the gun was bought used at a gun show.

Tear the rifle down, do the cutting clean things up and put a new hot brown finish on things. Rifle is ready to ship but hain't been proofed Pay attention now this is where it gets fun No really. How am I gonna test this thing? Ok I'll put it in a vice in the cinder block garage and stack up a pile of 4x4s against the back wall! That'll work! So ... But what charge would be a good test charge? Well, a double charge with two balls should do it! Nobody would ever load three charges by mistake! So yeah 200 grains of Pyrodex RS with two 170 grain .490 balls on top. THAT'S the ticket.

But how to set this thing off. If it explodes you don't want to be in there. I know! Close everything up nice and tight and run a long run of fishing line out side the shop!

About three minutes later the neighbor across the 4 lane street is standing on her front porch looking up and down the street trying to figure out what she just heard. I'm hiding in the house watching her. She goes into her house and I scurry out to the garage. I lift the garage door and this cloud rolls out! Looks like there was a THUNDER STORM in the garage! The barrel is still in the vice but the vice was attached to a table which is flipped over backwards. Barrel is ok so no worries there. Two lead balls went through TWO 4x4s a cinder block wall and into a pile of lumber behind the garage never to be seen again! Awesome! And to top it off the neighbors never figured out what it was! No flashy lights came to the house.

As a side note, that now 6 pound fifty caliber rifle was soon nicknamed "The Mule". It could burn 60 grains of Pyrodex RS under that 170 grain ball for 1650 fps and just a bit over 1000 fpe. but when you wanted to show someone why it was called the mule you'd load it with 90 grains of RS and a 370 grain maxi-ball. Uncle Tom didn't think much of that experience but he's the one that said the rifle didn't kick much...


Still have that rifle and it still puts three on a playing card at 50 yards with the irons.

You should’ve walked out the garage, looked at your neighbor and yelled, “What the fck was that bang!?!? Did you see something?”

 

[Bernie7]

I've done something like what OP is looking for. I have fired my AEA Challenger bullpup into a stack of hunting coats and other materials. The gun is a 357 at 190+ FPE. this was with factory shroud and baffles, muzzle pushed firmly into the pile of fabrics.
I did this in my basement a few times. It is a long way from quiet but the gun has a heck of a bark with the muzzle unhindered.

The sound certainly carried through my walls, and SWMBO heard it on the next floor up.

I did not wrap the gun in blankets or anything else. Hope this helps.

This is actually exactly what I was curious about, I’m still not going to do it but on a theoretical level I wonder if there’s any (feasible) quantity of fabric that can heavily suppress such a massive volume of expanding air. Thank you for sharing your experience

 

[Privateer]

Fired off the .50 cal Evanix Sniper in the house 1 time. No ammo of course.
I've never seen my cats run that fast before or since! And I'm not real sure they didn't just teleport somewhere.
The cats still run and hide anytime I pull a gun out.

 

[Bernie7]

Fired off the .50 cal Evanix Sniper in the house 1 time. No ammo of course.
I've never seen my cats run that fast before or since! And I'm not real sure they didn't just teleport somewhere.
The cats still run and hide anytime I pull a gun out.

Not the 4 legged furballs

Was this an AD/ND? Or were you doing some type of suppression testing?

 

[bigHUN]

I just replaced the gauge on my .22 Reg and had to do couple dry shots in my basement 11 a clock in the evening. Pushed the muzzle into couple older pillows hard folded on a couch cushion ... every shot sank deeper the muzzle but I didn't gave up the pressure The pillow spot is a bit softer now but the bark was not really aggressive ...

 

[Privateer]

Just cocked it and pulled the trigger. I got a DonnyFL Emporer for it after that.

 

[OldSpook]

Cool story.
Did that happen in San Angelo Texas?
I‘m from there and still live here.

Yes, sir. I was an instructor at the school on GAFB.