[tortoise]

The advantage of using a suppressor over a silencer is that full-power ammo can be used, giving the gunman the full range and power of the rifle. The sonic boom created by the bullet isn't as loud as the muzzle blast, and it doesn't give away the position of the shooter.

Very true. Because the sound of a suppressed supersonic bullet actually has a linear source rather than being a point source like a normal muzzle blast, smart and experienced shooters can make the supersonic suppressed bullet sound like it is coming from a point source anywhere along the bullet path. Basically bullet ventriloquism. If the bullet passes very near a reflective surface (such as a rock, concrete surface, or even a tree), a person not very close to the bullet trajectory will "hear" the bullet come from the reflector, perpendicular to the actual bullet trajectory. This effect is usually lost below the noise floor in an unsuppressed shot, but in a suppressed supersonic shot it becomes the primary sound.

Good snipers know these tricks, and will use them.

[FreeTheHostages]

Thanks. This I didn't know. Good to learn.