Suppressors are commonsense safety devices. And yet there are those in government who would like to outlaw them for civilian use entirely.
Much of the military concern is about .50 sniper rifles. This is a weapon I was issued in the military, but I will no longer shoot one or be near someone shooting one unless it has a suppressor.
I can feel when something is affecting my brain. I imagine I am sensitive to it due to my existing injury. But .50 caliber rifles are not the only firearms that cause this effect for me.
I experience this when instructing or filming students who are shooting next to walls or in confined spaces, especially when the caliber is 5.56 with a 16″ or shorter barrel. The same is true when around a 16″ barreled .308, most severely with a brake or certain flash hiders.
I know people with Mausers or Mosin Nagants with short (as in 8″) barrels and I can be nowhere in proximity when they are fired. Magnum caliber rifles with muzzle brakes or various caliber rifles with certain brakes leave me feeling concussed.
One offender is very short AR-15s, which have widespread popularity. They are short, light, with low recoil, but shooting one is akin to having a flashbang go off in front of your face.
– Dylan Saunders in Can Shooting Cause Brain Damage? The Science, the Bad News, and the Solution