Smiths need this, for checking guns that need or have had, repairs. It saves many hours of travel to the range, if you have no indoor range as part of your shop. For wheeler-dealers at gun shows, it can be done in your van, in the parking lot, after paying the prospective seller to accompany you to your vehicle, so you don't buy a lemon, or at least, don't pay too much for it. Dealers can use this to test used guns before buying, or confirm a problem alleged by a customer, or to test reloads for reliaiblity, and so on.
Get a length of thick walled, steel tubing, perhaps 6"-8" OD, about 3-4 ft long. Get a 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 2/3rds full of gravel. Put some rags atop the gravel, to keep rock dust out of the gun barrel when you fire. Put one end of the tubing down into the bucket. For less awkward firing, first tip the bucket towards you, about 45 degrees. Across the other (topmost) end of the tubing, stretch a piece of neoprene "rubber" , from a truck tire inner tube. Twist a wire around the outside of the tubing, near this "top end" of the tube, so that the rubber is held stretched tight across the tubing, like a drum head. Cut a 1.5" long slit into the center of the rubber, insert the gun barrel and fire. That much gravel will stop 3006 softpoints and 12 ga slugs, guys. The sound will be a quiet "woommm" sort of noise. For revolvers, tho, something else must be done, because the flashgap between the rear of the barrel and front of the cylinder will let out a lot of noise. So you will have to have an old towel, a big, fluffy one, to wrap around the gun at the flashgap. Wrap it repeatedly around the gun, not just once, using the entire towel. You will also have to either hold the towel in place with leather gloves on your hand in case there is a high temp gas leak), or tie the towel in place with a bow knot and cord. Jam the towel tightly up against the rubber on the tubing end, of course, or the shot will be loud.
No, this is not a silencer, under the law, because it is not attached to the gun, nor is it intended to be so attached, nor is it easily converted to be attached, or practical to carry around with the gun.
Get a length of thick walled, steel tubing, perhaps 6"-8" OD, about 3-4 ft long. Get a 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 2/3rds full of gravel. Put some rags atop the gravel, to keep rock dust out of the gun barrel when you fire. Put one end of the tubing down into the bucket. For less awkward firing, first tip the bucket towards you, about 45 degrees. Across the other (topmost) end of the tubing, stretch a piece of neoprene "rubber" , from a truck tire inner tube. Twist a wire around the outside of the tubing, near this "top end" of the tube, so that the rubber is held stretched tight across the tubing, like a drum head. Cut a 1.5" long slit into the center of the rubber, insert the gun barrel and fire. That much gravel will stop 3006 softpoints and 12 ga slugs, guys. The sound will be a quiet "woommm" sort of noise. For revolvers, tho, something else must be done, because the flashgap between the rear of the barrel and front of the cylinder will let out a lot of noise. So you will have to have an old towel, a big, fluffy one, to wrap around the gun at the flashgap. Wrap it repeatedly around the gun, not just once, using the entire towel. You will also have to either hold the towel in place with leather gloves on your hand in case there is a high temp gas leak), or tie the towel in place with a bow knot and cord. Jam the towel tightly up against the rubber on the tubing end, of course, or the shot will be loud.
No, this is not a silencer, under the law, because it is not attached to the gun, nor is it intended to be so attached, nor is it easily converted to be attached, or practical to carry around with the gun.