Baffle

A baffle is one of the angled cones or flat walls stacked inside a suppressor, each one carving off a portion of the high-pressure gas that follows the bullet out of the bore. By forcing that gas to expand, swirl, and shed heat before it reaches open air, the stack of baffles drops the muzzle report and tames the sharp crack that a bare muzzle produces.

Baffle geometry is the heart of how well any silencer performs, and designs range from simple stamped cones to machined clipped baffles that redirect gas back on itself. In an integral suppressor the baffle stack surrounds the barrel itself, while a conventional can threads on like any other muzzle device and can be moved between rifles.