CROSSBOWS.
The argument for them, is what if you're sneaking around and you need to kill a guard quietly? Bullets and guns are loud but a Crossbow is completely silent.
1 Crossbows are loud
Banana Ballistics put out this video:
The take away seems to be that Crossbows are actually pretty loud, and the off the shelf model he uses puts out about 74 Db, which is about the same as the 73Db that his silenced rifle put out.
I also found this site which talks about crossbows: https://www.crossbownation.com/threads/list-of-crossbow-silencing-methods.134221/ and the take away is that Crossbows can easily hit up to 100Db.
I imagine the major sources of noise would be the arms of the crossbow itself as they move, and the arrow itself traveling through the air. The Crossbow nation site already talks about some methods for silencing a crossbow. You would want to reduce unnecessary vibration in the weapon, and there is a lot right after firing. Adding dampening material like soundproofing foam would help with that. String bumpers help with reducing the noise of the string itself.
People also seem to say that heavier arrows help, likely because it would slow everything down compared to a lighter weight arrow. Perhaps you could also adjust the arrow's geometry to be quieter. The fins on the back move air and would add to the noise output for example.
2 Crossbows aren't more deadly than bullets
Also from the video:
The arrow and the subsonic bullet also penetrate through ballistic gel about the same amount when shooting through about half an inch of wood. There might be some additional specifics here about just how things move through other things, but it doesn't appear that one is noticeably worse than the other baring using some kind of exploding crossbow bolt.
The argument for them, is what if you're sneaking around and you need to kill a guard quietly? Bullets and guns are loud but a Crossbow is completely silent.
1 Crossbows are loud
Banana Ballistics put out this video:
The take away seems to be that Crossbows are actually pretty loud, and the off the shelf model he uses puts out about 74 Db, which is about the same as the 73Db that his silenced rifle put out.
I also found this site which talks about crossbows: https://www.crossbownation.com/threads/list-of-crossbow-silencing-methods.134221/ and the take away is that Crossbows can easily hit up to 100Db.
I imagine the major sources of noise would be the arms of the crossbow itself as they move, and the arrow itself traveling through the air. The Crossbow nation site already talks about some methods for silencing a crossbow. You would want to reduce unnecessary vibration in the weapon, and there is a lot right after firing. Adding dampening material like soundproofing foam would help with that. String bumpers help with reducing the noise of the string itself.
People also seem to say that heavier arrows help, likely because it would slow everything down compared to a lighter weight arrow. Perhaps you could also adjust the arrow's geometry to be quieter. The fins on the back move air and would add to the noise output for example.
2 Crossbows aren't more deadly than bullets
Also from the video: