I remember back in the old days of M98Center, there was a thread about cutting out the body slits and how, and this is my question, doing so reduced the sound signature of the M98.
Anyone try this and notice a sound difference? My Dark Shocker has similar slots cut out in the area where the can is, and it's considered by all my friendly targets to be more quiet than other shockers, and not just as a result of barrel porting etc.

ahh but yet that was a shocker

i really dont think that you can quite down a 98 at all (a tippmann at that)
and are you talking about the gills? ribs? slits i guess?
that would be on the out side of the body so i would see it quieting down
but hey i could be wrong

__________________

i've heard of people saying that a rocket cock will make the marker somewhat quieter. Also putting heatshrink tubing on the drive spring should have some effect (haven't tried it).

personally I noticed on my 98 that when I covered the cocking hole it became a bit quieter, albeit i did it for looks.

yeh Arson, it's a shocker so it's already a lot quieter, but I'm not so much comparing it's sound to the m98s as thinking of the theoretic practice of cutting slots in the body and how that might affect the projected sound. A big thing in this thinking is that I can hear the gun shooting, but my targets hear less if anything (depending on how far they are). Back in the day Armson made this barrel called the Venturi Barrel, which was ported with vents aimed back at the shooter. It sounded loud, but to the targets it wasn't as loud!
The vents I mean are the slots on the side just behind the feedneck. I remember seeing the mod on how to cut through those slots to make it 'see-through'.
Covering the cocking slot makes sense as a sound dampening method since the blowback gas and sound would exit that way.

You could get a rear cocking kit, and then drill a lot of small holes in the sides of the clamshells, starting from where the existing bolt cutout is, and working back. Then you could place insulation or padding over the holes to make it quieter.

__________________
found on the a5 og

a rocket cock does actually help..plus it will keep dirt from entering inside of your tippmann. I say try out a rocketcock..my preferred is a dead on rocketcock II which are harder to come by but search for one online. Should be able to get one for cheap.

Couldn't that seriously damage the range of the gun?

__________________
He who created the ten foot rule is stupid. -Confucius

it shouldn't because the co2 would only get out after the bolt has been recocked. its the same principal as the stock bolt cutout for venting gas, but instead of one big cut, there are many small holes.

__________________
found on the a5 og

Personally, I kind of like the noise Nothing better then to catch an unsuspecting group and just lay out the loud fire making everyone scramble for a safe spot!

__________________
SHMEEE!!!

personally i think that most of the sound emitted from a marker is the "pop" from the barrel as the air leaves the barrel behind the ball. To lower that sound you should look to barrel porting, airpressure and making some kind of suppressor (in case that is legal at your location) or shroud like on the bt tm-15 (essentially a reflex suppressor).

but let's look at your idea from another perspective. Think of your marker as a house where there is a party. Will opening more windows and doors make the sound louder or quieter for the people outside?.