I’ve seen movies where they duct tape a 20oz soft drink bottle to the end of a handgun, and it works like a silencer. Anybody ever tried this…does it work in real life?

Real life is overrated. I’ve used a 2 liter bottle using mil-spec duct tape and ammo on a 22 cal rifle with accuracy. Of course I’m just a peckerwood that lives in the hills with too many guns!

Very few things, if anything, you see in a movie are true.

Well I would never do it because it's illegal. But you can take one of these, fill it with spray foam, drill a half inch hole from end to end, then slip it over the muzzle and secure it with a hose clamp. I'm told it's quite (quiet) effective for a number of shots until the foam wears out.

It does damper them down quite a bit. In a 22 it makes the quieter for sure. But I wouldn’t do it you are shooting more than 2 or 3 foot.

Was this for executions or random street hood gun fights?

Very legit question! Anyway, I’ve seen a 20oz Faygo plastic bottle silence a 357.

What about using a pillow?

Excellent question!

A deflated balloon works

learned this the hard way... shot a squirrel that was bothering the dogs out of a window in my bedroom, tree was about 40 yards away, not factoring the sonic boom a high velocity 22lr makes on its way...because my ears were not ringing I could plainly hear the neighbor say was that a gun shot ?... LOL

My Pillows work best !

I don’t think .380 makes any noise. So try that.