Would you be willing to help me with a poll about using suppressors for hunting?

[TC260]

For the cost and hoops you jump through to get one, I really doubt one would see an increase in poaching.

Absolutely. Same deal as the concealed carry license holders. The anti's scream that crime will go through the roof if they issue permits but nothing happens because only honest law abiding citizens go through the permitting process so it's a non-issue.

Traditional hunting or hunting-What is it?

Traditonal hunting? A loin cloth and a wooden spear made with stone tools ;D

 

[GSRswapandslow]

legal hoops to jump through? hardly...

suppressors are EXTREMELY easy to get...especially in free states like NC.

1. Setup a trust...cost = $0 time = 10 min plus time to have it notarized
2. Purchase supperssor from your choice of NFA dealers...if it's in stock, sweet...if not, wait a week or 3 on the Form 3 transfer
3. Can comes in....make a $200 check to the BATFE, Fill out 2x Form 4, hand all to your NFA dealer
4. Wait 5 months
5. Pick up can, fill out 4473 with no call in as a non-firearm transfer
6. Throw away hearing protection and figure out the next can to buy

if you like being complicated...you can do a sheriff signature, it's almost as easy...but you have to fill out duplicates for your citizenship form and also have two finger print cards made and two passport (2"x2") photos made....get that to your NFA dealer and have him fill in your Can info and his dealer info....go meet with the sherriff or acting CLEO and get his signature/stamp.....and THEN you wait.


There's NOTHING complicated about getting a Suppressor....or SBR....or SBS....or machinegun...just takes a little time and a little money.

 

[JRS]

Sure wish we could have them in Ca
As long as the 3 twits remain in office here, it'll never happen.

 

[AP2020]

YES!


I wish they would allow suppressors in Ohio....I do use ear protection when groundhoggin'.....kinda weird...being in "nature" and having your hearing suppressed by them ear plugs!!!

 

[SEB-USA]

I wish a had a 30 cal. can to let you shoot one of my 6.5's or 7mm's specialty pistols from 500-1200 yards

 

[Mr. Ten-X]

Having shot "hundreds" of deer with sound suppressors for both urban and rural deer control (.22lr. .22WRM, .223, .243Win, .308Win), I assure you that the ballistic signature of the bullet still makes animals anywhere near the intended target do exactly the same thing had there not been a suppressor used. They will generally take flight. Not always, but a very, very high percentage of the time. This is particularly true if the animals have been through this routine before. The faster the bullet, the larger the caliber and the farther the bullet travels, the louder that ballistic signature...all things otherwise equal.

Does it offer an advantage to the hunter? Yes, but only because the muzzle concussion won't be blowing your ears out and it won't spook animals nearly as far away from the scene of the action because there isn't as much of the muzzle noise that frightens them. Make no mistake though, there is no question to anyone else in the area that this is a rifle being fired. Even from the best sound suppressors available, the ballistic crack of a .223/5.56 bullet sounds like a 22LR - 22WRM being fired. It simply won't be recognized as rifle fire quite as far.

I use an integral suppressor for small game hunting (AWC ULTRA II) because it does not alert big game animals to my activities and I can bowhunt the same parcel of land later in the day after squirrel hunting. The loudest sound from the rifle is the bullet impacting on a squirrel's head.

See no reason to ban their use for hunting deer or other game because after you have been around them in hunting situations a spell, you will see that they do not give one some magical ability to wipe out a standing herd as one might imagine. That supersonic bullet still makes one heck of a crack and the sound travels a long ways.

 

[Bodei]

Yes for non-game.
No for big game.

 

[4xforfun]

I love my Leica 1600 rangefinder and 6-24X56mm long range scopes with target turrets and BDC reticles, but a supressor just seems like it's going a little too far with fairness to the animals we hunt. I know all about the sonic boom a bullet makes from working the pits in 1000 yard BR competition in Missoula, MT. But that bullet won't make a sound if it shoots high over the back of an animal on flat ground in the middle of a field with no back drop. That sound comes from the air disturbance behind the bullet suddenly meeting a vertical surface as provided by the large targets and the back drops behind the targets in competition shooting. With an animal positioned on the right terrain in a hunting situation a sonic boom can certainly occur, but not all situations are the same.


Anyhow, I Thank you all for this excellent discussion

I call BS!!!! I have on many occasions stood (sat actually) in an open, FLAT field on my range about 100- 200 yards short of a target...maybe a few feet to the side... watching the impacts on target on a cardboard box...hardly a "large target"....with a spotting scope and radioing the shots back to the shooter. I can tell you one thing for sure...you sure in hell can hear the sonic crack of the bullets overhead...sounds just like it does in the pits. And the sound of the gun...a non suppressed gun....is barley noticeable. Also....if you are sending bullets "high over the back of an animal", I don't care how suppressed the gun is or how loud the sonic crack is.....If you are missing by that much, a suppressor ain't gonna help.

 

[ChrisNZ]

..

I call BS!!!! I have on many occasions stood (sat actually) in an open, FLAT field on my range about 100- 200 yards short of a target...maybe a few feet to the side... watching the impacts on target on a cardboard box...hardly a "large target"....with a spotting scope and radioing the shots back to the shooter. I can tell you one thing for sure...you sure in hell can hear the sonic crack of the bullets overhead...sounds just like it does in the pits. ..

+1 on the same experience ( well I was hiding in a large ditch..)
Try it if you don't believe us

Chris-NZ

 

[mr45man]

LOL
The "sonic boom" radiates out in all directions from the bullet as it is nothing more than a wave of compressed air .

You here it because the compressed air enters your ear canal
Nothing to do with vertical surface, targets, or any thing else.
Think about it.
John H.

 

[Minesweeper3433]

All this talk about humane hunting. First they aren't humans and second you are going out to kill an animal to fill your freezer with meet to keep your family and friends and maybe pets well fed. I see no reason to not be able to use my suppressors while hunting. Hunting is in the end going to the supermarket by way of natures intent. No reason to not take advantage of what safety measures technology has to offer. I am up to 3 suppressors and yes they are easy to get, very easy. That is of course as long as you are a law abiding citizen of the United States of America. I have a friend that can't get them because of some stupid mistakes he made 45 years ago as a kid.

 

[JabaliHunter]

Suppressors (or as we call them 'sound moderators') are very popular for hunting in the UK. This all started with Health and Safety at Work legislation which required employers to provide hearing protection for workers exposed to noise above specified decibel levels. In factories and construction industries, this means ear defenders (muffs); in the land industries, forest rangers tasked with deer control in commercial forestry or game keepers tasked with controlling foxes and vermin were provided with sound moderators. They proved a useful tool, as hunting with bulky ear defenders which prevent you from hearing ambient noise is not very practical and so also became popular with recreational hunters/shooters too.

Don't be fooled by the Hollywood representation in the movies. They are NOT 'silencers' - you still get the bang, you still get the super-sonic crack and you still get the relatively minor noise of the bullet strike. I can see no reason why it would be considered unethical or unsporting; just a sensible and practical way of protecting your hearing. The only disadvantage is adding 3+ inches to the barrel length.

 

[284driver]

I love my Leica 1600 rangefinder and 6-24X56mm long range scopes with target turrets and BDC reticles, but a supressor just seems like it's going a little too far with fairness to the animals we hunt. I know all about the sonic boom a bullet makes from working the pits in 1000 yard BR competition in Missoula, MT. But that bullet won't make a sound if it shoots high over the back of an animal on flat ground in the middle of a field with no back drop. That sound comes from the air disturbance behind the bullet suddenly meeting a vertical surface as provided by the large targets and the back drops behind the targets in competition shooting. With an animal positioned on the right terrain in a hunting situation a sonic boom can certainly occur, but not all situations are the same.


Anyhow, I Thank you all for this excellent discussion

I call BS!!!! I have on many occasions stood (sat actually) in an open, FLAT field on my range about 100- 200 yards short of a target...maybe a few feet to the side... watching the impacts on target on a cardboard box...hardly a "large target"....with a spotting scope and radioing the shots back to the shooter. I can tell you one thing for sure...you sure in hell can hear the sonic crack of the bullets overhead...sounds just like it does in the pits. And the sound of the gun...a non suppressed gun....is barley noticeable. Also....if you are sending bullets "high over the back of an animal", I don't care how suppressed the gun is or how loud the sonic crack is.....If you are missing by that much, a suppressor ain't gonna help.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_86hq6kvLvE

Exactly... still loud

 

[Macs]

@ xphunter, I have several cans one can try if so desired. @BigDMT, If you are so inclined you can come to my range and I'll shoot over you at ranges as far as 3275 yards and I promise you will hear the sonic crack. In most cases you will hear the crack followed by the report of the weapon, yes even supressed. Thanks to all that helped with the poll and GOD BLESS.