Hill Republicans try to ease purchase of gun surpressors

Discussion in 'Gun Control' started by jackdog, Jan 15, 2017.

  1. jackdog

    jackdog Well-Known Member

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    never could quite grasp why they were made illegal to begin with. Most European countries with much stricter gun control laws than the USA have no restrictions whatsoever. As the article points out they are obatainable in the USA just need to get a $200 permit for each one from the Feds and have a gun capable of mounting it already. I have 3 suppressor ready guns ( threaded barrels) myself but have never bothered with obtaining one simply because of the expense and don't really have the need or desire. I can see where they would be useful however if I di not have access to a rural dedicated gun range.

    As far as criminal activity I can't see where they would contribute because of the extra length it would be harder to conceal and the noise reduction is minimal unless you are using sub sonic ammo

    Hill Republicans try to ease purchase of gun 'silencer

    Congressional Republicans are trying to change federal guns regulations to make buying a silencer, or suppressor, easier. But critics don’t agree with the argument that the proposed legislation is a safety measure to prevent hearing injuries.

    The Hearing Protection Act, introduced earlier this week in the GOP-controlled House and Senate, if passed, would still require a background check to buy a silencer, which muffles or suppresses more than silences the sound of a shot.

    However, buyers would no longer have to pay a $200 fee or wait for months after filing extensive paperwork with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

    “I’ve been shooting since I was a young child -- beginning with plinking with a .22 rifle and dove hunting with my Dad. My hearing has been damaged because of gun noise,” South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan said Monday after introducing the bill in the House with Texas Rep. John Carter, a fellow Republican.

    “Had I had access to a suppressor, it may have protected me, as well as millions of other Americans, from this sort of hearing loss. This is a health issue,” Duncan continued.

    The National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm supports the measures, saying suppressors are “harmless and very rarely used in crime” and that the joint bill would end the “cumbersome and lengthy application process.”
     
  2. Small Town Guy

    Small Town Guy Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hollywood is the answer to your question....and their portrayal scared the crude out of the uninformed so Viola they made stupid laws.
     
  3. Xenamnes

    Xenamnes Banned

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    Suppressors were included in the national firearms act long before television, or movies with sound, were widely available to the public. The sole purpose for their inclusion with the act in the first place, was for the purpose of generating revenue for the federal government. It is the same reason the standard "any other weapon" was codified into the act.
     
  4. Texan

    Texan Well-Known Member

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    I may have to include threaded barrels in future purchases. Do they make orange thread protectors?:roflol:
     
  5. Zorro

    Zorro Well-Known Member

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    Good idea. It's very easy to bring a rifle shot down to the OSHA sound threshold limits, and of course, shooters should be free to do so. I support the Hunters Hearing Preservation Act.
     
  6. QLB

    QLB Well-Known Member

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    No, but I'll paint one for you.
     
  7. 10A

    10A Chief Deplorable Past Donor

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    The real reason suppressors were banned in the NFA was because of the depression. Poachers were using suppressors to more quietly nab food. They weren't poaching game, they were poaching livestock off farms.

    Of course any supersonic bullet is going to make noise, but people were poaching at night and hoping they didn't wake up the farmer before they could get the meat back to their hovel. Probably most of them used a .22 LR (cheap ammo) and if it was subsonic would be pretty quiet. You can easily kill a cow with a .22 at point blank range between the eyes.
     
  8. Turtledude

    Turtledude Well-Known Member Donor

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    game wardens were upset that people who poached deer during the depression usually beat state raps when the juries and judges were made up of people from the community. The inclusion of suppressors on the 1934 NFA made them too expensive for most people and allowed game wardens to threaten poachers who used them with federal courts and draconian sentences
     
  9. jackdog

    jackdog Well-Known Member

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    that is interesting and makes total sense
     
  10. slackercruster

    slackercruster Banned

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    OP...good. They are not the magic silencers like on the movies. If you put one on a 5.56 it make it 'almost tolerable' with no ear protection. If you put one on a ..22 auto and hold the slide shut and use low velocity it may sound like a loud cap gun. They work the best on a bolt action .22 with low velocity ammo. Otherwise they just protect your ears a little by reducing the report.
     
  11. jackdog

    jackdog Well-Known Member

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    yeah, a couple of guys at our club have them. A .22 auto pistol with sub sonic ammo is about as loud as a competition air rifle. I just bought a Savage FCP-SR which has a threaded barrel but even if I did not have to get a license I doubt I would spend the money on one
     
  12. whinot

    whinot Banned

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    you've never seen a good .22lr "can" if you think that they are cap gun loud. Mine sound like a BB gun, as long as the load is subsonic and the bolt is held shut. you can hear the gun "dryfire" and you can hear the bullet hit the target. I once demoed one in my closet (sandbag) while my gf was doing the dishes (around the alcove) and she never heard it. I know cause she'd have raised hell if she did! :)

    If they are legalized, I promise to sell them for $150 retail, including what you need to thread the barrel, no front sight relocation is needed. My method works with .22's which have a slide covering the barrel, too. I'll also include the tool needed for forming new baffles. So you can charge all your buddies $20 each to thread their barrels (takes 5 minutes, a drill and a vise) and quickly make enough money that you'll be able to always sell the can at a profit.
     
  13. Battle3

    Battle3 Well-Known Member

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    They were included in the NFA passed in 1934 because the government thought poachers would use suppressors. It had nothing to do with public safety. This was during the Great Depression, people were trying to feed their families, which apparently is something the government did not like.
     
  14. whinot

    whinot Banned

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    well, having a truly quiet gun IS tempting at times. :) I happen to know a guy who had all his life wanted to pop a squirrel in a public park. When he finally got an integrally suppressed .22 Ruger, he did so.
     

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