Suppressor--toy or tool?

[Mobuck]

Some of the comments about "shoot my [whatever] all day w/o ear protection" got me to thinking. During several discussions, I've noted that many posters indicate the use of suppressors as mainly a "range toy" with very little practical application. So the question is: How many actually use their suppressed firearms for real-life practical shooting?
I'm sort of in the pest control/nuisance animal removal business so the suppressors have a significant use niche. One of my primary tools is a suppressed 17HMR since it has enough power for bigger stuff at a noise level significantly less than an open 22. A big advantage is the critters don't know where the shot came from.
No kidding, I do like to hear the clinks when shooting the muffled 22's at the range gongs and being able to crack off a "scope check" shot with the .223 w/o ear plugs is advantageous. In actuality, most of my shooting(other than the 22's) is 1 to 3 shots unless I'm zeroing a scope.

[raimius]

I like my hearing, so they are PPE. (And used in conjunction with other ear pro)

[T. O'Heir]

They're toys considering how many years they were too evil for anybody to own(like up here), never mind actually hunt with, without any horrible results.
In the pest control/nuisance animal removal business there are far more reliable and less messy and less liability related methods than any kind of firearm.
"...the critters don't know where the shot came from..." Moot since they don't know or care where a shot came from with any firearm. A varmint isn't going to be shooting back either.
Kind of doubt your hearing will not be permanently damaged with even one shot of .223 with a suppressor and no ear defenders. One shot with a .22 LR will cause that. Suppressors are only 'silent 'in movies.

[Jim Watson]

From my viewpoint they are toys.
IDPA and NRA don't allow them in matches so a silencer would be of no use to me.

[Mobuck]

"In the pest control/nuisance animal removal business there are far more reliable and less messy and less liability related methods than any kind of firearm."
Maybe but few are as satisfying.

"...the critters don't know where the shot came from..." Moot since they don't know or care where a shot came from with any firearm. A varmint isn't going to be shooting back either.
It does make a big difference if the target animal(s) can't immediately determine the source of the sound as it often allows a follow-up shot to finish the job or to hit a second target.


"Kind of doubt your hearing will not be permanently damaged with even one shot of .223 with a suppressor and no ear defenders. One shot with a .22 LR will cause that."
FWIW My hearing is already permanently damaged but the use of a suppressor does reduce the effects of shooting w/o muffs.

[rickyrick]

I'd dang sure use the crap out of one if it was more convenient and less taboo. Especially for hunting. I think they should be promoted by the government not restricted

[Double Naught Spy]

Some of the comments about "shoot my [whatever] all day w/o ear protection" got me to thinking. During several discussions, I've noted that many posters indicate the use of suppressors as mainly a "range toy" with very little practical application.

I use mine multiple times a week for hunting. Definitely a tool.

Even if just for the range, it would be a tool, serving the function just like my muffs, which are not toys, either.

From my viewpoint they are toys.
IDPA and NRA don't allow them in matches so a silencer would be of no use to me.

So what you are saying is you can't bring special toys to the playground to use with your other toys?

[Chainsaw.]

I shoot in a small rifle league and participate in a few differnt rifle practices a month. Cans are as common as ball caps. And they are way nicer to be around. Plus Im sure the folks in the hood around the range appreciate them, even if they dont know it. Ill be having more eventually.

[Rangerrich99]

I would love to have one on my .30-'06. Or any of my rifles, for that matter. I think the first one I'd buy would go on my varmint rifle in .5.56 nato. I know a guy that has one on his, and from ten feet behind him, I don't really need ear protection.

And varmint control is supposed to be fun, not a chore.

[muzzleblast...]

I would like a suppressed .22 bolt gun for squirrel hunting. I may have to do something about that. Too late for this year's season, however.

[JoeSixpack]

I think they're tools, I don't understand the reason they're so restricted only thing I can think of is they've been associated with hitmen or something.

Much like switch blades and butterfly knife restrictions happen in a wave after 50's movies associated them with "youth gangs".

I mean for crap sake, if anything they should be encouraged as safety gear.
Most guns are not gonna be whisper quiet even with a suppressor.

I do not have one, not willing to jump thru hoops and pay money.
I did see someone with one at the range once.. it was on a threaded browning buckmark (22lr).
It was very quiet, you could still hear the action, but no report.

I've heard heavy for caliber 147gr in 9mm will also suppress to "action quiet" levels.
I once seen a custom Beretta 92, quick attach suppressor, and a lever that fit into slot on the slide to stop it from cycling, only hear the hammer fall on that puppy very slick.

but anytime you have a bullet going beyond the speed of sound you'll get at least some report from the sonic crack.
So you're not gonna take a 3k+ FPS .223 and make it whisper quiet, although it will still help to a degree.

If they ever lift the restrictions on them I'd but a few, But as it is now I'll probably never own one.

EDIT: I found a picture of the gun I was talking about.
http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/201...for-assassins/


Pretty damn slick.

[James K]

They should be just tools but the same "gangster" hysteria that gave us the original NFA, and subsequent "spy" and "assassin" stories, have made them "evil". There is now a push on to remove them from the NFA, but the Dems will go insane, though I suspect only a few of our "representatives" has ever seen one.

Jim

[jmorris]

None of mine are very fun to play catch with, sometimes much too hot to hold anyway.

Guess I'll go with "tool" on this one. That said I am a tool/toy kind of guy so the lines get pretty blurry.

Just because I use something doesn't automatically make it a tool and because I play with something doesn't automatically make it a toy.

I don't know I do have fun when I am shooting, not the "operator" type of guy...ok maybe they are "toys".

[FAS1]

A tool of course! Shhhhh......Don't wake the baby!

[weblance]

Mine is a tool. I HAD a groundhog problem. They were digging under my barn, digging under my front porch and destroying my garden. My wife has limited mobility, one day was out in the yard, stepped in a groundhog hole and fell. She couldn't get up, luckily I was home to help her. I went to war with the groundhogs that day. Since I have neighbors and didn't want to cause alarm, I started with CB ammo. That didn't work very well, as the GH would simply run off after a solid hit, to suffer and die. I bought a suppressor, had a 10/22 barrel threaded, and my groundhog problem has been corrected.

Mine definitely serves as a tool, but I will admit it has been a toy at times

[Elkins45]

It's not an either/or. Mine are both.

[Husqvarna]

tool

otherwise I kinda like a big bang

it is mostly for my dogs really, hard to put the peltors on them

I still use the biggest peltors when training even with the supp

when hunting I have active-in-ear

[TXAZ]

Tool. I have a .50 BMG Barrett with QDL suppressor, but considering it only cuts the blast by ~ 1/3, (and increases the kick) I'm not sure that really qualifies as a useful tool, but still a tool. There are other rifles where the suppressor does a much better job, and quite a few handguns where you don't hear the blast, only a whoosh.

[jpx2rk]

I don't have one, not willing to go thru the hassle right now, but maybe the hassle will go away in the near future. I like 'em at the range, one guy has a 338 Lapua and uses one on it. It is very pleasant to be on the next bench over, much more so than the guy with the 16" black rifle with flash hider that flips hot brass over my way. LOL

[FAS1]

I think these will become a very common "TOOL" for home defense if silencers are removed from the NFA list and the Maxim 9's price comes down with increased production.

[bassJAM1]

For me it'd be an unnecessary tool, in the same way that a new powertool is often an unnecessary tool. It'll absolutely get used, but I could get by without one.

The biggest use for me right now is my wife is pregnant and won't shoot with me anymore. Last time she was pregnant she could feel the baby kick with every shot, so she's convinced it could damage the baby's hearing. You can't really put muffs on an unborn baby!

[Rob62]

They are cool "toys"....

[kozak6]

Toy.

If I could buy one this evening on a 4473 with a 10 minute background check, I'd have a pile of them.

Otherwise, a $200 stamp, a ~$100 transfer fee, a 1 year wait(!!!), and the surprisingly premium price of the suppressor itself keeps it from being a reasonable purchase.

[Mobuck]

"Otherwise, a $200 stamp, a ~$100 transfer fee, a 1 year wait(!!!), and the surprisingly premium price of the suppressor itself keeps it from being a reasonable purchase."

Even with those downsides, they're a viable resource if you need what they offer.
BTW, you don't have to pay the transfer fee if you buy through SilencerShop.