Who here is going to admit that they use silencers primarily because they're 'cool'?

[ttarp]

If your primary reason for buying a silencer is because it looks cool, they have fake cans out there that don't cost more than a tank of gas and don't involve paperwork. So while coolness is a factor, I hardly think its the main reason for most folks.

As for hearing damage? This was some eye opening discussion for me, I had been under the impression handgun calibers were hearing safe when suppressed, while rifle calibers should be shot with hearing protection, but now I know better. But that being said, unless you shoot hundreds of rounds a week, I seriously doubt the damage would be significant compared to all the other sounds we subject our unprotected ears to.

[zach_]

If and when I get a supressor, I will say why I jumped through the hoops to get it. As of today, I would rather spend $200.00 on a surf and turf for 2 over payment for a stamp.

[Skans]

I don't have one. But, if I were to buy a silencer it would strictly be for the cool factor and design/engineering curiosity.

In fact, 90% of my guns and gun stuff is purchased for the "cool factor" and/or interesting design features.

[Gunfixr]

Suppressors are legal for hunting here as well.
As for being on a list, it has always been my opinion that if you aren't on at least three lists, you aren't living right.
Personally, I think the whole nfa thing is just bs to try and control us through taxation. But, I am not in a position to change it, so it is what it is. Suppressor prices have come down some over the last few years due to the huge increase in competition, with many "economy" companies having started production.

[Gunfixr]

I've paid $200 for a meal also.
But, a day or two later, when I stand up and push the little lever, all that was left of the $200 goes away forever.
After washing up, I can go open the safe and get out the other $200 and head to the range, over and over again.

[Double Naught Spy]

I am somewhat sensitive to sudden loud noise and don't like it. I have several buddies with suppressors who tell me how it makes their SBRs and .308s safe to shoot without hearing protection.

So a buddy of mine says you gotta try my suppressed .223 SBR. It is really quiet. One shot and my ears were ringing. I stopped and put on my muffs and he asked what I was doing. I said that it rang ears and he harumphed, saying it didn't ring his ears...and I realized he wasn't lying.

It started to dawn on me that all these guys that I know that tell me how quiet and safe the suppressors are and how their ears don't ring after shooting with them even with centerfire ammo are all guys who already have a goodly amount of hearing loss and tinnitus.

Don't get me wrong. It is great to bring down 165 db to to 140 db. That is a significant improvement, but is NOT reason to go without muffs or plugs.

[Husqvarna]

silencers are great for hunting, sure it is easy to wear hearing protection but they are bloody hard to get to stick to a dog

I hunt with a baying dog so I can be shooting pretty close to it (of course I call the dog to me but sometimes that is not an option)

it reduces recoil for a quicker follow up shot, I do some hunting for the local municipality so don't scare neighbours etc etc

not a cool thing for me, when I shot for fun I almost never use it, only with long range shooting because I don't like recoil when shooting prone or from a bench

[Deja vu]

I use mine for "Recreation and all other Lawful purposes"

I have 3 of them. My first was 45-70 and I have used it alot but it is a big heavy beast. My Second was 22LR/22mag and its fun for shooting small game. My Last is a Mystic X so it works well on 357 magnum.

May be some day ill get a 12ga one.

I still use hearing protection unless I am shooting subsonic ammo.

[SPEMack618]

I like them for hog and coyote hunting.

Also, there were times when I wish I could have had a KAC can like the Ranger BNs in the Sandbox. Been nice to come back with some hearing left.

[Machineguntony]

Funny that you guys mentioned $200 meals. For Valentines, I paid $200 for a meal, and at the end of the meal I thought, "I could have purchased a stamp".

Then came the over priced flowers, chocolate, giant teddy bear, and my thought was, "that's another stamp".

Of course, I didn't say any of this out loud.

Now, I see the flowers slowly dying and the teddy bear steadily collecting dust.

At least I am enjoying the chocolate!

[zach_]

The whole process reminds me of collecting an expense check from a former employer that went down the tubes. Like the $200.00 meal does.

[Machineguntony]

Here in Texas, which is the NFA Capitol because we allow everything from AOW to DD to machine guns, I am always surprised by how many people think that silencers are illegal to own. Whenever I take a silencer to the gun range, there is always someone who looks on in amazement or fear. Everyonce in a while, someone will ask me if they're illegal.

To those shooters, the silencer is the epitome of cool.

If you want to make someones' day and introduce them to the NFA world, let such a person take a shot of your pistol suppressor. You will see the biggest smile ever.

[SPEMack618]

Funny that you guys mentioned $200 meals. For Valentines, I paid $200 for a meal, and at the end of the meal I thought, "I could have purchased a stamp".

I wound up dipping into my M-1 Garand fund for Valentines Day. Damn Hallmark.

The fact that the U.S. government levied a $200 stamp on what at the time costed roughly $3 to $10 is, in my opinion one of the most heinous acts of legislative illegality in the 20th Century.

[Gunfixr]

Well, at the time, the idea was that it would be so expensive, no one would do it, since in 1934, $200 was a lot of money.
Texas may be the nfa capital, but Virginia has more machine guns than any other state.
True, to the uninitiated, getting to fire a suppressor that they thought illegal for the first time is truly epic for them, and pretty entertaining just to watch.
If said suppressor happens to be mounted on a machine gun, so much the better.

[dogtown tom]

Machineguntony Here in Texas, which is the NFA Capitol because we allow everything from AOW to DD to machine guns....

Before proclaiming Texas as the "NFA Capitol" you may want to read state law.

I am always surprised by how many people think that silencers are illegal to own.....

They are, read state law.

Texas Penal Code
Sec. 46.05. PROHIBITED WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells:
(1) an explosive weapon;
(2) a machine gun;
(3) a short-barrel firearm;
(4) a firearm silencer;
(5) a switchblade knife;
(6) knuckles;
(7) armor-piercing ammunition;
(8) a chemical dispensing device; or
(9) a zip gun.

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor's conduct was incidental to the performance of official duty by the armed forces or national guard, a governmental law enforcement agency, or a correctional facility.

(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor's possession was pursuant to registration pursuant to the National Firearms Act, as amended.
...

Yes, it's nitpicky, but it's important to know that because NFA firearms are illegal under Texas law, a law enforcement officer CAN lawfully arrest you and can lawfully charge you with possession of a prohibited weapon. Quite likely he'll get chewed out by his supervisor or the DA and charges may be dropped quickly, but your afternoon will not go as planned.

[Sevens]

I would certainly be interested in shooting a suppressed handgun. And I'm not sure if I have been around when others have been shooting them -- except for one time. We were at my club on the outdoor range and as it turned out, a guy two lanes over (these are H-U-G-E lanes, mind you, maybe 10-12 yards wide) was shooting some suppressed rimfire pistol. But because we were out on a range at a gun club... I had my ear protection on. I could hear him shooting as my ears are electronic, but it didn't sound any different until I took the ear protection off.

It basically made the point for me that I had already assumed ahead of time. That being since I don't have my own private land for a place to shoot... shooting suppressed weapons (for me!) was simply going to be at a place where anywhere from 1 other person to 50 other people were going to be shooting guns anyway.

[Gunfixr]

Ok, yeah, at a public range with a dozen other people blasting away, shooting suppressed doesn't really do much, except when it reduces recoil by a significant amount.
Our biggest customers?
Landowners with damage stamps, who are tired of neighbors calling the sheriff every time they pop a deer out of season.

[Lark]

The silencers I make for my guns are just mufflers, nothing cool about them for the most part. Just something else to make the gun more comfortable to shoot. Some of the ignorance and bias in this thread is just holding gun owners back if you ask me.

[Gunfixr]

Well, I made mine, and it is exceptionally cool.
Why?
Because no factory offers one like it.
Takes 9mm, full power 5.56, full power 7.62x39, and full power 308. All in a titanium can weighing in at 21 ounces.
It's as quiet as a factory 9mm can, and as quiet as a factory 5.56 can, and very very close to as quiet as a factory 308 can, all compared side by side.
Waiting on a form 1 to do a rimfire can.

[Machineguntony]

Just because people disagree with you or have different motivations for firearms ownership, does not mean that those people are ignorant or biased.

There is really nothing wrong with liking something because it is 'cool'. So if some of us bought silencers because they are 'cool', that is all the better.

Sometimes, when an anti-gunner asks me why I need (fill on the blank), my response is because 'it is bad ass'. Last I checked, the second amendment didn't have test for utilitarianism.

A lot of marketing based on 'cool'. And we have every right to love our cool stuff.

Look at these beauties...

(redacted)

[jehu]

For the big bore rifles,338 Lapua,300win mag,7rem mag,which I shoot on a daily basis the suppressor makes them a pleasure to shoot with a great amount of sound and recoil reduction.

[Gunfixr]

I tell people all the time, this is America, it's not about need, it's about want.
Half the people drive around in cars that will go 100+ mph. You cannot drive that fast anywhere legally in America, but you bought that car. Why? Because you wanted it.
And I don't care.
You wanted a fast car, I wanted a fast gun.
We both have fun.

[45_auto]

How much reduction in volume is provided by a typical suppressor?

How much reduction in volume is provided by typical hearing protection?

It would appear from the comments that the actual numbers would surprise many people on this thread.

[jimbob86]

Well, at the time, the idea was that it would be so expensive, no one would do it, since in 1934, $200 was a lot of money.

It's still not chickenfeed, for folks working paycheck to paycheck..... which falls in line with the original idea ..... keep the average citizen from having them, so as to keep the number of NFA guns in existence controllable by the Good ol' boy Network ...... it is, as it has always been, about control.

Virginia has more machine guns than any other state.

Couldn't possibly be any coincidence between that and the fact that 2 out of the 3 wealthiest counties in the nation are in Virginia, and are wealthy because they are suburbs of DC (The other is also in the DC/Metro.... but it's in Maryland). Power and Money are concentrated there as never before, and it shows.

[Ruark]

But don't some suppressors reduce the loudness more than others? I'm wondering if this is one of those "get what you pay for" situations.