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  • pharmboy

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Nov 22, 2008
    265
    18
    Shelbyville
    Well, if you're shooting by yourself, it means you might not need hearing protection. They're also legal for hunting in a number of places.
     

    hotcorner5

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Sep 12, 2014
    50
    8
    Indianapolis
    I have never wanted to pay for the permit to have one. Besides being cool to say you own one, they reduce recoil, sound, and muzzle flash.

    It would be nice to shoot without hearing protection, but my shooting bag has my gun and muffs anyways so it's not difficult to throw those on.

    I would rather own a few more guns that spend the money of a silencer/permit.
     

    avboiler11

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jun 12, 2011
    2,950
    119
    New Albany
    The same advantage as this:

    1110phr-05%2B1968-chevy-nova-project-nova-piping-up%2Bflowmaster-muffler.jpg
     

    Compuvette

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 29, 2012
    208
    16
    NE Indiana
    With a 22lr and a decent can it's very fun. Probably the most fun per dollar in the NFA world. A 22 with subsonics and a good suppressor will sure put a smile on your face. Nothing better than plinking pop cans with friends/family and not having to wear hearing protection.
     

    rvb

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 14, 2009
    6,396
    63
    IN (a refugee from MD)
    It's nice to be able to shoot w/ friends/family and not have to shout at each other over ear pro. It's nice not to have to sweat under ear pro or have plugs stuffed in your ears. It makes instruction/teaching so much easier. It eliminates the concussion that causes the flinch in so many new shooters.

    just makes something fun even more so....

    -rvb
     

    ryknoll3

    Master
    Rating - 75%
    3   1   0
    Sep 7, 2009
    2,719
    48
    It's also pretty cool to fire subsonic projectiles and hear the impact of the bullet downrange. It's amazing how loud it is when the bullet hits steel or the ground or a tree.
     

    Paul30

    Expert
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 16, 2012
    975
    43
    Less noise pollution in area so if you want to shoot on your own land safely, it will not annoy your neighbors. It helps train new shooters because they can hear safety instructions easier, do not develop an involuntary flinching reaction normally associated with the muzzle blast hurting their ears. It is safer to shoot with pets in the area since they don't like to wear hearing protection, you save your best friends ears. In some cases, a suppressor can make a barrel more accurate, but that really isn't a primary reason.
     

    pudly

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    35   0   0
    Nov 12, 2008
    13,329
    83
    Undisclosed
    It saves your hearing. Too many gun owners have tinnitus because suppressors are restricted. The real question is why aren't they considered standard equipment like in Europe?
     

    Drakkule

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    19   0   0
    Jul 9, 2011
    1,193
    38
    Butler,IN. 46721
    It saves your hearing. Too many gun owners have tinnitus because suppressors are restricted. The real question is why aren't they considered standard equipment like in Europe?
    Very well said, I spent years shooting with no hearing protection, no one I know used it growing up. I was in the Army the first time i used ear plugs, I don't shoot without it now. I have tinnitus from thousands of rounds without any protection, but my kids won't have that problem. I purchased 2 different .22 cal. suppressors to use while teaching my children. They love how quiet they are, and it makes it easier to give instructions, if the suppressors aren't used, hearing protection will be. I agree that safety equipment shouldn't be regulated.
     

    Car Ramrod

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Oct 15, 2009
    1,852
    38
    Westfield
    I have never wanted to pay for the permit to have one. Besides being cool to say you own one, they reduce recoil, sound, and muzzle flash.

    It would be nice to shoot without hearing protection, but my shooting bag has my gun and muffs anyways so it's not difficult to throw those on.

    I would rather own a few more guns that spend the money of a silencer/permit.

    It's not a permit. It's a tax.
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 91.7%
    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
    63
    Bedford, IN
    As stated there are many advantages.

    Hunting: you don't have to wear hearing protection or risk permanent hearing damage. You can have the best of both worlds, you can hear game better by not wearing hearing protection, yet still protect your hearing by using a suppressor.

    Training: MUCH easier to instruct people when they don't have hearing protection on and there aren't loud gunshots popping all of the time. Also allows training of pregnant women without the risk of increasing fetal distress due to the noise (there is a risk of fetal distress when exposed to loud noises). There is NO effective hearing protection for a fetus in the womb except for a suppressor.

    Neighbor concerns: Just last week I rid my lawn of a pesky mole with my suppressed .22. I did it when my wife had about 10 other women over for an event. Not a SINGLE ONE of them knew I had just shot a gun 2 time right outside the door from them. My neighbors didn't know either.

    Fun: There is nothing at all like shooting steel w/o ear-pro. To hear a small pop and then the resounding "PING" of the bullet hitting steel so loud and audible is something I think everybody should experience in their lifetime.

    Firearm behavior: The sound reduction is obvious, but the recoil & flash reduction is an aspect that many don't consider. Suppressors most off eliminate all flash from the muzzle of a firearm. They also reduce the recoil drastically via 2 methods. #1 The baffles catch the high-pressure gasses that would normally act as a "jet" or have a rocket booster type effect, and they cool the gasses off so they slow down when exiting the muzzle, #2 The added weight dampens the recoil impulse to be much more manageable.

    Wow factor: 20 years ago when you got a suppressor out at the range 90% of people there thought you were a criminal with something illegal. 10 years ago most would know it was legal but few had ever seen one so many would stare in amazement, ask questions, ask to shoot it, oooh & aaah over how aweseom it was. Today, most know they are legal, many have seen them at least once, few will ask questions or want to fire it, but it will still catch the attention of almost every single person at the range when you fire something that has a small "pop" but a loud, resounding "clang" on the steel target 100 (or 300) yards away.


    FWIW, I have 2 suppressors. I have a .30 cal suppressor I made myself over 5 years ago and I have a .22 suppressor I bought a little over a year ago (just took possession a couple months ago). I thoroughly enjoy both of them and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I don't not regret a single penny spent on them and I plan to shoot many many thousand rounds through them...
     

    Leo

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    9,734
    113
    Lafayette, IN
    I do not have a can on any of my rifles, but have shot quite a few of them on rifles, pistols and sub guns.

    I was at a rifle range and a man I knew only as a store customer had a suppressed rifle up on bags and bipod shooting at tanerite. Using a silencer on a rifle to make it quiet so you can shoot a target that makes a big boom. I figured if he liked the boom, he could unscrew the can and save the price of tanerite. He was having fun, not hurting anybody and well within his rights, so I am not putting the man down, It just struck me as funny.
     

    rvb

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 14, 2009
    6,396
    63
    IN (a refugee from MD)
    suppressed rifle up on bags and bipod shooting at tanerite. ...just struck me as funny.

    might seem that way on the surface, but he might have still avoided needing ear pro, and (more importantly) his rifle might have been zero'd w/ the silencer on and unless he wanted to mess w/ dialing in his scope or holding off or whatever, he might as well leave it on to make sure he hits what he aims at....

    -rvb
     
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