I get that. I still don't think we should make it easier to buy these. Hunters can wear noise cancelling headphones instead of buying a silencer. Anything that makes it easier to kill people and get away with it should require an investigation prior to the sale.

and be regulated as a firearm under the Gun Control Act. They don't make anything easy. If that were the case, gang bangers would be taping two liter soda bottles to their gun barrels. In Australia, you can't have a two liter bottle and your gun together. In New Zealand, UK, France, Norway, and Finland you just buy it like a fountain pen.
BTW, the German state of Bavaria legalized silencers for hunting the same week Kansas did. Some hunting areas in Finland, they are required. The are common in France especially at gun clubs.

...it might be nice if hunters could hear what's going on around them, rather than losing ambient sound because of noise cancelling headphones. Suppressors also help dampen the sound to lower noise pollution in general. Personally, I'd prefer to be able to use both, to really protect my hearing and not annoy my neighbors (I'm just an awesome guy that way).

Additionally, how does lowering the sound of a gunshot from 160 db down to around 100 db (still extremely loud), make it easier to kill people and get away with it? How often does the sound of a gunshot actually help in an investigation...?

Are you kidding me? Seriously?

What makes it easier to kill and get away? Here's a list:
A car enables someone to partially hidden during a shooting and then leave the area quickly.
If on foot, running shoes could help a killer.
Hell, most clothing would help. Shooting someone while naked kind of highlights a shooter.
Knowledge of the law and police procedure along with the know how and means for taking forensic counter measures would help more than a silencer.
And finally, the money to afford a good lawyer might help if those other things don't.

make them available like they are in Europe.

But the price will have to come down from the $1,000 price suppressors go for now.

Question for Reuters: Is the device for hearing protection, or is it for Hollywood JamesBond-stylehit-job, or whatever?

Save tax money: End Hollywood regulation/taxes and let the price settle to a reasonable level.

One minute we're supposed to be more like Euro Gun Control, now we're supposed to ignore what they do on this.

Europe, where suppressors are required for hunting in designated areas and are sold over the counter at hardware stores in several countries to people with a pistol or rifle permit. No special permits needed.

Sounds just like the imaginary "50 Caliber Terror" everyone was supposed to get all worked up about.

Sooooo, exactly how many crimes have been committed in the US with suppressors?

Or is this just one more Culture War battle that the gun control people have already lost on? I think they're legal for hunting use now in 37 (?) states so far. But that's probably just more Gun Nut Techno babble.

Just not "blast snow off the roof of the shooting range" loud. First shot without suppressor, second shot with suppressor; it's still so loud that you can hear the echo off nearby structures.

I expect our resident pro control are for this common sense safety measure.

noise than the actual gunshot. Neither is good for hunting, not enough kinetic energy, but good for close-in assassination by covert agents of various international wet works.

As for hunting, the sound reduction isn't enough to not damage hearing so if that's your goal get over-the-ear hearing protection. As for game you're only gonna get one shot anyway so why bother?

She can shoot it with only shooting glasses and doesn't flinch a bit because it's virtually silent.

They required in many parts of Europe?

But reducing a sound by 60 decibels? That's a huge difference. It's the difference between "not advisable" and "really bad idea".

It's the difference between "bond, james bond" and *JAMES BOND*.

Yes small rodents can be hunted with .22s. I personally prefer my breakbarrel .22 air rifle because it IS quiet enough to get two or three squirrels from one tree. However, my state specifically forbids using rim fire guns on anything other than small game like rabbits and squirrels or vermin.

I routinely shoot with 'clunky earmuffs' without issue and consistently make 3 inch groups at 100 meters with my 7.5 Swiss and iron sights (thank goodness for cataract surgery!).

Others here argue that using ear plugs or muffs deadens background noise thus the need for suppressors. Now you say that you need ear plugs AND a suppressor.

A suppressor would drop the noise level of my Swiss to about that of a 30-30. Both still need hearing protection and both will spook anything within a quarter mile.

No, the arguments for suppressors is nothing more than piffle from the gun makers to market another toy for easily persuaded gunners.

There is no mis-information in either of my posts.

Argument against? I couldn't give a flying flaming fuck about how you spend your money. Set it on fire for all I care. That said I'm amazed at how easily the gun makers get gunners to drink their coolaid.

how utterly useless they are and how easy it is for the gun manufacturers to bamboozle gunners into buying useless shit.

So, given the fact that you have drank the coolaid and seem willing to pay $700 to $1000 for a decoration on the end of your gun I guess that we really are through here.

Hunters eat what they kill, so if all you are interested in eating is rats and squirrels the .22 is the tool of choice.

Who died and made you arbiter of relevance?

Oh, but thats the entire point, and the M.O. of gun control folks:

Are completely oblivious about how a gun operates or what it sounds like when fired. They'd be shocked I think at how loud a gun actually is, especially at indoor ranges.

suppressors can do.

In the meantime, already legal for hunting in most states and selling them as fast as they can make them.

Probably coming off the NFA register in the next 3 or 4 years. That horse is out of the barn already.

(pistol at least) with a suppressor on it to know that it is not really a criminal's weapon.

In general:
1) they don't make a gun "silent" (they are still pretty loud as evidenced above).
2) they add significant size to the length of a handgun (~8 inches).
3) they add significant weight to a pistol (and make them more muzzle heavy) which requires more practice to shoot well.

Personally, other than the sound reduction, I don't really like them. I shoot really poorly with them. Maybe if I shot a couple of hundred or more rounds thru them, I might have a different opinion but I'd rather spend the $700-1000 (cost + tax stamp) on something else.

I'd buy a 30 cal one tomorrow if I could show up, buy the muffler and pay the 200 buck tax stamp same day. Hell I may even do it if the wait was only a few weeks.

Of course I'd follow that up with a 22lr can, or I may start with the 22.