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There is a safety factor with loud booming gunshots that alert others to the presence of active shooting, whether target practice, or hunting that can prevent persons from straying into a hazardous situation. I’ve witnessed numerous neophyte shooters at a public range start to head downrange to examine or replace a target without waiting for the range to clear first. Poachers would be in “hog heaven” if they were freely able to use suppressors to hide their activity.

As far as range safety, it really doesn’t matter whether there was a big noise right before some moron gets shot. More importantly, suppressors don’t make guns silent. They sound like a loud cap gun, or an air-powered nailer. They are loud enough to cause those with delicate hearing (or good sense) to consider hearing protection. Even a suppressed 22LR is loud enough to cause my wife to insist I close my office door before shooting varmints out the door, because the noise is unpleasantly startling in the next room. At the public range, someone with hearing protection is as likely to hear a conventional shot as someone without hearing protection is to hear a suppressed shot.

Finally, poaching is already illegal, and poachers can already use suppressors, legal or not. We’re just talking about eliminating the silly $200 tax and background check, not making poaching legal.

Not totally true...I’ve got a suppressed Ruger that is no louder than a very soft finger snap.

Literally, if you had your head turned, you’d be hard pressed to hear it.

It’s an AWC...they make really good cans, as well as Gemtech, out of Boise.