Texas Parks and Wildlife May Allow ‘Silencers’ for Hunting Game Animals
As of today, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is accepting comments for a proposed rule change that would enable you to hunt this fall with quieter firearms, making your outdoor experience safer and more enjoyable.
Scott Vaca, TPWD Assistant Chief of Wildlife, said the proposed suppressor regulation covers hunting, and if approved at the March 29 meeting of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, hunting with suppressors will begin on September 1, 2012.
The proposal is now official, because it’s been announced in today’s Texas Register (search for “Chapter 65” or “sound-suppressing”). According to the TPWD news release:
Comments on the proposed rules may be submitted by phone or e-mail to Robert Macdonald (512) 389-4775;
e-mail: robert.macdonald@tpwd.state.tx.us, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744.
The cut-off date for comments is when the commission votes (March 29). You may also sign to speak at the meeting. Just show up in person and fill out the supplied cards.
Suppressors: What They Are and How They Work
According to gunsmith and firearm maker Doug Kelsay, to legally make a suppressor, a dealer needs a Class 3 ATF license, and must pay “Special (Occupational) Tax Rates Under The NFA [National Firearms Act of 1934]” which costs an extra $500-$1,000/year depending on their business volume. This allows to the licensee to build and sell NFA weapons like suppressors.
Buying one requires you to transfer it from the FFL, but first you must undergo a background check, obtain ATF approval, and pay a $200 tax. Each purchase goes through this entire process. Approval can take up to nine months, so if you wait until after the rule changes, you may not have a suppressor for this year’s hunting season.
Being a small manufacturer, Kelsay estimates suppressors would cost about $400 apiece. The materials cost about $100, so the tax doubles the cost for a decently-manufactured suppressor (materials plus labor).
Suppressors are made from varying designs. The quietest contain rubber washers that slow the bullet down to sub-sonic speeds, but the washers last only about 100 shots. Other designs contain no parts that contact the bullet. These can last indefinitely, but they’re louder.
An effective suppressor makes a .22 firearm sound like a pellet gun. To a shooter, any suppressed firearm is “much quieter.” But sound still travels downrange for bullets not slowed by suppressors; a normal rifle round still sounds loud to the deer in front of your muzzle, so a missed shot will likely scare off game animals. In any case, Kelsay still recommends ear protection.
If you’re considering some homemade solution, be warned that you’re violating the NFA, which could result in federal felony charges, because suppressors are considered firearms (called a “muffler” or “silencer” by the ATF).
Kelsay said: “The advantage is the suppressors make shooting more enjoyable for everybody, due to reduced noise.” This can make for happier neighbors, as well as healthier hearing.
In any case, this is an opportunity for citizen activism to take one small step forwards in restoring the Second Amendment.
That is just a polite thing to do.
I’m not a hunter, but I target shoot. Friends hunt. Now I don’t have a problem with noise suppression, but in hunting season, I’m not sure not hearing where others are hunting is “safe”. But in the land of liberty, we do what we feel is responsible.
Not sure what you’re worrying about. The bullet speed in most rifles is super-sonic, meaning they travel faster than the speed of sound, which is 1,126 feet per second (fps). Many pistol bullets leave the muzzle faster than this.
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNBLST.html
Rifle bullets generally are even faster.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_ballistics_table.htm
Therefore, if you are looking for time to duck, you’re already in the wrong place. Suppressors won’t change this.
There’s a perfectly good reason for this speed. Game animals have better reflexes than humans. The bullet needs to reach them before the sound warns them to do what they do best: run.
There’s an even better reason for the high velocity of modern hunting rifle cartridges; they are easier to shoot accurately at unknown ranges.
High velocity equals flatter trajectory. Flatter trajectory makes range estimation less critical. Compare the trajectory of an 1880-vintage buffalo gun (very accurate but with a trajectory like a rainbow) to a modern rifle of even modest capacity, like a .30-06 (also very accurate but much less range-sensitive.)
That can mean the difference between a clean kill or wounding/clean miss at 150-300 yards.
What I find most interesting is self-proclaimed gun owners who would be against this simply because of ignorance. All the more reason for people to show up to speak in favor at the March meeting.
Howard,
I wouldn’t call it ignorance, they are bucking a law that has been on the books since, I believe, 1934. This was the gun law that outlawed sub-machine guns, silencers, hand-grenades, cannons, sawed off shotguns explosives and many other fun toys. It was enacted during the gangster era because the police were outgunned. Now, unless you are hiding at the corner of your neighbor’s house shooting deer in his backyard, I see little reason to have a silenced weapon.
Yes, I’ve fired silenced weapons, I’ve also fired full auto and even gone fishing with hand grenades. That doesn’t mean I think they have a place while you are out hunting. I would love to have a full auto to play with on the range or out somewhere safe without the hassle of getting a special license and paying $200 for each one, but unless you are hunting other people that can shoot back I see no reason behind taking them to the hunting grounds.
Hearing loss.
The use of sound moderators is commonplace here in the UK & almost a given when shooting vermin & rabbits.
Their use helps protect the shooter’s hearing & reduces noise complaints.
They are an essential part of firearms use & I find it strange that the US has such heavy restrictions on their use & availability; we even use them on air rifles & the cost starts at $45 with no $200 tax.
Does this mean that the State of Texas is considering making a run on GCA of 34? I guess that would be too much to ask.