Originally posted by Stonecreek:
quote:
Originally posted by Brad:
Question if I may... why the silencer? I'm not familiar with your approach to hunting and have been wondering about them for a while. You may or may not know they're illegal her in the USA.
Brad
Brad: The British are much more civilized than we Yanks when it comes to some things (and pointlessly bureaucratic on others).
Americans regard sound suppressors as tools of gangsters or spys, believing that they do away with all noise of the report. Because of that association, they were classed as restricted along with fully automatic weapons and short-barreled shoulder guns in the 1937 GCA. State game departments almost universally outlaw them for hunting, even if you own one legally, on the theory that they are a poacher's tool.
The British, on the other hand, recognize that there is no sense in disturbing everyone in the countryside (which can only lead to further objections to hunting) with the booming report of a centerfire rifle. Appropriately, they've never regarded suppressors ("moderators" they usually call them) as anything but a tool for dampening objectionable noise.