A shooter friend of mine and I were discussing rifle noise and the hearing damage that results from frequent shooting. This lead to a question about silencers. Is there any legal type of silencer that would not eliminate the noise, but would reduce a .300 mag to about a .223 level? I would be interested in something for my .338 WM and .300 WSM. If legal and available, is it something that could be fitted to an existing barrel or would a custom barrel be necessary? I live in Michigan and don't know if the laws vary from state to state.

quote:

Originally posted by 338zmag:
A shooter friend of mine and I were discussing rifle noise and the hearing damage that results from frequent shooting. This lead to a question about silencers. Is there any legal type of silencer that would not eliminate the noise, but would reduce a .300 mag to about a .223 level? I would be interested in something for my .338 WM and .300 WSM. If legal and available, is it something that could be fitted to an existing barrel or would a custom barrel be necessary? I live in Michigan and don't know if the laws vary from state to state.

What weight .223 bullet would like the 338 and 300 to sound like?

Seriously, most silencers can be attached to most any rifle barrel. Contact a class 3 dealer in your area to get the specifics on what silencers are available and permissible in your state. Shooting standard velocity stuff through a silencer will reduce the volume some but by what extent I don't know.

although regulated by the federal gov't some states do not allow them at all. it is a class 3 device so you get to pay a one time 200 dollar tax for the priviledge of owning a device. the amount of sound suppressed is goverened by many factors so you have to contact the different manufacturers to find one that will do what you want. you then have to have the transfer done by a class 3 ffl. most barrels can be threaded for the device.

As the legalities and fitting has been pointed out, it can be done, but to muffle the sound of those calibers, the silencer would be I feel most unhandy for sporting use due to it's length. If your location permits silencers(state,county,city,etc.) it will require you have your highest law enforcement office sign off on it for submission of documents to legally own. Requires the same steps as buying a full auto firearm via Class 3 dealer. I think you will find there are travel restrictions as well w/ such devices/firearms and must have approval of ATF to take out of State of residence. Lot cheaper and whole lot less complicated to purchase quality electronic muffs, they work well. JMO

Thanks for the replies. After doing more research, it looks like Michigan is one of the states that does not allow silencers.
http://www.mp5.net/info/sbsconr.htm

I would be happy with some noise reduction. I don't need a complete silencer. Would that be considered a suppressor? I don't know if there is a difference with the law. I am going to contact a local gunsmith and see what he knows about it. I'll keep you posted if I find out anything new.

yes, that would be a suppressor and thus illegal. muffs are your friend!

Depending on the diameter of the barrel you might consider having the muzzle counterbored a short distance back and crowned. I've never tried it but it is said that it helps muffle the initial crack of the shot.

Just to clarify, yes I use ear protection. These days I use ear plugs and muffs. When you shoot a lot it can still do damage. An ear doctor told me to enjoy my sport, but even with ear protection you can still damage the ears. I shot many thousands of rounds in my 12 & 20 gauge guns. I am not into sporting clays like I used to be, so now I mostly shoot rifles. I don't want to quit or give up my higher caliber noise makers either. Just considering my options.

I was referring to the higher quality electronic muffs which permit normal conversation at the firing line, but upon the report of the rifle/firearm, all you really are exposed to is a very muffled "thump" which is quite harmless to the ear. Ordinary muffs don't provide as much cancelling of the sound as I prefer and prices range from approx. 150-350.00 Seems expensive, but very effective and permits the shooting of big boomers without any damage.

quote:

Originally posted by MFD:
I was referring to the higher quality electronic muffs which permit normal conversation at the firing line, but upon the report of the rifle/firearm, all you really are exposed to is a very muffled "thump" which is quite harmless to the ear. Ordinary muffs don't provide as much cancelling of the sound as I prefer and prices range from approx. 150-350.00 Seems expensive, but very effective and permits the shooting of big boomers without any damage.

I will check them out. That is a cheap price to pay if it is effective at protecting my ears.

quote:

Originally posted by MFD:
If your location permits silencers(state,county,city,etc.) it will require you have your highest law enforcement office sign off on it...

Unless you establish a trust and obtain your NFA goodies through the trust. Same with corporate ownership. No CLEO sign-off in either case.

new_guy, you are correct, the trust/corporate approach will qualify and some in my area have taken that approach. However, that involves more paperwork, lawyer, and resulting costs, but it can be done.

A trust is the way to go and my dealer set up the trust as alot of dealers are doing now days and no lawyers or extra fee's.
I pick mine up this thursday after a 5 month wait on the ATF.

A couple of comments:

No pair of electronic muffs I have seen yet offers quite as much sound reduction as the very best "passive" (non-electronic) muffs.

Personally I use electronic Peltor Tach 7's because I got them when I was shooting competitively...and had to be able to hear all the range commands. But I can personally affirm they have not fully protected my hearing.

Most of the good muffs seem to be rated at 26-28 decibels, but few offer more sound reduction, though a few may. If you really care about your hearing and shoot where it is practical to do so, you may want to consider wearing both ear muffs and ear plugs at the same time.

The plugs offer more prtection for the ear drums, while the muffs protect the bone structure around the ear, which may conduct as much as 50% of the sound one hears.

One really important thing is to make sure the muffs actually seal all the way around...that is, leave no gaps, no matter how small, between the outside of the muff ear cups and the side of your head. If there are gaps, their effectiveness is substantially reduced.

Also, if you need vision enhancement when shooting,it is wise to wear contact lenses if you can. Or, take special care to make sure the area on each side of your head around the "temples" of your eyeglasses are completely sealed sound-tight where they go under the muffs.

Hearing loss is no joke, and it usually occurs slowly over time, not as the result of a few dozen big bangs. It IS cumulative, too. Already having noticeable damage does NOT mean one won't get more impairment from additional doses of the same levels of noise

It is no fun to not be able to stalk game because you can't hear your own noise, or to live in that cold world where you can't hear a kitten purr, hear birds sing, hear the phone ring a room away, etc. It takes away a lot of the romance when your wife has to literally scream "Okay big boy, harder, faster,..." whatever, instead of cooing/whispering it in your ear. And it's damned dangerous with the modern quieter cars, when you can't hear them coming and try to cross the street, especially at the times of day when vision is poor anyway, but not dark enough that they all turn on their lights.

Ask me how I know.

I went throught this process a couple of years ago. A trust does not require an attorney. I bought the $30 quicken will maker online. After 15 minutes I had the trust printed out and off to the bank to get it notorized and we were done. Keep in mind if you have class III items that you had transferred to your name personally and not into a trust you are the only one that can have access to them. I went the trust route as well to cut down on the run around with fingerprints and LEO signoff but most important I could put my wife on the trust as well so she could have access to them. I have heard of problems where an individual(s) had suppressors and or machine guns locked in thier safe but got in trouble because they were transferred personally and thier spouse had the safe combo. This may have been rumors but is something to think about........The trust route is extremely easy and I am told makes the actual wait and process time on the transfers quicker.

Mac

quote:

Originally posted by Westpac:
Depending on the diameter of the barrel you might consider having the muzzle counterbored a short distance back and crowned. I've never tried it but it is said that it helps muffle the initial crack of the shot.

I thought about that and knew I had seen something like that before, but couldn't remember where. Well I had it in my saved file and just found it. http://www.richardscustomrifle...itevarmintrifles.htm The barrel may be heavier than I want.

quote:

I think you will find there are travel restrictions as well w/ such devices/firearms and must have approval of ATF to take out of State of residence. Lot cheaper and whole lot less complicated to purchase quality electronic muffs, they work well. JMO

There are no federal travel restrictions for silencers. Just be sure not to travel with them into states that ban them. The requirement to submit form 5320.20 for notifying the ATF of movement of machine guns and other title 2 weapons does not apply to silencers and AOW's. I've read that the ATF would like to hear of any permanent relocation of a silencer, but I have never heard of anyone getting into trouble for moving a silencer from one legal state to another legal one.

Nothing beats a silencer, unless you are shooting indoors or under weather protection, then ear plugs come in handy.

Ranb

Here in the UK moderators have become popular in the last 10 years. We have used them on 22" rimfire for years but only recently have the Police permitted them for centre fire rifles. Our Health & Safety at Work Act requires noise to be controlled at source before protective equipment is used, fear of shooter’s suing the Police lead to the relaxation in consenting – note that fact, the law hasn’t changed.

In use they make a 25/06 sound and recoil more like a rimfire, and I don’t loose sight of the animal as the rifle recoils. Balance depends on the rifle, on a Tikka T3 it makes a practical stalking rifle.

http://www.reflexsuppressors.co.uk/

ranb40,
I was told that you needed to inform ATF prior to taking out of state of legal residence, but what you stated is correct. Perhaps having one inform ATF is method of helping avoid going into non legal states?? I stand corrected. Thanks,
martin

Michigan does not even allow suppressed AIR RIFLES.