Editor's Note: This feature is from the August 14, 2008 issue; we're still waiting on removal of suppressors from the purview of the National Firearms Act and here's why: by Rich Grassi There's recently been considerable discussion about "sporting uses" of firearms suppressors. On the internet, I've found several forum entries - some on political websites - as well as a petition for deregulation of suppressors down to the level of a firearm - transfer on a Form 4473 after a NICS from your friendly neighborhood 01 FFL. To start with, why worry about the "sporting uses" language at all? Well, unless you are law enforcement, suppressors are of precious little value in a concealed carry defense scenario. They can be unwieldy and not easily stowed. For home defense there may be an application - but you can slip on active hearing protection and better hear the person hunting you. Active ear pro would serve the same purpose with some benefits. That said, you may not live alone and the thought of firing a centerfire rifle in your home with family members in close proximity may make you pause. They have an important contribution in the sporting arena. How many local ranges face extinction from our noise-conscious neighbors - most of who moved in while the range was already in operation? These same subjects think nothing of their loud lawnmowers or loud parties. The ability to be loud was one reason they moved into the county to start with. Guns? "They're icky!" Having suppressors on high power rifles contribute to accuracy and, in tests by Surefire, increased velocities. The auditory impact on the shooter and others on the range is lessened. Noise reduction is the important aspect of the firearms suppressor. Noise reduction - not elimination; these things are not "silencers." This is an invention of novelists and screenwriters and it is hard to find in the real world. When work is done sound is generated. When the work is driving a 120 grain projectile at 3,000 feet-per-second, there is going to be sound. Even if we could "shut off" the noise of the shot - the expanding gas driving the round along the barrel, the projectile is exceeding the speed of sound (nominally 1,100 FPS at sea level) and it makes its own noise - a ballistic "crack" that can be heard to echo off hillsides and such. While I've not found the specific research, I've read where Finland found no increase in the rate of violent crime when they deregulated sale, possession and use of suppressors. In fact, a number of European states apparently consider it to be bad form to discharge an unsuppressed firearm. I'm not one of those Americans who believe that "European is better than American." In the case of the "can," the Europeans could be on to something. Why after all the intervening years since the National Firearms Act do I raise the issue of suppressors now? Well, it's one more piece of silly and unneeded government regulation - and a health hazard. As for using suppressors on hunting guns, I imagine the game will know we are there when the bullet flies. Also, if the suppressor is taken out of the novelists' myth category and brought out in the light of day, citizens may not take it wrong when we equip every patrol rifle and entry gun with a suppressor. Those 5.56 carbines and SBRs are L-O-U-D. Fired indoors during room combat, it's somewhat like dropping a flash bang on the scene. Why else would you want a pistol caliber squirt gun when you could grab the carbine out of the patrol car rack? The only reason is the pistol-caliber gun creates less trauma on the user and others in the room when a round is launched indoors. The terminal impact and lessened perforation threat mitigate toward the 5.56 x 45. The centerfire rifle isn't much better when fired outside. If you've ever fired a 16" or shorter AR platform gun, you know what I mean. Making that 5.56mm go boom indoors is hard on the ears. It's disorienting. Suppressors minimize that. They don't make the rifle silent, but they help keep your head in the fight - and that means keeping your head attached.