When You Want to Be Quiet!
I love using Tannerite® and our Outlaw X Exploding Targets — big booms equal big fun. Well… sometimes.
But there’s a time and a place for everything. While it’s lots of fun to make the big noise and feel the thunder, sometimes a person just wants to plink a little, safely and quietly, so as not to upset the neighbors if you have them. Don’t get me wrong, I want to shoot as much as I can. That being said, it’s not always good PR to make a lot of noise every single day.
Here’s some really good news to help mitigate this! Silencers, suppressors, cans (pick the name of your choice) are now as easy to buy as a pistol. I purchased one today — was in and out inside of 20 minutes, and the store was quite busy at that. The ATF has made some adjustments to the requirements to purchase these. So no fingerprints, no wait. Fill out the form, wait on the background check (if no CCL), pay and leave.
Disclaimer: This reflects my own experience. Federal, state, and local rules and regulations vary and change over time — always check the laws that apply where you live before buying or using a suppressor.
As I said, I like the big booms, but I also happen to have some fairly close neighbors that probably don’t appreciate a continual amount of gunfire every evening. So I can now screw on the can, shoot, and not make much more noise than what I would with a pellet gun.
The trick to this, of course, is sub sonic ammo. While a suppressor will dampen the sound, there’s still a less reduced report if you’re shooting high velocity ammo. That being said, I loaded up a few 147gr 9mm shells and had a little fun yesterday evening. No hearing protection needed. The report was roughly a third less than that of a standard 22LR. Enjoyable for me and much less of an impact on my neighbors. This means I can go out every evening and shoot in my little back yard range with minimal impact on the people around me.
Here’s the downside: sub sonic ammo will not detonate Tannerite® or Outlaw X Exploding Targets — only high velocity rounds will, excluding rimfire. But if your objective is to be quiet, sub sonic is the way to go. Save the noise for later!
Now there are a ton of these on the market, and with the laws just having changed, expect to pay a steep premium due to the increased demand. BUT, give it a year — new makers, more production, prices will probably fall 75 percent from where they are now.
I’m not plugging for any one brand (unless there’s a sponsor out there somewhere) — certainly not above shilling a little if it’s a good product.
That’s the post for today. Hope you enjoyed it.