sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

As far as I know there is no such thing as a "silencer" the way the tv and movie educated public thinks of it. All the device does is lower the decibel count of fired cartridge.

This is just another attempt to weaken laws protecting people's lives disguised as protecting their hearing. The NRA gives prostitutes (and GOPukes) a bad name.

Keeping in mind a silencer adds about 6 inches to a handgun, making them much harder to conceal.

You think?

I always suspected as much

But you knew that already, didn't you?

Every gun I have bought was for a specific purpose. Even those I know who have made a purchase of asthetics, such as the decoration on a trap gun, were still driven by purpose over appearance.

Do you have any data otherwise or is this just conjecture?

https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/18/the-5-best-selling-handguns-in-america-all-have-1.aspx
"You can argue over which brand of handgun you like, but when it comes to features, there is little room for argument. Most shoppers are looking for a gun that is compact, lightweight, and accurate. And for good reason: People want to arm themselves with handguns that are easily concealable and can fill the role of a personal defense weapon.
.....
All roads lead here
As each of these top sellers makes clear, the biggest driver of demand is self-defense as concealability remains the primary attribute buyers are looking for in their firearms. Major media outlets continue to report on civil unrest following the Presidential election, so we may not have seen the end of the gun sales boom that occurred during the Obama administration -- or the growing interest in compact, concealed carry weapons."


The idea of compact is entirely counter to a longer gun fitted with a silencer. I also can't imagine that adding anything made of metal to gun would make it lighter. I guess folks believe what they want to believe.

...such a cogent response. Thank you.

I googled "most popular handgun sold" and copy/pasted 2 paragraphs from the motley fool.

The 3 sentences of conclusions at the bottom of #15 are mine.
But you're welcome.

I'm generally pleased with your contributions, too.

accuracy are important factors in the choice of their carry weapon. Concealment and weight is not as important for a home defense firearm but of course accuracy is. For those who can legally open carry the size and weight of the weapon are not as important. It's more difficult to conceal a full size handgun than a more compact one. The .380 Ruger LCP which is listed as the number one gun in the article is compact and light enough to be a pocket gun. A. Glock 19 or a 1911 style .45 automatic is too big for normal pocket carry.

The number of people obtaining concealed weapons permits is increasing and consequently so is the demand for compact, light weight and concealable handguns.

in competitive shooting, there are no style points.

I'm sure we'd all like to see one...

Our primary means of observing the world is visual, so that plays into everything we do. Guns are no exception to this rule; you can buy a variety of accessories to replace stock parts, and many of these accessories are functionally identical yet visually different. For example, you can buy magazine base plates with symbols and sayings etched/engraved/silkscreened on them. American flags, sports team logos, catchy sayings, skulls, etc.

And there is a certain amount of quality judgement that goes into looks: if they spent that much time on the outside, they must have spend even more on the inside, right?

Hopefully, at least.

But designers are no less human than you, and take pride in their work same as everybody else. If they design an eye-catching design for the serrations of a pistol slide that is equally effective as a plain design, they take as much pride in this achievement as the consumer that will purchase that gun.

...a muffler would be mandatory.

...'smart silencer' that gets louder when fired by an unauthorized user, calls police on its cellular modem and slows down the bullet.

...so the bullet boomerangs back and hits the unauthorized user.

You'd probably like the end.

https://crimefictionbook.com/2015/04/28/how-loud-is-a-silencer/

Silencers reduce the noise and help prevent long term hearing problems. Perhaps a better name for silencers would be noise reduction aids as a high powered firearm is still quite loud even with a silencer.

Over years of shooting I developed some loss of hearing although to be fair I also worked in a factory with a high noise level for 37 years. A co-worker who didn't shoot on a regular basis had his hearing tested and it was found that at some frequencies his hearing was damaged. The company I worked for would get enough complaints that they would test the db levels of the envioronment and it would always come up just short of being at a damaging level. Then another piece of equipment would be added which increased the noise level considerably but another test would show the level was still acceptable. Therefore I can't attribute my hearing loss to only shooting firearms. In the last few years I worked at the factory I advised a lot of new employees to use ear plugs and many did.

Even though I wore ear protection I did a lot of shooting on an indoor pistol range. That undoubtedly contributed to my hearing loss. Hearing loss is often due to the long term effects of being exposed to a high noise level. The loss builds up gradually in many cases.

Fortunately I am not at the point where I have to use a hearing aid. Since I am now 71 I consider myself lucky to be able to hear as well as I do.

I'm not convinced of), there's no good reason why they should be more tightly controlled than the gun itself. A standard background check, without the fee and other hoops, is a reasonable compromise...

The NFA rules about suppressors are ridiculous. Democrats would be wise to support this Hearing Protection Act legislation, which really is "common sense."

Concealed Carry reciprocity across state lines is also "common sense." We do this with driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and a suite of other things. It's basic, Constitutional "common sense."

I'd also like to see the rules on short barreled rifles repealed. They are firearms like any other, and should be regulated as such.

k&r,

-app

Last edited Thu May 25, 2017, 11:47 AM - Edit history (1)

And are required in many areas for hunting.

It would be nice to have one for the 22's and rifle sized muffler.

I laughed my ass off!

n/t

And, let's not bring that European "argument" up. It only works "one" way.