Re: Would you be willing to help me with an ongoing poll about hunting with suppresso
Howdy Ernie,
As much as I'd
Absolutely Love to be able to use a suppressor for calling coyotes and shooting prarie dogs (hopefully lots more doubles/triples/quads on coyote stands, and more shooting time before the educated dogs go down their holes).........I would hope they keep big game hunting as it is.
IMO, we have enough problems with poachers and tresspassing and property destruction (I know, I know; it's the ***'s that ruin it for everyone) without them also being able to get a shot or multiple shots off without someone at least hearing it.
I'd be somewhat in favor for it for varmints and predators, especially on private land with permission from landowner...............I'll get on to those reasons in a bit.
Reasons I say on private land, is I feel there's somewhat of a public safety factor on public lands (similar reason we can't spotlight on public lands, even if it's the landowner who leases these lands, spotlighting is only legal on private lands with landowner permission to spotlight)..........since it's public land, anyone could be just over the hill at any time.
Public Land, just an example.
Now lets say theoretically that you were out scouting for antelope, just over the hill from me and I was out shooting prarie dogs with a silencer..............I perhaps wouldn't know you were anywhere around, you perhaps wouldn't know I was shooting or even there..........perhaps,
just maybe you might walk right into my direction of fire without either of us knowing it.
After all, my eye is in a 25X scope with a very small field of view, and you were unaware that I was shooting due to the silencer (
from a distance, we rarely know which direction someone is shooting, but we at least can usually tell there is someone over there shooting).
Whereas if I didn't have a suppressor, you would be able to tell right away that someone is shooting just over the hill and woudn't (in your right mind anyway) top the ridge without taking some precautions about which direction I was possibly fireing..........this was just one example that came to mind. Granted, it's always the shooters responsibility to know his target and what's beyond, but we as shooters also expect that no one will walk right into our line of fire. We all know ricochets happen in dog towns and can happen anytime, especially a missed target, and who knows where those bullets go.
At least on private land with landowner permission to use a silencer, the landowner usually knows who is there and only allows so many hunters at any one time, and could tell any other hunters that "Joe so and so" is shooting dogs with a silencer, so just because you don't hear any shots doesn't mean he's not shooting.
As a landowner who gives alot of people permission to hunt and shoot on my property, I
can't honestly say I'd like them to be using silencers. I'd personally rather hear the shooting so I at least know
where abouts they are shooting. When they are here shooting prarie dogs, I already know whereabouts they are and generally which directions they are likely to be shooting.
Sorry to be so long winded, but it is a complicated subject in my opinion.
