Posted 12:38 am Thursday, January 26, 2012
TPWD Could Allow Suppressors For Deer Rifles
It was almost in jest that I wrote about a Georgia legislator proposing the use of suppressors on rifles for hunting in that state.
Little did I know at the time that Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission had the same topic on its agenda for next hunting season.
Yep, silencers may be the next thing in a Texas deer blind.
The reasoning is hearing protection and to make it easier to harvest excess animals. In Georgia it is to keep from disturbing suburban neighbors wanting to sleep late during deer season.
Quick bottom line, it is not a big deal. In a state like Texas where with the right paperwork you can hunt deer from the beginning of October to the end of February does it really matter how you kill the deer.
The bigger question is should we?
The request for the silencer proposal came from Commissioner Margaret Martin of Boerne. According to a department official her request was timed closely with that from another individual, but they were not sure if one was related to the other. It is the first time such a request has been made of the department.
Little did I know at the time that Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission had the same topic on its agenda for next hunting season.
Yep, silencers may be the next thing in a Texas deer blind.
The reasoning is hearing protection and to make it easier to harvest excess animals. In Georgia it is to keep from disturbing suburban neighbors wanting to sleep late during deer season.
Quick bottom line, it is not a big deal. In a state like Texas where with the right paperwork you can hunt deer from the beginning of October to the end of February does it really matter how you kill the deer.
The bigger question is should we?
The request for the silencer proposal came from Commissioner Margaret Martin of Boerne. According to a department official her request was timed closely with that from another individual, but they were not sure if one was related to the other. It is the first time such a request has been made of the department.
Showing how little biologists are concerned, the proposal will be presented by the department’s Law Enforcement division, not Wildlife.
“I gave a little thought to it to start with, what the impact is going to be with deer and turkey, but the impact on the resources is a non-issue,” said Clayton Wolf, Wildlife Division director.
Wolf compared the use of a silencer to that of a crossbow or any other weapon that is quiet. He added it is already legal to use a silencer to hunt non-game animals such as pigs.
Wolf also said he doesn’t think its legalization means their use is going to escalate.
“My personal thinking is that I think folks are reacting to a thought that poachers are going to run amok. The bottleneck is the federal paperwork to use that thing.” he said.
“I gave a little thought to it to start with, what the impact is going to be with deer and turkey, but the impact on the resources is a non-issue,” said Clayton Wolf, Wildlife Division director.
Wolf compared the use of a silencer to that of a crossbow or any other weapon that is quiet. He added it is already legal to use a silencer to hunt non-game animals such as pigs.
Wolf also said he doesn’t think its legalization means their use is going to escalate.
“My personal thinking is that I think folks are reacting to a thought that poachers are going to run amok. The bottleneck is the federal paperwork to use that thing.” he said.
A silencer requires a permit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. That requires more than the background work to purchase a gun, plus a $200 tax.
If approved by BATF, an off-the-shelf silencer is going to cost $400 and up. Bank on the up. However, silencers for common deer rifle calibers aren’t common, so a hunter may have to have one custom built.
Of course just screwing a suppresser on the end of the barrel doesn’t make a rifle quiet. The second part of the equation is subsonic ammunition, loads that travel at less than 1,100 feet per second instead of the usual 2,000 to 3,000-plus. Not only is it going to be difficult to find, it isn’t going to offer the same knock-down power or accuracy.
Chances are few hunters will jump through all the hoops.
Apparently Texas and Georgia aren’t the only states looking at silencers. TPWD said it polled other states and got responses from 32. About half already allow them.
Wolf brings up a good point.
“A lot is going to boil down to a subjective argument of what is fair chase,” he said. “Is it good for the image of hunting? From our standpoint it isn’t going to harm the resource.”
As for his comparison to crossbows, at least they have a history as a centuries-old hunting tool.
Admittedly, I don’t like the idea if for no other reason than I am from a different era of hunting. When I started there were probably more hunters using opening sights than scopes and it is easier to hold on to the old traditions than to accept the new.
But times change and so does technology. A .30-30 caliber rifle is no longer the benchmark of deer rifles. Nor are fixed 4-power scopes. We don’t wear wool and cowboy boots as hunting attire.
Why not other new technology? According to studies the public typically isn’t concerned as much with what hunters use as they are with how hunters conduct themselves.
But if the department is going to approve silencers why stop there. It should look at everything that is on the market for bow hunting and gun hunting and open the gate if it doesn’t pose a problem for the resource or law enforcement. If a silencer isn’t a problem, why should a laser dot scope?
And who knows what else is out there. After all, this isn’t the black and white television era.
The silencer proposal and other hunting and fishing regulation change proposals will now go for public comment before the Commission takes a final vote in March.
Have a comment or opinion on this story? Contact outdoor writer Steve Knight by email at outdoor@tylerpaper.com.
If approved by BATF, an off-the-shelf silencer is going to cost $400 and up. Bank on the up. However, silencers for common deer rifle calibers aren’t common, so a hunter may have to have one custom built.
Of course just screwing a suppresser on the end of the barrel doesn’t make a rifle quiet. The second part of the equation is subsonic ammunition, loads that travel at less than 1,100 feet per second instead of the usual 2,000 to 3,000-plus. Not only is it going to be difficult to find, it isn’t going to offer the same knock-down power or accuracy.
Chances are few hunters will jump through all the hoops.
Apparently Texas and Georgia aren’t the only states looking at silencers. TPWD said it polled other states and got responses from 32. About half already allow them.
Wolf brings up a good point.
“A lot is going to boil down to a subjective argument of what is fair chase,” he said. “Is it good for the image of hunting? From our standpoint it isn’t going to harm the resource.”
As for his comparison to crossbows, at least they have a history as a centuries-old hunting tool.
Admittedly, I don’t like the idea if for no other reason than I am from a different era of hunting. When I started there were probably more hunters using opening sights than scopes and it is easier to hold on to the old traditions than to accept the new.
But times change and so does technology. A .30-30 caliber rifle is no longer the benchmark of deer rifles. Nor are fixed 4-power scopes. We don’t wear wool and cowboy boots as hunting attire.
Why not other new technology? According to studies the public typically isn’t concerned as much with what hunters use as they are with how hunters conduct themselves.
But if the department is going to approve silencers why stop there. It should look at everything that is on the market for bow hunting and gun hunting and open the gate if it doesn’t pose a problem for the resource or law enforcement. If a silencer isn’t a problem, why should a laser dot scope?
And who knows what else is out there. After all, this isn’t the black and white television era.
The silencer proposal and other hunting and fishing regulation change proposals will now go for public comment before the Commission takes a final vote in March.
Have a comment or opinion on this story? Contact outdoor writer Steve Knight by email at outdoor@tylerpaper.com.
