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mojo rising · Member

Hey guys, Lately i've been having a lil fun at my friend's apt knocking of a few flying rats that buzz around his place. It's alot of fun i sit inside and wait, I dont have to deal with the AZ heat but here is my problem. I have a hw97k .22 and it seems to be really loud. I don't want to piss his neighbors off cuase i love hunting from his place. Is there any way i could get a silencer for gun or make it quieter? I went down stairs to check out one of my kills and a bunch of people were standing around the pigeon, so i played dumb. "Hey guys whats up with that bird?" "Oh someone just shot him we heard a BB gun go off then all we saw was the bird come crashing down" I laughed for a bit but then i realized this could be a problem and I don't want to lose my hunting ground. Cause if they heard it from the other side imagine who else hears my gun when i shoot. Any insight on how to silence my gun??

domer_pyle · Senior Member

Sounds like the silencer you need is the one that keeps you from posting about illegal air rifle activities. Shooting in resdential areas is never a good idea especially when neighbors don't take kindly to it

Jaxom · Senior Member

This has been repeated frequently and often. Silencers in the US are illegal. Well sort of. You need a gun license, then a special permit for one, and that costs as much as a the silencer.

Oh, and if ya think about making one, and then get caught, not only will you loose your hunting ground, you will be fined heavily and possibly looking at time in jail as well.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Hi....
first thing a silencer won't work..
the noise is in most part mechanical...
a quick easy way is to put a nylon disic
between the top hat & piston...Nylon
sleeved spring guides are the best...
just remove as much steel to steel contact
as possable...

Pete

mojo rising · Member

fritz · Silver Status Member

You should still need a Class 3 FFL to own one of these.

1377x · Member

if a silencer wont work on a springer whats the point?
if you must have one
silencers(private ownership) are allowed in az with proper paperwork a $200 tax stamp and transfer fees you dont have to be a class 2 manufacturer or
a class 3 dealer thats who you pay the transfer fees too
http://www.advanced-armament.com/default.aspx?pageId=18

Jaxom · Senior Member

Doesn't matter where you live in the country. Where normall the state and local ordinaces dictate such things as wait times and such. Silencers fall under federal laws, just as fully automatics do.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Now I could be wrong here Exclamation

..but I'm sure he NEVER made any refrence
to a silencer....its everyone ealse thats jumped on the silencer band wagon...I'm sure he knows and understands the law regarding silencers
So Here's a idea Idea

......lets answer his question

...
I think I gave it a go....anyone ealse Question

fritz · Silver Status Member

Pete, then you can tell him about the hazards of lead dust. Wink

Make sure you collect it all.

Except there isn't much dust coming from a springer, not like a PCP. And springers make all their noise in the action.

donec · Senior Member

Seeing as it is a springer (underliever I think) a lot of the sound come from the housing for the spring and not just the muzzle again I think since I don't own one. Anyway maybe it would help to make a foam cover for the housing to deaden the sound of the spring. Also I know silencers are illegal by federal law but I am not sure that would include shooting through a box with insulation or foam in it wrapped around a paper towel tube with holes in it in front of the gun which though not pretty nor elegant and may need some bug worked out but may also help with the muzzle noise along with making sure the barrel is clean to reduce dieseling. Not sure if these things would work but it should not be too hard to try them and see.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Lead dust.... Exclamation

See a gentle poke and the threads back on topic... Razz

Jaxom · Senior Member

Perhaps it was this comment....

mojo rising · Member

Hey guys listen I really don't know too much but I also didnt mean to ruffle any feathers. I assumed, yes I did. with all the stuff out there for air guns MAYBE just MAYBE there might be a silencer or something to help make my mw97 quieter. I just wanna be able to let off a few shots secretly. It doesn't matter if im at my buddy apt or in the desert. the main issue is being in stealth mode.

jlwilliams · Veteran Member

An honest question is an honest question. He did ask about silencing his air gun, but it's better he should ask here than not ask and get into trouble.

As already stated, the gov considers a silencer to be a silencer so they are heavily regulated. Some of what has been said is correct about those regulations, some is not. Suppressed airguns are legaly available, but putting one on your gun isn't a practical option. Short story is, that's not your best bet.

Again, it's already been pointed out that if you are shooting someplace you shouldn't be, you gotta go shoot elsewhere. Sounds to me like the people seeing the bird drop is as much an issue as them hearing the shot. One thing to pellet shoot a trap shy rat, pigeoning in the 'burbs is another thing all together.

That stuff covered, if you want to make the sound of an airgun critter shot less obtrusive; you need to set the stage differently, not modify the gun. By setting the stage differently, I mean where you are when you make the shot. Don't stick the barrel out the window and shoot, that puts the action and barrel at the window. Set up a chair and small table or bipod/shooting stick set up inside the house on the other side of the room. Leave the window wide open and wait for your shot. Shooting the airgun inside the room like that will make it seem much louder to you inside the room. Most of the noise will be inside the room and no one sees the barrel sticking out the window. From the prespective of someone outside the building, the sound will be much less noticable. Big trick with that sort of shot is keeping it safe because you may not be able to see where other people are. You have to set yourself up so that you can observe the area and be sure that when you make the shot you aren't endangering any one or any thing but the intended target.

Your best bet is to find a better place where you can varmint shoot. If you have to deal with a problem animal in a built up area, you need to be exceedingly careful. You need to figure where and when to get the animal with adequit back stop and ricochet prevention in mind. Recreational varminting in a neighborhood is illegal for good reason. A nuisance animal may have to go, but you have to exercise judgement. My favorite 'set up' for a problem critter is to get them inside a structure like a shed or in a basement where I can drop them safely and unobserved. Let the building be your silencer.

Be safe. I'm glad you asked about the silencer thing here instead of buying a 'how to' book at a gunshow and getting yourself screwed.

Find a safe place to shoot. I keep harping on that because it's important. Don't shoot at a pigeon, have the pellet zing off and peg some kid a half a block away. Could happen, but only if you let it.

You could also be facing legal issues you may not be aware of. Some places don't differentiate between air guns and firearms. You could face a felony charge for what seems harmless. I know two people who were charged with felony charges for airgun related incidents. One shot a dog in his yard with a low power bb gun to scare it away, the other shot a goose for the same reason. Both thought it was a reasonable means of scaring an unwanted animal out of the yard. The state disagreed both times. One was charged with felony animal cruelty, the other with discharging a gun in a residential area within such and such a distance of the neighbor's house. Huge, expensive mess. Both got in trouble because they were observed and reported, and of course because they broke the law.

You got away with the pigeon last time. Some of the people there probably saw through the laughing it off, but you got away with it. Move on and set your shots up differently in the future after you find a new place to shoot.