Caribou Gear Tarp

Silencers/Suppressors legal for hunting.....

RockyDog said:
How about hunting night with night vision scopes and grenade launchers?
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You mean you guys can't hunt coyotes at night with night vision and night lights?

Your grenade launcher argument is silly. Suppressors are not destructive devices they do however aid in accuracy and most certainly protect your ears.

So what is your problem with suppressors? Is it simply because you think poachers will use them? Or are you simply ok with the governement dictating what you can do with them?
 
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Jason, your logic is not flying man... we can own suppressors, we can shoot guns with suppressors, we just cant hunt with them.

Like someone above said, there are places and times we cannot hunt with high powered rifles. You are not allowed to use a rifle for turkey in the spring. Is the government infringing on my rights by saying that?

I want a silencer and I want to hunt with it... even if Barri does get mad at me for it and calls me a poacher. At least I'll have a huge rack every year.....
 
I don't think you should be allowed to hunt with suppressors..but I definitely don't think anyones' rights are being infringed upon either. That's just silly.

Some good points here regarding muzzleloaders, rifles for turkey, etc..

In my opinion, just another stupid bill that our state is wasting time and money on. Ranks right up there with the spear chuckers.
 
Regardless or any poaching or illegal activities. It seems like an unfair advantage to me, I don't know much about silencers, but I assume the animal would have less of a chance of knowing where the shot came from. We already have enough technological advantages.
 
Who ever made silencers illegall in the first place should be horse whipped. I have a better one. How about we make helicopters illegal to transport hunters and game just like it is in Alaska. The ak trooper I talked to told me they are an unfair advantage over fixed wing and to reduce Hunter conflict they outlawed them.. what do you think? Who's in on this one.
 
wingman1 said:
Who ever made silencers illegall in the first place should be horse whipped. I have a better one. How about we make helicopters illegal to transport hunters and game just like it is in Alaska. The ak trooper I talked to told me they are an unfair advantage over fixed wing and to reduce Hunter conflict they outlawed them.. what do you think? Who's in on this one.
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Helcopters not allowed for hunter transport - Sounds good to me. Your promotion of such wouldn't have any self-serving interest now, would it? I am sure you can find a legislator to carry your bill, they seem to be into personal favors.

Why would you want to restrict manners by which hunters can legally access lands that are otherwise inaccessible by foot?

And why would you not include fixed wing aircraft, since I can probably get a tropper to tell me that such aircraft are an unfair advantage over foot hunters? I mean, come on, if it is all about "fair," whatever "fair" is, let's make it fair all the way around.

Let's add to that bill, that you have to wait 24 hours to hunt, once you have flown with any aircraft - fixed wing or helicopter, with the exception for commerical air.

And, you cannot use fixed wing aircraft for scouting of game, the same as AZ does. Since we like AK statutes so much, let's add some AZ stuff in there.

And, let's set a minimum "above ground level" when flying over game or a unit, if you have a tag for the area. Would prohibit the buzzing of elk herds, the night before season opens, then setting up on them before dark that next morning.

That seems like more of a "fairness" issue than the "helicopter versus fixed wing" injustice you and an unnamed AK trooper are worried about.

What do you think, you in on this one?
 
MHMT said:
Regardless or any poaching or illegal activities. It seems like an unfair advantage to me, I don't know much about silencers, but I assume the animal would have less of a chance of knowing where the shot came from. We already have enough technological advantages.
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You're not worried about the animal firing back to your position are you? :D
 
wingman1 said:
Who ever made silencers illegall in the first place should be horse whipped. I have a better one. How about we make helicopters illegal to transport hunters and game just like it is in Alaska. The ak trooper I talked to told me they are an unfair advantage over fixed wing and to reduce Hunter conflict they outlawed them.. what do you think? Who's in on this one.
Click to expand...

Silencers were never made illegal. They were regulated under the 1936 NFA. The reason was - during the gangster years/prohibition, machine guns, submachine guns, etc, were commonly used by less than reputable folks, and regulating their manufacture and sale was a quick way to increase fines and punishment.

Silencers fell in to that category of regulated. For good reason.

As far as regulating silencers in the field, I can see both sides of the issue, but I'm not sure I would ever use one. I pack enough weight around on my middle to carry another pound of metal. :)
 
Big Fin said:
Why would you want to restrict manners by which hunters can legally access lands that are otherwise inaccessible by foot?
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Devils Advocate: Why restrict the use of a suppressor while hunting that is legal to own and shoot thru otherwise?
 
Big Fin's post said it all on the matter of gun rights.

Here is my reason for not liking the silensor/suppressor bill. Several times while out archery hunting for elk i have run into guys who were illegally hunting elk with a rifle. I also know guys who have told me they use their night vision as part of hunting. I have bugled the rifle poachers in during bow season and seen them put me in their scopes in hunting mode, and then when i confronted them or chased them it was obvious they were planning to poach a bull. Montana allows people to rifle hunt for bears during elk archery season. Right now if your in elk country during archery season and you hear rilfe shots you, someone else or the warden will dam sure go and investigate. Making silencers legal will make it easier for the people who do poach with them, and it will tempt a few questionable people over the line especially where the big trophies are in national parks, stated game preserves, limited entry units and private wildlife sanctuaries (ie Teds).

On helicopters, you can use in them in alaska you just cant pack meat with them. The times my pals and i have flown into the alaskan backcountry we plan our destination around landing then hiking to where the planes cannot land, because any place with easy air access is usually overhunted. In the region of Alaska i know there is generally a place for a supercub to land every 4 to 10 miles, isnt that enough? While out hunting my friends and i often talk about how much we love the helicopter law, all it means is that after we hike 5 or 10 miles to get to a remote spote we wont have some person landing on top of us in a helicopter.

I guess im just wierd, i dont want to use every available technology to make it easier for me to get a trophy. I want the field to be somewhat leveled and for people to have to actually work for their kill, not just buy a weapons gadget or a flying machine. I guess maybe im a little to old school in that regard. I do respect 2nd amendment gun rights, but they aren the only issue and i dont want wildlife management compromised by people with tunnel vision who only care about their guns.

Oh, and Hornseeker im turning you in!
 
So silencers are going to turn regular hunters into poachers and poachers into super poachers. Got it.

I wonder how many silencers have been used by lawful owners to poach big game animals since the NFA went into effect?? Wonder how many have been charged or convicted?

They are already legal in MT so I assume everyday big game animals are poached by somebody who legally owns a suppressor.
 
See below for biggest poaching case in my neck of the woods. Alot of poaching was conducted unremote areas where shots may otherwise have been heard.



Ruth Case: In 2003, wardens acting on tips raided a compound near Seeley Lake owned by Dean and Renita Ruth. They seized more than 100 big game mounts and racks, including deer, elk, bear, and moose, along with a rifle silencer and hundreds of photos of the couple’s clients posing over dead animals. The Ruth poaching ring killed so many deer in the area that FWP biologists later recorded a significant decline in mature buck numbers when conducting annual surveys to set hunting seasons.

The Ruths were charged with 12 felony counts of poaching in Montana, as well as numerous poaching charges in Pennsylvania. In 2004, a federal judge sentenced Dean Ruth to four months in prison and restricted him from ever owning a firearm again. A Montana district court judge later ordered the couple to pay $19,000 in restitution, revoked Dean Ruth’s hunting privileges for life, and sentenced him to 20 years in prison with 15 years suspended.
 
Big Fin said:
Helcopters not allowed for hunter transport - Sounds good to me. Your promotion of such wouldn't have any self-serving interest now, would it? I am sure you can find a legislator to carry your bill, they seem to be into personal favors.

Why would you want to restrict manners by which hunters can legally access lands that are otherwise inaccessible by foot?

And why would you not include fixed wing aircraft, since I can probably get a tropper to tell me that such aircraft are an unfair advantage over foot hunters? I mean, come on, if it is all about "fair," whatever "fair" is, let's make it fair all the way around.

Let's add to that bill, that you have to wait 24 hours to hunt, once you have flown with any aircraft - fixed wing or helicopter, with the exception for commerical air.

And, you cannot use fixed wing aircraft for scouting of game, the same as AZ does. Since we like AK statutes so much, let's add some AZ stuff in there.

And, let's set a minimum "above ground level" when flying over game or a unit, if you have a tag for the area. Would prohibit the buzzing of elk herds, the night before season opens, then setting up on them before dark that next morning.

That seems like more of a "fairness" issue than the "helicopter versus fixed wing" injustice you and an unnamed AK trooper are worried about.

What do you think, you in on this one?
Click to expand...


Exactly my point. Everyone has their own agenda. So your not going to help me with this idea. Hope you don't cry when I go by you at devils elbow headed to the wilderness areas in a 42 ' trawler with a 25 ' skiff in tow. I think its just a coincidence. Ive been waiting to do this for five years.:D
 
RockyDog said:
See below for biggest poaching case in my neck of the woods. Alot of poaching was conducted unremote areas where shots may otherwise have been heard.



Ruth Case: In 2003, wardens acting on tips raided a compound near Seeley Lake owned by Dean and Renita Ruth. They seized more than 100 big game mounts and racks, including deer, elk, bear, and moose, along with a rifle silencer and hundreds of photos of the couple’s clients posing over dead animals. The Ruth poaching ring killed so many deer in the area that FWP biologists later recorded a significant decline in mature buck numbers when conducting annual surveys to set hunting seasons.

The Ruths were charged with 12 felony counts of poaching in Montana, as well as numerous poaching charges in Pennsylvania. In 2004, a federal judge sentenced Dean Ruth to four months in prison and restricted him from ever owning a firearm again. A Montana district court judge later ordered the couple to pay $19,000 in restitution, revoked Dean Ruth’s hunting privileges for life, and sentenced him to 20 years in prison with 15 years suspended.
Click to expand...

Was the suppressor legal? Serious question. 19k for the poached animals seems cheap but 20 years sounds like an NFA violation.

Were the clients araigned as well?
 
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