The huntertown guardian 22.

For those with hearing damage caused by a lifetime of unprotected firearm use, sound suppressors - or silencers - are a welcome accessory. Sadly their use is regulated by archaic laws drummed up decades ago to curb a murderous criminal element, but some things do stay unrepealed in our legal systems like the fact you can still be hanged for poaching the king's deer in England (though they did outlaw hanging) and New Jersey's law regarding slingshots due to an administrative typo. One day - as discussed in a previous post - firearms will shoot a different type of ammo using a whole new operating system and silencers will be rendered redundant anyway, but for the meantime we suffer the silliness. As I was saying, my ears are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the bang or a gun so a recent addition to my toolkit was a Huntertown Guardian 22 (of course with the necessary tax stamp). Huntertown have since replaced it with the titanium Chameleon for a bit more money but it's essentially the same. I selected it for 2 main reasons: they've put the serial number on the threaded collar so in the event of a baffle strike you just send back the tube and the innards for repair without any need for paperwork. Cleverly thought out. Also, the engineers at Huntertown seem to understand this is an old technology and charge accordingly. In Europe where silencers are normal and easy to procure they run under $100 on average, which is about right, there's not much to them. Youtube is chock with videos showing people using flashlights, oil filters and soda bottles to good effect so anyone who tells you their silencer utilizes some revolutionary new, quieter baffle system is stretching the truth just a little. I happened to have a (legal) silencer some 20 years ago and though it was 8 inches long, sealed at both ends and weighed a full pound, I have to say it was quieter than any lightweight configuration I've heard in the last 5 years. Of course in a regulated market, prices are usually higher than if sales were unlocked, so all the better for everyone if someone would just throw out the rules on them and make them subject to the same background check as a standard firearm purchase. Or give over-50-year-olds a hall pass like with crossbows for hunting, or free prostate checkups. In fact it could be part of a mid-life package to congratulate folks for getting to that age and staying law-abiding, married and tax-paying. Either way, Huntertown produce a great little silencer and if you haven't looked at them give them a peek at https://huntertownarms.com.  AS

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