suppressor laws in Pa. ?

[Wise Old Owl]

OK this is an old thread and clearly I am new here to the blog... I will set it up my information shortly,

As a resident in PA just outside Philadelphia, I cover a territory of Eastern PA & NJ for pest control... the near "only" time I would need to use a .22 rifle & scope is Grey Squirrels, at short range. A suppressor, I think would give me an advantage, but the "guys at the bar" (Hunters) tell me it's illegal... I am attempting only to get multiple squirrels in the same vicinity... much like rats once you hit one you are done for the day. As a group and I hang out with a friend who is a marine.. He shoots rats without one and we are not sure how to proceed.


I am looking for a little direction here. I have gunsmiths in the 5 mile radius of my home here in Paoli who can help me if this is a good idea.

[ungawa]

OK this is an old thread and clearly I am new here to the blog... I will set it up my information shortly,

As a resident in PA just outside Philadelphia, I cover a territory of Eastern PA & NJ for pest control... the near "only" time I would need to use a .22 rifle & scope is Grey Squirrels, at short range. A suppressor, I think would give me an advantage, but the "guys at the bar" (Hunters) tell me it's illegal... I am attempting only to get multiple squirrels in the same vicinity... much like rats once you hit one you are done for the day. As a group and I hang out with a friend who is a marine.. He shoots rats without one and we are not sure how to proceed.


I am looking for a little direction here. I have gunsmiths in the 5 mile radius of my home here in Paoli who can help me if this is a good idea.

Hunting with suppressor is legal but there is some kind of ambiguity in the hunting regulations because it is not mentioned as an approved firearm or some nonsense. It's not important to me so I forget the details and you need to make sure for yourself. It's either OK, or suggested you spend $5 on a specific permit just in case, or request a letter just in case, or take your chances, or I don't know.

But it does seem it is legal. Try checking the info in these threads:

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/196...uppressor.html

http://forum.pafoa.org/hunting-23/18...a-hunting.html

[Wise Old Owl]

Thanks for weighing in but for squirrels is it a good idea or a waste of time... curious

[Wise Old Owl]

............................................

[Armor Snail]

Cheaper and easier using a tube fed .22 bolt or lever action with cb caps or similar.
They will be pretty quiet.

Considering the current turnaround on tax stamps. The above could be had in an afternoon trip to your LGS.

[Cfurlo]

OK this is an old thread and clearly I am new here to the blog... I will set it up my information shortly,

As a resident in PA just outside Philadelphia, I cover a territory of Eastern PA & NJ for pest control... the near "only" time I would need to use a .22 rifle & scope is Grey Squirrels, at short range. A suppressor, I think would give me an advantage, but the "guys at the bar" (Hunters) tell me it's illegal... I am attempting only to get multiple squirrels in the same vicinity... much like rats once you hit one you are done for the day. As a group and I hang out with a friend who is a marine.. He shoots rats without one and we are not sure how to proceed.


I am looking for a little direction here. I have gunsmiths in the 5 mile radius of my home here in Paoli who can help me if this is a good idea.

It's not really a hunting issue if you are doing nuisance work under a NWCO license. It sounds like you need to weigh the benefits of getting one vs. the cost. Would getting one somehow increase your business or make you more effective? And are you allowed to take firearms into NJ for work, if not, might be troublesome.

[ungawa]

Suppressors are completely forbidden in Jersey. Even Class 3 dealers can't possess them, not even for sale to law enforcement. You would need to work something out with the NJ government to bring a suppressor, if that is even possible.

[thundrr1]

Riding around with an NFA item in your truck is not a good idea. The final cost of a .22 suppressor will be above $500.00 plus the cost of the smithing to the host weapon, or the cost of a new host. Now figure how many municipalities have regulations concerning the "discharge" of a weapon.

With a cost of, say for instance, $650.00, how many squirrels are you going to "terminate"? That could wind up as a very expensive squirrel eradicator.

I can't see it as a viable tool for your work. JMHO

[WCMG]

Riding around with an NFA item in your truck is not a good idea. The final cost of a .22 suppressor will be above $500.00 plus the cost of the smithing to the host weapon, or the cost of a new host. Now figure how many municipalities have regulations concerning the "discharge" of a weapon.

With a cost of, say for instance, $650.00, how many squirrels are you going to "terminate"? That could wind up as a very expensive squirrel eradicator.

I can't see it as a viable tool for your work. JMHO

True, one of the most economic 22 suppressors is the Huntertown Arms Guardian 22

Total cost would be:

$179.00 for suppressor
$200.00 ATF tax stamp
$10.74 PA tax
--------
$389.74 out-the-door

and as this poster said, cost to either thread a barrel ($75+) or to purchase an adapter ($25+) has to be figured into the cost.

Our best selling handgun/suppressor setup is below and it's VERY quite, but that's a lot of squirrels:

$375.00 for Smith & Wesson M&P22 in 22LR
$ 25.00 suppressor adapter
$179.00 for suppressor
$200.00 ATF tax stamp
$34.74 PA tax
--------
$813.74 out-the-door, unless you need to setup a Gun Trust then add another $99+ depending on how you do it.

Note: I didn't mean to turn this into a sales pitch, so I apologize for that, but I think a lot of people in PA are misinformed about the cost of suppressors and I wanted to clarify the true cost of ownership.

[knight0334]

OK this is an old thread and clearly I am new here to the blog... I will set it up my information shortly,

As a resident in PA just outside Philadelphia, I cover a territory of Eastern PA & NJ for pest control... the near "only" time I would need to use a .22 rifle & scope is Grey Squirrels, at short range. A suppressor, I think would give me an advantage, but the "guys at the bar" (Hunters) tell me it's illegal... I am attempting only to get multiple squirrels in the same vicinity... much like rats once you hit one you are done for the day. As a group and I hang out with a friend who is a marine.. He shoots rats without one and we are not sure how to proceed.


I am looking for a little direction here. I have gunsmiths in the 5 mile radius of my home here in Paoli who can help me if this is a good idea.

The only thing that might be illegal in PA is the killing of a game species out of season, without a hunting license, unless you are otherwise allowed to by law or the PA Game Commission. And, the possibility of unlawful discharge of a firearm within a given municipality.

As others have mentioned, suppressors are legal in PA. And they are legal to hunt with, and for legitimate pest control. I'm not sure how PA law governs "pest control" commercial activities versus game laws.