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EDITED TO ADD;

I got an e-mail from the Kitsap County prosecutor. He says that using anything to reduce the noise of a firearm even if not attached to the gun would be illegal. I guess the only legal way to lower the noise level from a rifle range is to ban loud gun use at the range or ban them all together. This sucks big time.

Ranb
 
Cool video Ranb! I wonder if some form of baffles on the inside would help in reducing noise further. I plan on trying out the army plans you posted when I get a chance to pick up the 18" pipe. I want to do silenced .22 target practice in my backyard - just to be a good neighbor. ;)
 
I'm sure anything that would interupt the flow of gases through the structure would reduce the noise. It is just a big silencer (muffler).

Ranb
 
The DA's letter in part said;
The statute declares "any device" to suppress sound illegal. That's a very broad statement. Although I can say that pursuing someone for testing a device like the one you describe would rank pretty low on our list of priorities, it sounds like it would be technically illegal.

I cannot be arrested for breaking RCW 9.41.250(c) unless it is witnessed by the police, but I am not about to risk it or ask club members to take the same risk either. Not when the club is being sued by the county in part for noise complaints.

Here is a link to the law; RCW 9.41.250: Dangerous weapons ? Penalty ? Exemption for law enforcement officers.

RCW 9.41.250
Dangerous weapons — Penalty — Exemption for law enforcement officers.
(1) Every person who:

(c) Uses any contrivance or device for suppressing the noise of any firearm,
is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.

The bill to allow silencer use is supposed to be introduced again in January when the next session in Olympia starts. But this bill only makes exceptions for federally registered silencers. The ATF does not control or register berms and other structures like large downrange baffles, so they would still be banned by WA state law even if House Bill 1604 becomes law.

It would be nice if 9.41.250(c) was just eliminated instead of amended. It would be best for all involved as it is a really bad law.

Ranb
 
EDITED TO ADD;

I got an e-mail from the Kitsap County prosecutor. He says that using anything to reduce the noise of a firearm even if not attached to the gun would be illegal. I guess the only legal way to lower the noise level from a rifle range is to ban loud gun use at the range or ban them all together. This sucks big time.

What, so an indoor range with sound baffles is illegal?

My thoughts:
Build an enclosed booth with some sound damping materials and a bit of thick glass to let in natural light. Weld two barrels together lengthwise and affix them to the shooting end of the booth. Place sound damping and fire resistant materials inside the barrels. I don't know how much you could reduce the sound of .50 shots that way, but I'd bet that it would help somewhat, especially with directing the sound. Even the most anti-gun legislators should be hard-pressed to find something wrong with that, especially if it was built for the purpose of allowing people with expensive rifles to shoot them in a dry environment.
 
The only difference between my design and yours C&H, is that yours is enclosed and mine is not. They would be equally illegal in the eyes of the law as the Kitsap county DA reads it.

Ranb
 
4 Corners Gun Club in Salem also had a noise complaint. Shooting at that club is done through a foam filled "tunnel" about 10 feet long. Every bench has one.

It makes a big difference, although i don't like it.
 
EDITED TO ADD;

I got an e-mail from the Kitsap County prosecutor. He says that using anything to reduce the noise of a firearm even if not attached to the gun would be illegal. I guess the only legal way to lower the noise level from a rifle range is to ban loud gun use at the range or ban them all together. This sucks big time.

Ranb

Got to love anti-gun morons...
 
There was actually a guy prosecuted for this... federally, I don't remember the exact details of the case, but he was constructing a baffle to keep the noise of his rifle down.

While vaguaries in the law seem to ban "devices" what you can do instead is have a structure which is physically part of the shooting range. I remember years ago at one of the local gun clubs, we installed acoustic foam on the cieling of the members shooting area (which was all enclosed, except for where things went down range). I don't think you could call a shooting range designed to dampen sounds as a "silencer". I think even Justice Ginsberg would see that as constructive intent. If the local prosecutor wanted to go after you for posession and use of a suppressed building...
 
If the local prosecutor wanted to go after you for posession and use of a suppressed building...

A suppressed building, I love it!
Go for a Guinness record... Worlds Largest Silencer! Of course, you couldn't use it in Washington, and it sure would be a pain to load the range on a truck and get it to Oregon for some shooting time...

I would see about contacting the club in Salem, getting some plans and photos and hopefully sound measurements with and without the structures - then contact the involved or potentially involved judge. Don't talk to that prosecutor again until you get some positive feedback from the judge and maybe even local law enforcement, if you're on decent terms with them. If you can get a judge to say it should be fine, and local cops are cool with it - then you go to the neighbors and ask if they'd like some sound dampening and get their rubber stamp - then wind it all up in a professional looking package with plans, and thumbs up from the involved parties and have a friendly (really - I mean friendly) meeting with the prosecutor.

If there's still no love for your proposed modifications, either suck it up and quit shooting the big stuff or prepare a lawsuit and go get your rights rubber stamped in court. If it comes to that, I'm in for a small donation to a legal fund for this specific issue. (Small because I'm job hunting)
 
Actually what I need is an official opinion from the Attorney General of WA. If the AG does not think it is illegal, then I should probably be safe from the county attorneys.

Ranb
 
I got an opinion from the AG. Since RCW 9.41.250 is a dangerous weapons statute, it does not apply to devices and structures for noise abatement. http://www.northwestfirearms.com/showthread.php?t=47087&highlight=ranb

I re-installed my shooting box so I and another shooter could put some rounds through it. The people around us said it made the extra noisy rifles sound like large black powder rifles. The tone of the noise was lowered as was the intensity.

There were problems though. The smoky powder obscures the view for a while as it is trapped inside. Enough smoke escapes the cracks to make it look like it is on fire for a minute. The front and back of the box is sealed off with 3/8 inch plywood with ports for the barrel in back and the bullet exit in front. The front piece of plywood cracked and broke off after about ten rounds even though I had inch wide washers with lag screws holding it in place. The pressure was too much for it. The rear plywood eventually broke, so I removed it. This allowed much more muzzle blast to blow back into the face of the shooter, so it has to be replaced with something stronger.

The foam filled steel doors also started to buckle a bit, they will need to be attached at the corners in the middle, not just at the ends. It also needs to be fastened to the shooting bench to keep from moving around. I think a racket strap will do well enough.

A work in progress, but we will make it better.

Ranb
 

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