A young man in Texas apparently took a page from the 2007 film Shooter in seeking to reduce the sound signature of his gun. Tyler Mann, 24, allegedly taped a plastic water bottle to the muzzle of his rifle before going out looking for dogs to shoot in Hardin County, Texas. After pulling Mann over for a traffic violation, the Hardin County sheriff’s deputy conducting the stop noticed the rifle complete with low-rent muzzle device. Now, Mann is facing a felony charge relating to possession of an unregistered silencer.

The improvised silencer in this case would likely have had a negligible impact on the rifle’s muzzle noise. Fortunately for the dogs of Hardin County, and unfortunately for Mr. Mann, he probably will not to get a chance to try out higher quality noise mitigation devices in the future. If convicted, Mann is likely to permanently lose his legal right to keep and bear arms. This story is just one more illustration of a hard lesson: waiting on ATF bureaucrats to process transfer paperwork is a lot less painful than taking shortcuts and facing the severe criminal penalties associated with possession of an unregistered silencer.