In the silencer industry, this year has been a year of creeping bureaucracy, with nasty proposed regulations pending at ATF and ever-increasing paperwork processing times. But 2013 has otherwise been a good one for the silencer industry, which continues to grow. SilencerCo was even recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the “Top 500 Fasting Growing Companies in America.” On the public policy front, there were legislative wins in a number of states, especially for hunters interested in using silencers for hearing protection while hunting.

The American Silencer Association has played a major role in these state-level legislative victories. One of ASA’s lobbyists, NRA board member Todd Rathner, was interviewed for the September 2013 edition of Western Shooting Journal.

In the interview, Rathner (pictured above) explains that the slow but steady progress in eliminating silencer prohibitions is a testament to the difficult task of teaching policymakers about what silencers really do, and what they cannot do. Sometimes, it is also a matter of convincing those in office that hunting with a silencer is just as sporting as hunting without one.

 It’s a process of education. There are a lot of misconceptions about what suppressors do. There are some legislators who believe that the suppressor makes a gun completely silent, like what you see in the movies. Their stated concerns have been that it would affect or violate the tenets of fair chase, that a landowner will not be able to hear someone shooting on their property, and that a person could shoot an entire herd of elk. They are afraid it would lead to increased poaching.

Rathner also points out that policymakers should recognize the costs of silencer prohibition in terms of hearing loss:

The average high-powered rifle unsuppressed fires about 160 decibels. The best sound suppressors can get it down to is 130 decibels. That level is roughly equal to the loudness of a chain saw. It makes a high-powered rifle hearing safe so it doesn’t hurt your ears or cause long-term damage. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and others who have studied the effect of sound on your ears found that 140 decibels or less is roughly hearing safe. The goal of suppressor companies is to get it under that. Suppressors prevents ringing, tinnitus and long-term damage to hearing.

Read the rest of the interview with Rathner here.