I was at the large gun store in southern Indiana today to pick up some primers for the Max and 44 mag Handi's. Did a quick check to see how many Handi's they had in the floor rack, and they had the normal stock of about twenty 357 and 44 mags (other Handi's are in the back wall rack). The 357's and 44's are $50 more than they were a few months ago. Beside them was a rack with about 40 AR15 type rifles. There is an entire wall of black rifles behind a counter in this store, I've never seen a floor rack of AR15's in this store. The used rack had nothing interesting so I went to see if they had the 22 LR Sportster that I stupidly didn't buy a few weeks ago. It was gone. Beside the single shot 22's is the suppressor case. I've always wanted a suppressed 22 so I took a quick look. I bought a 10/22 years ago that I never warmed up to but cannot bring myself to get rid of because I always figured that would be the 22 rifle to suppress. In the suppressor case they have a suppressed 10/22 barrel marked down to a reasonable price. Hmm.
I grab one of the employees to get the primers. We head over to the counter where the primers are and he asks what am I loading. I tell him the 357 Max for deer and he says he is using the Max for deer too. He has a Max Handi cut down to 16 inches. We talk loads and he mentions he is shooting cast subsonic for fun in his Max. This triggers the suppressor synapse in my head so I ask him about the 10/22 barrel. He gets the keys to the case, gets out the barrel and talks it up. I'm asking about how to clean it etc. I ask how quite is it? Is it like a CB? He looks at me funny and asks have you never shot a suppressed gun? Nope, never shot a suppressed gun nor have I ever seen anyone shot one. He says I'll be right back. He goes into a back office, comes out and grabs the suppressed 22 bolt action rifle out of the case. He says lets go on a field trip. So we walk past the two uniformed sheriff deputies standing beside us who are playing with a new Glock and head out to the parking lot. This shop is not out in the sticks, it's by a major interstate not far from a major shopping area. We walk over to the grass strip off the parking lot, he loads the rifle and shots it into the ground. Quiet as a mouse. We go back in, chat about the suppressor some more and I say I'll think about it. I buy the primers and hit the road. A good day at the gun shop.
