Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
Posted on 07/04/2006 7:29:21 PM PDT by freepatriot32
SPRINGFIELD - When federal agents converged on Michael Paulus in Celina, Ohio, in 2004, he was chagrined, to say the least.
The admitted air rifle enthusiast told an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives he was shocked to learn four unregistered silencers he owned were illegal, according to testimony yesterday in an ongoing federal firearms trial. Paulus was never charged in the investigation with roots in Western Massachusetts.
"My impression of Michael Paulus is he is an upstanding citizen who had no idea he was breaking the law," ATF agent Larry K. Ward Jr. told jurors in U.S. District Court. "In my opinion, that's not someone who deserves to be brought into federal court."
Investigators did not have the same regard for Michael A. Crooker.
The former Agawam resident and previously convicted felon is on trial for trying to ship a silencer, accompanied by a Big Bore 909 air rifle, to Paulus. The firearms violation charge relates to the silencer, not the air rifle, which felons and most anyone can legally possess.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Regan contends that with Crooker's demonstrated expertise in firearms, he could have used the device to muffle the report of a regular gun, rendering the silencer illegal for possession by a felon. Crooker's lawyer, Vincent A. Bongiorni, of Springfield, has argued the "sound moderator" was legally obtained by Crooker with the air rifle and was never used on a firearm.
The day Paulus' house was searched by federal agents - which coincided with Crooker's June 2004 arrest here - Paulus told Ward he bought the silencers because he had a makeshift shooting range in his basement and did not want to irk his neighbors.
"He was astonished," Ward testified of Paulus' reaction to the raid.
"I was just as astonished," Crooker said yesterday of his arrest in a loud whisper to Bongiorni.
Crooker was arrested two weeks after attempting to mail the air rifle and its components from the Feeding Hills post office. The parcel was intercepted by federal agents who had flagged Crooker; the agents made an orchestrated delivery to Paulus' home.
A retired ATF examiner also testified yesterday, telling jurors he tested the air rifle silencer on a Ruger .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol (using an adapter) to determine whether it could muffle a real gun.
Government witness Richard Craze, formerly of the ATF's Firearms Technology Branch, said the device reduced the decibels of the pistol's report one hundredfold.
On cross-examination, Craze testified the reduction was more significant mathematically, as opposed to the naked ear.
"That (measurement) has nothing to do with what a person would actually hear, right?" Bongiorni asked Craze, which the witness conceded.
Bongiorni told jurors during his opening statement that Crooker owned the air rifle since 2001, and ballistics tests on the silencer never turned up gun powder residue.
ping
Unreal....
Where can I get one of these? For my uh . . . air rifle yeah my air rifle.
LOL !
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
A silencer for an air rifle?
Do they make them for spitball shooters?
A silencer for an air rifle?
Sure. Even an air rifle can be heard by nosy neighbors whilst yer killin varmints (or their cat) in yer own backyard.
Yup. the Brits use them all the time.
Try http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews92476.html
http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/pest.htm
Pest control don't you know. Rats as big as cats and so on.
When will the "Rear Naked Choke" be outlawed?
How about a leg sweep?
An Evil Look?
A direct stare?
TT
I just learned something new.I guess it would be usefull with pesky neighbors in the area.On occasion,late at night,my neighbors son shoots out their second floor garage apt.I could care less,but if he ever hits my truck....:(
The ATF is going after people with bb guns?
Anyway, how can you tell an ATF agent is lying?
His lips are moving.
Since when is an air rifle a firearm?
A silencer is actually a good idea for anyone who might want to shoot a large caliber firearms in their living room. You usually do not have time to put on ear protectors. A very loud firearm being fired in an enclosed area could hurt your hearing, or even cause deafness. Everyone should be able to own silencers. Every law abiding person that is.
BATF an answer in search of a question. When those guys prosecute the use of a Class 3 weapon used in a crime, then the might have a use. All they do is harrass and persecute like an inquisition.
When a liberal looks at it. When is an AR-15 a machine gun? When a liberal looks at it. When is a paintball guns a firearm? When a liberal looks at it. When is the Second Ammendment for armies only and not individual citizens? When a liberal looks at it. When is a crucifix in a bucket of pee "art"? When a liberal looks at it. When is the American flag "xenophobic"? When a liberal looks at it. When are the 2000 and 2004 presidential election results disputable? When a liberal looks at it. When is July 4th a day that will live in infamy? When a liberal looks at it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.