The Boy Scouts of America’s Pine Tree Council, which serves roughly 10,000 Boy Scouts in 10 counties of central Maine, is now the first in the nation to incorporate the use of suppressors to mitigate noise in its firearms training.
The suppressors were donated by two manufacturers—Gemtech donated eight GM-22 rimfire suppressors, and SilencerCo donated two Salvo shotgun suppressors—along with thousands of rounds of subsonic ammunition. Sturm, Ruger & Company donated eight American Rimfire .22 rifles.
Thanks to this equipment, Boy Scouts at Camp William Hinds, in the Sebago Lakes Region, will be able to train for their rifle and shotgun merit badges with less noise than ever before. Indeed, it appears that some scouts have decided to try shooting for the first time with suppressors, because they were intimidated by the noise of un-suppressed gunfire.