silencers allowed or not?

[Historian82]

I have owned and sold quite a few Class 3 firearms and still own some to include silencers. The former assualt weapon ban did not effect the buying/selling/owning of any weapon covered under the various Gun Control Acts (GCA) that have been in place since about the 1930s. It was actually quite a joke as the only thing banned was the semi-auto replicas of true assault weapons- all during this "ban" one could still purchase full auto weapons and silencers (assuming your state gave you that right).

As pointed out earlier the take by the BATF is that *IF* it can be modified to reduce the report of a real weapon by 3 decibles or more it is, technically, illegal. Also you do not need the $200 tax stamp to make the suppressor legal- that $200 tax is for what is called a Form 4 that allows a private citizen to legally own what is termed a Class 3 item (in this case anything full auto, a silencer, or what is termed a "short barreled rifle" (SBR) which is any rifle with a barrel length under 16". Short barreled shotguns, rifles converted to pistols, etc fall under the Any Other Weapon category which is a $5 fee. The license for making legal suppressors is a bit more expensive and time consuming.

For the old timers like me you may remember when paintball silencers were everywhere including advertised in magazines. The around 1989/90 the ATF took a look at the silencers being made when a few converted paintball silencers ended up being used in crimes. In the space of a year all of the paintball silencer manufacturers ceased production and magazine adds ended. This was due to the ATF issuing numerous cease and desist orders to the manufacturers as well as getting the word into the community that one ran the risk of a 10-year/$250,000 fine if you got caught with one. SO most people dumped them.

Now... I doubt the ATF would raid a paintball field or kick in ones door. However, it is very very easy to convert the typical paintball silencer to a real one by using certain easily purchased baffling material. Clamping them onto a real gun is a no brainer.

SO just be careful if you make one and dont be a moron who shoves it under the nose of local law enforcement is all as the above says it all. My advice is if an agent or cop ona field does take it- you just abandon it and chalk it up to experience. Do not fight it as you will lose.

ANd as an FYI- those Armotech "barrel extensions" are a violation of the BATF. They are so easily converted its not even funny.

[Rokudon]

wait so your saying that the armotech ones are illegal?? so barrel extensions overall are illegal? wouldnt that include matchstiks, J&J edge kits, or any other 2 piece barrel on ther market as well?

[Glickman]

paintball silencers are legal unless they are able to be modified to be put on a real firearm.
so if you want it to be legal, make it permanently attached to the barrel.

its all iffy though, so i wouldnt really bring one to the field, but theyre great for shooting in the backyard for tuning.

if u do want to make one, itll cost about $200 to have it looked at for approval.
not really worth it i say

[Historian82]

That is a very good point!

If it is permanently mounted then you would probably be ok.

In the real world of Class 3 if you have a full-auto weapon with a detachable silencer that would be two seperate Form 4's and two $200 tax stamps. However, if the silencer is permanently attached to the weapon (such as an MP-5SD) it only counts as a single Class 3 weapon.

[Rokudon]

ya but some other person pointed out that they could argue that the barrel could be fitted over a regular rifle's outer diameter. for that matter, would a pb silencer even dampen a regular firearm that badly? pbs run at 300fps, bullets go 3000fps, wouldn't pb silencers be severely "underpowered" to silence a rifle? and that still didnt answer my question about 2piece barrels, because the fronts COULD be counted as barrel extensions

[Glickman]

yes thats another thing. if it doesnt dampen it past i think 3 decibels, then its fine.

also, if its very flimsy, and not able to function well on a real firearm, thats supposably ok (as it says in the regulations, although i think its very vague)

[Historian82]

AN empty plastic 2 liter soda bottle can dampen the report of a .22 by about 7 decibles for one shot. It comes down to if it can drop or be modified to drop the decibel level by 3 for even a single shot then its a no go.

And silencers are not that strong per se... they are not dampening the bullet but rather the pressure wave that is generated. Silencers need to take the beating from this pressure wave, and too a small extent the friction generated by the bullet travelling through the air (as an interesting note- for some reason the dynamics of an M-16 firing on full auto will rapidly burn out a lot of silencers due to the friction welding or melting the baffles).

And all you have to do is pull the foam out and replace it with a packing made from copper scrubby pads. Voila! A suppressor, if done right, that will reduce the decible level by about 12 - 17 decibels.

And yes.... a paintball bareel would fit over some real steel barrels. It would actually make the alignment easier! I did not think of that :P