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Old May 7, 2013, 09:45 AM   #1
kmherring911
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Wanting to buy a suppressor how?

I just took my ccw class, but I have not took my certificate to the sheriffs office yet. So I don't know much on how to get a suppressor or some other kind of permits. So my question is, how do you own a suppressor? Also, what are the cost?
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Old May 7, 2013, 10:06 AM   #2
allaroundhunter
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Re: Wanting to buy a suppressor how?

The total cost is the cost of the suppressor, plus a $200 check made to the BATFE. To get a better idea of the process, you should ask a class 3 dealer (preferably the one you would purchase the suppressor from). They are usually pretty good about helping their customers with the process. The big decision that you have to make is whether you want to make a trust (probably the best choice) or be the only one able to be in possession of the suppressor.

Another cost: setting up a trust using an attorney will usually cost a couple hundred dollars.
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Old May 7, 2013, 10:09 AM   #3
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This probably should have been posted in the NFA section.

Assuming suppressors are legal in your state (they are in most), you'll need to follow the BATFE's rules as per the 1934 National Firearms Act. There is no "permit" to own a suppressor; instead, each suppressor purchase requires the same process and the same $200 transfer tax to the BATFE.

The process is as follows: purchase the suppressor through your dealer, fill out some paperwork, take the paperwork and get photoed, fingerprinted, and signed off by local law enforcement, and mail the paperwork along with a $200 to the BATFE. In about six months your dealer will receive the paperwork back with a tax stamp affixed and they'll call you to come pick up your suppressor and your tax stamp. This tax stamp paperwork is what allows you to own the suppressor and it's a good idea to keep a copy of it with the suppressor at all times.

However, this process only works if your local law enforcement will sign off. If they won't (like in my neck of the woods), then you need to purchase the suppressor through a revocable trust. In many ways the trust is superior; it's a lot faster (the paperwork can be ready to mail out within about 15 minutes from start to finish), it doesn't require a sign-off or photos or fingerprints and it allows more than one person to be on it, meaning more than one person can possess the NFA item. Also, you can designate a person to receive your suppressors upon the event of your death. On my NFA trust I am the settlor, I am the first trustee, my wife is the second trustee, and my father-in-law will receive my suppressors in the event that both my wife and I die. The trust can be amended at any time, but I recommend you get advice from a lawyer or other qualified person to do that.
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Old May 7, 2013, 11:54 AM   #4
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It's the damnedest thing--I've never felt the need for a suppressed firearm. Figured if I had to use a weapon to save myself, noise would be the least of my worries. But it does look as if the process of obtaining and documenting one would be fairly arduous.
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Old May 7, 2013, 12:39 PM   #5
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It's the damnedest thing--I've never felt the need for a suppressed firearm. Figured if I had to use a weapon to save myself, noise would be the least of my worries. But it does look as if the process of obtaining and documenting one would be fairly arduous.
A suppressed handgun will not only be quieter it will also eliminate muzzle flash and reduce recoil. All of these can be helpful in an SD situation. If youre shooting in a closed room that is going to reflect a lot of sound, every shot you take is going to be devastating to your hearing and will likely cause more stress and possibly cause flinching, reducing accuracy. In a dark room, muzzle flash could overwhelm and blind the shooter (couple that with the devastatingly loud report)
Less recoil= faster follow-up shots.
I believe every civilian should have the ability to obtain a suppressor, with the proper paperwork.
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Old May 7, 2013, 12:41 PM   #6
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Re: Wanting to buy a suppressor how?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JD0x0 View Post
I believe every civilian should have the ability to obtain a suppressor, with the proper paperwork.


Additional paperwork is not necessary... The current NICS check done by FFLs should be plenty.
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Old May 7, 2013, 02:49 PM   #7
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It's the damnedest thing--I've never felt the need for a suppressed firearm.
Here's my advice to people who aren't interested in owning a suppressor: don't ever shoot one. Because once you shoot a suppressed weapon chances are you're going to want to suppress everything you own. And trust me, that gets expensive.
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Old May 7, 2013, 03:22 PM   #8
BillM
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[QUOTEHere's my advice to people who aren't interested in owning a suppressor: don't ever shoot one. Because once you shoot a suppressed weapon chances are you're going to want to suppress everything you own. And trust me, that gets expensive.
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Heck--I had ONE .22 pistol with a threaded barrel. Bought a can for it.
Still have only the one suppressor---but now it's 2 threaded pistols, a
Ruger 10-22 set up with a Tacsol SBX barrel, and a Savage FV-SR,
complete with Tacti-Cool stock, bipod and night vision.

Used to have a little sign on the dash of my ski boat.

"The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys"

How true.
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Old May 7, 2013, 07:29 PM   #9
444
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"It's the damnedest thing--I've never felt the need for a suppressed firearm. Figured if I had to use a weapon to save myself, noise would be the least of my worries. But it does look as if the process of obtaining and documenting one would be fairly arduous."


The process is very easy, it just takes a long time (for it to be processed).
I don't see the need for a suppressor for "saving myself" either. However most of us own guns for uses other than saving ourselves. And for those uses, the noise of a firearm has absolutely no positive benefit. In fact, it is the opposite, the noise has many negative aspects.
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Old May 8, 2013, 03:55 PM   #10
Skans
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My guess is total cost would be around $1,600.

You'll need a new barrel that can accept the suppressor - $250
Decent Suppressor - $800
Trust - $350
Stamp - $200
NICS - $5
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$1,605

Might be less for a .22. I never saw the point of a suppressed .22, though. I think suppressors are cool. But, it's just enough money and hassle for me to still not have one. I did the drill to get my one machinegun. PITA. That was enough for me.
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Old May 8, 2013, 04:01 PM   #11
444
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WOW !!!!

I wouldn't put the price at anything close to that.
However, we have no idea what you are trying to suppress.
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You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
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Old May 8, 2013, 04:17 PM   #12
Skans
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I was estimating for a .45 or .40. Like I said, .22 would probably be less.
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Old May 8, 2013, 04:22 PM   #13
444
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Yeah, I would say you are close with that number. And, if it's a .22 it would be less.

It seems to me that most people start off with suppressing a .22, so I guess that is what I was thinking.
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You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
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Old May 8, 2013, 06:01 PM   #14
kmherring911
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I actually wanted to get one for a .223 but I do have a .45 I would like to put one on.
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Old May 8, 2013, 07:48 PM   #15
Theohazard
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Quote:
My guess is total cost would be around $1,600.

You'll need a new barrel that can accept the suppressor - $250
Decent Suppressor - $800
Trust - $350
Stamp - $200
NICS - $5
___________________
$1,605

Might be less for a .22. I never saw the point of a suppressed .22, though. I think suppressors are cool. But, it's just enough money and hassle for me to still not have one. I did the drill to get my one machinegun. PITA. That was enough for me.
My LGS offers the trust for free, and doesn't charge for the NICS check (you don't call it in on an NFA item anyway; you just fill out the 4473). Otherwise those numbers are about right for a good .45 can. A good .22 can would run about $400.
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Old May 8, 2013, 08:01 PM   #16
weblance
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skans
I never saw the point of a suppressed .22, though.
I only have one suppressor, a 22 rimfire. I have 8 threaded pistols, and one threaded rifle. The major benefit of suppressing a 22 pistol is the noise reduction. 22 ammo from a 3" pistol barrel is LOUD. Its nice to be able to shoot anytime you want, and not bother the neighbors. There is an added benefit that I have found, I have a pistol that before adding the suppressor, was fairly unreliable. Since adding the backpressure the suppressor creates, that pistol has functioned perfectly. I love shooting suppressed, and am saving for a second rimfire suppressor.
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Old May 8, 2013, 08:23 PM   #17
Theohazard
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Quote:
I never saw the point of a suppressed .22, though.
Yeah, I've found .22s to be the most fun guns to shoot suppressed.
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Old May 8, 2013, 11:33 PM   #18
Justice06RR
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Quote:
It's the damnedest thing--I've never felt the need for a suppressed firearm
If you frequently shoot very loud guns like a Mosin M44 or an AK47 Pistol, you would know the benefits of a suppressor for your other firearms.

I always suggest going the Trust route first unless you know you have a high probability of getting the CLEO sign off.
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Old May 11, 2013, 08:52 AM   #19
Lark
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My costs;

Trust - $39.95
Material - $40
Tax stamp - $200
Threading my own barrel - $0

Making it myself - priceless
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Old May 11, 2013, 04:27 PM   #20
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I have a suppressor on my 308 and its fantastic other than the fact its weight on the end of the barrel is a pain if your walking 5 miles.

On another note I just checked a young 2 year old Labrador with a .17 hmr to see if he was ok with the gun being fired. I fired the rifle 3 times and he didn't flinch. Took the moderator off and the noise level increased dramatically, four fold in noise. He looked at me and barked with his head side ways , was quite funny really. He just wagged his tail and went about his business lol. I'd suppress all my firearms if I could afford it. Compared to your figures in America it is cheaper over in Britain though. About £300 over here would suppress a 308. £50 for a certificate variation

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Old May 14, 2013, 09:25 AM   #21
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I love my .22lr suppressor, its so much fun I laugh every time I shoot it! I'm now awaiting for the arrival of another suppressor, AAC 762-SDN-6. Its a .308 suppressor to use on my AR15 and I'm planning on a nice bolt gun as well. It is now legal to hunt in Georgia with a suppressor, for me thats a big deal, I have alot of hearing loss and do not want to lose anymore.
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Old May 14, 2013, 07:04 PM   #22
444
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Suppressing a .22

Today is a good example of how useful a .22 Suppressor is. I can legally shoot on my property, but I would prefer to keep a low profile. If I am shooting on my property it is either suppressed, or I am way down in the woods. I have 18 acres, but the house is clear to one side of the property, with the closest house about 100 feet away. So most of the property is all away from the houses (if that makes any sense). Picture a triangle with the house at the point of the triangle.

My eyesight isn't what it was when I was 20, so I decided to equip three of my handguns with optics. All of them needed to be drilled and tapped for scope bases. So, I took them to a gunsmith and got the work done. I got the call this morning that they were ready. One of the guns is a S&W 686 and the gunsmith put a gadget on it to roughly get the scope on target (it's called something like a collimeter or something like that). The other two guns are both Ruger .22 autoloading pistols. One got a scope and the other one got a red dot (C-More) By the time I got home, it was late afternoon and spitting a little rain, so I didn't want to drive out to the range. But, I wanted to play with them.

I thought to myself: the .357 should be on paper but I could get the .22s roughly sighted in also, so that when I do go to the range, I can get them zeroed quickly. Both of these Mk.IIs are threaded, so I screwed on a can and went out to my shed. I opened the double doors on the shed and set a bullet trap about 10 feet outside the door. I sat down on the shed floor, leaned back against the lawn tractor tire and got both of the .22s sighted in for about 20-25 feet. Nobody was the wiser. Again, this was safe and legal; I just don't want to advertise the fact that I am a gun owner.
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You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
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Old June 11, 2014, 03:16 PM   #23
boltomatic
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Your best bet is to first find the can you want and find a dealer that has it or can get it because you need to have all that figured out before you get the paperwork signed by your sheriff and dealers are always willing to walk you though the process and any local quirks in the process.

Basically, your dealer will fill out a form 4 with their info and the supressor's info, and they you fill in your info and get the form signed by the sheriff for your county. You will also need to get fingerprinted and get passport photos to send in with the form 4. Then, you take everything back to the dealer and they mail it out for you. About 8 months later, your dealer will call you saying the paperwork came back and you can pick up your suppressor.

You can avoid the sheriff and fingerprinting and photos by registering the suppressor to a trust, but you have to set up the trust first which is complicated to do on your own, it cost $200-$600 to have a lawyer set it up for you. My advice is to only use a trust if your sheriff refuses to sign the form, or if you have the time and money to set one up.

If you try to figure out the process by reading about it online, your head will spin. Its much easier to just find a dealer with the can you want and have them walk you through it, its actually very easy it just takes time.
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