What's Stopping You From Buying a Silencer?

[BornToLooze]

I can't stand the week wait when I order something online, god forbid waiting 9+ months.

[Captains1911]

Like I said earlier....lack of patience.

[TennJed]

Cost. It would be nothing more than a toy that would occasionally get used. I honestly rather put that money toward another gun.

Now if I could get one for $50 total investment it would be neat to have

[trigger643]

I did my research and nothing stopped me.

I wanted to suppress a pistol but not worry about having to find subsonic ammo. The .45acp was a natural choice. I wanted a pistol robust enough to withstand the additional pressures inherent with suppression. No problem. The HK Tactical is ideal.

I also wanted to suppress a rifle, but I wanted to be able to suppress multiple calibers and use the same suppressor on all of them. A QD method of attachment would be best.

I also had the opportunity to shoot half a dozen suppressors side-by-side and discovered the difference between a cheap can and an expensive can is not always detectable to the ear, but is often apparent in the quality of design and manufacture.

The POI shift is not significant shooting suppressed vs unsuppressed (from 2 to 4 moa), but it varies from rifle to rifle depending mostly on length and stiffness of the barrel. I've recorded the POI shifts for each in their dope books and it's not a problem.

I found a dealer that was most helpful in preparing the paperwork. I bought my stamps and did my wait.

I do most of my shooting suppressed these days.

It was worth it. Next up will be a .22 can... just because I can.

[Hawg]

I like noise.

[SR420]

trigger643 I did my research and nothing stopped me.

Same here, and I wish I had done it sooner.

My first exposure was in 2006, but I didn't get my ducks in a row for another couple years. I own just one suppressor, it's made for my M14s, but I am also able to use it effectively on my AK and AR. I have fired thousands of rounds through this suppressor and I'm loving it.

[Jay24bal]

1. Cost - for the price of the can and the $200 tax stamp, I personally would rather have a bunch of ammo, or a new scope, or a new gun, etc.

2. Hassle - I realize that the process is not complicated, I just would rather not wait 6+ months to go through the approval process.

3. Registration - I do not think the ATF is going to come kicking in my door because I am on some list of registered owners, but I would prefer to stay off the list for the simple reason that I think registration of a tool that is useful in certain applications when attached to a perfectly legal item I can buy at Walmart is not something our government should be doing.

4. Need - this one is the biggest issue for me. In my mind, I have no need for one. I do not shoot where noise is an issue, they are illegal to hunt with in OH, recoil does not bother me, and I have never come across a scenario where I thought to myself, "man, I wish I had a suppressor right now."

5. None of my guns have a threaded barrel, so I would need to buy guns for that specific purpose, or have a smith thread them.

[QuarterHorse]

Can't have 'em in Iowa......yet.

[Justice06RR]

Trigger, you obviously have plenty of disposable income unlike some of us here...

Very nice collection though.

[Hiker 1]

Nothing! I just bought one. Still waiting on the gov to approve, though

[Theohazard]

For those of you who are discouraged about cost, for under $1000 out-the-door (that's including the transfer tax) you can get an SWR Octane 45. It's a very durable suppressor that will probably last your whole life. And if something happens to it during normal use Silencerco has EXCELLENT customer service and will probably fix it for free. It's very versatile; you can use it on the following calibers:

.45 ACP
.45 Colt
.44 Special
10mm
.40 S&W
.357 Magnum
.357 SIG
.38 Super
9mm
.380
.32 ACP
.25 ACP
.22 Magnum
.22 LR
.17 HMR
.308 (Subsonic)
.300 Blackout (subsonic)
Or any other caliber that doesn't exceed the diameter or pressure limit of the suppressor.

Sure, it's a little large and unwieldy for some of the guns that shoot some of those calibers, but one suppressor that can do all that for under $1000 doesn't seem that expensive to me.

[micromontenegro]

Ok, so a grand is cheap.

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by micromontenegro

Ok, so a grand is cheap.

I never said it was cheap. What I said was that for a grand you can buy a silencer that will suppressor all those calibers and more, and will last the rest of your lifetime. And that's worth it to me. Nobody here has any firearms that cost that much?

[RedBowTies88]

The same reason I don't own a sbr, sbs, aow's, pistol grip SA shotguns, magazines in excess of 15 rounds (six for shotguns), bayonet lugs, threaded barrels, collapsible or folding stocks, or anything FA.

Same reason I can't carry a firearm for any reason, pick up my friends on the way to/from the range, get lunch on the way to/from the range, buy two handguns within a 30 day period, buy a handgun without a firearms id card AND a permit, transport hollow point or dumdum ammo, or purchase black powder/C&r items through the mail.


I'll go ahead and let you guess.

[SR420]

This is what I want for my Glocks

Theohazard For those of you who are discouraged about cost, for under $1000 out-the-door (that's including the transfer tax) you can get an SWR Octane 45. It's a very durable suppressor that will probably last your whole life. And if something happens to it during normal use Silencerco has EXCELLENT customer service and will probably fix it for free. It's very versatile; you can use it on the following calibers:

.45 ACP
.45 Colt
.44 Special
10mm
.40 S&W
.357 Magnum
.357 SIG
.38 Super
9mm
.380
.32 ACP
.25 ACP
.22 Magnum
.22 LR
.17 HMR
.308 (Subsonic)
.300 Blackout (subsonic)
Or any other caliber that doesn't exceed the diameter or pressure limit of the suppressor.

Sure, it's a little large and unwieldy for some of the guns that shoot some of those calibers, but one suppressor that can do all that for under $1000 doesn't seem that expensive to me.

[Rikakiah]

Cost is semi prohibitive for me, but I bought 2 (.22 and .308 ).

Not a fan of registration, but it's the law that needs to be followed right now, so...

The one thing that almost stopped me is the wait time. My .308 isn't even at my gun shop, yet, so I might have it in hand by Christmas 2015... Not really a good feeling spending over $2000 (both cans and stamps) for a product I can't even handle for a year or two.

[spacecoast]

For those of you who are discouraged about cost, for under $1000 out-the-door (that's including the transfer tax) you can get an SWR Octane 45. It's a very durable suppressor that will probably last your whole life. And if something happens to it during normal use Silencerco has EXCELLENT customer service and will probably fix it for free. It's very versatile; you can use it on the following calibers:

.45 ACP
.45 Colt
.44 Special
10mm
.40 S&W
.357 Magnum
.357 SIG
.38 Super
9mm
.380
.32 ACP
.25 ACP
.22 Magnum
.22 LR
.17 HMR
.308 (Subsonic)
.300 Blackout (subsonic)
Or any other caliber that doesn't exceed the diameter or pressure limit of the suppressor.

Sure, it's a little large and unwieldy for some of the guns that shoot some of those calibers, but one suppressor that can do all that for under $1000 doesn't seem that expensive to me.

If more of my barrels were threaded I might be tempted to make such an investment, but unfortunately less than 5% of them are, and making a good number of them so would cost as much or more than the silencer I'm afraid.

Edit - Maybe not. A 1911 threaded barrel appears to be $200 or more. Ruger centerfire pistol threaded barrels don't appear to be available at all. Revolvers... fuggedaboutit. There are inexpensive barrel end adapters for Ruger .22 pistols that might work pretty well, not sure.

[TennJed]

Originally Posted by spacecoast

If more of my barrels were threaded I might be tempted to make such an investment, but unfortunately less than 5% of them are, and making a good number of them so would cost as much or more than the silencer I'm afraid.

Edit - Maybe not. A 1911 threaded barrel appears to be $200 or more. Ruger centerfire pistol threaded barrels don't appear to be available at all. Revolvers... fuggedaboutit. There are inexpensive barrel end adapters for Ruger .22 pistols that might work pretty well, not sure.

Would a silencer even be effective in a revolver with the cylinder gap? Seems like a lot of the blast wouldn't even make it to the silencer.

[Theohazard]

Yeah, unless you have a design where the cylinder/barrel gap closes when the trigger is pulled (the Nagant revolver or some custom designs) you're still going to get a lot of flash and noise out of the gap. And you're going to get even more of that flash and noise out of a suppressed revolver than an unsuppressed one due to the extra back-pressure a silencer gives you. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if a suppressed revolver was even louder from the shooter's perspective than one that was unsuppressed.

[leadcounsel]

Ah, I had forgotten the cost and hassle of threading barrels. Most of my guns don't have threaded barrels, so there's another reason to not....

If they weren't NFA items, the price would be cheap and I'd be down for it.

Not with the cost and hassle of registration and regulations.

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by leadcouncel

Ah, I had forgotten the cost and hassle of threading barrels. Most of my guns don't have threaded barrels, so there's another reason to not....

Fair enough. For me, most of my guns either have threaded barrels already or have threaded barrels readily available. And I'll never again buy a .22 that doesn't already have a threaded barrel. Same goes for rifles: almost all semis-auto rifles come with threaded barrels already, and many bolt-actions have threaded barrel options.

[Husqvarna]

I have no real need for one right now

no problem with recoil one my two big guns

I may suppress a potential 30-30 but dunno if it lowers the velocity too much
but suppresing a lever action is sacriligious or?

oh and laws, license required for each silencer but it is basically shall issue, but not for handguns or small calibres

[Spats McGee]

Money. Nothing more, nothing less. As others have noted, you've got to have the suppressor, tax stamp, and a host, at the very least. If you're going to put it in trust, you have to have the trust work done.

Even with all of that, though, a suppressor is at or near the top of my Wish List.

[Wyosmith]

I'd say there are 2 major factors.

#1 A totally untrustworthy government. Anyone that has watched even 1 hour of news in the last year knows that's not a theory, it's a fact!

#2 Rip-off pricing.

Now this one is something to look at carefully.

A SUPER GOOD Bench-Rest Grade barrel, threaded, short chambered, crowned and contoured, will cost up to $550. The machines that make such barrels cost WAY more than most machines that stamp baffles and do good screw threading.

The best barrels have to hold tolerances of less than one ten-thousandth of an inch over a length of 22 to 26 inches.

Good suppressors need to hold about + or - .040”, and that only over a length of about 6 to 10 inches.

So a good barrel in Stainless steel, 26 inches long holds tolerances 400 times better than most suppressors which are 9” long.

Yet we see prices on suppressors that are often a lot higher than the best barrel you can screw it onto.

If we compare them to “ordinary barrels” which only hold tolerances of .0005, (barrels you can buy for $90) we have a barrel that is 22” long, holding (only)80X better tolerance than a suppressor, yet costing only 1/15th as much.

Folks these are facts, not opinions.

Some would argue that there are not enough suppressor sales to keep the pricing down, but as a former CEO of a bullet company I can assure you that's not the case. I know something about manufacturing and marketing.

The PRICE is the #1 reason there are not more sales.
If Fords cost what Rolls Royce’s cost their sales would be down too.

If they would charge what they are worth instead of what .5% of the market can justify and bear, they would sell them by the millions not the hundreds or thousands.

[Theohazard]

Wyosmith, are you saying all the different silencer companies get together and work to keep prices high artificially?

I may not have ever been CEO of a bullet company, but I work at a large suppressor dealer. I can tell you that due to the huge amount of extra paperwork the mark-up is rather high across the board, from manufacturer, to the distributer, to the dealer; we all have to charge higher margins to actually make up for all the extra man-hours spent on dealing with BATFE regulations.

That, and suppressors are a rather small market with HUGE amounts of innovation and R&D happening in the last few decades. This all is what makes prices what they are.

There are a bunch of smaller, lesser-known silencer companies that charge a little less for their products, but they have a lower quality as a result.