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I'll bow to your superior knowledge in this area. In my experience, the only people who had them had the Class 3 licenses. I had been told that you had to have a Class 3 license to have one, but that is apparently incorrect.

Still, they are apparently quite difficult to own legally because of the taxes, the forms, and the wait.

I didn't know much about it either and thought it was much harder than it ended up being. Last July (2016) the NFA amended the rules for gun trusts specifically (the infamous "Rule 41F" change) which was going to make it a little harder to setup gun trusts.

Gun trusts are just a nice way to setup a group of people, could just be you and your spouse, to both be able to possess a suppressor. So that if I own one and I die, I can legally pass it on to someone else in the trust.

You can get a suppressor outside a trust, but for whatever reason it's more difficult... go figure. Anyway, the rule change that went into effect last year made anyone in the trust have to get fingerprinted and background checked. Up until then, you form your trust and apply for the stamp using the trust, and they'd still background check the trust, but now I guess they do a more thorough check on everyone, have to include a photo (as if you were getting a passport), etc.

All in all, the new rules aren't too bad, but there was still a rush of people filing before the July 2016 deadline, including myself. Unfortunately that meant an even longer wait time for approval.

I think mine took 8 months from when the check cleared to when I got the a-ok. My form 1 and form 4 applications were filed almost the same day and got approved within days of each other.

So... not terribly hard to do as long as you can pass the background check, pay $200 (in addition to the cost of the can itself), and are very patient.

One of the surprising things I learned was that the ATF has (or had) a pretty nice e-file system where you could file online for a self-manufactured device. I think the rule change also did away with that, so you have to do a paper filing now on those. Makes sense since you have to get fingerprinted, send in photos, etc. etc.

One very nice side-effect of Rule 41F change is that you no longer have to get local law enforcement to sign-off on your application. It didn't matter to me (no change where I live, and maybe it didn't apply to trusts), but in some restrictive counties, you could have some uppity Sheriff's office who refused to do that. Now they're out of the loop, except you have to notify them.

In short, if you want one, check your state's laws, setup a gun trust (pay the money to get a legally vetted form from any of your local attorney's who specialize in it). Figure out if you want your trust to just be you (simpler form) or multiple people (more complicated form...pay the lawyer a bit more). Pick out the suppressor you want from your local dealer and they'll help you fill out the application including the info from your trust and all paperwork. Include a $200 check, and... wait.

Getting suppressors isn't cheap, but when you got to the range, or if you hunt with one (I don't hunt, unless metal targets count?) you'll really appreciate it. That's why they call that proposed law the "hearing protection act"... they ain't kidding. I still wear hearing protection (not least of all because I may not be the only one shooting at the range), and as noted, it doesn't make the movie "zip...zip" sounds. It's just a little bit less of someone yelling in your ear, and more like someone yelling in your ear from a few feet further away. :)