Posted on 10/16/2020 5:08:26 AM PDT by marktwain
JK Armament Solvent Traps
In the first two parts of this on home made silencers series, I wrote of how we arrived at the current situation, historically, and what exists today, in terms of the technology and legal system, for individuals to make their own silencers utilizing the ATF Form 1.
Because of the tremendous bureaucratic and monetary infringements imposed by the National Firearms Act (NFA), very few form 1's (required to legally make your own silencer, short-barreled rifle, or shotgun) were processed as late as 1990.
In the year 1990, only thirty years ago, a total of 399 Form 1's were processed by the ATF. In 2000, the annual number had more than tripled, to 1,334. In 2010, the annual number had continued exponential growth to 5,169. By 2013, it was almost doubled again, at 9,347. In 2014, it had more than doubled again, to 22,380.
It took two more years, to 2016, to more than double again, to 49,985 Form 1s per year. That was the peak, so far. Record firearms sales in 2020 lead to the prediction over 50,000 Form 1's will be processed this year. The figures for 2019 Form 1's have not been released at this time, but should be out soon.
Forums such as silencertalk.com are potent places for political organizing.
Analysis of the ATF figures shows about 75% of the current Form 1s are for silencers. Most of the rest are for short-barrelled rifles (SBR). SBR Form 1s have probably dropped off as
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Those are the numbers where politicians start to pay attention. The easiest way to obtain a legal silencer is to make your own with resources obtained, legally, online.
I call them 80% silencers.
Pretty freakin pricey, do you still have to get a tax stamp too?
A dual chambered can filled with steel wool.
OSHA should require silencers.
Most of these “80%” silencers are really only good for .22 rimfire. And, to be really effective, it has to be a low-velocity subsonic .22 round. As the caliber and velocity increases, a safe and effective suppressor becomes more difficult to design and manufacture. 9mm suppressors that are safe and effective are much more difficult, and those for high-powered rifles are beyond the abilities of the regular Joe. You definitely don’t want to screw something on the end of your barrel that’s going to cause an accident. I have two rifles with muzzle breaks on them, and it appears to take a great deal of engineering and design to manufacture something that screws on the end of a barrel and does not adversely affect accuracy. My advice is that if you want a suppressor, then fork out the bucks for a tried and true design.
Yes, add $200 and a six month wait for the tax stamp on top of the silencer cost.
Since I am a legal owner across multiple calibers I always like to point out that these devices do not silence a centerfire rifle/ pistol shot. They remove the painful crack of a high-powered round but are far from silencers.
Anything 5 mm and larger, and supersonic, is still loud.
One of the great benefits is that they are good flash hiders if you are LEGALLY hunting nuisance game at night.
The shooting community ought to enforce the use of “suppress” over “silence.”
fugeddaboutit
I tend to agree with most of that.
As far as .22 goes, you can make a supressor at home with inexpensive parts available at any hardware store, and as you noted, subsonic ammo will get good results. It’s not expensive, pretty reliable, and IF DONE CORRECTLY fairly safe.
But from what I’ve read, the main noisemaker is the sonic boom created by most ammo, including standard .22 rounds. the 1st article I read said that a standard .22 long rifle could be muffled to about th level of a balloon when it pops, because you cannot easily suppress the sonic boom created when the bullet exceeds the speed of sound.
With subsonic ammo the results are a lot better, but you still won’t get the effect you see in the movies. In general a .22 can be quieteed to the point it might sound like an air operated nail gun. What you see in the movies is pure myth. You’ll never get your 9mm Glock or AR15 to sound like a pellet rifle...
Which is why “suppressor” is a much more appropriate term than “silencer”.
You just complete the machining on an already proven design.
Lots of Youtube videos on doing it, lots of forums discussing it.
Doing a Form 1 saves hundreds of dollars and months of time.
I read an article that tested an AR-15 at approx. 165 decibels and with the silencer it was only reduced to approx. 135......
I also read that there is approx. a 7 month wait for the stamp and with the cost of the silencer, they definitely aren't worth it....
So what?
There is tremendous utility in .22 suppressors and subsonic pistol/rifle cartridges.
They only require basic designs which are easy to complete.
That is an enormous reduction in subjective sound levels.
Decibels are a logarithmic scale. A sound 10 decibels more intense sounds twice as loud. Reducing a sound level by 30 decibels means it sounds 1/8th as loud.
In practice, it is an enormous reduction in loudness.
The most useful, in my experience, is in subsonic rounds. They get down to the "neighbors won't know you are shooting" level.
-30dB on an AR shooting SAAMI spec 5.56? You wouldn’t happen to remember what brand that was, do you?
Because that is pretty HUGE.
every 3 db is a doubling of sound.
It took me a year to get my permit and you have to go get your fingerprints at your local police station so they can send it to the fbi. This also gives them the right to search your gun collection at anytime without a warrant. Totally not worth it. Wish i could undo it . It’s better to just get the headphones that take away bangs but let you still taLK and hear. Do not buy a suppressor is my recommendation.
doubling of power.
Squirrels and chipmunks tell legends about the "whispering death" that haunts the woods...
"Ralph and I were munching some acorns... Suddenly, there was a 'pop' sound and Ralph suddenly had a hole in his head..."
I never got my curios and relics license for this reason.
Who needs ATF poking around?
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