So you want to buy a suppressor.....what do you do?

Non-PSA Products Other
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A warning: once you shoot suppressed you will never want to shoot without a suppressor again.

So you want to buy a suppressor? Here are some steps that will help:

  1. decide what you want first. Many folks start with larger cailbers (30cal and 45cal pistol) depending on what they have gun wise so they can be backwards compatible. Others start with a cheaper can (like a .22 rimfire) just to try it out.

  2. Individual vs. trust: There has been ALOT of changes to the system. A trust IMO is an easy way to get a can and make sure it is protected and can be passed down. Silencer Shop offers “Single Shot Trusts” and most of the folks I know have a trust rather than buying as an individual. With a trust, you can name others as trustees and they can be in possession of the can. However, NFATracker currently shows trusts taking longer than individuals when it comes to the approval process.

  3. There are many great places to get a can. Storefronts (Like PSA) allow you to get a “hands on” with the can you are purchasing. Some allow you to shoot (if they have an indoor range) while you wait on the stamp also. Other places, like Silencer Shop, Capital Armory, Hansohn Brothers, etc. offer cans cheaper because of the volume they sell.

  4. Once purchased (don’t forget the $200 tax stamp to the .fed), the waiting game is the hardest. You will have to submit (or your dealer will) fingerprints, info, a picture, etc. Then sit back and wait a few months. Forget about it. Ignore the date. And then one day Christmas comes.

@SuperPredator might can give some more info also, as he is a known stamp collector.

For form1 cans, someone other than I will have to add to this post, because I have never done a form 1. Although I hear the wait is way less and I know there are distributors that sell kits if you have an approved F1 in hand.

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I have plans to machine and weld together my own monocore design in 6061 for 300 Blackout.

Haven’t started yet…

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A thousand times THIS. And I cannot recommend silencer shop highly enough. So easy and convenient.

I have only dealt with a form 4 once, but it’s a griffin optimus and I absolutely love it. Most all my rifles have some manner of taper lok muzzle for QD, its mildly picky with the pistol booster adapter, and while it makes everything better (even a yugo M72B1 slightly bastardized), nothing is even remotely as fun as running it on a MPX with 147gr subs.

Long and short, if you’re thinking about it, do it. Its like planting a tree. The best time to do it is last year, the second best time is right now.

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Yep, Silencer Shop makes it easy. Waiting for my first can from ATF. Did the One Shot Trust so I can add my sons later. Getting ready to pull the plug on another one and start waiting.

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Loud guns are uncivilized; made for an uncivilized mankind, in an uncivilized time. (sensible chuckle)

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I know a guy who has 8 or more suppressors. One day at one of the local gun shops, I found myself in the middle of an hour and a half conversation with him and the store owner, about why my OSS Helix, on a 308 semi-auto, was louder than a 338 Lapua Magnum with a SilencerCo Harvester.

I’ve been thinking about buying another, with the adjustable gas block.

Also wondering if I should be on the look out for a bolt action with a threaded barrel.

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Good info, thank you.

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The noses seem to go up when you mention OSS.

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If it’s property tax time of year you have to look at your budget and realize sadly that the money you had allocated for another suppressor may be going to pay the property tax.

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