Map: Where is it Legal to Own Gun Silencer in U.S.?

opposingviews.com ^ | 4 January, 2011 | Gun Trust Lawyer

[556x45]

WA really shouldn’t be on the list unless their law has been changed recently (unlikely). As of 4 or 5 yrs ago it was legal to own a sound suppressor but not use it. In fact I think LE took the position if it was mounted then it was used. In effect owning was pointless unless you could transport it to another state and use it there.

[Robbin]

A suppressed weapon, firing a sub sonic round is VERY HARD to detect. Toss in Night vision and it’s a game changer even against superior numbers. Suppressors completely hide the muzzle flash, and if the round is subsonic, it sounds like a pellet gun.

But I can settle for tactical cool. :-)

[Atlas Sneezed]

You can always use sub-sonic rounds at close range

---

Subsonic goes “bang” just about as loudly as supersonic, so the issue is largely irrelevant to hearing loss, unless you’re downrange with someone shooting high-power rifle rounds past your ear.

[Domalais]

Well,for one thing-the invaders won’t know that they are being taken out.

There's a reason that the more gun-savvy will correct someone calling them silencers. Suppressors do not make a gun silent. They simply obscure the noise to make it sound as little like a gunshot as possible and hopefully make it harder to identify the direction of the sound's source. In a quiet house, it will certainly not go unnoticed. Also, there's the whole 'people tend to make noise when you shoot them' issue. Maybe you will get lucky and your home will be invaded by mutes.


I also get to retain my hearing during the fight,important for detecting new threats.

We're wading pretty deep into masturbatory testosterone fantasy here. How many Muslim Death Ninjas do you expect will be sent after you? Is it well known that you post on FR? If so, at least six. Put some claymores in your bathrooms, Death Ninjas always hide in bathrooms.


An ar-15 might not be the best home defense weapon,but it would beat throwing chairs.

Well, your chair won't over penetrate and kill a family member in the next room. So that's a plus. Instead of a chair, though, I was more thinking a quality handgun or shotgun.

You're making a straw man argument; I'm not arguing that you should not have a firearm for home defense. I'm saying that most people who claim they own exotic/expensive firearms (or that they need a suppressor) for home defense are full of BS. It's usually the guy with the ACOG on his AR-15 that says he bought it for home defense.

[Atlas Sneezed]

if your local sheriff or DA won’t sign for you, the state police will.

---

If they won’t, you can set up a corporation to be the owner of the silencer, and corporations don’t need the CLEO sign-off.

[MortMan]

I hate having to buy ear plugs for everybody sleeping in the houses around me! ;-P

[Domalais]

Put a sign out front of your house with your cell phone number on it, and instructions for home invaders to call and give you a heads-up so you can put your night vision on.

I’m sure they’ll oblige.

[Farmer Dean]

Well,you’re obviously the resident armchair expert on all things gun.

[Domalais]

Absolutely not. I’m certain that the majority of people in this thread know more about guns than I do.

It’s just that a lot of gun enthusiasts let their enthusiasm overwhelm their common sense.

[Cobra64]

You can always use sub-sonic rounds at close range.

You'll not hear the super sonic crack, but you will hear the boom. I shoot subsonic .45 auto rounds all the time, and still wear hearing protection.

[jimt]

Well,you’re obviously the resident armchair expert on all things gun.

Sounded more like the resident expert on EVERYTHING.

[P8riot]

My MP5SD3 has an integral suppressor, but hey it gets hot after a couple mags in full auto.

[P8riot]

No. The dealer you buy it from has to have a Class 3 license. The buyer has to submit a Form 4 with two passport photos, two sets of fingerprints, and $200.00 to the ATF and wait two or significantly more months for approval. This is all in addition to the cost of the item, which can be very significant.

[Mr. Lucky]

There you go.

The quickest way to find the correct answer to a question on this form is to post the wrong answer.

[P8riot]

A few years ago I used my suppressed AR in Whisper.30 with 3rd gen night vision to take out 3 raccoons on my deck at 3am. We had a houseful of guests that night and nobody heard a thing, even the coons.

[Farmer Dean]

I have an AWC suppressor that mounts on the 3 lug barrel of my MP5A3.The thing can stand some pretty serious full auto firing.Five mags in 3 minutes is about the limit of the system.Do you reload your sub-sonic ammo?I found that 3.3 to 3.4 grains of Win 231 behind a hard cast 147 grain NEI bullet works best.Cheap to shoot too since I cast my own bullets.

[Tainan]

This weighty question has been answered years ago...

[Cboldt]

-- I don't think its illegal to own a plastic 2 liter bottle filled with sponge taped to the end of a revolver. --

It is. There has been at least one federal felony conviction for stuffing carpet padding into a plastic bottle.

US v. Mitchell, 209 F.3d 319 (4th Cir. 2000)

Reference lifted from July 13, 2010 thread at Volokh Conspiracy, mostly on the subject of the ex post facto effect of the Lautenberg amendment.

[Travis McGee]

They didn't let me take these home.

[Sir_Ed]

I’ve got an AWC Archangel that is so quiet that if you had your back to me you probably wouldn’t hear anything but the bolt.

I’ve heard wet suppressors with bolt lock that are even more quiet...

Ed