What about a silencer for your airgun?
By B.B. Pelletier
Airguns are quiet, which is one major reason shooters flock to them. But some of them, particularly the precharged pneumatics (PCP) and CO2 guns, DO make noise. By adding a silencer, you can muffle even this sound and have a VERY QUIET gun!
What is a silencer and who cares?
A silencer is a device that attaches to a firearm and reduces the level of the report by at least one decibel for at least one shot. That's a paraphrase of the legal definition. Who cares about that definition is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF&E). They are a division of the Department of Justice, and they're chartered to control the production, distribution and ownership of silencers. To own a silencer in the United States, you need a tax stamp issued by the BATF&E.
What about a MODERATOR?
You can call it a moderator, a suppressor or anything else you can think of; if it does what the legal definition says, it's a silencer and subject to the law. If your airgun came to you with a silencer already on it and you now own it, YOU are responsible for complying with the law. Whoever sold it to you may also have some responsibility, but as the owner, it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
What if the silencer is attached with epoxy so it can't be removed?
If it can't be removed with a hacksaw, a carborundum cutoff wheel or a cutting torch you might be safe. Otherwise, you are responsible.
Silencers ARE legal – if you go through the proper steps to obtain them
I've read many times where people say silencers are not legal in America. Well, they are, but there are certain legal steps to be taken before obtaining one. You apply through a Class III firearm dealer and your local chief of police to the National Firearms Act (NFA) Branch of the BATF&E. A fee of $200 is paid for the tax stamp that will be issued if you are granted permission. Then that silencer, by serial number, is licensed to you for life.
So, there is NO WAY to quiet a PCP airgun?
Yes, there is. Several years ago, AirForce Airguns designed the Talon SS. The frame of the SS sticks out past the muzzle of the barrel and forms a chamber to enclose the muzzle. A special end cap closes this chamber and strips off a lot of the muzzle blast from that rifle. As a result, the Talon SS is a great deal quieter than a PCP of similar power and barrel length.
This design is now widely called the shrouded barrel, and other airgun manufacturers have begun to offer some rifles that also have it. The Logun S-16 FAC is one such rifle. So look for guns that include a shrouded barrel to find quieter air rifles.
What about silencing a spring rifle?
It has been done. The TX 200 MkIII by Air Arms has a shrouded barrel, as does the TX 200 HC. But spring guns are already so quiet that silencing them is not as dramatic as silencing a powerful PCP.
Airguns are pretty quiet already, and by getting a rifle with a shrouded barrel, you can go that extra step. Of course, the legal silencer will always be an option, too.
posted by B.B. Pelletier @ 7:30 AM
19 comments
19 Comments:
Non-Removable Airgun Silencers are now legal. There is a thread on the airgun hunters forum describing it.
Can you supply the link to this thread?
B.B.
http://www.atf.treas.gov/alcohol/info/revrule/rules/atf_ruling2005-4.pdf
here is the law direct from the government website.
Sorry, but the link is broken.
B.B.
The link does work for me (just make sure you get the remainder of it that wraps onto the next line). Here it is as a link that you can actually click on:
http://www.atf.treas.gov/alcohol/info/revrule/rules/atf_ruling2005-4.pdf
However, all I see there is reference to the silencers for paintball guns that are permanently attached to the barrel. I am not so sure it would cover any air gun silencer...
The discussion on the other forums has been permanently attached silencers (shrouded barrels) should fall under this since C02 Paintball guns are still airguns. Hard to say, I know that most are buying airguns with PERMANENTLY attached silencers.
Shure we all want to hear that we can have silencers for our airguns, but no where in that ATF rule does it spcificly mention pellet guns. so i would play it safe and just pay your 200 bucks for the licence, shure beats the $250,000 fine and 10 years in jail for making one, and another 10 years and 250,000 fine for posessing it.
the BATFE covers firearms, and any suppressor is(for some forgotten reason) considerd a firearm by itself AND SUBJECT TO THE FIREARM LAWS, even if not attached to anything! If you stick it on a potato, if you use it as a hat, paint your nails wit it, it is subject to confiscation and subjects you to imprisonment in the USA if not properly stamped and licenced! I think a backwards law that pertained to poachers in the Depression era is silly to keep, but that IS the way it is. please play it safe, and do it the legal way, or not at all.
You are correct that the silencer is controlled by BATF&E, but it isn't because it's considered to be a firearm. If a device can be attached to a firearm and lower the report, that device is a silencer and must be registered. That's why BATF&E gets concerned about airguns silencers. Some of them do work on firearms, too.
B.B.
How about if I take a lawn mower muffler and duct tape it to the end of my .22 then put a piece of duct tape over the end. Is this now a silencer? Works pretty well BTW.
This probably falls under the "intent" section of the law. I think you would have no recourse.
B.B.
If it is permanently attached to an air gun (air gun meaning = air gun, CO2, pcp,etc.) and cannot be removed from said air gun it is legal.
If you wish to check further into this please check the following site in the NFA section and others.
www.silencertests.com
The BSA Tech Star Ultra is a good example, as it has a permanently attached "can" rather than a shroud.
thank you for letting me know that AIRGUN silencer is illegal in the state unless you get the approval from BATF IM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO BE A FELON
Here's an interesting article. http://www.beemans.net/silencers_on_airguns.htm
Found this old thread here. What if an airgun silencer were composed of materials unsuitable for firearms or in other words what if you built it so that it would blow apart if/when placed on a firearm? Balsa wood frame, cardboard sides and baffles, etc.
That has been tried. The last fellow to try it is now serving time for it.
It's a fine line to walk when you can just buy a legal silencer.
Read Tom Gaylord's article on silencrs on this website.
B.B.
If people are willing to buy a $500 PCP with a shrouded barrel (that quiets, but doesnt fully work as a real supressor would) then why are so many people unwilling to just pay the $200 tax and buy a $150 legal supressor? Personally, I would rather spend $350 on a legal supressor that has a warranty and no way of landing me in jail. Making one out of balsa wood and cardboard is going to be fragile and break, plus it will still hold you up in jail for a few months (if not years) while the ATF tests to make sure that your wooden silencer really cant work on any real gun. Remember, it only has to work for one shot, and quiet the gun a very little bit for it to be illegal, even if that one shot blows the silencer to bits. For the guy who asked if a lawn mower muffler would be illegal... why wouldnt it be? It doesnt matter what the thing was originally designed for, if you fit it to a gun and use it as a silencer, then it becomes a silencer. Dont be stupid, just do ti the legal way.
Everyone keeps saying capable of silencing one shot, etc. The hoops you have to jump through to own a silencer have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with public safety. It is a tax issue that dates back to the New Deal.
this is crazy hey you with the balsa wood idea that has not been tried. I'll tell you why they are illegal on airguns because the silencers for airguns are real working silencers the gamo whisper can be sold because of it's small caliber .177 for airguns silencers to be legal I suggest all plastic construction no metal no baffles and only for pcp's no co2, co2 needs a real silencer
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