Can It! June 3, 2006
Posted by federalist in Government Regulation, RKBA.trackback
If you invented a device that could make any firearm both safer and more accurate, you’d probably expect to win praise from both sides of the political spectrum, and make a fortune in the process. You might even expect the federal government to pass regulations requiring such a safety device for all firearms and making it difficult or illegal to operate a firearm without one. You would be wrong.
I’m talking here about suppressors, also known as “silencers” or “cans.” These are devices that sit at the end of a firearm barrel to absorb the rapidly expanding gasses that propel a bullet. The most popular design consists of enclosed baffles – basically like a car muffler, but for your gun.
Suppressors are widely manufactured for all sorts of firearms. Some are built into the gun, while many others are light alloy devices that either thread or clamp on to the end of the barrel. Top manufacturers claim that their suppressors consistently increase the muzzle velocity and accuracy of a gun. How is that possible? The devices effectively extend the barrel length, giving the propellants extra time to accelerate the bullet. And the flat end of a suppressor can increase accuracy because it is like having a perfectly crowned muzzle.
Of course, the most well known effect of suppressors is to help “silence” the explosion of burning propellant, allowing firearms to be comfortably discharged without hearing protection and in enclosed spaces. And this seems to be the sticking point.
Suppressors are regulated as heavily as grenade launchers and machine guns. Why? It can be argued that the latter have risks that far outweigh their possible benefits to private citizens. But suppressors only make guns quieter. And bulkier: A criminal who wants a quiet shot would probably opt instead to just shoot through a heavy coat to silence his gun. I suppose we could always bring a stack of pillows to the range, but what does shooting through goose down do to your target groups?
Suppressors are Class III devices under the National Firearms Act. As such, the federal government levies a $200 tax on each sale to a private citizen. This is in addition to an indefinite waiting period for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to conduct an extended background investigation of the purchaser, for each and every purchase! Additionally, some states restrict any citizen from owning or possessing Class III devices, again failing to make any distinction between a suppressor and a machinegun.
But it’s not hard to imagine a world in which every firearm was required to be sold not only with a trigger lock, but also with a suppressor. After all, without them firearms can permanently damage the hearing of operators or bystanders. Frankly we should be alarmed that our law enforcement agencies routinely equip officers and agents with unsuppressed firearms. Are we needlessly risking collateral hearing damage just to save money?
Think of the opportunities that would open up if silencers were unrestricted. Shooting ranges that are in constant zoning battles with their neighbors could simply mark all their outdoor ranges “Suppressed shooting only.” City-dwellers would be able to practice shooting sports without having to make a daytrip to the country. Shooters in indoor ranges would be subject to much lower levels not only of noise but also of the toxic particles ejected and kicked up by the muzzle blast of an unsuppressed gun.
Are quiet guns too dangerous? Consider a close cousin of the suppressor: the engine muffler. More than 5000 pedestrians are killed each year in this country by vehicles equipped with mufflers. Surely some of these pedestrians would have been able to escape the path of the vehicle that ran them down if its engine had been louder. But the possession and use of engine mufflers on road vehicles is not regulated by any government entity. In fact, you can’t buy a car with a straight-pipe exhaust, even though it enhances performance and is arguably safer.
In contrast, adding a suppressor to a gun increases both safety and performance. Suppressor ownership and use should be encouraged, not restricted.
[...] Of course, since it’s hazardous to shoot a gun without a suppressor, you will probably want to buy a pistol that can be easily adapted to use a suppressor. I actually shopped for my suppressor first. [...]
List of states where silencer ownership is allowed.
Don’t believe engine mufflers are dangerous? WSJ highlights the hazards posed by extra-quiet electric-hybrid cars:
I was recently bemused to learn that U.S. law prohibits the importation of suppressors for civilian use. I.e., civilians can only buy new suppressors if they were manufactured in the United States!
I suspect this was an unintentional side effect of lumping suppressors together with machine guns in the National Firearms Act. In any case, it merits repeal. Until then, we Yanks can’t get our hands on this clever shotgun suppressor being sold over in the U.K.
FYI, applicable law as explained by the ATF:
[...] flash hider, but these options generally cost at least $300 more than screw-on silencers. Since it’s more hazardous to shoot a gun without a suppressor, I can’t think of a reason I would want to quickly remove mine, so I went with a screw-on [...]
Revocable Living Trusts are becoming recommended estate planning tools. And in general it’s easier and more versatile to register your NFA articles to a Trust than to yourself as an individual. From here:
Interesting thread describing suppressor availability and laws overseas.
[...] flash hider, but these options generally cost at least $300 more than screw-on silencers. Since it’s more hazardous to shoot a gun without a suppressor, I can’t think of a reason I would want to quickly remove mine, so I went with a screw-on [...]
[...] course, since it’s hazardous to shoot a gun without a suppressor, you will probably want to buy a pistol that can be easily adapted to use a suppressor. I [...]
Motorcycles with loud pipes get tickets. In South Africa and New Zealand and a few other countries you can go to any hardware store and buy a supressor. In some locations it’s illegal to not use one!
Too many movies with spies using silencers have brainwashed the stupid. Jst like they think you can pray and spray, a shotgun will knock a person 10 feet backwards or other falicies of the movie genre. They still believe “the day after is true” with global warming.
I’ve contacted the lib’s in my State to no avail.
Olek Volk has turned out some great photos and posters advocating the use of suppressors.