What's Stopping You From Buying a Silencer?

While I don't agree with a lot of Wyosmith's logic and rationale, I think one of his major points about supressors rings true to my ears

Wyosmith said:
The PRICE is the #1 reason there are not more sales.
If Fords cost what Rolls Royce’s cost their sales would be down too.

If they would charge what they are worth instead of what .5% of the market can justify and bear,
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Supressors attract a small market because of these two reasons, born out by commenters above, and fit largely into one of these two groups (if not both):

1) They simply cannot afford the price of the supressor. As you said, a quality supressor is a $1000 investment, and while there are some people dropping $1000 on a firearm, many of us don't. I personally don't own a firearm that I paid more than $500 on, and I know others in the same boat.

2) They cannot justify the expense. This is the camp I personally find myself in. I have yet to understand why shooting a supressed weapon is worth the $1000 and 9 month investment over shooting with ear muffs. I see people write about it, but I guess I just don't get the hype.

While I don't know the numbers, I would not be surprised if Wyosmith's referring to tsupressor owners as the .5% might be accurate.
 
1. Cost
2. Hassle with registration, tax stamp, CLEO sig, etc... .

I have looked into buying one and it is more hassle than buying a house. I don't have that kind of patience.

If they were not an NFA item I would likely get one.
 
Despite the rapid growth of suppressor popularity in this country, they're still mostly a fringe item in the firearm community. I made this thread because I was curious as to peoples' individual reasons why they're not into suppressors like I am.
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Because they are illegal? With great difficulty and much paperwork, I'm pretty sure I could buy a machine gun here. But the idiots at the state legislature explicitly ban a piece of safety equipment! (silencers) I suspect they are banned because they do have a useful everyday purpose and are within the reach of ordinary gun owners. We can't have that :mad:
 
During a business trip to Finland a few years ago I was impressed to see the large numbers of suppressors in use at a club. My host reported that suppressors were unregulated and posited the statement, "isn't it more polite, healthier and more pleasant to operate a car with a muffler? How is a firearm any different?"

Ya, that makes sense.

From a Finnish advertisement for mufflers...

http://guns.connect.fi/rs/DAD.jpg
 
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My only reason is cost. Right now, i can't justify spending an extra $800 for a silencer, let alone the $1600 it would cost to get one for my AR, and one for my handgun.
 
zxcvbob said:
Because they are illegal? With great difficulty and much paperwork, I'm pretty sure I could buy a machine gun here. But the idiots at the state legislature explicitly ban a piece of safety equipment! (silencers) I suspect they are banned because they do have a useful everyday purpose and are within the reach of ordinary gun owners. We can't have that :mad:
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Actually, they're banned because the original NFA included a ban on handguns and they couldn't get the votes. Handguns were removed and replaced with silencers. No body really cared about silencers, apparently.

Now, the only thing Americans know about them comes from movies. They serve no legal purpose, they turn ear splitting gun shots into "pffft" and no one but evil assassins would use them.
 
Brian, Yeah, that explains the federal restrictions on silencers, but WHY do the states decide that doesn't go far enough and have an outright ban? :mad:
 
zxcvbob said:
Brian, Yeah, that explains the federal restrictions on silencers, but WHY do the states decide that doesn't go far enough and have an outright ban?
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Some states ban silencers for the same reason the federal government restricts them: Many people can't understand how they could be used for anything other than illegal purposes.

I can't tell you how often people come in to our store, look at our selection of silencers, and say, "Why in the world would you need one of those unless you're an assassin?"
 
Brian, Yeah, that explains the federal restrictions on silencers, but WHY do the states decide that doesn't go far enough and have an outright ban?
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Because in some states, the constitution isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

In a nutshell.
 
zxcvbob said:
Brian, Yeah, that explains the federal restrictions on silencers, but WHY do the states decide that doesn't go far enough and have an outright ban? :mad:
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The last sentence of my previous post is most of the reason. Besides that, some states would ban firearms *period* so silencers isn't too shocking. They'll take what they can take.
 
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I like mine. I look at it as additional hearing protection. I have already lost some hearing from shooting since I was a kid. Yes they seem expensive but my ears are worth it. The wait stinks, the tax is a ripoff and to have to go through that paperwork is a waste. The only way to get killed by a suppressor alone is to get hit with one. That being said, it is worth it to me.
 
I don't have one because I refuse to further fund the degradation of my rights by an already corrupt government through the purchase of their tax stamp. I don't mind the price of the suppressor. I wouldn't even mind the wait. But I'll be damned if I'll bribe them for permission to exercise my rights. So I just refuse to have one.
 
One of the best gun related investments I've ever made.

WindTalker-Daewoo.jpg
 
To answer the original question, what's stopping me form buying one?

1. Long NFA wait times.
2. Excessive expense. This thing is basically a lawn-mower muffler. Any decent hobbiest could cobble one together in a garage welding shop for about $40.00 in materials, total. Maybe a few more dollars to buy a 1/2X28 tap for the threads.
3. I'm not going to pay a $200 tax for a lawnmower muffler, and I'm darned sure not going to pay the exorbitant prices that many manufacturers think they're worth.
4. But hey, it's a free country (or what resembles a free country). If you want to pay the toll, then have fun with it.
 
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