Please forgive my ignorance, or my poor research skills...

What's the technical/legal difference between a "linear compensator" and a "silencer"?

Is it just the interior baffles?


TL;DR:

I can't get a silencer legally, because I'm in California. (Let's please NOT discuss California.)

I really don't want to go to jail, so I want to stay clear of manufacturing or possessing a "silencer."


I have KVP "XL" linear comps on several rimfire rifles, and they're terrific, especially for the price:

https://www.kawvalleyprecision.com/K...l-comp-blk.htm


It occurs to me, though, that I could buy a "solvent trap kit" and ONLY use the end caps and tube (NO baffles), and then I'd have a homemade "linear compensator" that would be even bigger and more effective.

I would need to drill the end cap, obviously.

I would either NOT buy the baffles or NOT drill them. (I wouldn't even have a jig for them, because the ATF does seem serious about "constructive intent" regarding silencers.)

I would wind up with something like the non-functional but legal "faux suppressors" that Spike's used to make, except that it would actually function as a linear comp.


Am I nuts?