Yea I’m aware I’m asking this in M4carbine.net but I still wonder if there isn’t a number of folks who don’t have enough interest in NFA items to obtain something.
Now I’m not talking about machine guns as much because an SBR, AOW, SBS, etc X2 or X3 are far cheaper than a machine gun and you can make new ones.
In my case. I could afford a few NFA items but despite my thoughts of how cool some things may be just haven’t had enough desire. (Despite my efforts and knowledge that this is the best time to do it)
-I don’t have silencers because I don’t have a home range. If I go to the range or someone else’s property other people are firing guns without silencers so I have to wear ear pro anyway.
I don’t have a SBR or SBS because there are a niche item, I don’t plan on using a silencer, and there are bullpups and rifle-caliber pistols. (With padded buffer tubes, cheek rests, etc available.
-Machine guns / DD are too expensive and I can’t make/order a new one (as mentioned above)
So YES much of it is cool and YES if that’s reason enough for you I’m happy that your happy. And NO I’m not making a comment on the whole NFA program/politics side of it.
My question is: Are there others here that can afford to buy and perfectly willing to wait for the NFA procedure to obtain (one or multiple) SBR, SBS, AOW, or silencers but simply can’t find the use/desire for one?
For a basic carbine I can completely understand why somebody might be content with a 16" barrel and no extra paperwork, registration and all the extra effort. I’m trying to move out of state and rest assured all my NFA items are “one more thing” that I wish I didn’t have to do. I wish I could just pack up my firearms collection and relocate without any additional consideration.
For you, it makes sense. But I have suppressed weapons even though I don’t have a home range. I run suppressed weapons, and as a consequence SBRs, because I have had occasion to fire weapons indoors and I quickly learned the value of a suppressor.
The MP5s are just because I saw “Die Hard” one time too many.
But I’m not using an NFA anything for HD when I’d not see it again for months or never.
Easier just to keep electronic ear pro by the primary HD weapon…if I have time to grab it I probably have two seconds to put that on, too. Then if anyone else in the house starts shooting I’m protected from that noise as well.
I was recently tempted to get a suppressor for a gun I have…a Beretta .25. But I’d have to find a threaded barrel (yea, right), have it installed, (heard it’s a bitch on these guns), Find a suppressor made for a .25, (tough…) no longer be able to see the sights, and then I’d be tempted to wear out a pistol that isn’t produced anymore with scant spare parts…The effort takes the fun out of it…
I thought about getting one for my Glock 19. Easy swap in a usefull caliber. I’d have to swap out the sights (to suppressor sights), hope the gun still works with the can and deal with the messed up balance with the can. Plus…the 9mm cans are huge. They double the length of the pistol. Meh.
As I said, for you, it makes sense. A couple points I’d offer for consideration.
I’ve done indoor shooting with suppressors and electronic ear protection. I found electronic ear pro to be a bit of a pain in training and drills, they wouldn’t be my first choice for a HD situation. And if I am in a HD situation, I wouldn’t want them to take my 6920 any more than I’d want them to take my 6945. Given FL laws probably wouldn’t even be an issue.
I also wouldn’t suppress your Beretta .25 for the reasons listed. If you want to go entry level get a Beretta 21 and one of the many compact suppressors out there. And if you decide to get something for your G19 look at a low profile can like the Osprey. I didn’t change the sights on any of my Glocks and have no intention of doing so.
Another option is an integrally suppressed Ruger Mark III. That would probably be the most practical one you could do that you’d actually enjoy owning.
This is a huge reason I haven’t pulled the trigger on anything NFA yet. My kids have grown and gone and I’ve spent the last four years moving around to different states as I see fit. Maybe when I land in Arizona I’ll go for it
I have friends who adore my NFA items but won’t get them themselves.
They always bring up BS like the ATF being able to Inspect my house any time, they are gonna confiscate them, and of course that Obama is gonna put me in a camp.
I don’t lust for “NFA items” just because they’re regulated. What I found was that an SBR handles much more to my liking than a 16 inch and, for me, it was worth the paperwork hassle. Right now, I don’t feel the same way about suppressors so I haven’t bothered. Yet.
I don’t last for them just because they are regulated, but because they either serve a purpose, or are just cool the way they are.
For instance, while the AR sbr is cool, if you don’t run suppressed, shoot indoors, etc, I can see why it may not feel necessary. However, a non sbr uzi just doesn’t have the cool factor that an sbr one does, because it doesn’t really look right. I have a non sbr uzi, and an sbr b&t tp9. The non sbr tp9 is an ungainly pistol, like a mac 10 is. The sbr version is a tiny rifle. The only reason my uzi is not an sbr is because the tp9 is, but I still contemplate it.
Suppressors are a world unto their own. Even at the firing line of a public range, where ear pro is still a requirement, my 308 has half or less the recoil suppressed than non suppressed. This makes an extended shooting session much nicer, a competition a slight advantage, without the concussion of a brake, and makes it shoot able for my wife. I do have a couple friends who also run suppressed, if it’s just us, ear pro is optional.
Machine guns are low on my list, not many places I can shoot them, and trying to keep them supplied with ammo is more than I wish to do. I do get to mess with them occasionally at work, so get a little “fix” here and there.
I also know people who like my Nfa items, but won’t get any for the reasons listed above.
With a gov’t issued CCW? And credit card records of firearm and ammunition purchases? And UPS/Fedex delivery records of said purchases? And involvement on a “fringe militia gun forum”? And countless 4473s?
The ATF is so completely backwards in registration (It’s still on paper!) and so low on manpower for the NFA branch that I would rather have 100 Form 4s on record than one credit card transaction with a major online firearm vendor. Big data gonna find you bro, not a Form 4 filed away in Martinsburg.
I have never been obsessed with NFA. Not into full auto, but I would like an SBR, and suppressor at some point. I just really haven’t been motivated to do it partly because my work has moved me around the country, and partly because I am fine shooting my non NFA firearms. The indoor noise issue is a worry, however, and I do have a HK USP Tactical .45 that is made for a can, so I may do that.
I’ve tossed the idea of getting a can for a couple years but really can’t justify for my use. I live in town and can only shoot at the local range. We don’t live in a high crime area (at least for now) so I just keep electronic ear pro by my hd firearms. I’d have sufficient time to get the ear pro on in emergency. As a musician I’m always concerned about hearing loss but for our situation I really can’t justify at this point. On a side note I think it’s ridiculous that suppressors are NFA to begin with.
I keep saying I’m gonna make one of my carbines an SBR and buy a suppressor for it, but I never end up doing it. This has been going on since about 2012.
I’m getting into now for hd and hunting, as well as shooting private property at night with houses nearby. I’d rather have a silencer out of my hands during investigation then lose hearing firing a 556 inside. Just my opinion, ymmv.
Now, that doesn’t address the muzzle blast and signature (blast and sound), but screw the guy next to me on the line
If I had a need for a subsonic 300BLK SBR with a suppressor, that would be cool. To be honest, I don’t see the need for a suppressor on a 22LR when you are running subsonic ammo and rifle length barrels. I was a bad boy and skipped the ear-pro on the last string yesterday with my CZ VPT and I could hear the firing pin hit more than anything.
Yes, its a bit of rationalization due to having to go the trust route, but the other ‘out of state issue’ is that men in my family have a tendency to croak unexpectedly. The last thing I need is to have my wife have to deal with NFA items, or not deal with them and that causes problems.
I guess not wanting NFA items make me an M4C ‘queer’. I look at the pictures and try to tell myself that I really want them, but I just can’t get myself to pull the trigger.
The wife goes back to school full time, today. Two years of one income is going to suck, but one of the things that helps me with it is knowing that once she is working again, we will leave NJ for a free state. My first act of business once we are settled will be an SBR, a 5.56 can and a 7.62 can. I can’t wait.
I can’t justify a MG, as fun as it would be, the price is just ridiculous.
I think this is why I got involved in NFA. After living in Hawaii, seeing cool SBRs and suppressors and knowing that I couldn’t have one made it easy to justify buying 4 cans and 2 SBRs as soon as I left the place.
Kind of like how high schoolers think beer is the coolest thing in the world, but when you’re 23 it’s kind of old news. When you can’t have something it really makes you want it.
I’m interested. Just not at a place in life where I can justify them yet.
As fun as machine guns are to shoot, the practicality of use other than fun for average Joe isn’t there. They area hell if fun though, just not sure it’s 15k fun. But if money isn’t an issue then why not I guess.
I like how suppressed guns just reduce overall signature. Even when 556 isn’t that quiet it’ll keep the people in the surrounding area from knowing what’s up. In the right conditions you can hear an AR several miles away.
