Here in Wa state we just had a law passed in June allowing us to use suppressors. Before this we were allowed to own them and attach them to our guns but it was illegal to shoot with them attached to our weapons. This is a subject that I know a little bit about but nothing to extensive. I was wondering if everyone could share what they know about the subject. What is the difference between wet and dry, do you always have to use sub sonic ammo, do they all thread on or do they have ones that slide on over your existing muzzle device and so on. I searched the forums for this info and found a little bit of it but it would be nice to have it all in one place. Any knowledge is appreciated and I hope I’m not the only one with these questions. Thanks.
Are you looking for a pistol suppressor or a rifle suppressor?
There are great variances in suppressor quality among the brands. Here is just something that I have learned and it served me well.
*Buy once - cry once
*Get a pistol can that you can take apart & clean
*AAC makes great rifle suppressors (and great pistol suppressors too)
*Get ready to thread a lot of barrels… but be sure to use a reputable smith
*This is a disease… it merely spreads from suppressors to sbrs to more nfa
Good luck!
I guess I would like to know about suppressors for both a pistols and rifles.
My advice is to be a sponge and go through threads in this subforum on suppressors until your are blue in the face. All the information you seek is here in one place but too much to put in one thread. Trust me spend an hour and you will learn tons. Then ask what you don’t know. After you search the question.
You posted your thread twice. Here’s my post from the other thread.
Thanks for all the info. I reposted this here after I was informed I posted it in the wrong section I apologize for that again. I have searched the forum for all this info and come up with so much its h ard to sort through.
It is a lot of info. My first advice is to not rush it and read through a lot. It doesn’t really matter because once you decide your gonna have a six month wait anyhow on Atf. Then again it won’t be your last one so if you have buyers remorse you can make up for it Haha. It is addictive.
My second advice is to just buy an aac in any caliber. It won’t fail you. If you get 22 though make sure its one you can take apart. The thing is there are tons of options. It’s better to take the time just reading through.
I’ll have to look but I think in Wa we just have to pay a $200 tax every time we buy one…I haven’t heard about the 6 month wait. But again I’m not sure.
Your half right. You do have to pay a 200$ tax stamp Everytime but you also have to fill out the paperwork and send it to Atf before you can have the can in your possession. Then wait for the Atf to review approve and send the stamp to you. All in all about 6 mos at least right now.
lots of info here
http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/index.php
There are also some great you tube vids from aac titled “The Skinny” that can shed a lot of light on the subject
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USue01z6Uk4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ4RCKrnmOc&feature=related
SilencerCo has some good ones too.
Yep, Ghost is correct. That doesn’t matter by State, that’s Federal Law. There’s no ‘set’ waiting period, but with all of the paperwork traffic and the fact that the ATF has their head so far up their ass that they can smell what they’re going to eat next, waiting periods are right around 6 months.
From something I wrote a long time ago (and a big hat tip to Rob_S)
Best Suppressor? Basic Q&A.
When you’re talking about the, “best” suppressed weapon, a lot of factors come into play.
No matter what caliber, you’re fighting several factors:
-Velocity: supersonic or subsonic
-Bore Diameter: the larger the bore diameter, the harder it is to suppress since more gas will exit the bore (and not go into the can). Path of least resistance and all. This is why a good suppressed 9mm is invariably quieter than a .45ACP with a can of similar quality
-Rifle v. Pistol: Rifle rounds, in general, expel more gas than pistol rounds. This means you need a larger suppressor to capture the gas. This is also why a lot of subgun (FA rated) suppressors are nearly twice the size of their semi-auto designed brethren.
-Action of the weapon itself: Blow-back firearms don’t suppress very well, since the gas not only escapes from the bore but also from the action. I wish there were better options in .22lr (compare a suppressed 10/22 and a suppressed bolt action .22lr and you’ll immediately hear the difference). Same goes for open-bolt guns. Course’ I’ll take the trade of slightly higher noise for a semi-auto in .22lr. Kalashnikov’s don’t suppress very well because of the very open gas system. You get gas blowing out of the gas block like crazy. Rapid expansion of gases in open air = more noise.
-Barrel length: A unsuppressed .22lr 6" pistol is louder than an unsuppressed .22lr 16" rifle because of the relative rates of gas expansion. Ergo, a shorter barrel = a louder suppressed gun.
and damn, we haven’t even gotten into suppressor design yet
I’m gonna say: Far too many factors involved to say what configuration is, “best”. Especially since what’s important to me may not be important to you (hence why I’ll take the blow-back .semi-auto 22lr system over a boltly, even though it’s louder).
Furthermore: Full-size suppressors on 16”+ barrel really suck. Let me tell you why: It adds barrel length and completely tosses any sort of firearms balance out the window. You currently and basically have three options (and compromises) in regards to suppressors with the AR platform:
-Decrease sound/flash but add barrel length and disregard balance.
-Decrease flash/velocity but use an SBR to help balance (but it’s not as quiet as with a fullsize.)
-Utilize a smaller can that’s good for reducing flash, doesn’t affect balance too much, but isn’t as quiet on a 16”+ weapon (the Surefire ‘mini’ and ‘micro’ cans come to mind)
I honestly dislike running a full-size, more effective suppressor on anything other than an SBR or a precision DMR(ish) build (since the weight is taken up by the mounted bipod).
Rob_S had some very good comments on suppressors (AR-specific) that I completely agree with (especially with the, ‘hear before you buy’ part)
Bottom line: One needs to honestly evaluate their needs as far as weight, mobility, and capability. This sounds simple but it’s something that very few people fully consider before they plop down $1k or more on a suppressor + tax stamp.
That’s an extremely useful post Dave. I’m not sure if Rob’s post is in the stickies, but that entire post should be.
Thank s for that post man. The $1000 price tag plus tax stamp is why im asking about all this stuff to know what im looking for. I did the same when I built my ar I studied and asked tons of questions and I don’t think I could be any happier with my build. To many times I have seen people buy equipment and guns that are crap and over priced. And I have one more question I can’t seem to find a straight answer regarding a wet or dry suppressor? Is it purely preference Or just old technology?
If you follow the advice in this thread, you’re about 10 steps ahead of a lot of people. Considering that this is your first suppressor purchase, I’m going to recommend AAC, not because I think they have the best product on the market, but because their product is well built, cheaper than some offerings if you look in the right places, and are pretty widely available. If you end up going with any of the companies in Rob’s list that Dave posted, you’ll be fine.
Pistol suppressors, people put wire pulling gel or water in and it enhances sound reduction but only for a few shots before having to be re-filled. I’m unaware of if a rifle suppressor can be used this way though. I just use my can dry.
Just don’t buy a Gemtech pistol can. Holy fuck do those things suck. I thought all pistol cans just sucked ass until I got to shoot a good one. Ran quiet dry too… not that the Gemtech didn’t… but you don’t need to run a wet can these days.
When you shoot a Gemtech, you have no idea where you bullet might go. I’ve tried them on pistons mounts and TROS mounts and they just are complete trash. No two shots go the same place.
There is a ton to learn about suppressors, one of the first being patience. The wait will kill a man, so I just try to forget about them until the stamp arrives at your dealer.
As for suggestions:
SWR, AAC, or SilencerCo for Pisols
AAC, Gemtech, OpsInc, Surefire for Rifles
Here are a couple other forums to browse that I think you will find very useful.
silencertalk great place for info, also has a cool forum on silencer smithing (building)
http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/
http://www.silencerresearch.com/ I haven’t been on this site for quite awhile but Silencer Research has a lot of reviews, comparisons and info.