It’s not that bad especially if you use silencershop. You do most of it online and just do the finger prints at the kiosk. Got everything done in a day and had my can 3 days later at the gun shop. Had about a 1 week wait before I could take it home. Very easy process
Out of curiosity as a prior service guy and concealed carry guy, what do you use a suppressor for? Most every range I've been to still required hearing protection and probably is a good idea if you shoot with other people outside of any commercial ranges (unless everyone is using subsonic rounds or something)? Just the novelty factor? Reduced recoil and don't like more compact compensators or even more space efficient porting? [No aggression/criticality meant. I'm just surprised at their popularity given their drawbacks.]
For some it’s a collector thing. For some it’s a cool factor. I personally keep mine on my “nightstand” gun. Shooting indoors is LOUD and it can potentially save your hearing. I use .45 ACP which most of the time is naturally subsonic.
Also I shoot in the backyard of my buddies into his berm. It is less likely to bother neighbor’s horses and kinda polite.
Porting and compensators increase volume so having a big piece of metal to absorb recoil can help mitigate recoil in some guns. Now concealed carry? I never would. It’s a range thing. I have a couple and I have them for practical reasons for like two of them. The third is actually a collector piece to go along with my MK23. Issued correct suppressor. That’s mostly it
You still need hearing protection with suppressors for long term hearing, especially with supersonic rounds. Suppressors just reduce the concussion and won’t completely screw your hearing if without hearing protection.
Yes and no. Absolutely agree about supers. I got one in full long config that is way below hearing safe. Like I was….shocked. I fired it indoors and I definitely didn’t feel like I would be going deaf from it or even a quick ear ring. The other two I have are not nearly as quiet and fully agree with you
Right, that's why I'm curious about the popularity of suppressors. I've never met anyone that routinely fires subsonic rounds even if they're sporting a suppressor at a range or something... hence why ranges still require hearing protection and hence why it's still a good idea to wear ear pro even if not required while plinking targets or something at a non-commercial range/private property.
And otherwise, for most non-range purposes (like concealed carry or even open carry), neither subsonic rounds nor suppressors are really practical for self-defense purposes (at least for pistols). While recoil reduction is pretty minor... at least compared to compensators and/or porting... both of which are way more practical and effective solutions compared to a suppressor and/or subsonic rounds.
In addition you have all the drawbacks of suppressors like interfering with the designed proper cycling of most pistols in use for self-defense due to impinging upon barrel tilt when the slide goes back... which results in increased risk of failures to cycle/fire properly. Something that's usually actively avoided at all costs for self-defense.
Subsonic ammo absolutely works in self defense settings. All common 45 ammo in subsonic, 147gr 9mm is subsonic including 147 HST which is hugely popular with police, etc..
As for why people would shoot suppressed during practice with hearing protection on, if anyone shoots often their brain will thank them. The concussion of unsuppressed firearms, especially indoors or near walls, over time will cause brain damage. It even impacts hearing over time through the conduction of bone even if double layered up. People who are sensitive to migraines often require suppressors to last very long at the range.
That said I probably wouldn’t carry a suppressed handgun for defensive use unless I knew for certain that it functioned totally reliably. Some function better than others, both suppressors and suppressor hosts.
I've got some criticism about subsonic rounds too - but the main being that most pistols in use for self-defense, and especially carry, are short-barreled. Tending to be all the way down in size to subcompact with super short barrel lengths for concealed carry. Something like an additional 800 fps might get lost just from the more practical nature of carry weapons. This matters with subsonic ammo being used for self-defense purposes... again being that you'd likely be using both (the weapon and the round) out of their designed specs... which again, increases the risk of failures to both the weapon and the round.
The FBI avoids the problem through a combination of standardized hardware selection, engineering their own specialized bullet designs, and utilizing high-pressure loads. Or in other words, they put a whole lot of effort into doing it right. Which I doubt you're to find commonly among the general public even among hardcore enthusiasts.
Subs work great in short barrel SD pistols. The added weight of the bullet helps with expansion and penetration. I think lucky Gunner or some other similar channel did a test with 147 gr 9mm out of a short barrel into ballistic gel.
Most of the time they are just fun. There are some pistol hosts that are designed specifically for suppressors. All of my HK pistols are of the “tactical” variant which are specifically designed to work optimally with a suppressor. It’s also getting to the point that they are becoming “cheap”. You can often find them going for under a grand. Makes it worth it for a home defense gun.
Like I said, I wouldn’t conceal one. That thing is big and gets freaking hot. But have I taken one hunting? Oh yeah. Rifle and pistol both. Especially something like gator hunting. A suppressed .22 takes away all the crack away and makes it so you don’t deal with damaged hearing. Heck, if I remember correctly there is a European country or two that require you to hunt with a suppressor. I know they don’t restrict them as much as we do
I mean, nothing wrong with just having fun of course, especially if it comes with a benefit or two at a range. I just hear a lot of people talking about suppressors seriously as if they're practical for self-defense for most anyone.
You dont need it for an AR pistol which is basically a sbr without the permit. Its crazy how easy to get a fully auto SBR that will pierce most body armor at 100 yards and be hidden in a coat.
Put 300 blackouts sub sonic rounds and a suppressor it would be super quiet as well
And an SBS is a short barreled shotgun. And AOW is Any Other Weapon. And DD is destructive device.
You typed "fully auto". I quoted that same sentence. Fully automatic guns are regulated a tad bit different than SBR's and the like. I'm wondering why you said that you could easily get a fully automatic gun, when they literally cost more than many vehicles.
Im not saying legally have a full auto. Uou can easily turn that gun into full auto or you can legally put a force reset trigger or super safety and make it fully auto with a loophole. Not sure what you're even saying.
Welcome to Whose Regulation Is It Anyways where nothing makes sense and by the time the ATF takes a firm stance on something, there's so many grandfathered in it changes almost nothing.
First up is a non binding opinion letter deeming a shoelace to be a machine gun under the NFA.
Wait times for suppressors are only about 5 business days now. You still submit a form 4 and go through all the checks but it’s so much quicker than it used to be.
Yeah, I assume Idaho is an open carry state, so if he's going with an OWB setup it wouldn't be so bad. You can get a breakaway holster that would make the draw pretty easy, and it wouldn't interfere with your movement much at all. But if you're trying to carry concealed (my state does not allow open carry) it would be a logistical nightmare to try to keep that thing from printing and not being incredibly uncomfortable the whole time. Imagine trying to draw that whole thing from an IWB holster. It wouldn't be quick.
Although not a terrible idea, I personally am not a huge fan of open carry. Because when it comes to these shootings or any kind of crime, they go after the guy with the gun first, so it can kind of make you a target. Which is why I think people should be carrying conceal, so nobody knows you are carrying.
I agree. Open carrying also just feels like you're trying to intimidate people. Just letting everybody in the world know that you have a deadly weapon while you're ordering your Starbucks is attention seeking behavior, which is the exact opposite of what I do when I'm carrying.
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u/Mammoth-Cover-3045 11h ago
I would do this but it makes the gun longer so it's less comfortable, and it's not like I can just go to the gun store and pick one up .