#Silencers

Smith & Wesson continues to press on all fronts, expanding on all fronts under its new publicly traded name – American Outdoor Brands Corporation. Seeking to expand from its firearms roots, Smith & Wesson has been pushing into its namesake – the outdoors. Various companies owned by AOBC focus on true recreational products, not just boomsticks.

For decades silencers have consisted of a single tube with internal baffle sections sandwiched between two endcaps, one designed to mount onto the host firearm the other designed to be the business end. However a chain of historical, technological and economical events (along with the work of some big brains) have allowed manufacturers to get creative with overall silencer design. Branded as Modular Silencers, companies have developed ways to build suppressors that can be broken down into smaller sections, creating a variable length device.

In an actual blessing bestowed upon the National Firearms Act (NFA) community as a whole, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has begun rapid approvals of Form 3 transfers between dealers, distributors and manufacturers. In case you aren’t an NFA process nerd like myself, these non-taxed transactions occur between FFL holders to move registered items that will most likely be sold and transferred to consumers.

This photo was posted by the American Suppressor Association. The photo was taken by @silencers_1909 of Capitol Armory. This impressive suppressor display was posted on July 4th last month. He tried to replicate the American Flag. Unfortunately he only has 35 cans representing the field of stars and only 10 guns out of the 13 stripes.

Shooting subsonic ammunition in a properly suppressed host is a real eye opening event for the uninitiated. My first suggestion to anyone jumping into the silencer world is to pick a gun that can reliably run ammo specifically loaded to stay at around 1050 feet per second (or less). That could mean a .22LR bolt action rifle or a .300 Blackout short barreled AR15. But when it comes to pistol caliber hosts, submachine gun or pistol caliber carbines, especially the H&K roller delayed/locked varieties, are unmatched for quiet semiautomatic fun. The Dead Air team is launching a new subgun silencer into the market – the Wolf-9SD promises rugged modularity alongside expert level suppression.

In January of this year I made the very bold (sarc) prediction that additive manufacturing (aka 3D Printing) will eventually revolutionize the firearms industry. I believe this to be especially true for silencer manufacturers who’s current constraints focus on not only internal volume and baffle design, but weight savings and hoop strength calculations. Traditional manufacturing processes can produce heavy silencers to achieve the durability required to suppress centerfire rifle firearms – a fact that can be addressed by additive manufacturing. So when an industry giant like Daniel Defense starts making 3D printed silencers like the DD Wave, consumers should take note.

Allow me to deviate for a moment. Writing reviews is hard. No, I’m not talking about the type of ‘hard’ that means only the ‘select elite’ are capable of evaluating a gun product and slinging words onto a page. I’m talking about trying to accurately describe the positives and negatives of a particular item that is designed, by default, to just plain work. Forget style, that’s a subjective characteristic that will never get a full consensus.

Could the complete deregulation of silencers (also called “suppressors”) be near? That’s the goal of a new bill introduced simultaneously to the House and Senate, which seeks to invalidate the provisions pertaining to silencers of the National Firearms Act, entirely. The bill, called the SHUSH (Silencers Help Us Save Hearing) Act, would nullify the NFA’s requirements for silencer registration via two modifications: First, by making anyone seeking to purchase a silencer (who is otherwise acting within the law) automatically meet the NFA’s requirements; and second, by invalidating all state regulations regarding silencers. Further, these changes would retroactively apply to all silencer transfers more recent than October 22, 2015.

I have said it before and I will say it again – owning suppressed rimfire firearms is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the shooting sports world. Those that reach for their first silencer are usually looking for that coveted “Hollywood Quiet” report that can barely be heard. And shooting subsonic .22LR ammunition on a silenced firearm gets you as close to that sound as “physics-ly” possible. (Get it, physically, physics-ly?). Silencer manufacturer Gemtech has recently released a four lug attachment system called the QDA-22 which allows shooters to quickly and easily swap their favorite rimfire suppressors between hosts.

The Hearing Protection Act (HPA) is one of those things lingering in the back of every firearm owners mind. While all of us would obviously love to see it pass you will not see any of us holding our breath. That sentiment may soon change as some very positive movement was recently made on the HPA.

Gemtech is moving. Not far, mind you, but in three months the historic silencer company will expand into a brand new headquarters in Meridian, Idaho. The new facility will feature upgraded manufacturing and research and design facilities that will aid in product development.

A lot of todos has been made recently about “Gun Culture”. With various companies hopping on the lifestyle branding and messaging bandwagon, especially in the silencer and NFA segments of the market, it’s been a welcome change to the previous hunting and self-defense only marketing that typified the firearms world for years. Various companies have used this successfully including SilencerCo, Springfield Armory, etc.

Axelson Tactical, the company started to honor fallen Navy SEAL Matt “Axe” Axelson has been operating as SEALs do – quietly and effectively. Following Axe’s tradition, Axelson has been quickly moving into various markets in short order, production products beloved by their customers. Keeping it quiet, Axelson has released their Suppressors to the market.

Gentlemen, it has begun: The Silencing is upon us.

The discussion regarding the deregulation of silencers (suppressors if you insist on using the more politically correct term) has traveled quite the roller coaster path in the last few months. Staying as clear from partisan politics as possible, the election result was a surprise to most on each side. In the end, gun rights proponents had a blast of exuberance with an NRA-endorsed President Elect. Part of that excitement included hope for the newest iteration of the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) which would remove silencers from the National Firearms Act regulations.