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The day after the election, SilencerCo sent out an email blast (below) to “The Suppressed™.” (I’m not sure how much gun owners like being labelled victims, but whatever.) The celebratory missive offers suppressor buyers a $200 refund if and when — but mostly when — the Hearing Protection Act is passed.

That’s because the Act would remove the $200 tax stamp fee charged by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires) for the “privilege” of buying a gun muffler. SilencerCo reckons potential buyers will hang fire until the HPA passes.

Maybe so. I reckon the HPA’s passage will expand the silencer market exponentially. Who doesn’t want a suppressor? Paperwork-averse people on a budget without time to waste included. The HPA will eliminate the hassle and most of the cost. But not all of it. Cans still cost copious amounts of cash.

Enter the free market. While there are silencers and there are silencers, they’re not the most difficult product in the world to mass produce. Once manufacturers ramp-up production to meet demand, prices will come crashing down.


My fellow Americans,

Tuesday’s Republican election victory was a tremendous win for our Second Amendment rights and it also marked a significant increase in the potential for the Hearing Protection Act to become law and remove silencers from the NFA registry. SilencerCo has been and will continue to be a vocal supporter of the HPA and advocate for it to become a priority in the legislative agenda for 2017.

As a member of The Suppressed™, you’ve likely thought to yourself, “Why are silencers still an NFA item?” SilencerCo has not only wondered this ourselves, but along with partners such as the American Suppressor Association, we’ve taken steps to support the introduction of legislation to remove silencers from the list of NFA items.

On October 22, 2015 the Hearing Protection Act was introduced. This piece of legislation is aimed at removing silencers from the NFA and instead having their transfer go through a traditional ATF Form 4473 – the same way you would purchase a standard rifle or pistol.

What does this mean for you?

  • No $200 tax stamp
  • No excessive wait times
  • No NFA trusts
  • No fingerprint cards, passport photos, or Chief Law Enforcement Officer notification
  • A simple process, just like when you purchase most firearms through your dealer

Even though the House, Senate, and Presidency will be controlled by like-minded advocates for the Second Amendment, bills take time to become laws and citizens should not be taxed for trying to protect their hearing while exercising their Second Amendment rights.

Between now and the passage of this bill, we encourage our customers to continue to support the industry and to take advantage of the following provision: The Hearing Protection Act also includes a provision for all people who purchase a silencer between the time the bill is introduced (October 22, 2015) until the day it passes – should you purchase a silencer during that time, you will receive a $200 tax credit to cover the cost of any new silencer tax stamps you pay for.

This bill was initially championed by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) as its primary sponsor and since then has had multiple co-sponsors. SilencerCo, Rep. Salmon, and all supporters of the bill realize that this is a long-term effort and will not be something that happens overnight. With the help of people like you – The Suppressed – we will gain momentum and educate both the general public and lawmakers as to the true nature of silencers.

If you haven’t already joined The Suppressed, click HERE to add your voice to the cause and write to your Congressmen and women and Senators to voice your support for the HPA as a legislative priority for 2017.

Sincerely,

Josh Waldron
CEO, SilencerCo

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35 COMMENTS

  1. Cool. Let ’em.

    If they pass it, I wonder if a Glock suppressed will be any uglier than a standard Glock?

    A gun design like a bullpup will lend itself very well to an integrally suppressed design…

    • I have heard of the solvent trap, but don’t know what it is about. Please clue me in. Is it people buying parts labeled as solvent traps then using them as, or turning them into, suppressors?

      • Yes. They look like silencers, even down to some baffle designs. They usually don’t have holes drilled into them though.
        You can get them in aluminum, stainless, titanium, etc.

      • Just like Tom said, they are tube’s that “collect” lube and such, they screw onto your gun, but are not classified as silencers as they don’t have holes drilled in the ends or the “baffles” so you couldn’t shoot through it. But you can file a form 1, and finish it off by drilling holes in the center, etc.. lots of YouTubes about making them.

    • Ding! Ding! Ding! +10

      A suppressor is not a firearm. Even if you threw it at somebody you’re not likely to do more damage than a scratch and a bruise. We should be working for taking things OFF the lists of controlled/regulated items instead of moving things from one list to another.

    • I doubt amazon would carry them, I can’t even carry a damn knife or mace at work. But what the well, I handle k-bars and all sorts of knives and mace and stuff all day…

  2. I almost pulled the trigger (so to speak) on one this year…but now that the HPA’s future looks very bright indeed, I’m gonna hold off, in spite of this offer. Main reason is like you said…once silencer production ramps up to meet the enormous demand, the prices will fall dramatically. The NFA has artificially kept demand (and hence production) relatively low…once that headache is gone, watch out!

    • The big problem I see (short term anyway) is that when HPA passes, demand is going to skyrocket and supply will still be low. Eventually the manufacturers will catch up but it still will suck for a while.

      • I hope that won’t take very long. Once the engineering is done, and the designs programmed in, manufacturing a suppressor is very, very simple and quick.

        What may take a while is the introduction of new integrally suppressed firearms.

      • You’re right…but as you said, that’s a short term issue. Manufacturers really, really, really hate leaving money on the table, which is what happens when you get a large backlog, and I suspect they’ll be ramping up production as soon as they feel confident the bill will go thru. I’m sure they won’t be completely stocked when the gates open, but there will definitely be a period of time between the bill being signed into law and the time it comes into effect…they’ll be scrambling to stock up supply. I

  3. Forget the idea of buying a can, I want to *MAKE* a can. I’ve got dreams of converting my 16″ 9mm AR into a 13″ integrally suppressed dream gun.

  4. Since there won’t be any need to pump out lowers and magazines at breakneck speed manufacturers who do everything but silencers could shift efforts away from EBR stuff and into silencers.

    Threats of an AWB essentially buried the nation in AR’s and mags. Time to do the same with fender washers and maglites. Everybody from Magpul to Everready and NAPA can get in on this.

  5. The natural erosion of material from the baffles will be no big deal since there will be no stupid tax and no stupid paper work to send off for approval. The cost will drop and there will no need to build a silencer to the same level of quality since they will be relatively cheap to replace when they naturally wear out. The higher quality ones will have replaceable internal parts and the cheaper ones will be throwaways that you just toss when they rear out.

  6. Since silencers can be bought over the counter in Europe, of all places, maybe those companies could help take up the slack & increase supply?

  7. If the HPA does pass (and I hope it does!! They should not be regulated what so ever to begin with.) and then could be bought like any other gun on a 4473, does that mean they then are regulated under the GCA of 1968 where is says individuals can manufacture their own guns for personal use? Therefore everyone who is legal to own guns can make their own cans or purchase and complete an 80% can like they do with lowers? I am curious how this will pan out.

  8. I think the gun manufacturers believed or hedged on the HPA going through regardless of the next president. I mean they were able to push though the use of them within the NFA here in MN which is typically a very liberal leaning state.

    Hence the investments by both Ruger and Sig Sauer in developing and producing silencers.

    Hopefully it will pass and we can get suppressor prices where they should be somewhere around $200-$300 bucks.

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