My experience with a silencer purchase.
1. Find out who in your area is going to sign the Form 4 (NFA) BATF form. This will either be the Sheriff or a Federal judge. In my location, the Sheriff will not sign these forms, so, that leaves a Federal judge. If you have a gun shop in your area that sells silencers, they can help identify a judge who will sign the form. If not, go to a local IPSC or IDPA shoot, talk to folks and they can probably help. I found a judge, wrote him a nice cover letter, enclosed the form and offered to come in and meet him in chambers if necessary. He did invite me in, we had a nice short conversation and he signed the form. The form was mailed to the BATF with a check for $200. (See 2. below for more info.)
2. Find the silencer you want (more on this below). This really comes first, but if you can't find anyone to sign the form it becomes irrelevant! You will probably have to buy (ie. pay for the silencer) as the serial number must be on the Form 4, and the dealer probably won't let you put it on the form without you paying for it! So, you will pay for it, he will complete the form and give/send it to you for you to complete your part and then get it approved (as in 1. above). The form must have a recent passport photo (costs money). You will need to be finger printed at the local police station, which may cost you money as well.
3. Check your bank statements for the deposited check. Once it has been deposited call the BATF and ask if an agent has been assigned. You will need the serial number for the inquiry as that is how they search. This step is necessary to ensure that it deosn't get "lost".
4. The whole process will take 3-4 months so don't be in a rush!. The completed approved form will be sent by BATF to the selling dealer, not to you.
Selecting a silencer.
In my case I had several options: 22LR, .223 or 30 caliber.
22LR is cheaper but of course is limited to 22LR. 22Mag. will not work as well with this. If you want to suppress a 22mag then get a silencer rated for this.
30cal. is similar. I have a 308 and 300WM rifles. A silencer rated for a 300WM will work for a 308 but not vice versa.
I selected a 223 as I have several, and it will work with a 22LR although the silencer will be bigger and heavier than one specifically for a 22LR.
I wound up with a Gemtech G5 which is rated for full auto. There are other makes out there. The G5 has a nice feature in that it comes with a threaded "flash hider" which threads on the barrel, but is a "permanent" fixture ie. use loctite or something similar, you do not want the assembly coming loose!. The silencer fits on the flash hider with a cam type fitting, thus there is no wear on the threads with constant removal and installation of the silencer. This was important to me as I wanted to use the silencer on several different guns. The threading is critical as the bullet must not touch the silencer when it exits the barrel!
I mounted the flash hider on my Sig 556, after removing the existing one. See my thread in Modern Military Rifles! Standard thread is 1/2x28.
For my Ruger AC556 I had to remove the existing muzzle brake (which I had installed) and I purchased a Gemtech flash hider that is threaded for the Ruger (different thread, 9/14x24!).
Shooting experiences.
The silencer gets very hot very quickly! Even with semi auto fire, one magazine will leave the barrel and silencer extremely hot. This means that full auto fire is also somewhat questionable, as one full mag. will leave the silencer extremely hot.
The end result is to reduce the level of the .223 to around a 22LR. In addition I now know why people talk about the sound of the bolt cycling. It is not that it is loud, rather the shooter is just much more aware of this with a silencer than without a silencer.
Overall I am very happy with the silencer I purchased. I still have to get a threaded barrel for my Bushmaster Carbon 15, and figure out which 22 (pistol or rifle) I want to try it on.

Thanks for your write up, Peter and thanks to Saeed and the powers-that-be for this new addition.

Funny, I just returned from the ranch and was thinking I needed to get the ball rolling on getting a silencer for my .223 and voila!! here's a new section on one of my favorite sites!

Thanks again,
Scott

If one of the questions asked by the judge was what is your intended use of this silencer, how did you answer?

Best way to protect your hearing.

Thanks Vanderhoef! Onefunzr2. Nope he did not ask at all. This judge BTW achieved national attention when there was a disturbance in his court room a couple of years ago and he pulled out his own gun from behind his "bench"!!!
I think he was just doing "due diligence". He said "good shooting" after signing the paperwork. BTW there is a space on the form for 'stated purpose" or something like that. The dealer filled it in for me. I don't have it in front of me but it said something like "general sporting use".
Peter

When I asked my local sheriff to sign my first ATF form 1 to make a silencer, he told me that he thought they were illegal for civilians. I explained that they were legal in WA and at the federal level, but use was banned in WA. He asked why I wanted one then. I told him I was planning on moving to Idaho. His attitude was that if the ATF did not want me to have one, then I would not get it and that was all that mattered to him. That is what I wanted to hear. In the future I just mailed the forms to his office along with a self addressed stamp envelope for their return.

When a new sheriff was elected, I sent in a few forms along with a letter telling him about my hobby and that his predecessor used to sign. I also explained that I could use a trust to avoid his signature and finger prints, but that I preferred to own the silencers personally for now. I got the forms back signed along with a note thanking me for "jumping through the hoops".

Ranb

As far as a "reason for using a silencer" goes I`d say that it makes hunting one heck of a lot safer if you are anywhere near civilization. That applies everywhere here in the UK...

I have on occasion hunted with hearing protection with a rifle before id gotten it threaded and the absence of situational awareness because of the ear defenders always made me nervous.

Even on my own farm where no one else has a right to be there is always that niggle that someone might be were they shouldnt. Ive had people pop out of all sorts of places as ive been about to shoot, even some dumb ass riding a horse came through a break in a hedge once. Its good to be able to hear what is going on around you. Everything i own has a silencer on it, even got a suppressed 20b which is good fun...

quote:

Everything i own has a silencer on it, even got a suppressed 20b which is good fun...

That is one of my goals, except for the revolvers and the blackpowder stuff.

What is a 20b?

Ranb

quote:

Originally posted by ranb40:

What is a 20b?

Ranb

That'll be a 20 bore shotgun.
All my guns wear moderators too, even my target rifle. Moderator balance problems aside, I think they should be the norm. I'd say good reason for possession would be environmental considerations and averting hearing loss.

In my opinion they should be as much a part of a rifle as an exhaust mufflers are to cars..

Cant wait till the new laws here in Iceland will get approved to make moderators legal, the damage to my hearing is getting quite serious..

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
My experience with a silencer purchase.
1. Find out who in your area is going to sign the Form 4 (NFA) BATF form. This will either be the Sheriff or a Federal judge.

In many areas a "Revocable Living Trust" works well and avoids the "Chief" LEO hassle.

quote:

Originally posted by Haggis:
I think they should be the norm. I'd say good reason for possession would be environmental considerations and averting hearing loss.

No kidding. I wish it were so easy in my home state of Washington. I keep getting the same old "they are illegal" line from my representatives in the State capital when I enoucrage them to pass the bill legalizing their use.

Ranb

Ranb, I can't understand the reasoning behind your state's representatives. The UK has some of the harshest laws regarding firearms on the planet yet moderators are now considered standard for any kind of shooting "off range". I have to say though that 10 years ago if you asked for a moderator in this country, the firearms licensing officer would have probably had a motion followed by a cardiac arrest. I know, as mine did (the first part anyway). I guess you can only pound away with the health and safety bit until somebody somewhere takes notice. After all, it's just a can with big washers in and a hole down the middle!

I keep pounding away at my Reps in the legislature by e-mail asking why they will not do anything to support the bill allowing silencer use in my state. The usual spin is that they all support our right to use a silencer, but this support obviously does not include asking the committee chairman to give the bill a hearing and send it to the floor for a vote.

These jerks know that if they never have to vote on the bill allowing silencer use, then they can proclaim their support of the right to keep and bear arms knowing they will never have to prove it with a vote.

The Republican ranking minority member is trying to bullshit me with a claim that he can do nothing if the chairman does not like a bill. I think it would usually be kind of funny that a politician is calling himself a wimp and a eunuch, but in this case I think he is just telling me to go screw myself.

Ranb

Here in Texas you can bypass the need for finger prints and signature by the local police/judge.
If you are a Corporation/LLP/LLC/Trust on file and in good standing with the State of Texas your Corporation/LLP/LLC/Trust can buy the item. You still fill out the paper work and pay the transfer tax. Much simpler!

The ATF allows any adult in any state where they are legal to use a trust or Corp to own a title 2 firearm like a silencer. I use a trust now.

Ranb

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Here in Texas you can bypass the need for finger prints and signature by the local police/judge.
If you are a Corporation/LLP/LLC/Trust on file and in good standing with the State of Texas your Corporation/LLP/LLC/Trust can buy the item. You still fill out the paper work and pay the transfer tax. Much simpler!

A trust is cheaper and more simple. An LLC or Corp requires paying fees to the state for the business license. The LLC needs to file income tax paperwork every year. There are other legal issues that can complicate the LLC route. With a Trust, no one but you and the ATF knows what is in the trust and it is FREE. Or you can buy the forms for $30.

Trust Lawyer is a good source, I used their forms.