NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog

On Jan 31st the Georgia Senate passed a bill to authorize the use of silencers on hunting firearms under certain circumstances and repeal conflicting laws. On Feb 1st 2012 the bill was sent to the house. Here is a link to see the current status and the bill.

Looks like Indiana is about to legalize hunting with a silencer as long as used legally and with the permission of the owner of private property. Illegal use of a silencer would be either a Class C or Class B misdemeanor. For the text of the bill or current status follow this link.

Masterpiece Arms, manufacturer of Semi Automatic SMG Pistols and Carbines and Subcompact Conceal Carry Semi Auto Pistols, is expanding their product offering to include 3 new 22 LR Sound Suppressors starting at less $249.99.

These are low-cost suppressors but no data on sound suppression has been released intentionally They state:

As a relative newcomer to the suppressor market, one of the challenging decisions is whether or not to publish decibel reduction data. One of the things we have learned, as with many industries where technical data may tend to provide a false representation of the quality of a product, is that an appropriate level of skepticism to the reported db data provided by many suppressor manufacturers exists.

DB Equipment variances, lack of a unified testing procedure, and the inability for objective testing groups to be able to replicate the data provided by many manufacturers has led us to the decision not to publish db data as a method of evaluating our product.

As an educated buyer, in the case of suppressors, one should tend to look past the results of decibel reduction as the final say in determining which suppressor meets their needs. Factors such as quality of product, manufacturing techniques, customer service, ease of maintenance, materials used and most importantly, the quality of sound reduction as heard by the shooter are items that will serve the educated buyer well once they have made the decision to purchase a specific suppressor. Rely on your local Class III FFL to provide expert advice, listen to various suppressors and the quality of sound they produce on a similar weapon, and research the company behind the product.

Don't get me wrong, we do meter our products quite extensively. It's one of the many tools used to help quantify our products. It's a very handy tool to benchmark performance and to help us determine if design enhancements are taking us in the right direction. However, we feel its more important to focus on improving the overall performance of our product as compared to focusing exclusively on designing a suppressor that produces the lowest db reading on our testing equipment under the most ideal testing parameters.

A person who is licensed under the Gun Control Act (GCA) to manufacture firearms and who has paid the special (occupational) tax to manufacture National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms may replace a component part or parts of a silencer as long as the repairs do not result in removal, obliteration, or alteration of the serial number. If a silencer part bearing the serial number, other than the outer tube, must be replaced, the new part must be marked with the same serial number as the replacement part.

The term "repair" does not include replacement of the outer tube of the silencer. The replacement of the outer tube is so significant an event that it amounts to the "making" of a new silencer. As such, the new silencer must be marked, registered and transferred in accordance with the NFA and GCA.

In the event that identical replacement parts for a silencer are not available, new and different component parts may be used as long as the silencer retains the same dimensions and caliber. In addition, the repair may result in a minimal reduction in the length of the outer tube due to rethreading, but repair may not increase the length of the outer tube. Increasing the length of the outer tube significantly affects the performance of the silencer and results in the "making" of a new silencer. Reducing the length of the tube by a minimal amount in order to repair a silencer is often necessary to replace damaged end caps, as the tube must be rethreaded. Such minimal reduction of the length of the tube uses all of the original parts, does not significantly affect performance of the silencer, and may be done as part of a repair process without making a new silencer.

Persons other than qualified manufacturers may repair silencers, but replacement parts are "silencers" as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(24) that must be registered and transferred in accordance with the NFA and GCA.

American Specialty Ammo defines the Boom Stick as the Biggest and baddedst suppressor of their line and can be used on the Saiga as well as older pump shotguns to reduce recoil, sound, and flash.

The Boom Stick is $799 making it one of the more reasonable shotgun silencers that I have seen.

Today, Attorney General of the State of Michigan, Bill Schuette wrote an optionion on the legality of Silencers in Michigan under MCL 750.224(1)(b) and other state laws in which he states:

The possession, manufacture, or sale of a firearm silencer is permitted in Michigan under MCL 750.224(1)(b) if the person is licensed or approved to possess, manufacture, or sell such a device by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as required by MCL 750.224(3)(c). Possession, manufacture, or sale of a firearm silencer by an unlicensed or unapproved person is a felony, punishable by up to five years imprisonment under MCL 750.224(2).

If you want to make or purcahse a silencer in Michigan you should read the
Michigan Attorney Generals' Option 7260

Because of the many requests we have found a dealer in MI who will be stocking silencers. If you find others please let us know.

Continue reading for growing list of dealers.

Continue reading "Silencers Now Legal in Michigan" »

THe BATFE defines a fiscal year as October 1 - September 30 of the following year. The NSSF has compiled a chart showing the number of silencers sold in the past few years. Over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of silencers transferred in most states. In 2008 there were slightly more than 15,000 silencers and by the end of fiscal year 2010 there were more than 22,000 silencers transferred.

While in most states, it is illegal to hunt with a Silencer, in the following states it is legal to hunt with a silencer. Remember these laws change frequently, so please verify this with your state prior to hunting with a silencer.

Alaska
Arkansas
Colorado
Kansas
Kentucky
Mississippi
Nebraska
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Many state restricted the use of suppressors in regards to anti poaching regulations. Some other states like Florida, Texas and Montana allow the use of Silencers for Varmint but not hunting. If you know of other states where it is legal to hunt with a silencer please let us know.

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In Missouri you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)
Any Other Weapon (AOW)
Silencers

In Missouri you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Destructive Devices (DD)

Follow this link to find out more about Missouri and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

<strong>NOTE:</strong> Starting 8/28/2011 you will be able to use a NFA trust to purchase NFA firearms in Missouri without the need of a C & R, FFL, or use of a Corporation or LLC.

NOTE THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION

While in most states, it is illegal to hunt with a Silencer, in the following states it is legal to hunt with a silencer. Remember these laws change frequently, so please verify this with your state prior to hunting with a silencer.

Alaska
Arkansas
Kentucky
Mississippi
Nebraska
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Virginia
Wisconsin
West Virginia

Many state restricted the use of suppressors in regards to anti poaching regulations. Some other states like Florida, Texas and Montana allow the use of Silencers for Varmint but not hunting. If you know of other states where it is legal to hunt with a silencer please let us know.

Advanced Armament Corp. has updated the silencer shoot 2011 page with some lodging information as well as the ability to purchase tickets online. If you are planning on attending let me know. If you are one of the lawyers we work with and need tickets, we have a few available on a first come basis.

After a year off, AAC is holding the Silencer Shoot again in Crawfordsville Arkansas (just outside Memphis).

Gun Trust Lawyer® is helping to sponsor the event and raise money for this years charity. While the silencer shoot is not silent, it is a far cry from the noise at Knob Creek. We will be giving away trusts and look forward to meeting many of our new clients. For more information on the event check out AAC's Silencer Shoot 2011 event page.

Remember that even though you do not need a 5320.20 to travel with your silencer across state lines, we recommend getting approval to avoid the unnecessary detention of yourself or firearms while uninformed officers determine that you are rightfully and legally in possession of a silencer.

While we had previously speculated that this bill would become law by faiure to veto, the Govenor actually signed it.

According to the Second Amendment Foundation, Silencers should be legal to shoot 90 days following the end of the 2011 Session. Unless ended earlier, this would mean that you can shoot your silencer legally after July 24th 2011.

It's time to order your silencer if you do not already have one. You could have your Form 4 paperwork approved in time to shoot it legally on the first day.

By the way SAF is a great gun rights organization and brings many of the lawsuits you hear about on a daily basis. If you have not joined it you should. It only costs $15 a year or $150 for a lifetime membership.

While it has been legal to purchase a silencer or suppressor for a firearm in Washington State, it has been illegal to use them.  That may change soon as a bill has passed the house and senate that allows for the use of a silencer if it is legally owned under the NFA.

While it is reported that the governor will probably not sign it, the bill is expected to become law by the failure to veto it within the alloted time under state law.

This will be good news for those who already own silencers in the State of Washington.  We will update you once it becomes legal to use them.  For more information on Title II firearms in the State of Washington contact a Gun Trust Lawyer®

Currently this Suppressor is manufactured overseas, but KRISS is bringing the manufacturing to the United States so that it can be sold here. They have estimated the price at around $500 but final pricing will be set later this year.

Often much of the noise when using a suppressor comes from the slide movement. This suppressor can be adjusted so the slide will not move. It also has an 12 position indexing ring to correct for drift from a silencer. It is adjustable so that you can set it differently for each firearm.