oil filter suppressor

I came across this last night. hopefully it's new and interesting to somebody and I'm not just woefully behind the times. I thought it was a neat idea. Kind of makes me wish you could just thread your barrel for an oil filter. http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2012/04/24/econo-can-a-55-suppressor/

Very cool stuff. Effective to a point, and easy to maintain - just put a new oil filter on the "suppressor" when you start to lose effectiveness due to fouling or wear.

Its an interesting idea, but I still can't see myself paying $250 for what is essentially a thread adapter. Once you factor in several range trips and maybe 10-15 "wipes", you might as well have bought a standard k baffle .22 suppressor.

Its an interesting idea, but I still can't see myself paying $250 for what is essentially a thread adapter. Once you factor in several range trips and maybe 10-15 "wipes", you might as well have bought a standard k baffle .22 suppressor.
Not everyone can afford to drop $700+ at one time for a standard K baffle suppressor and stamp - I know I can't right now.

If you do a bit of searching, you can find them for much less than $700, even including the transfer tax. Take a look at silentrx. They're offering a .22 k baffle for $99 right now and are even offering to talk with your transferring FFL/SOT to take care of their transfer charge (not the ATF tax though).

Here's a small portion of one of their advertisements for their "Vendetta" .22 can. (And yes, that's a direct quote, ellipses and all...) The advertisement is from NFA Talk.
If you missed it we are selling our 22 cans @ a $99 intro price... It is 1 inch K Baffle can... It has a Stainless Blast Baffle standard... The Rest of the Baffles are Type 3 Hardcoat Anodized...

And even if you want to go with a company that is more well known, the Gemtech Outback II can usually be found for about $300, and that meters around 115db. That only puts you about $500 including tax.

I wonder if you could flush a used oil filter with mineral spirits or something and pop it on there. Then we are talking going green, look, just killed two hippies with one stone, you wont hurt the prairie dog's ears before he blows up and you are finding a good use for those oil filters clogging up our land fills... for a while.

Wonder how well it works on a .45 ACP

Better have a tall front site ;)

mkay.

Its the same thing as the "solvent trap" except that one is intended to be used as a Silencer whereas the solvent trap gives u the ability to attach an oil filter to your barrel for the purpose of catching the solvents and keeping your table clean. The solvent trap is cheaper and can be sent directly to yer door.

The solvent trap is cheaper and can be sent directly to yer door.

And using it as a silencer could land you in prison for 10 years wondering how to pay that $250,000 fine.

"Cheaper" is all relative.

felony

felony

If you're buying it as a registered silencer, no. If you're bying a "solvent trap" and using it as a suppressor, absolutely!

I wasn't suggesting that one should use the solvent trap as a silencer, merely pointing out that it is mechanically the same. My friends and I have purchased solvent traps and they are only used to make the process of cleaning our guns less messy (they're great for that). If we ever did want to use them as a silencer, we would fill out a Form1, submit it along with the tax, engrave my trust name etc on it, and be in the exact same boat as the folks who opted to buy the more expensive model :)

*Edit - nevermind - there are (*gasp*) more than one kind of solvent trap! My mistake.

Not everyone can afford to drop $700+ at one time for a standard K baffle suppressor and stamp - I know I can't right now.

Got my passport for under four hundred out the door (stamp included).

I find the concept of the oil filter suppressor to be pretty interesting. I'm not any more worried about spending $75 for an adapter than I would be about spending $750 for a device that probably didn't cost $75 to build. ;)

Cool idea.

Not everyone can afford to drop $700+ at one time for a standard K baffle suppressor and stamp - For $700 you could even buy a used lathe good enough to machine you a few suppressors. IIRC the Checkmate was somewhere around $350, great price for a good can.

I have also wondered why it is so expensive to buy a suppressor as they can be built relatively cheaply if you have the machining to do so. I actually have the machines needed to make such a device, and I probably could make one for well under $100 and some labor but that would not be legal. Some argue that you have to pay people for their time and effort nailing down the correct materials, coming up with the perfect blueprint (if you will), etc. but I do not see it costing $650 extra per unit for that. It's not rocket science nor are they hard to build so why do most cost $700+ (minus the tax stamp)? Then again I guess the licensing to build such things might be kind of expensive. Maybe I should check into that. I might have to start me up a side business :).

Silentstalker -

not expensive, at all, to build your own (paperworkwise) nor is it illegal. the process is relatively simple and painless. go to the BATFE website and DL the "Form 1" fill it out, send it in with a money order for $200. when it comes back, with your cancelled tax stamp on it, build your silencer :D

i would recommend doing this a couple times, before you entertain the idea of going into business selling silencers :)

Heck, why not make the adapter 1-7/8" in diameter and use the muffler off the family station wagon? :what:

I actually have the machines needed to make such a device, and I probably could make one for well under $100 and some labor but that would not be legal.

Go the Form 1 route. Basically pay the $200 tax and send in a rough blueprint/design drawing and go to town once your stamp comes in.
**(Edit: No need to send a design in with your paperwork. Thanks rjrivero!)

Several of the newer start-up suppressor companies are making some good, low cost suppressors like $350 9mm cans and $99-200 .22 suppressors. Doing a Form 1, anyone who wants to put some thought into it can make a suppressor, the key is making it last, making it accurate (not using wipes), and making it smaller and lighter.

Also, there are some aspects about suppressor design that are a bit counter intuitive. For example, one company designing a .22 suppressor found that by removing one K baffle and making the can shorter, they actually reduced the sound signature of the can. The culprit? Back pressure which caused more sound to come out of the ejection port.

What is making some of the other suppressors like the TiRant and Osprey so expensive is that those companies set out from the beginning to make the absolute best suppressors for the ammo type. That means a lot of design, test, redesign, retest and so forth. I've heard that Silencerco went through over 100 baffle designs before settling on the final production monocore of their Osprey. That's what you're paying for when you buy a high end suppressor, all the R&D work to make the can what it is.

If you decide to go into the suppressor business yourself, I wish you luck. It's not the FFL that is expensive, its the SOT and ITAR that really get you. $1,000 and $2,250 respectively per year (IIRC on the costs, but they're close).

I figure part of the cost of suppressors is that since they are so expensive to get, people expect them to be lifetime purchases. so they have to be warrantied etc.

I heard (don't know if it's true, I got it off the internet) that over in Scandinavia area they sell suppressors at the hardware store for 30 bucks or so. But the rifle is more difficult to acquire.

Go the Form 1 route. Basically pay the $200 tax and send in a rough blueprint/design drawing and go to town once your stamp comes in.

No need to send any drawings. Just tell them what you are going to build, and then build it. You can make it shorter than the specified length, but not longer. (Since they believe longer is more effective at suppression.) You would only need to send a letter notifying them of the shorter length when you finish your project.

As for the Econo-Can, from Cadiz Gunworks, I have one. It's great fun.

Greyling22 -

Yes, they are insanely cheap in some countries. In fact, I know of a place in China that sells a silencer for 40bux. They will ship to any address they are given. I would NOT suggest ordering one to the U.S.A. for obvious reasons, but just to answer yer question - yea, they're out there.

Appears to obstruct the sights on most firearms.

Can see no use for it whatsoever on handguns unless the shot is made at contact distance.

Appears to obstruct the sights on most firearms.

Can see no use for it whatsoever on handguns unless the shot is made at contact distance.

K&N makes an inline oil filter with stainless steel innards and an aluminum casing that looks like it would not only allow the use of your handgun sights (might need tall sights with some guns) but it would likely last a good long while too.