Does threading a barrel add or decrease value to the gun?

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jim in Anchorage said:
If I saw someone threading a original pre 64 barrel I'd break his fingers.
I honestly don't know why anyone would want a long, bulky, heavy, worthless brush snagging "can" on the end of a hunting rifle.
Except to look "cool"
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If you hunt hogs in Texas you will find out. They allow you to take out multiple pigs quickly. That is very important in a state that is overrun by the disgusting things. It is a legitimate hunting tool just like a scope or a bipod. Cool has nothing to do with it.
 
Ruger already has several lower end models that come with threaded barrels. Savage has several as well. So does Mossberg. This is my .308 Mossberg
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I went to two LGS this morning and neither had a threaded Ruger or Savage. Both are pretty good sized stores with a good selection. I don't argue that they are available but I don't see it as the "norm" yet in a state that legalized suppressors a couple of years back.
 
jrdolall said:
I went to two LGS this morning and neither had a threaded Ruger or Savage. Both are pretty good sized stores with a good selection. I don't argue that they are available but I don't see it as the "norm" yet in a state that legalized suppressors a couple of years back.
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I can go down to the farm supply place down the street. They have several threaded barrel models including Ruger 300 BLK Mini's , Ruger 308's bolt guns, 300 BLK Ruger bolt guns, Mossberg 308 bolt guns, Savage 308 bolt guns and thats not even getting into the .223 stuff or the AR's. Thats one store.

I wouldnt buy a new rifle unless it came threaded for a silencer .Ive got a half dozen factory threaded bolt guns in my safe. I wouldnt buy an old fudd era rifle unless it was hashed to the point I'd get good of enough of a deal on it to allow me to change barrels and stocks . The barrel would be 16" and threaded.
 
yugorpk said:
Want to check your facts first? Velocity drop for shorter barrels is a lot less than you think. You lose about 30 fps per inch under 20 inches unless the load is developed for an SBR. You can easily load a round for 2600 fps out of an 11 inch barrel with 168 grain slugs.
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Yugorpk,

So we are going from a 20" barrel to an 11" barrel and you claim losing 30 FPS per inch under 20"? So we are talking 9" and 270 FPS loss. Assuming we are talking about a .308 Win your are claiming a 20" barrel starting velocity of 2870FPS? That's pretty stout out of a 20" tube. Are your numbers correct or am I missing something here?

Also you keep mentioning that you like barrels that threaded for "silencers" most folks will correct that and say it's a suppressor. What's your take on the subject?
 
Unless the barrel was threaded from the factory it decrease the value. Anytime you modify a firearm it decreases it's value on paper. It's just like modifying a vehicle, expect to lose money on it. Of course there might be the perfect buyer that is willing to pay more for a threaded barrel. But those perfect buyers are few and far between.

Silencers are legal for hunting here. But I'm not about to thread one of my existing rifles. I have a Ruger American Ranch in 300 BLK but it's an anemic cartridge for deer hunting. It's a handy little rifle though. Give me the same rifle in 358 Winchester/35 Remington w/ a silencer and I would hunt w/ it all the time.

They are silencers. Suppressor is a politically correct term.
 
When you ask ATF for permission to buy or make one the form calls it a silencer. Maxim called it a silencer. Good enough for me.
 
Also you keep mentioning that you like barrels that threaded for "silencers" most folks will correct that and say it's a suppressor. What's your take on the subject?
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When you talk suppressor to any of the folks that are important (i.e. can throw you in jail) most have no idea what you are talking about.

When I was trying to decide between individual and trust, I was talking to the folks at the local PD to make sure they would sign off if I went individual, and after about the second time mentioning "suppressor", they asked me what the heck I was talking about? When I said silencer, everybody knew, so that's the term I now use.

Nowhere on any of the ATF forms I've filled out does it mention suppressor-it's always silencer or muffler.

If you download the 243 page Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide, you can do a search for suppressor and will find it mentioned a grand total of two times as it pertains to sound devices (plenty of references to flash suppressors).

From the 207 page ATF National Firearms Act book, you will find suppressors (as it relates to sound devices) mentioned once.

I got tired of counting the number of times muffler was mentioned.

As such, I now just call 'em silencers so anybody that matters is on the same page.

Hey, if you really want to watch the heads of the PC crowd explode, start calling 'em mufflers!
 
...I would guess a least 5%-10% of hunters now have them or will be using them this year.
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There are, according to the ATF, about 800,000 silencers in the U.S.

There are about 13.7 million hunters in the U.S.

If we assume that every single silencer in the U.S. is being used for hunting and that no hunter owns more than one silencer then that would indicate that 6% of hunters are hunting with silencers.

It might be true that in some areas, maybe even some states, that 5% to 10% of hunters are using silencers, but clearly the upper range of that estimate can't possibly be true across the nation. Even the lower range is quite unlikely to be correct when one considers that:

1. Some states allow hunting but don't allow silencers and/or don't allow silencers to be used for hunting. (e.g. CA sold nearly 2 million hunting licenses in 2015 and none of those hunters will be using a silencer.)
2. Many silencer owners own more than one silencer.
3. Not all silencer owners hunt.
4. Not all hunting weapons are easily silenced. Specifically bird hunters aren't likely to be using silenced weapons and they make up a large percentage of hunters.

The numbers indicate that hunting with silenced weapons is still pretty uncommon in the U.S. I'd estimate that, across the board, maybe 1% or 2% of hunters are using silencers--even that estimate might be optimistic.
 
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I agree that 1-2% is much closer to reality. I have a friend in Arkansas that hunts deer with a silencer but that's the only one I personally have ever hunted with. None of the people around here use them, at least not any of the ones I hunt with. Maybe that's why I can't find threaded guns on the low end of the price spectrum.

I have three silencers but none that are for my hunting calibers.
 
Elkins45 said:
When you ask ATF for permission to buy or make one the form calls it a silencer. Maxim called it a silencer. Good enough for me.
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This is simply not true.
I have several forms that are approved and in box b where it asks "Type of Firearm" the word SUPPRESSOR is printed. I also have several forms with the word silencer in the b box.

I buy or build a firearm to use and the thought of resell value doesn't cross my mind. I think that if people are concerned with the value of a firearm they should never take it out of the box and use it as it affects the resell value.
 
basicblur said:
When you talk suppressor to any of the folks that are important (i.e. can throw you in jail) most have no idea what you are talking about.

When I was trying to decide between individual and trust, I was talking to the folks at the local PD to make sure they would sign off if I went individual, and after about the second time mentioning "suppressor", they asked me what the heck I was talking about? When I said silencer, everybody knew, so that's the term I now use.

Nowhere on any of the ATF forms I've filled out does it mention suppressor-it's always silencer or muffler.

If you download the 243 page Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide, you can do a search for suppressor and will find it mentioned a grand total of two times as it pertains to sound devices (plenty of references to flash suppressors).

From the 207 page ATF National Firearms Act book, you will find suppressors (as it relates to sound devices) mentioned once.

I got tired of counting the number of times muffler was mentioned.

As such, I now just call 'em silencers so anybody that matters is on the same page.

Hey, if you really want to watch the heads of the PC crowd explode, start calling 'em mufflers!
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Sounds like your local law enforcement doesn't have a clue just like a few folks in this thread.

I have approved forms with stamps on them right in front of me at the moment with the word SUPPRESSOR filled in box b.
 
I have several forms that are approved and in box b where it asks "Type of Firearm" the word SUPPRESSOR is printed
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Don't know what kind of forms you are using, but I just did a word search thru the following PDF forms and found no mention of suppressor in:

1. Form 4 (Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm)
2. Form 1 (Application to Make and Register a Firearm)
3. Form 5320-20 (Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms)

Add to the above the aforementioned 243 page Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide and 207 page ATF National Firearms Act book, and the word suppressor seems to be rare as hen's teeth.

I have approved forms with stamps on them right in front of me at the moment with the word SUPPRESSOR filled in box b.
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And I have at least four approved forms / stamps in front of me / on my computer with the word silencer filled in box b.

The operative words here are filled in - when I was trying to decide what to write in box b, I (and my dealer) went with silencer, since that's what the ATF calls them (when not referring to them as mufflers).

Go back thru your forms and find the word suppressor printed on the form, as the form comes from the ATF (before anyone "fills in" anything).

We'll wait...
 
Go to Form 4 instructions, 1C. You will see silencer and muffler mentioned under definitions. Silencer and muffler are the terms used on their website as well. If you search "ATF suppressor" the first hit is their definition of a silencer, no mention of a suppressor.
 
basicblur said:
Don't know what kind of forms you are using, but I just did a word search thru the following PDF forms and found no mention of suppressor in:

1. Form 4 (Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm)
2. Form 1 (Application to Make and Register a Firearm)
3. Form 5320-20 (Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act (NFA) Firearms)

Add to the above the aforementioned 243 page Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide and 207 page ATF National Firearms Act book, and the word suppressor seems to be rare as hen's teeth.


And I have at least four approved forms / stamps in front of me / on my computer with the word silencer filled in box b.

The operative words here are filled in - when I was trying to decide what to write in box b, I (and my dealer) went with silencer, since that's what the ATF calls them (when not referring to them as mufflers).

Go back thru your forms and find the word suppressor printed on the form, as the form comes from the ATF (before anyone "fills in" anything).
Form 4 and Form 1's as received in paper or electronic versions will have all blank boxes. There is nothing filled in, it's up to the individual or dealer to complete the form with the required data for that particular class 3 device. Note that the word suppressor isn't on it as well as the words silencer and muffler are not either....it's blank
We'll wait...
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Let me state this again....

I have approved forms with stamps on them right in front of me at the moment with the word SUPPRESSOR filled in box b.

Are you implying that I am making this up and the ATF doesn't accept the term "suppressor" in box b?
 
Are you implying that I am making this up and the ATF doesn't accept the term "suppressor" in box b?
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I don't see how anything he posted could be construed as implying that. Not remotely, in fact. :confused:
 
I don't see how anything he posted could be construed as implying that. Not remotely, in fact.
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Which is why I won't bother to reply.

The info wasn't really for him - it was intended more for others that wondered if you should call it a silencer or suppressor.
 
Whether it's called a silencer, a suppressor or even a muffler, it won't disturb my nap.

It doesn't look like this thread is accomplishing much in the way of any definitive answer to the opening question about value.
 
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