Can someone tell me why silencers are so expensive?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MLH

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
526
Location
Louisville, Ky.
I mean I can buy a lifetime muffler for my car for $40.00 and there's a lot more metal in those. $325.00 and up is a little high I think. And then there's the $200.00 tax on top of that! :cuss: You can buy a whole gun that's has many machined parts for that kind of money. Why? Why? Why are little mufflers for guns so high? :banghead:
 
Because of the hoops required to jump through, there's not much demand. When there's not much demand, no one tools up to produce 'em in BIG numbers. When no one tools up to produce them in large numbers, the cost-per-unit to produce 'em remains high.

If as many people were buying suppressors as were buying car mufflers, they'd be pretty cheap.

-K
 
I think a little more design goes into suppressors. Also, find me a muffler that machined on a CNC machine, and not stamped out of cheap sheet metal.

Bowers sells .45 cans for around $200. That's not too expensive
 
Plus most silencers have user-replacable parts inside that you have to swap out every XX amount of rounds.

I agree with the supply and demand aspects as well.

If I were to get into NFA stuff, it would be silencers. But, Missouri says no on them anyways. :(
 
In addition to the low demand, there's also the cost of doing business in the form of ATF fees and regulations placed on the manufacturer.

I've also heard that U.S.-made suppressors are manufactured with the ability to repair and rebuild in mind -- with all the hoops involved with buying, you want something can be serviced and repaired. In other countries where suppressors are bought over the counter, they can be built a little more cheaply, since they're easily replaceable.
 
Don't forget liability insurance. I am sure this is a big part of the cost.

Plus, like any semi-forbidden object, the price goes up with the OOOOh factor.

DM
 
I bought a 9mm Vector supressor through my dealer, and told he me his cost was $450. That's what he charged me plus $50 transfer fee plus I paid the $200 tax. Interestingly, I sent in the paperwork for it the same time as my Uzi, and the Uzi was approved about 2 weeks ago while no one has seen the approval for the supressor. I'm going to call the ATF tomorrow about it.
 
What if you build your own? - With ATF approval and the tax paid, of course...

There's really nothing to them. You'd save a boatload of money, as long as you knew what you were doing. I'm seriously interested in legally owning one, but I don't want to pay big bucks for a piece of metal that costs $20 in materials.

It's not the manufacturers' fault for having artificially inflated prices. Yes, they use CNC equipment, but I'm amazed at the price of these things - simply because of government meddling. I'd be willing to pay the $200 tax and deal with the red tape, but I'm not spending much more than that. What are my chances?
 
If you fill out the paperwork you can build pretty much anything for yourself (no MGs), assuming your state allows it.
 
If legal, building your own might be the way to go. Have a machine shop make and thread the tube with a removabe front and/or rear end cap, put a ser # on it (I'd imagine that's how ATF keeps track). Then you could be constantly changing/tweaking the internals until you get it right
 
Your government, that is the reason.

A muffler that would help with hearing down the road, $200 tax, go figure.

Wayne
 
07 manufacture license $150

02 Special Occupation Tax $500 or $1000, depending on gross amount of earnings

ITAR - State dept was$600 year now $1750.00

This is just the ability to make a can legally.

Then if the can transfers to a dealer add 11% excise tax, sold direct to customer in state the $200 dollar fee exempts the excise tax.

Owners of a can made by a manufacture may only change wipes. To change the baffles ATF wants a $200 form 1 for each baffle you make.

Time to get suppressors of the NFA list and have them is a title 1 firearm that transfers like a firearm. Write your Congress Critters
 
There is another phenom to consider...if you NEED an item, you don't really want to buy it...so its sold for less so you'll buy it anyway. If you WANT the item, you'll pay the price...so its marked up..and up...and up. I know thats over simplistic, but it works out like that a lot. :D
Mark.
 
I think I read it here originally, but suppressors were tossed onto the NFA at the request of the fish and wildlife people so they could get convictions against poachers back in the 30s when no jury would convict an unemployed (like everyone else) poacher who was trying to feed his wife and kids.
 
Comparing a quality suppresser to a car muffler is like comparing a fart to having a cherry bomb going off in your butt. :what: They both involve expanding gas as a product of combustion. :eek: They may not look it outwardly but suppressers take a lot of engineering for them to do what they do and that is why you pay the bucks for them.
 
I never throught they were expensive, so, I guess I can't answer your question.
 
I'd sort of like one for my FAL, and I'd be willing to cough up a fair chunk of change plus the $200 for it, but the last time I looked, the cheapest I could find was an MSRP of like $1000. (Which is what the rifle cost me!) Is it possible to find one for sale for cheaper than that? If so, where?

Would one of those Paladin Arms-esque "how to make your own ULTRA TACTICAL NINJA silencer" books tell me what I needed to know to make one myself that would work?

Is it worth bothering with? I understand that the sonic boom whatnot can't be supressed, and I've never heard "silenced" gunfire, so I'm not sure exactly how much benefit I'd get, but I'd really appreciate any nontrivial amount of additional quietness I can get.

(Bit of thread hijacking there, sorry.)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
Why are handguns so much more expensive than long guns?
Replies
24
Views
12K
ozarkhillbilly
O
S
  • Locked
Just out of curiosity...why are guns so expensive...
2 3
Replies
67
Views
16K
notorious
N
A
  • Locked
We need to ban "Assault Vehicles"... these aren't for hunting!
Replies
21
Views
1K
justin 561
J
H
  • Locked
Why is DBM so expensive?
Replies
4
Views
305
Styx
Styx
R
  • Locked
Another idiot spreading misinformation
2 3
Replies
59
Views
4K
rust collector
R
Back
Top