New modular suppressor

[M-Cameron]

Lots of silencer designs come apart for cleaning and maintenance. While each part is by itself a silencer, this does not mean that a person has more than one silencer simply because it comes apart or is modular.

Looking at the picture, it seems that the individual parts can only attach to themselves and the only part that is intended to attach to the gun is the rear part. I think the ATF would call this item one silencer and allow it to be registered on a single ATF form. They cannot be imported for private use though.

Ranb

I said "extra baffles" on purpose.

hrmm....

isnt there an attachment to make a soda bottle/ oil filter a silencer ......but the ATF only classifies the attachment as the silencer.....and you can swap out the bottle/ filter as often as you please.....

this seems somewhat similar as all the baffles mount to the one attachment....

 

[Robert]

If Zak, who makes suppressors for a living, says that the Feds consider each extra baffle as a NFA item then I would tend to think that the Feds consider each extra baffle a NFA item. But to know for sure your best bet is to ask the ATF. Only they know what they are thinking. Sometimes...

 

[Zak Smith]

isnt there an attachment to make a soda bottle/ oil filter a silencer ......but the ATF only classifies the attachment as the silencer.....and you can swap out the bottle/ filter as often as you please.....

this seems somewhat similar as all the baffles mount to the one attachment....

The difference is that a soda bottle is a soda bottle. That sounds silly, but it gets to the core of the issue.

Any machine shop can make washers. Only an SOT can make baffles. Some silencers use off the shelf washers. That doesn't mean that nobody but an SOT can make washers-- unless they are washers specific to a silencer design, then they are silencer parts.

The bottom line is that if you are doing something that is not clearly laid out in documentation from ATF, you better get a technical letter clarifying the issue from them before doing anything.

 

[Ranb]

I understand what extra baffles meant. I do not think that the modular design would be "extra" baffles.

Ranb

 

[Maverick223]

Ranb, the discolored, gray surfaces visible on each piece are baffles. Being able to use just one part/baffle or them all at once (or anywhere in between), I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that there is a tax for each one.

 

[Sam Cade]

The difference is that a soda bottle is a soda bottle. That sounds silly, but it gets to the core of the issue.

Reckon the bottle just counts as a Wipe?

 

[Bubbles]

Gemtech came out with a very similar design years ago, but the pieces were much smaller. ATF said no way.

Thank you NFA 1934 and GCA 1968 for yet again keeping the US behind the rest of the world in small arms technology.

 

[Ranb]

I will write the letter, anyone care to give me odds?

Ranb

 

[Myles]

Polymer outer case, convenient connections between units, polystyrene baffles. Elegant design - no need for wet or dry wipes, or even cleaning, just replace the used modules, as need be. Nice design. My only real question is how does the lifespan of the polystyrene baffles last when exposed to hot hydrocarbon gasses, and the rapid warming/cooling cycle of petroleum-based lubricants?

With no laboratory or anecdotal evidence, I would suspect an almost immediate degradation of the polystyrene components.

 

[Zak Smith]

Polymer outer case, convenient connections between units, polystyrene baffles. Elegant design - no need for wet or dry wipes, or even cleaning, just replace the used modules, as need be. Nice design. My only real question is how does the lifespan of the polystyrene baffles last when exposed to hot hydrocarbon gasses, and the rapid warming/cooling cycle of petroleum-based lubricants?

With no laboratory or anecdotal evidence, I would suspect an almost immediate degradation of the polystyrene components.

No idea where you got that- totally off base. The suppressor in the OP is made of metal. The insides appear white because of the fouling.

 

[PLRinmypocket]

Extra baffles are not the same as extra "wear items".

The ATF allows you to replace items that are designed to wear out. The classic example is the rubber Wipes that wear out after a few hundred rounds (often used in older style silencers). The oil filter, or soda bottle is considered a wear item by the ATF.

An extra machined metal baffle is not a wear item, it is instead a silencer part.