MachIVshooter
Member
No, all that rhetoric applies to cartridge guns, not muzzleloaders.
I don't think "rhetoric" is the word you were looking for, but that's inconsequential.
If there weren't confusion surrounding what qualifies as antique and what is regulated by '34 NFA and '68 GCA, ATF wouldn't have an illustrated FAQ partially explaining the difference. What SiCo has done, while 100% legal and a good thing, does create additional perplexity surrounding the application of suppressors to guns that do not qualify as firearms under the antique exemption. Specifically, there is not to my knowledge any ruling regarding the permanent attachment of suppressors to pre-1899 antique firearms which do fire available modern cartridges. My own interpretation is that it would be treated the same way as other modification that would render an antique NFA, but not everyone shares that interpretation, and it's certainly worthy of discussion. If you don't wish to participate in that tangent, then don't. But it is wholly appropriate in the context of this thread, and I promise we have plenty of members on this board who do not understand even what is meant by exempt antique by production date vs. exempt by primitive ignition. Many (most) people think muzzle loading is the exempting criteria, don't realize that you could have an exempt breech loader and a non-exempt muzzle loader..