Shhh. Be Quiet...
I don’t know about you, but when I first learned how to shoot a gun it was somewhere out in the desert with my dad. He set up a paper target some distance away and gave me a pair of earplugs. He showed me how to operate the pistol and then watched me pull the trigger. I hit the paper target and I was impressed I managed to get on paper. Shooting at paper targets for practice is still something I do to maintain the muscle memory in my finger but it isn’t a realistic representation of situations I might face in the real world. Real self-defense situations won’t be ideal. They will happen unexpectedly and quickly. The perpetrators will dictate the time and place. I will dictate my response as I try to adapt and overcome the challenge to get the upper hand.
In other articles, I have written about prepping during total collapse scenarios. I write about these topics because I want to help others by giving them ideas that may increase their odds of surviving. I cannot guarantee these ideas will always work as written, so feel free to adapt them to your situation at the appropriate time. Adapting to conditions will probably be the best strategy for survival. As with anything, I encourage everyone to follow the law. State and Federal Laws must be obeyed if you want to stay out of jail and prison and I encourage each of you to operate within the limits of the law. You will rendered completely useless if you are locked up when that fateful day comes. Keep everything LEGAL and if the world falls apart, do everything you can to survive.
That being stated, I wanted to write an article about suppressors to explain how they can be used for prepping, explain the purchase process for people who don’t own them, and dispel some myths about them. If you own firearms (and even if you don’t) and you’re confused or intimidated about the process of purchasing a suppressor, then keep reading.
Let’s Start with Myths
Myth #1 Suppressors make your gun silent
Suppressors do not make firearms completely silent. At a minimum, the sound of the bolt on a rifle or slide on a handgun can still be heard. While this represents a significant reduction in sound level, there is still a sound. The sound suppression of some firearms may be more than others but any reduction in sound is an improvement.
Myth #2 Suppressors are not legal to own
The National Firearms Act of 1934 included language to classify suppressors as firearms and placed them in a certain category so that they would be taxed and regulated by the Federal Government. The tax is still $200 and in 1934 that was a lot of money many couldn’t afford. As such, it kept many Americans from owning them but as the value of the dollar has decreased more Americans have been able to afford the tax. Under Federal Law, they are legal to own. Some states prohibit them. Check your state and local laws. If your state allows them, you need only to complete the required paperwork and purchase the suppressor from a Federally licensed firearms dealer.
Myth #3 Owning a suppressor gives the Feds the right to enter your home
You do not waive your 4th or 5th Amendment Rights when you purchase a suppressor. Your God-given rights are ALWAYS in tact. Subverting them to any man or institution is your choice. The Feds may ask to enter your home, but if you deny them access, they will have to return with a warrant. The paperwork for owning one does not give them any sort of permission and you are not waiving your rights when you file it. A fun fact about this is that only Treasury Agents (like IRS agents) and ATF agents can ask for the related paperwork and inspect the suppressor. Local law enforcement, and state and county authorities are restrained under federal law. Some states may have laws about suppressors and state and local authorities may be able to enforce those laws, but again, check the laws in your area. It is important to know the law and how to exercise your rights.
During and After The Collapse
In a total collapse scenario, where the government no longer exists and there is total chaos, you will want to have certain tools for self-defense. Firearms, body armor, night vision, and suppressors are all tools to have to increase your chances of survival. Hungry, desperate, and panicked individuals may try to take what you have. Ideally, you want to stop any threats without getting injured in the process. Using a suppressor will make your location more difficult to find and if you happen to not have your ear pro at that moment, you won’t damage your hearing. Protecting your hearing will be crucial because you will need your hearing to survive. Sensory awareness (such as hearing) will be necessary for communication and communication is necessary for intelligence gathering and decision-making. You may also need to listen for vehicles or people on foot approaching your location.
You will still wear ear protection like earplugs or noise-canceling headphones to protect your ears but suppressors have more to offer than just being a hearing aid. Suppressors reduce both the visual and audio signature of a weapon by trapping the gas from the burned powder in the individual chambers of the suppressor and releasing them slowly. Indoors and out, this makes it more difficult for bad guys to locate you based on the signature of the weapon. So as you now see, using suppressors gives the user a tactical advantage in addition to protecting the hearing of the user and others around them.
Fun Facts and Tips
Discharging a firearm indoors is brutal on the ears and the decibel level of an AR15 when it is being discharged is in the range of permanent hearing loss. Suppressors bring the decibel level down to a tolerable level and well below that threshold. It’s about a 30 decibel reduction.
The AR platform is popular in the United States and the ammo made for the AR15, namely 223 REM and 5.56 NATO, produces too much gas when the weapon is fired. Without suppression, the result is a loud boom and muzzle flash. As I just wrote, a suppressor can eliminate these but the shooter will also experience what’s called blowback. This is gas that is vented back toward the shooter’s face during operation. This can be controlled by changing the gas block on the rifle with one that vents excess gas in a different direction and that is adjustable. Adjustable gas blocks allow for calibration so there’s enough gas to operate the bolt. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to change out at home.
I don’t want to get too far into the weeds on the topic of gas blocks but I have to mention it because blowback makes shooting a suppressed AR uncomfortable. Outfitting your AR with one of these solves this problem and YouTube has several “how to” videos that can help with the process of changing them out. It’s not that difficult but expect to do it if you decide to throw a suppressor on your AR-style rifle.
Up until this point, I have focussed mostly on suppressed rifles, mentioning the AR-style platform. However, suppressing handguns is something to consider too. When doing so, it is important to note that a threaded barrel and suppressor height sights will be needed. If your pistol already has these taller sights because you run an RMR (ruggedized miniature red dot sight), then you only need a threaded barrel to accommodate a suppressor.
I hope you’re still with me because now I’m going to give you a great practical idea. Afterward, I’ll discuss the steps to acquiring a suppressor. Ready?
For this particular part, I am going to focus on AR or AK-style platforms and their threaded barrels. Suppressors mount to the barrels of firearms by screwing onto threads. When the flash hider or muzzle break is removed, the suppressor can screw directly onto the barrel. What if you want a quicker way to attach a suppressor to one or more rifles? Fortunately, quick detach is a thing. Muzzle breaks with external threads are made by several different companies. These allow for a suppressor to be mounted and locked onto the outside of the muzzle break for quick attachment or to be released for quick detachment. When several rifles are outfitted with these types of muzzle breaks, a single suppressor can be quickly moved between these rifles for use, without any gunsmithing.
Now here's another idea. A multicaliber suppressor means that it can be used for multiple calibers. For example, the Chimera Suppressor made by Silencerco is a .30 cal suppressor that can be used for 223 REM/5.56 NATO to .300 WIN. This particular suppressor can be used on any barrel length and comes with the ASR charlie mount and muzzle break, which is Silencerco's proprietary style of quick detach. If you own both AR and AK-style rifles, both barrel types can be equipped with the Silencerco ASR muzzle break to accept the Chimera. One suppressor for two different platforms. Isn’t that badass?
If you haven’t ever shot a gun with a suppressor, you’re missing out. It’s a lot of fun and once you do it, you’ll want to keep doing it. Just ask those who own 300 Black Out rifles. They’ll tell you.
Buying A Can For Your Bang Stick
The government has made the process as burdensome as it can to discourage the public from it. It’s not impossible to navigate though and hopefully, this section will lay out the process for you. The process will involve supplying a lot of personal information. It also requires a payment of $200 to the government to acquire the required tax stamp. You must be able to pass an ATF background check, answer questions similar to those on Form 4473, and be 21 years or older. There are two application methods: electronic and paper. First, decide if you’ll use a gun trust or file as an individual.
Once you’ve decided to file either as an individual or a trust, you will need:
Passport Photo
Two complete FBI Form FD-258 fingerprint cards
ATF Form 5320.23 (For trusts)
If you decide to mail physical paperwork, you will send part of the paperwork to your chief law enforcement officer, in addition to the ATF. This could be the state police or a local sheriff. This is simply a notification. Nothing more. The other part of the application gets mailed to the ATF.
Before filing electronically, you need to set up a profile on the ATF website. All of the paperwork is digital and will be done through their portal. It is imperative that all the information matches what’s in your profile and that you have your PIN. Photos can be uploaded digitally. For a smoother process, get digital copies of fingerprints, otherwise, those must be mailed in.
It is important to note that regardless of filing method, each responsible person listed in a trust must complete ATF Form 5320.23, and supply fingerprints and a photo.
Current processing times can be checked here.
After you decide which suppressor to purchase, go to your local gun shop with your fingerprints, photo, government-issued identification, and payment method. The employees will be able to help you through the process. Once the process is complete, you will wait for approval and then you’ll be able to pick up the suppressor. Filing electronically may save several months on wait time, but you won’t get that cool $200 tax stamp in physical form. So much for stamp collecting!
Gun Trusts
Gun Trusts are handy, as they protect firearms from certain aspects of government intrusion and beneficiaries can be designated for succession. I recommend setting up a trust even if you don’t own anything regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 so that when you pass, someone is already designated to inherit your guns. It removes any questions about who is to get what. It makes things easier for survivors. Trusts also have to be set up in advance. They aren’t that expensive either. Consult a lawyer for setting up a gun trust. Several lawyers specialize in gun trusts out there. The Gun Trust Guru has a page to read more about trusts. Click here for that.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
I have given you some practical and tactical reasons for buying a suppressor. I have cleared up some myths and I’ve laid out the process for buying one. If you decide to get one and it is approved, preserve your original documents. Make copies. Carry those copies in a fire-resistant bag when you travel with your suppressor so that if you get stopped by law enforcement it is easier to prove ownership on the side of the road. A fire-resistant bag will help protect those documents. It may be a good idea to keep the originals in a fire-resistant bag at home too.
I also recommend staying away from solvent traps and thread adaptors for oil filters. The solvent traps advertised on social media sites are government operations set up to entrap individuals. Don’t fall for these. Thread adaptors for oil filters are stupid. You’re not going to run around during a SHTF scenario with a heavy, awkwardly shaped, and brightly colored oil filter on the end of your gun. If you do, I’ll make fun of you, and in the meantime, you won’t be able to train legally on the range with it. Remember when I suggested that you should keep everything legal? Legally owning a suppressor means you get to take it out and play with it. And, that’s just a lot of fun. Last, remember that people who own AR15s, don’t get on box cars.
I will no longer offer paid content or subscriptions through Substack. Articles will be at no cost to readers. I am doing this to streamline and simplify what I do. This will also allow me to focus on writing articles and participate more in live streams. I will be able to contemplate future books and publish them. Since I am a prepper and political activist, I will be able to do more in those arenas as well. Writing articles sometimes takes a bit of research and organizing my thoughts into a coherent structure takes time. Time is fleeting and can’t ever be regained. I consider it priceless. However, I understand that times are tough for people out there. So, here’s my idea. If you gained any sort of value from reading my articles, I ask for a simple return of value whenever you have the opportunity. You can assign whatever value you like and I will remain self-sustaining. No subscriptions, annoying ads from corporate sponsors, and no products to pitch. Simply value for value. I have set up a Give Send Go campaign if you’d like to support what I do. Thank you for reading.
.