Class III ????

mjgcarpenter

Am I correct in thinking if I pay my $200 tax and submit plans to ATF I can make my own silencer??....I was wondering if anyone has done this and if there are any drawbacks?.....

mballai

I believe that this is probably not quite as simple as you suppose. Lots of states flatly outlaw silencers for civilians and there are probably more reasons not to get into this from a legal standpoint. Check with the ATF first.

Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead

mark christian

You are quite correct- you can legally manufacture your own silencer- IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE WHERE SILENCERS ARE LEGAL. If silencers are not legal where you live the BATFE will return your Form 1 without taking any action what so ever. If you do qualify you'll need an ATF Form 1, a sign-off from the cheif law enforcement officer where your reside, finger prints, and $200 for the National Firearms Act Tax. Mail all of this along with the plans for your silencer to the BATFE NFA Branch and then wait for aroound 6 months...maybe more. When your Form 1 is returned, along with the canceled $200 NFA Tax Stamp, you can begin to build your engineering master piece. Do not do anything until you get your Form 1 returned.

Mark T. Christian

mjgcarpenter

I'm from Pennsylvania. I think Pa allows them with the $200 stamp. I had heard with the stamp that ATF has a right to search my house at any time...Any truth to that?.....I really appreciate all the help and the way this forum seems to pull together....Thanks again

sck

I thought that the tube had to be date stamped prior to 1989, in order for an individual to register it. If the production of the silencer wasn't begun before that date, the only way you can make one is to have a manufacturer's license and then it must be a "dealer sample" for sale only to other dealers and law enforcement. Once again, it's been a long time since I've had to use this information, so it would probably be best to check with the legal department of ATF. Make certain that you are speaking or corresponding to someone who actually knows, not just some field agent. Best of luck -- Steve

mark christian

sck, the only National Firearms Act weapons which are subject to the "dealer sales sample" rule are machineguns. The manufacture of machineguns for transfer to private individuals ended in May, 1986 and any machineguns produced after that date must be manufactured by a Class II manufacturer and are restricted to export, law enforcement, and military sales- or as sales samples. Any individual who meets the state and federal requirements for firearms ownership may make and register any other National Firearms Act weapon: Silencer, short barreled rifle or shotgun, any other weapon, ect. for his own use. I would be VERY interested to learn more about this supposed 1989 cut off date for silencer tubes...do you have an ACTUAL source for this as I have never heard of such an ATF ruling before.

Mark T. Christian

TaiChi

mjg,
After receiving your Class 3 item (machinegun, silencer etc.)and paperwork you are required to show a BATFE officer the paperwork and item at his request. He is allowed by law to ask for these items any time day or night. If you can not produce them within a set period of time he is allowed to search for only those items.

shootnstar

I would strongly suggested buying a suppressor produced by one of the many reputable class II manufacturers out there unless you are a skilled machinist. The tooling and material alone will cost you more than a complete unit ready to use and most come with a protective finish thats almost impossible to duplicate at home not to mention the precision machining required to produce a suppressor that works effectively and safely. The NFA tax is the same as if you assembled it yourself on a form 1 and doing the dealer to individual transfer on a form 4 will take less time in most instances. There are several NFA dealers in PA that I am aware of.
Possesion of a NFA weapon does not give BATFE the authority to enter your home unannounced. Only licensed firearms dealers and manufacturers are subject to unannounced inspections. Check out the BATFE website at www.atf.gov for the laws and regulations concerning suppressors. Also there are many dealers and manufacturers that have websites that are very informative.

mjgcarpenter

i am a machinist that is why it's hard for me to spend the money on something I can make. I appreciate all the info........

sck

Dear Mr. C:
No, unfortunately, I don't have a citation or reference on the 1989 date. It was something that stuck in my mind, but as I mentioned, it's been a long time since I had to use that part of my brain, so I may simply be confused. It doesn't happen all the time, so I don't think it's alzheimers, just sometime so I call it "sometheimers". Steve

Sunray

There's a lot of speculating going on here. Your NRA has a link to a page with State by State list of State firearm laws. Some allow suppressors but no FA, some FA but no suppressors, some both, some neither. Geezuz, that's worse than it is up here.