7 Tips on buying your first suppressor: Top Tips to Know Before Buying a Suppressor, What you need to know if you are considering a purchase. 

When guns have been a part of your life, it really doesn't stop at simply owning guns. Once in a while you’re going to think of buying accessories for your firearms. There are a lot of gun accessories out there, but probably one of the accessories you may think of having is a suppressor.

If you’ve thought about getting one, you may be thinking through some questions. How you’re going to choose the best suppressor for your firearm? How much is it going to cost? What are other things you’ll need to do when you get one?

There are a lot of things you’ll need to consider and keep in mind when you’re planning to buy a suppressor and here are some of the things we’ve listed:

Pro-tip #1: Prepare Your Budget

Lucky you if you’re rifle’s threaded then there’s nothing to worry about. However, if you have a pistol, most pistols require a specific piston, another attachment, and a threaded barrel. Some might require you to buy aftermarket recoil spring. With these added considerations, you’ll want to prepare an extra budget for added expenses. This extra budget is estimated at roughly $150-$200 per piece on top of the actual expenses for the suppressor.

Pro-tip #2: Call the ATF NFA Branch

Buying a silencer is legal. They are more rigorously regulated by the federal government than most other guns though. The federal government categorizes silencers as firearms, even though they are accessories that cannot fire bullets themselves. The basic background check for most guns requires the purchaser to present a photo ID to the retailer and electronically submit a form to the ATF, but purchasing a silencer requires an additional step. The applicant needs to mail or fax a photo and fingerprints to the ATF and to pay a $200 stamp tax.

The approval process for most guns takes about 20 minutes, but for a silencer it can take 9 or 10 months. It’s a long process to wait before you get the approval from the ATF and along the way they may encounter problems with the submitted documents. It’s best to give them a follow-up call when you’re about 4 to 5 months along the process to prevent these problems.

When you give ATF - NFA Branch a call they’re going to ask you the following:

1. Your name (or the name of your trust or corporation).
2. The serial number or the suppressor.
3. Name of the transferor.

Pro-tip #3: Check Your Email

When you buy your suppressor through the Silencer Shop, one thing you’ll need to do is to make sure you’ve given them your active email. The shop will send you email when there are problems with your application or document that needs to be signed.

Pro-tip #4: Suppressors Can Get Really DIRTY

Your firearm can get really dirty when you’re shooting with a suppressor. Just be prepared to clean your firearm after doing multiple rounds because it can get really messy and there’s going to be a lot of lead. Don’t forget to generously lubricate your firearm threads. You do not want to have your suppressor stuck on your firearm.

Pro-tip #5 Do Not Use Crush Washers!

Crush washers are commonly found on muzzle brakes and can not be used with a suppressor. A crush washer can cause the suppressor to sit out of line. A non concentric suppressor will result in baffle strikes and bullet tumbling. Though these can damage your suppressor a more serious problem is the possibility of a catastrophic failure. The result is the complete destruction of your suppressor and possible personal injury along with firearm damage.

Pro-tip #6: Suppressors Vary in Sizes

It’s a smart idea to buy suppressor with modularity in mind. That means when you buy a suppressor you’ll want to think of a suppressor that not ONLY fits the caliber that you currently have but also consider something that could also fit a different caliber. Who knows, maybe in a few months or years you’ll want to have another gun? Isn’t it great when you do not need to buy another suppressor for it because you already have one that fits?

Pro-tip #7: Suppressors Can Get Really HOT

After you do some firing with your suppressor, the suppressor becomes really, really, really HOT. You may think of getting something cool to put on top of it or slightly dip it in the water to cool it down. That is a big NO-NO! You’re just going to end up damaging your suppressor as it can cause the metal to get brittle. It’s best to just air-dry your suppressor and wait for it to cool down. If you need to switch your suppressor to another firearm, you absolutely cannot hold it with your bear hands or else you’ll just get burns. What you can do is to use a suppressor cover that can take hundreds of degrees so you can hold your suppressor and easily remove it.

We hope these tips helped you with the purchase of your new suppressor.

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Reference:

https://youtu.be/-_CT6rZ0DnM

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/06/16/silencer-destruction-bad-things-happen-good-cans/