Suppressors-Manufactured vs. Homemade

[SIGSHR]

The debate over the legalization of suppressors/silencers make me wonder how
many would buy as opposed to using homemade ones. I have zero experience with any "professionally" made ones, years ago a college buddy and I bought some of "those" books, went out in the woods one dark night and....I thought most of them were pretty effective if somewhat clumsy and awkward and what they lacked in sophistication and durability they made up for with low cost and ease of manufacture and replacement.

 

[ShootistPRS]

I doubt that many people will stick plastic soda bottles on the end of a gun if they want a muffler. If you fill them with cotton, to make them quiet, they affect accuracy. A good well designed muffler is well worth the money you spend. I believe that most will buy the muffler unless they have the proper tools to make one. Even folks like me that have the tools and the knowledge to make them will find it more work than fun after the first one we make. How often do you make your own bolts, nuts, and washers? It's just easier to go buy what you need.

 

[Bluecthomas]

I have fired both types at one point.
The actual suppressor was on a ati 1911 .45. does reduce noise, could skip the ear protection and still hear the next day. But adds a large amount of nose weight and obscured the sights, making aiming more of a feeling your shot thing.

Buddy of mine did a homemade one. Plastic bottle stuffed with paper towels on a .40 Ruger semi auto rifle. Limited use as you are destroying it every shot, but far more of the movie style noise reduction.

If you want to go out in the woods and shoot without ear protection, get a suppressor and sights that work with it.
If you want to fire silently in a criminal action you will still probably get busted for...


Btw, I don't recommend just heading out to woods this year. Extreme fire danger. Been a new target shooting fire every week hear in the Reno area. Find an actual shooting range, they are maintained and far less fire prone.

 

[Mobuck]

I have two "homemade" (Form 1) rimfire suppressors of my own design. They are satisfactory and on par with the lower cost commercial cans(the only thing I have to compare with). If it were legal, I'd make another 1/2 dozen and put them on all my 22's.

 

[Elkins45]

I built a 10" homemade one on a Form 1 and I own an 8" commercial can, both 30 cal. My ear thinks they are just about equal. $100 and a couple of hours of work vs $600 for the commercial can. If it weren't for the $200 tax and the 10 month wait I would make several more.

 

[zukiphile]

I doubt that many people will stick plastic soda bottles on the end of a gun if they want a muffler.

I bet that lots of boys, and several of us of merely boyish temperment (including me) would that very thing.

If federal restriction and taxation of suppressors is eliminated, you are going to pay a premium for any commercial product, if you can find it to buy. It will be like trying to buy a 30 round magpul and BCG on December 15, 2012. Lot's of luck finding a Maglite, too.

I can't bring myself to pay the $200 tax, but the truth is that paying $300 to $600 for a tube and baffles rubs me the wrong way too.

 

[Mobuck]

Even the tubes and end caps have escalated in price exponentially over the last year or so. A couple of years back, you could buy a well made threaded tube and end caps(one solid) for "solvent traps" at about $50 per set. Not any more.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I've used Form 1 suppressors made with freeze plugs side by side with commercial suppressors. At the rimfire level, they sound about the same; but the DIY is heavier and longer. Any kind of centerfire cartridge, particularly rifle, and the commercial suppressor wins out in every category but cost. Still, the freeze plug suppressors do a solid job. They are heavy, long and not as quiet but you can get noticeable sound reduction and they used to be cheap as well ($60 material + a $200 stamp).

 

[jmorris]

I have both form 1's and form 4's or homemade and purchased. None of the factory cans I own are as quiet as the ones I made but they had other design parameters in mind.

That said my homemade is from a guy that has all the weld/fab/machine equipment that any suppressor manufacturer would, likely more because that's not all I make.

If they no longer require a stamp and anyone could make them, the production would go up and prices drop. None are very complicated the prices are high due to limited production.

There are thousands of devices at are much more complicated to design and build but cost much less because everyone has one. Microwaves, TV's, lawn mowers, suppressor design and construction is nothing comparatively.

 

[Mobuck]

I would guesstimate that a commercial suppressor for rimfire use could be put on the shelf for $50. Probably not a long-life unit but then again, not much stress from a 22. A "cast" aluminum(or other alloy)baffle core, threaded tube, and end caps doesn't cost much.