air rifle supressor

[Dr.Badwrench]

Is it legal to build/install a supressor on an air rifle here in the USA? Someone who isn't me made a quite effective one for his Crosman 2200 back in the day.

[LIKTOSHOOT]

Define, suppressed air rifle???


LTS

[geezler]

There is a ruling by the ATF on these types of suppressors. Suppressors for paint ball guns are illegal.

[1952Sniper]

The following is directly from the ATF website:

(A9) Q. Are Paintball and/or Airgun Sound Suppressers legal?

A. §921(a)(24) The terms "firearm silencer" and "firearm muffler" mean any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication.

Numerous paintball silencers tested by the Firearms Technology Branch have been determined to be, by nature of their design and function, firearm silencers as defined in 18 U.S.C., Section 921(a)(24). An individual wishing to manufacturer a firearm silencer must receive prior approval from ATF by submitting an ATF Form 1 and paying a $200 making tax.

If I have any further questions as to this classification, who should I contact?

Please send a written request to our Firearms Technology Branch at the following address:

Bureau of ATF
Firearms Technology Branch
650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Room 6450
Washington, DC 20226

[barnetmill]

"Numerous paintball silencers tested by the Firearms Technology Branch have been determined to be, by nature of their design and function, firearm silencers as defined in 18 U.S.C., Section 921(a)(24). "

This statement is not very clear. It says "numerous" but not all. I am guessing that any silencer that is detachable could be placed on a firearm and if the there is a one decibel reduction in sound it becomes a silencer.

But I am still not sure how a paintball silencer would differ from the muffler placed on a lawnmower. You might be able to find one that could go on a rifle barrel and look out your lawnmower has an illegal silencer.

Marine engine mufflers I believe are also called silencers. If I am wrong I would like to be corrected. If the BATFE could classify a shoestring as a machine, than anything is possible.

[southernshooter]

All the stuff you listed above oil filtes and what not They are not illegal to own or have. Unless you use them illegal. On the same hand brake fluid. suddafed and so on are not illegal untill you do something illegal with them. I think everyone here knows what that is. The items them selfs are not illegal until the are used as something illeagal

[stash247]

While I'll not fund your legal bills, please consider: since no atf4473 form is required, to purchase a paint ball gun, or air rifle, the item is, by their definition, 'not a gun'.
All of the body of federal law which I have read, concerns itself with things that 'are a gun', particularly, in title two arms.
My humble opinion is, that since BATF has no jurisdiction in things 'not a gun', whatever I do with an air rifle, or, a non powder powered paintball gun, is well beyond their authority to challenge!
Do I want to spend my life savings, challenging this point of law? NO
Charged, with such an offense, Bullshit in Nature, would I? Hell, Yes.
I can muffle a car, an air compressor, or a lawn mower, and in many communities, would be brought to answer, should I not choose to do so, which is all well and good, I suppose, if I lived in such a communnity.
An air rifle, in some communities, is bound by ordinances, in its use, likening it to a firearm, which uses fixed ammunition, but this does not make it one. Neither is a Bow, for shooting arrows, a firearm, in the Federal sense, but, often, subject to the same kind of local ordinances, in control of it's use.
Federal law defines a firearm as a device capable of projecting a bullet, by the use of chemical reaction, ie, combustion, and using fixed ammunition( primer, powder, bullet in one unit), and speaks nothing of pneumatics, ie air rifles, pistols, etc.
My point is, since an air rifle is not a "gun", under Federal law, the points of law described, and taxed, under the 1934 Firearms Act, concerning automatic weapons, supressors,etc, simply do not apply here!

[bambihunter]

I think this says it best:

Federal law defines a firearm as a device capable of projecting a bullet, by the use of chemical reaction, ie, combustion, and using fixed ammunition( primer, powder, bullet in one unit), and speaks nothing of pneumatics, ie air rifles, pistols, etc.

Only if and when your lawnmower starts shooting projectiles from its muffler might you have problems... :-)


That said, why not get a suppressor for a .22lr then thread your air rifle for the same and you've covered your bases and your @$$!

[Nerdlestein]

The BATF considers anything that can be used to suppress the report of a gun to be silencer. I remember reading an article, though I can't find it now, about someone who had made an airgun silencer and sold it to someone. It was designed specifically as an airgun silencer, and had a felt lining or some material that would burn and disintegrate if used on a firearm. He was arrested and sentence to something like 10-15 years for manufacturing and selling a silencer without the proper permits.

Also have a look at what Mr. Beeman has to say on silencers:

http://www.beemans.net/silencers_on_airguns.htm

In short, either don't try and silence your airgun, or go through the BATF paperwork as though it was a firearm silencer.

[comingbackdown]

Now I remember why I have a deep dislike of the BATF... My airgun doesn't make noise if I fire it with the barrel against the ground. Are they gonna arrest me for that? Morons...

[comingbackdown]

Wait just a cotton pickin' second here... Would an airgun suppressor be legal if it were built to absolutely destroy itself if used with a firearm?

Example:
Let's say you built an airgun supressor, but made it to only withstand an airgun shot. Let's say that if it were applied to an actual firearm, even just a .22, the silencer would shatter into a million pieces.

Would that be legal?
(I know, it couldn't even reduce the sound by one decibel... damn BATF...)
They might not like that though, since my idea would blow the suppressor tube into a star shape, and it could potentially maim or kill the shooter if they used it on a firearm. I dunno about you guys, but, I'd be unhappy to have a razor sharp piece of metal fly back and hit me in the face, especially at that velocity...

[Alpo]

Originally Posted by bluesea112

Why are Supressor illegal anyway?

Back when they dreamed up the National Firearms Act of 1934, there was a depression going on. Game departments asked to have silencers added to the list (along with machine guns and short barreled shotguns and bazookas) because people were poaching with them, to feed their families. Or, if people weren't already poaching with them, the game wardens were afraid they might start.

[stash247]

Comingbackdown: I think you have a point, if the airgun surpressor flew into a million pieces, at the first shot , with a more powerful round, the way the 'system' is supposed to work, there would then be no evidence, no no charge, no trial, and thus, no conviction.
How much do you trust the idea of how 'the system is supposed to work' ?
Personnally, I have a little dog who would be very old, after I did ten years, for such a gamble, on the legal system, of whom I am much fonder than any of the guns, or accessories, I will ever own.
Lemme say it like this: The dog is a reported 'Behavioral problem', accused of attacking children, on bicycles, old men, in walkers, and UPS truck drivers, in their diesel trucks, and biting them; this presents some legal exposure. That's why I have her again, after a TWO year hiatus, in other homes.
I have worked her in the most extreme conditions I can find, for two solid weeks, and with me, her performance is close to perfect!
But, understand, I know dogs, and have worked with them since I was very young, with hand and voice commands, most succesfully.
But, dogs are honest; if we agree that this is good, that is bad, it will ever be so; this is not the deal with Government Agencies, and is the total point of the post: My 'Lawsuit dog' presents to me much less exposure than a 'cut and dried' deal with BATF, because I can depend on the dog!
If you want a surpressor, for an air rifle, do what you gotta do, but watch your six, me, Georgia has it covered!

[Tom Militano]

How much noise does your air rifle make that it needs a suppressor?

[comingbackdown]

Depending on power, they can be pretty loud. There are actually airguns made to fire .44 black powder pistol bullets. You only get about 8-10 shots with a full pre-charged compressed air canister, but still...

[magusjinx]

Just wondering ... And someone please correct me if I am wrong ... The ownership of an assembled silencer, just as a full auto, is highly regulated BUT the possession of the unassembled parts is not ...

[southernshooter]

Mag, If ATF wants too they can consider the parts to be Contructive Intent/Purposes.

[stash247]

Some years ago, the tube for a supressror was in the role of a 'machine gun receiver', it was the 'bad', subsequenly 'registered' part.
Today, to my understanding, the component parts are legallly as 'bad' as the tube, and possession of either can get you a long vacation.
Just DON'T.

[magusjinx]

All quite true ... The government may interpret its own rules in any way to suit the moment ... And they can change the rules and not have to tell everyone about the change ...

Tanx for the updates ...

[fedupdon]

had a brother that killed his self with a homemade silencer. or thats what the insurance company said while trying to prove that it couldnot have worked the local game warden told me he could arrest me for trying to prove
that the so slincer did not work he used a 2liter coke bottle and a 303 rifle to kill his self no one in the upstairs bed room heard the shot i found it hard to belive that no one had heard the shot. i tried to see if it i could make one myself and it did not work thats how the game warden caught me

[zoldaman]

Gamo makes a air gun available in the US that comes with a "suppressor" built onto the end of the barrel. It is the Gamo Whisper. From what I can see, the "suppressor" is built onto the barrel and can not be taken off and then put onto a rifle. I'd think that this would be the big hangup on the ones the BATF tested. If it works on a paintball gun and can also be used on a real gun, too, it is a suppressor. If it works on a pellet rifle and there is no way to take it off and use it on a real gun, apparently, they have deemed that acceptable on the Gamo model. However, http://www.beemans.net/silencers_on_airguns.htm would seem to disagree with my logic and has BATF court cases to back it up.

zold