Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 11:20:05 -0400
From: J
Subject: Suppressors, not “Silencers”
On Sat, Apr 19, 2014 at 12:54 PM, Chatham Chatlist wrote:
> There is a very simple reason a person would not use a muffler or silencer
> while target shooting at a range. They only recently became legal in North
> Carolina to own one (late 2013) and only for hunting purposes. To obtain
> one, you must first get the approval of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol,
> Tobacco, and Firearms, pass a federal background check, pay a federal tax
> payment of $200, which would then allow you to apply to the county sheriff
> for permission to own one. Then you have to find a vendor willing to sell
> you one. As near as I can find, the federal law only allows their use in
> hunting, not range shooting.
Thanks for sharing this, but there are couple inaccuracies here.
First, in 2013, the law was changed to allow suppressors for HUNTING. Prior to that, Suppressors were perfectly legal in NC, as are fully automatic weapons, BUT they must be purchased and registered under existing National Firearms Act provisions.
This requires the $200 tax stamp from the Feds, a lengthy (up to 1 year) processing time while the ATF sits and squirms doing a background check, and filling out a LOT of paperwork. Not to mention that they also require a “Chief Law Enforcement Officer” signoff on the application packet, which Sheriff Webster refuses to do.
They are perfectly legal for target shooting and now Hunting in NC. Additionally, they are called Suppressors (mufflers is a new term for me) but inaccurately called silencers. And they do NOT “silence” anything, but merely reduce the decibel level to a lower amount. That stuff you see in the movies is pure hollywood fantasy. There are tons of videos on YouTube demonstrating how effective a suppressor can be, however.
Personally, I would LOVE to have a few suppressors for the noise reduction and hearing safety, but it’s FAR cheaper for me to buy a GOOD, Expensive pair of shooting ear muffs than it is to even apply for the NFA Tax Stamp. The total investment, including fees, for buying a decent suppressor for a handgun is anywhere between $500 and $1000, more or less for rifle calibers depending on make and size and effectiveness.