Toys for Boys

MikeB's post about legal silencers in Michigan had me wondering how much the things cost, but articles about airgun silencers came up instead of coming up with prices for firearms silencers.

First off, why in the hell would anyone want an airgun silencer since airguns are pretty quiet compared to their firearm relatives. It makes more sense the otherway around since one site points out that a "Ruger Mark II pistol is quieter than a Crosman Mark II when the silencer is on."

The funny bit is that U.S. Code specifically prohibits any federal, state or local municipality from declaring an airgun to be a firearm. Not only do the federal firearms laws NOT apply to airguns, they CANNOT be applied by law. But that doesn't stop the law from prohibiting airgun silencers.

According to Beeman Airguns someone was arrested under the following circumstances:

In x-raying postal packages for dangerous materials, the federal authorities detected the defendant's legally owned .44 caliber Sam Yang pneumatic rifle - not even one of the infamous black guns. A warrant allowed Postal Inspectors to search the package and they found a "sound moderator" in a pocket of the case for this airgun. There were no aggravating circumstances and no evidence that violence of any kind was intended or involved. This device had been specifically built for use on a Sam Yang air rifle and was specially built with fabric insides so that it would be destroyed by use on a firearm. The manufacturer wrote that "It was made for AIR only. It cannot handle the flash of a firearm." However, the ATF laboratory tested it on a Ruger .22 firearm - and it did reduce the sound for one shot - thus meeting the definition of a firearm silencer.

I believe the person mentioned above was convicted of transporting a silencer in interstate commerce! The case was ultimately reversed, but there was loads of legal hassles.

ATF is totally unhelpful about this with it appearing that acquiring one of these is done on a case by case process.

Whatever, this seems to me to be a whole lot of bother for extemely expensive toys (especially if legal hassles are involved in the US) that do nothing except maybe look cool.

See also:
Expert Advice Airgun silencers
Morgan's Gunroom Online Catalogue | Airgun Accessories | Silencers
airgun muzzle brakes (and silencers)
Federal conviction overturned because an air-gun silencer is not a firearm