Air rifle suppressor legal question

[GarySTL]

At a gun show today a seller had a pre charged pneumatic air rifle with a suppressor mounted. OK, there are several on the market with suppressors. But this one was easily removed by simply unscrewing it from the barrel. I asked how that was legal and was told the "fellow who makes them says it's legal because the threads don't fit any other gun".

I know the ones sold by the major makers can't be removed without wrecking them and thought that's what made them legal.

Am I wrong or is this a possible fast way to club fed for a while?

I did not buy the air rifle.

 

[yugorpk]

Yeah, don't buy that.

 

[bullzeye8]

After more research realized I was wrong I just thought I had remembered hearing about legal removable airgun silencers but it looks like it is illegal and you should avoid that airgun.

 

[JohnKSa]

You can get in trouble for makeshift silencers that are destroyed after only a shot or two. I wouldn't count on the fact that a silencer isn't very durable to keep me out of trouble.

If it wouldn't work, even once, on a firearm then that would be a very strong defense if it ever got to that point.

 

[Swing]

From the ATF site:

Are Paintball and/or Airgun Sound Suppressers NFA firearms?

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 and airgun silencers tested by ATF’s Firearms Technology Branch have been determined to be, by nature of their design and function, firearm silencers. Because silencers are NFA weapons, an individual wishing to manufacture or transfer such a silencer must receive prior approval from ATF and pay the required tax.

[26 U.S.C. 5845; 27 CFR 479.11]​

 

[GarySTL]

You've pretty much confirmed my opinion. I suggested to the dealer rather than depend on a fellow who may not actually know. Of course the ATF seems to be free to change their minds as often as we change our underwear.

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[aubie515]

You guys are wrong...air rifles are not regulated by the gobermint...at least not now...air rifles are not considered firearms.

There is a case where someone was being charged for producing a suppressor for an air rifle. It took a few years, but the person was cleared of the charges.

The thread pitch is wacky for air rifles...there are vendors that make them....does not matter if it's screw on or integral.

Most of the vendors make them from plastic, so the LDCs will not hold up to centerfire pressures.

 

[yugorpk]

Plastic silencers hold up fine to .22 LR. Even the airsoft silencers you can buy online for $50-$100 from China are metal construction and work just fine with .22. They are threaded 14mmX1.5 LH also known as AK threads.

 

[JohnKSa]

You guys are wrong...air rifles are not regulated by the gobermint...at least not now...air rifles are not considered firearms.

That is absolutely correct.

However, a silencer, once it is determined to fit the legal definition is an NFA regulated item whether or not it's currently attached to an airgun, or even if it's not attached to anything at all.

The only way to insure that an item isn't a silencer is to insure it doesn't fit the definition of a silencer. It can't work, even once, to reduce the noise level, even a little, of a firearm.

There is a case where someone was being charged for producing a suppressor for an air rifle. It took a few years, but the person was cleared of the charges.

Good for him. Most people don't have a few years, or the money a few years of legal fees adds up to.

 

[yugorpk]

If I built a silencer that was constructed out of the stuff silencers are made from in a configuration that silencers or constructed and welded up the threads , smashed it with a hammer and half filled it with molten lead and it made the gun louder ...It would still be a silencer to the ATF.

 

[danez71]

You guys are wrong...air rifles are not regulated by the gobermint...at least not now...air rifles are not considered firearms.

There is a case where someone was being charged for producing a suppressor for an air rifle. It took a few years, but the person was cleared of the charges.

The thread pitch is wacky for air rifles...there are vendors that make them....does not matter if it's screw on or integral.

Most of the vendors make them from plastic, so the LDCs will not hold up to centerfire pressures.

If you can produce that case.... I may change my mind but until then,,, wrong



Just cutting off a permanently attached one from a paint ball gun is considered making a silencer and falls under the NFA and has to preapproved.


Thread pitch has zero to do with it. In the letter below, they cut off a permanently attached one and then used a thread adapter and tape to affix it to a Rugerr mk pistol.

Since it worked, they says it falls under GCA and NFA

Held further, removal of the permanently affixed ported barrel and other components from a paintball gun is a “making” of a silencer under the GCA and NFA that requires advance approval from ATF.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gglMAM&usg=AFQjCNG8sM0ltGuc-4B4y0_lXZBqziuNkg

 

[Midwest]

You guys are wrong...air rifles are not regulated by the gobermint...at least not now...air rifles are not considered firearms.

But some states regulate airguns like regular firearms. And some of those states even require permits to buy airguns.
.