Converting Class I AR to Suppressed SBR

[luzyfuerza]

I'm getting ready for my first step into Class III waters.

I currently have a class I AR in 300 blk with a carbine-length gas system. I want to suppress and shorten this gun by replacing the current rifle-length barrel with one 10" long or so, switching to a pistol-length gas system, and mounting a silencer...nothing uncommon. I want to stick with a buttstock (no pistol configurations).

There seem to be two different approaches:
1) buy an integral (permanently-attached) barrel and silencer that I can mount on my current upper receiver that results in a total barrel length greater than 16" and only requires one tax stamp, OR
2) buy a separate barrel and silencer and pay for two tax stamps...one for an SBR and one for the silencer.

I plan on shooting lots of lead 220-grain bullets through this gun. Most will be powder-coated, but some may have conventional lube. I also want to shoot lighter-weight jacketed bullets from time to time. I do reload.

I've read the stickies and understand (I think) the legal hoops that I have to jump through to make this happen.



I need help, though, figuring out what hardware best gets me to where I want to be. There are lots of choices available in the marketplace (isn't it great to be an American!!!) and its a bit bewildering at this point.

For those of you who have suppressed, handy ARs in 300 blk, could you tell me what barrel/gas block/suppressor/suppressor mount combination you used on your guns? Why did you choose the integral barrel/suppressor route or the SBR plus separate silencer approach? If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[Sam1911]

Every one of the folks I know who've done this have gone to an SBR rifle and a separate silencer. However, the integrally suppressed rifles I've seen have been amazingly quiet, and I think I'd be very tempted to go that way IF I was certain I wouldn't be wishing I could swap that "can" back and forth with other firearms.

Whatever you do, speak to the manufacturer of the silencer you're buying about wanting to shoot cast lead bullets through it. Get their recommendations on whether they say that's ok, and how to clean it.





(Just as a note for the future: "Class III" doesn't refer to any firearms. That's the designation of the DEALER who sells them. As in, a federal firearms license-holding dealer who pays the Special Occupational Tax, Class 3 so he/she can sell silencers, machine guns, short barreled rifles, and other National Firearms Act-regulated items. Most folks will know what you mean if you say you're getting into "class III" guns, but it's totally wrong and sounds kind of silly to anyone who knows how this works.

You buy your "NFA Firearms" (silencers, mgs, SBRs, SBSs, AOWs, DDs,) from your "SOT Class 3" dealer.

Subsequently, calling your regular non-NFA-regulated rifle a "Class I" makes no sense at all. If anything, you could say that it is regulated by the Gun Control Act of 1968 instead of Title II, the National Firearms Act of 1934 -- so it's a "GCA" regulated rifle instead of an "NFA" regulated firearm, but there's not much point and most folks wouldn't know what you meant.)

 

[Telekinesis]

I went with a separate SBR and suppressor setup. This gives you the most flexibility down the road so that you can change the configuration or caliber as you wish. It also let's you use the can on other hosts. The integral uppers are nice, but unless you're completely positive that a suppressed .300 Blk is the only thing you'll ever want to SBR and suppress, I'd do a separate SBR and can.

There's also the 41P change which (if you think it'll affect you - ie you use a trust) it would probably be beneficial to go the full SBR route.

Remember that even if the lower is SBR'd, you're not limited to ONLY using short uppers. You can put anything you want on it including normal 16" + rifle length barrels.

To follow on Sam's point about the "class 3"...
Normal firearms (rifles with a barrel over 16", pistols, etc) are Title 1
NFA firearms are Title 2
These refer to which section of law they are regulated under. As Sam mentioned, "class 3" refers to the tax that a 01 FFL pays so that they don't have to pay individual transfer taxes on every NFA weapon that comes in. (A manufacturer typically gets a 02 SOT unless they want to make destructive devices which is yet another SOT. It can get confusing.)



Edit: if you decide to go with an integral, take a look at Liberty, I've heard good things about their upper/can setup. Personally I think it's best for people who already have a few SBRs and don't want to register another lower, or someone who knows they never want a SBR.

 

[Sam1911]

Normal firearms (rifles with a barrel over 16", pistols, etc) are Title 1
NFA firearms are Title 2

For further clarification, what that means is when you look at the Gun Control Act of 1968 which is now the primary controlling federal gun control legislation, the new regulations enacted to restrict sales and possession of "regular" firearms went under "Title I" and the old restrictions (on machine guns, silencers, etc.) were codified as "Title II" of the new law.

 

[USAF_Vet]

Just some input from someone whose also jumping into NFA this year with a can and an SBR...
My plan is to convert the 10.5" AR pistol I already have into an SBR, and build or buy a can. That way I can still swap the can to other guns. And with one registered lower, I can then have multiple different uppers in varying calibers (whether or not they can.also use the can is not really a driving factor).

 

[Devilfrog]

Just some input from someone whose also jumping into NFA this year with a can and an SBR...
My plan is to convert the 10.5" AR pistol I already have into an SBR, and build or buy a can. That way I can still swap the can to other guns. And with one registered lower, I can then have multiple different uppers in varying calibers (whether or not they can.also use the can is not really a driving factor).

Doing the same but with an .300 Blackout. Having them seperately "stamped" gives a lot more flexibility

 

[luzyfuerza]

Does anyone have any experience with specific integrated setups (brands/models)? Which do you like the best? Why?

Any suggestions for silencers that you like for this application?

 

[Sam1911]

If you are just interested in light weight and short length, take a look at this:

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/11/jeremy-s/delta-p-3d-printed-suppressors/

Truly the next step in silencers and probably would give you what you're looking for without going to an integral setup.