In the movies, silenced pistols produce a muted “phut,” that instantly drops terrorists without other terrorists standing next to them hearing a thing. Very dramatic, but not remotely realistic.

There is no such thing as a “silencer.” Suppressors merely reduce the decibel level of gunshots to levels that don’t damage hearing. They’re most effective with subsonic ammunition, because nothing can reduce the “crack” of a bullet passing the sound barrier. As with every aspect of physics, there is no free lunch. Making ammo subsonic requires less powder and heavier bullets, which reduces range and penetration. This usually requires modifying guns with lighter springs and bolts, or locking bolts that require manual cycling of the action.

Graphic: SilencerCo Osprey .45. Wikimedia Commons.org. Public Domain.

Anti-liberty/gun cracktivists would have us believe suppressors are much beloved by criminals and commonly used in crimes. Nonsense. 

That gives an average of about 15 reported cases each year, and assuming this represents close to half of all prosecutions, one can assume 30-40 total cases per year. This is out of 75-80,000 federal criminal prosecutions each year. Overall numbers certainly suggest that silencers are a very minor law enforcement problem. 

... If we include sale of weapons in the victimless category (along with possession of illegal weapons, drug trafficking, and mere non-violent possession of weapons by a felon), then more than 80 percent of federal silencer charges are for non-violent, victimless crimes. If we consider all those convicted of RICO, CCE, extortion, robbery and conspiracy as “professional” criminals, these still represent less than 20 percent of defendants prosecuted.

In other words, most federal prosecutions involving suppressors are for mere possession, not for their use in a crime, and for virtually all criminals prosecuted, the suppressor is merely icing on the cake for criminals unable to lawfully possess any firearm. The idea that “professional” criminals like the hit men of popular imagination routinely use suppressors is just that: popular imagination. Suppressors make handguns, by far the go-to guns of criminals, unwieldy and very hard to conceal. They essentially double the length of handguns, which is why criminals so seldom bother.

Suppressors for rifles are advantageous largely in preserving a shooter’s hearing. In the military context they change the timbre of the report such that it’s hard for enemies to localize the still very audible report, and they suppress muzzle blast also helping to hide a sniper’s location.

That’s another important part of the free lunch principle. Suppressed gunshots still sound like gunshots, just gunshots of a different timbre/quality.

While still expensive—around $1000 dollars—due to their relative rarity, more Americans are buying suppressors than ever before:

In October, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the gun industry’s trade association, reported that Americans owned 4.9 million silencers as of July 2024 according to data provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).¹ Compared to previous reporting, this updated total reflects an alarming surge in silencer sales: In the first six months of 2024 alone, Americans purchased and registered a staggering 1.4 million silencers.

The data shows that between May 2021 and July 2024, a mere three-year span, Americans accumulated nearly as many silencers as were registered in the previous 87 years — since the National Firearms Act (NFA) first mandated their registration in 1934.

Suppressors are in the same class as machineguns, which due to Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) trickery, were all but outlawed as of May 19, 1986. Citizens can’t possess machineguns manufactured after The Firearm Owner’s Protection Act passed. Machineguns made before then can be owned, but there aren’t many for sale and prices are astronomical. Until recently, it took as much as a year for the ATF to process the paperwork.

In the past, silencer customers waited several months to have their NFA applications processed. But in December 2021, the ATF rolled out a new online “eForms” system — after successful lobbying by the NSSF — that dramatically sped up approvals. Well-known silencer retailers like the Silencer Shop have boasted that they’ve seen same-day approvals for customers.

Now, suppressor businesses will handle all the federal paperwork and once completed, deliver a suppressor to one’s doorstep. A $200, non-transferable stamp tax is still required.

Anti-liberty/gun cracktivists are panicking because Donald Trump wants national concealed carry reciprocity, and with Mitch McConnell no longer in charge of the Senate, that’s a real possibility. There is also movement in the Senate to remove suppressors from NFA entanglements. That too horrifies the hoplophobic, not because there is any credible evidence to suggest they’re a public safety danger, but because they see any advancement of individual liberty as destructive to their totalitarian designs.

They’re right about that, which is good enough reason to deregulate suppressors. 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.