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CleverNickname wrote:

frankie_the_yankee wrote: Emphasis mine. Of course, just having some large washers that theoretically could be used as improvised baffles isn't illegal in and of itself, but if the BATFE happened to find out that someone had some washers and had reason to believe that they were planning on building an unregistered suppressor, then yes they could and probably would try to haul them into court, whether the suppressor had actually been built or not.

Thanks.

Offhand, I would interpret "any combination of parts" to mean that you need to have ALL the parts, or nearly all of them, to have a problem.

You can't make a supressor without a body. So having a few fender washers floating around here or there is as legal as breathing as far as I can tell.

And let me make it clear that I am not planning on building an unregistered anything. Anything I do, I'm gpoing to jump through all of the required hoops first. Y'all can take that to the bank.

Remember the title of this thread. It's about how to legally manufacture a supressor.

rm9792,

Thanks for the advice. I noticed the contradictions between some of the posts. As I stated, I don't think threading the barrel itself makes a gun Class 3. And I too have seen plenty of pistols with threaded barrels, rifles with flash supressors, muzzle breaks, etc. that were not Class 3.

In fact, for the heck of it, I just might thread the end of the barrel and buy a flash supressor and/or muzzle break and see what that does to the noise, if anything.

In my area, I'm not expecting any problems getting the forms signed.

I just need to do a bit more research and decide whether to go through with the project or not. (Out of basic fairness, I feel that Wife Unit needs to agree that I can lay out the money. I'll need to be buying some tools and such that will probably cost several times what it would cost to just buy a supressor. But as I said, that's the fun part. )

And thanks to everyone who offered advice, accurate or not. It's the thought that counts. And rest assured, I will check with experts with "boots on the ground" to make sure I stay within the law.

My Mini-14 has whatever barrel Ruger put on it. I don't know how long it is, but I'm sure it's longer than 16" because I bought it new from a store in RI and there's no way it was or is Class 3.

And as far as I know, threading the barrel itself doesn't make it Class 3. I could thread the barrel and put a flash hider or muzzle break on it without getting any special licenses whatsoever. The threaded barrel "problem" went away with the sunset of the AWB.

Kalrog, you must be talking about "The Gun Store". I've been there once. At some point I might get curious about what they have. But the main thing for me is the fun aspect of the project itself. I'm sure it will cost me more to make one than to buy one. I've just wanted to make one ever since I read the Tom Clancy book.

From looking over the Form 1 that someone helpfully posted, it does not seem that the rifle itself would become Class 3 just from having a supressor fitted for it. The supressor itself will have its own serial number. So I think that is the Class 3 element rather than the rifle.

I probably need to talk to a Class 3 dealer or some other expert on the subject of trying out different baffle designs. I do not think the baffles need to be serial numbered, just the supressor body. So it seems you could have 500 baffles, and if the supressor could only hold 5 at a time, you only have one useable supressor at any given moment. I haven't read the federal law myself yet (and wouldn't trust my own interpretation even after doing so), but I believe the part that refers to having the parts needed to make one being equivalent to having the unit itself applies only if you have ALL the parts, or nearly all of them. For instance, a baffle might be a metal disk with a hole in the center, and maybe a few other holes here and there. The supressor might take 5 of them. But no one is going to convince me that if I happen to have a metal disk in my garage with a hole in the middle, AND NO OTHER SUPRESSOR PARTS, that BATFE is going to raid my house and drag me off to prison for having an unregistered supressor.

But anyway, I probably need to talk to an expert about this part of it.

As to the loudness of a Mini-14, all I know is that:

1) Mine is awfully loud to me when I'm shooting it.

2) I once served as an RO at a "Rattle Battle" put on by a gun club I belonged to way back when. Six person teams would get 60 seconds to put as many rounds as possible into targets at 100 and 200 yards range using semi-auto rifles. Rifles were limited to .223 caliber. Almost everyone had either an AR-15 or a Mini-14. I can still remember walking around behind the line while teams were shooting, watching for safety violations while people were reloading. It was impossible not to notice that the Mini-14's were much louder than the AR's. It wasn't even close.

I have no idea what they might have sounded like on the other side of the muzzle (i.e. in front of it). But behind the firing line, the Minis were loud as all heck.

When I'm shooting mine, I am always behind it. So that's a major thing for me, besides what the neighbors might think.

2 liter soda pop bottles and duct tape? I wouldn't have the faintest idea what you are talking about.

Thanks a lot for the help, people.

Why can't you make one? Someone has to. They don't fall out of the sky. As far as I know, they are not like new machine guns, which were banned in 1986.

I've got a Mini-14 that I shoot from time to time. My problem is that it is just so darn loud. I'm not sure why (the relatively slender barrel maybe?) but it seems like it's twice as loud as an AR-15 even though both guns fire the same round. And compared to my handguns, I might as well be lighting off a suitcase nuke.

I shoot it at my home range. But as I only have a bit over 7 acres, I am concerned that I could be annoying some of my neighbors None have spoken to me yet, but I'm concerned nonetheless.

Ever since I read Tom Clancy's novel "Without Remorse" I have wanted to make a supressor based on the design he describes in the book. It seems straightforward enough if one has a lathe. And I'm an engineer, so I figure that can't hurt.

I'm sure there are some NFA hoops to jump through in order to legally do this. Does anyone have any idea what they might be? And whose approval will I need - my county sheriff? (I live outside of city limits of course.)

Any help would be appreciated.