[I]t is interesting to think about what would change in the silencer market if the NFA did go away. We see three key changes:
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- If you’re Silencer Shop or Silencer Central, you go from being one of only 3-4 retailers in the US that make it halfway viable to buy a silencer, to competing with anybody competent enough to sign up for Shopify. Could be a threat, but it’s also a huge expansion of your market.
- If you’re Dead Air or SilencerCo, it would be like living in a world where the only clothing brands in the world are either Walmart or Ralph Lauren (and you’re the latter), and then suddenly Zara gets legalized. Could be a threat, but it’s also a huge expansion of your market.
- If you’re a gun company, you’d wake up in a world where suddenly every single customer is wondering why their gun doesn’t come with a silencer. Could be a threat, but it’s also a huge expansion of your market.
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All three are big opportunities for ambitious incumbents (note, to extend one of the analogies, that Ralph Lauren has built sub-brands today across the entire price spectrum, from $17 polo shirts to $1900 polo shirts). They are also severe threats for any lazy incumbents.
As ever, companies will adapt or die. That has been a theme as silencers have grown in popularity even without regulatory changes (remember AAC?), and any changes to the law will accelerate the same dynamic.
From talking to some of these companies behind the scenes, they’d be very excited about deregulation. That’s good because it means the odds are low that there’s much behind-the-scenes mustache-twirling. But more importantly, it also means that there’s appetite for innovation. That can happen because companies intrinsically want it or because they recognize that that’s what’s required to stay competitive. The result for customers is the same. Better products.
— Open Source Defense in The NFA is coming from inside the House
I would think we would start to see integrally suppressed rifles being much more common. Those that have (eg) AR15 pistols with 8-10″ barrels could switch to a real butt stock and a 16″ integral.
Integrals have much more volume than normal cans, leading to a reduced sound and heat signature. The baffles don’t have to be over-engineered and they can be user serviceable.
For hunters that don’t mind losing ~50-100fps (which, if you’re hunting out to ~300 yards shouldn’t be a show-stopper), that could be a big thing as well.
The biggest thing would be an avalanche of cheap suppressors that are treated as consumables (which is how it is in many countries). That business model, of course, is impossible where each can requires a $200 tax stamp and a mess of paperwork.
Think a dedicated can for your deer rifle that only has a lifespan of around 400 shots, and then is discarded. For most of us, the deer rifle gets shot a few times to make sure it’s sighted in, and then maybe ten at most shots during deer season. A can that is made of titanium and that has a lifespan measured in the tens or hundreds of thousands of rounds is overkill for a hunting rifle. One made of aluminum that wears out after a few hundred shots would last most of us almost a lifetime of use.
I do think there would be a lot more intregally suppressed weapons (both rifles and pistols). The demand for them exists but NFA compliance makes the market for such weapons uneconomical.
SBR regs are ridiculous. No one seems to care about it. Perhaps the companies that sell braces don’t want anything to change.
See, you need to live with a certain amount of oppression otherwise companies might lose profits.
Just like you need to live with a certain amount of poison in your food because otherwise the prices might go up a bit.
If America is going to continue to be America we need some oppression, a lot of poison and massive tons of pollution because of we don’t have licenses gate keepers, toxic additives and millions of tons of plastic future garbage pouring in from slave factories in despotic dictatorships your 401K might drop a bit.
Even all the alleged climate caring leftists apparently agree. Profit and consumption trump everything else.
Mike Pence recently said that cheap foreign consumables make up the American dream.
Many Gun Rights Groups Unite & Pressure Congress For NFA Reform.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG56mhOerV4
UPDATE: Reconciliation Bill Passes Budget… Sausage Making Promises Progress On HPA & Suppressors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvgw71Hl3vc
One of those groups you named is lobbying behind the scenes to keep Silencers on the NFA!!!!
I think they need to go broke!!!!
And makes things more affordable and once that $200 dollar charge goes away. It takes the hassle away of having to keep the paperwork with you just to go out shooting and hunting. And I believe it would also open the doors to more sales of suppressor to the public that couldn’t Alford it before. Yes it might take away a little from the company that have helped us so much to obtain our cans. But also increase sales for the manufacture.
Eliminating the loud noise a first time shooter experiences when using a gun, would be an incredible boost in gun sales.
It’s the loud report of a gun that scares new folks.
A quiet gun is a very friendly gun for a new shooter.
All gun makers would greatly benefit.
Is ditching SBR regs completely off the table? I never hear anyone talking about that.