What constitutes 'permanently attached' for an airgun can?

[jlwilliams]

I'm looking for some guidance to stay out of trouble. I want to suppress some airguns. How can I make a plastic can permanent enough to not be able to go onto a 22?

One big apeal of airguns for me has always been small critter and target shooting more quietly than you can with a gun. Moving to a state where I could get a silencer put my airgun hobby on hold for a few years while I enjoyed quiet shooting goodness. Now I'm back into airguns with a vengence. They aren't as powerful as powderburners, and I wouldn't give up my real guns, but sometimes the limited balistics of an airgun is more apropriate. You need less backstop and can shoot stuff in places where a 22 would be irresponsable.

I just got my Benjamin Marauder with the shrouded barrel. It's the best airgun I have ever shot. Accurate, powerful and quiet. It came with the integrally suppressed barrel, can't be put on a firearm, all that. Now I'd like to put 'moderators' (as they call airgun silencers) on some more airguns. I understand that a supressor that could be used on a firearm has to be registered, but one that is on the airgun and can't be put on a firearm is OK. I know that a welded, brazed or pinned barrel attachment is considered permanent, how does that translate if the attachment is plastic? If I make a can out of PVC and epoxy it onto a CO2 gun, will that be OK? Or, do I have to make them out of aluminum and blind pin it? Can I blind pin a plastic one on?

I'd like to use plastic because it's light, cheap and easy to work. Also easy to destroy if it doesn't work. If I make one and want to do a remake I can smash or burn it and not have 'silencer parts' laying around.

[Fritz]

Blind pin?

[dogon1013]

In my opinion (which admitedly does not mean much), if you follow the design of a currently produced quiet airgun (like the marauder, or whisper), you have to be legal, since they are legal. at the least it would be a great argument that your quieted airgun is identical in design to one you can currently legally buy at the local store (or at least order).

Since you have the marauder, you could take it apart and see how it is attached. I have seen pictures of the shroud off the marauder barrel, so the tube can't be permanently attached. Though I'm sure the threads or mounting point for the tube is permanently attached or integral to the breech.

but something like a blind pin, brazing, welding, or epoxy might be extra insurance.

[jlwilliams]

Good point. I haven't taken my Marauder apart. It has a knurled endcap so it would be easy to take a look at, but I've been enjoying shooting it and haven't tinkered with it at all.

I haven't handled a Gamo Whisper much, just a few minutes in a store. I don't remember if they are metal or plastic or how they were put together. I may have to handle one a little bit more. BTW, since the Whisper is springer and springers make lots of action noise and minimal muzzle noise; does the muzzle suppressor make a world of difference?

[dogon1013]

don't really know if the whisper is that much quieter, but they claim it is. It looks like the whispers silencer is molded onto the barrel.

from the pictures of the marauder I found on the web, there are 3 sets of plastic baffles that sit in front of the barrel. The barrel has a band on the tip which looks like it touches the inside of the shorud.

so you basically have a baffled silencer that is built into the marauder.

here is a link to a description: http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2009/04/ ... art-2.html

and some pics from that site showing the shrouding:





I have not found any good pictures of the inside of the baffles (I assume they are drilled from one side). If you unscrew the cap on your marauder, could you post some better pictures of them, or maybe just describe them.

[derek_ecco]

You have a marauder.. what else do you need?

Ive stopped shooting my canned 10/22 cuz the marauder is that much more quiet, cheaper to shoot and I can shoot it in my yard.....

[CKOD]

don't really know if the whisper is that much quieter, but they claim it is. It looks like the whispers silencer is molded onto the barrel.

from the pictures of the marauder I found on the web, there are 3 sets of plastic baffles that sit in front of the barrel. The barrel has a band on the tip which looks like it touches the inside of the shorud.

so you basically have a baffled silencer that is built into the marauder.

here is a link to a description: http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2009/04/ ... art-2.html

and some pics from that site showing the shrouding:
[ig]http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/images/04-07-09-02.jpg[/img]
[ig]http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/images/04-07-09-03.jpg[/img]
[ig]http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/images/04-07-09-05.jpg[/img]
[ig]http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/images/04-07-09-04.jpg[/img]

I have not found any good pictures of the inside of the baffles (I assume they are drilled from one side). If you unscrew the cap on your marauder, could you post some better pictures of them, or maybe just describe them.

Makes sense to do an integral, after all it would the the hardest to move over to a firearm, and to keep the ATF happy.

[jlwilliams]

I did pull out a baffle. What you see in those pictures is all there is. Just a cylinder with one end completely open, and the other end is a flat baffle with a hole in it. Not real complex, but really effective.

I have to agree, now that I have my Marauder, I have less interest in messing with any of my other air guns. As nice as it would be to make a springer quieter, why bother when I have a ten shot repeater? I won't go so far as to say that it has replaced my 22lr rifles, but it certainly comes out to play. It's just easy to grab it because it is so quiet and it is powerful enough for most day to day stuff.

[emouse]

crosman are hoping that ATF don't decide to use them as a test case.

NOTHING as yet has passed ATF approval on air guns period.

[Hush]

I had an FWB springer in .22 cal. and when fired it barked, I obtained a Webly systems tamer I think it was called, it clamped on the muzzle, The original Beeman's was selling them without any baffles so I tried it with a flat washer which made it into a 2 chamber deal and it was effective at removing the bark.
I wish I still had that rifle, it disappeared during a move, it fired medium weight pellets @ around 940 fps. and the scope cost almost as much as the rifle.
If I had it today I'd weld or silver solder it on.