Congress wades into Solvent Trap Issue

Earlier this month, the ATF rejected 847 pending Form 1s– the paperwork needed to legally “make” a registered NFA item such as a suppressor, SBR, or SBS.

The reason for the heartbreak is that the applicants had listed that they intended to use some sort of solvent trap to create a legal suppressor. Provided you don’t live in a state where suppressors are illegal (there are only eight of them ) and you are legally able to possess a firearm, nothing is barring the self-manufacture of “silencers” for personal use.

Going past the 847 rejections, ATF also notified 3,000 other applicants with pending Form 1s for making suppressors that they had to supply additional information and details about the material and construction process used in making these items.

Keep in mind that possession of what the regulator considers “suppressor parts” without a signed and approved Form 1 is illegal and can result in 10 years in federal prison. Google the Fifth Amendment on this one.

To fire back on ATF’s new anti-suppressor-making spree, about half of Congress– you know which half– have written letters to the agency in the past week demanding answers by the end of the month.

By Michael Crites

Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18. During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications. His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual. As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY. He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).

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