"Linear Compensator" vs. "Silencer"

[Bimmer]

Please forgive my ignorance, or my poor research skills...

What's the technical/legal difference between a "linear compensator" and a "silencer"?

Is it just the interior baffles?


TL;DR:

I can't get a silencer legally, because I'm in California. (Let's please NOT discuss California.)

I really don't want to go to jail, so I want to stay clear of manufacturing or possessing a "silencer."


I have KVP "XL" linear comps on several rimfire rifles, and they're terrific, especially for the price:

https://www.kawvalleyprecision.com/K...l-comp-blk.htm


It occurs to me, though, that I could buy a "solvent trap kit" and ONLY use the end caps and tube (NO baffles), and then I'd have a homemade "linear compensator" that would be even bigger and more effective.

I would need to drill the end cap, obviously.

I would either NOT buy the baffles or NOT drill them. (I wouldn't even have a jig for them, because the ATF does seem serious about "constructive intent" regarding silencers.)

I would wind up with something like the non-functional but legal "faux suppressors" that Spike's used to make, except that it would actually function as a linear comp.


Am I nuts?

[MistWolf]

Perhaps a little. Any muzzle device that decreases the report more than 2 decibels is considered a silencer. A linear compensator simply directs as much sound as practical downrange. You don't need something as heavy and bulky as a "solvent trap". I use a BRT Convert Comp on one of my shorties and it works well. Reasonable price and it's no heavier or larger than an A2 birdcage. I know a couple of other guys who use one on their shorties and like how they perform.

The Covert Comp is not any quieter, but it does a good job pushing the sound and blast downrange.

https://blackrivertactical.com/WP/Mu...vices-c1799361

[Bimmer]

Any muzzle device that decreases the report more than 2 decibels is considered a silencer.

Could you please tell me where that information is from?

You don't need something as heavy and bulky as a "solvent trap."

Yeah, I know, but...

Bigger is better, I think. I had an original (steel) KVP comp, and then I changed to their XL comp, and I think the bigger chamber does a better job of projecting the blast/noise forward.

FWIW, the KVP XL comps are aluminum, and the solvent traps that I'm looking at are, too. (Remember, this is for rimfire.) The KVP XL is 4" long and only 3oz, and a 6" aluminum "solvent trap" is only 4oz, so there's not a big difference.

Finally, I hate to sound vain, but the cosmetics/aesthetics of a "can" are appealing...

This is what I have now...

[MistWolf]

While researching the XM177 AR subtype, I came across a statement that said any muzzle device that reduced the report more than 2 decibels was considered a silencer by the BATF. It was some time ago and I can't remember where I saw it, nor can I find it again. That means I don't have a credible source for that statement, so take it for what it's worth.

This link will take you to a guide on the BATF website- https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearm...ition-silencer

It's downloadable as a pdf and says-

The term “Firearm Silencer” or “Firearm Muffler” means any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for the use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication.

Linear compensators are not intended to silence, muffle or diminish muzzle report.

I haven't tried a linear compensator on a rimfire.

[Bimmer]

While researching the XM177 AR subtype, I came across a statement that said any muzzle device that reduced the report more than 2 decibels was considered a silencer by the BATF. It was some time ago and I can't remember where I saw it, nor can I find it again. That means I don't have a credible source for that statement, so take it for what it's worth...

Yeah, that seems pretty anecdotal... Reduced compared to what, a bare muzzle?

Has anybody ever heard of the BATF breaking out the decibel-meters and testing?

This link will take you to a guide on the BATF website-

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearm...ition-silencer


Linear compensators are not intended to silence, muffle or diminish muzzle report.

I haven't tried a linear compensator on a rimfire.

Got it... I was on the BATF's website earlier, and the "constructive intent" language there makes me not even want to own undrilled baffles...

FWIW, there's good evidence that a linear comp works as a single chamber suppressor, and reduces the noise that's emitted (not just redirects it).

With that KVP XL on my .22lr bolt gun, shooting CCI SVs is like hand clapping. I can shoot gophers in the yard, and if the windows are shut, my wife inside the house doesn't even hear it.

[MountainRaven]

The moderator on the end of the XM177E2 had multiple purposes:

-Increase back pressure at the gas port,
-Reduce flash (as M193 out of a 10.5-11.5" barrel is quite flash-y),
-Reduce blast and sound for the shooter down to a level comparable with a normal M16A1.

It doesn't take a lot of reduction to achieve the sound suppression Colt wanted in the moderator, but that reduction was sufficient for the ATF to determine that the moderator is, legally, a silencer.

[Bimmer]

The moderator on the end of the XM177E2... was sufficient for the ATF to determine that the moderator is, legally, a silencer.

Aha... I'm too old to remember when those were current, but a friend at my gun club (retired cop) has one.

I'm inferring from this that the original "moderator" had 3-4 baffles:

http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...XM-Linear-Comp


Here you can see the baffles:

https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/xm...__/123-542517/


So, so far, it sounds like an empty "solvent trap" would be a "linear compensator" and not a "silencer."

[hotrodder636]

Is it worth toeing the line of constructing a silencer instead of just getting commercially available linear comps?

[mig1nc]

Is it worth toeing the line of constructing a silencer instead of just getting commercially available linear comps?

I think what he wants is just a bigger linear comp.

The thing is, without baffles or routes like OSS I think he would hit a point of diminishing returns rather quickly. And that would be a silencer.

But only testing would tell.

I think the coolest thing he could try is try to get a 3D model of a linear comp and scale it up in some CAD software and find somebody with a DMLS printer who will make a gun part.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mrbieler]

Have you seen the Griffin Arms XM177 linear comp? It looks like a moderator, but lacks the baffeling but it's also not the hollow tube of the fake moderators you see on the market.

Here in California, I run my featureless carbines with either the Griffin M4SD linear comp or the BRT covert comp.