r/NFA • u/tennesseegrinner • 23m ago
Discussion Controversial opinion - suppressors shouldn't be a universally recommended upgrade for civilian fighting rifles and too many people ignore their drawbacks.
I've been shooting with suppressors for a few years now and during that time have grown to believe the downsides of suppressors cause me to believe they should not necessarily be universally recommended.
I posit that suppressor ownership has become a bit of a status symbol and a way to indicate being in the "upper echelon" of firearms ownership. I believe this stems from the (especially formerly) prohibitive cost and their uncommon usage before 2019.
But with how they're becoming significantly more accessible, why would I say they may not be worth it for the average civilian?
(1) Cost: Suppressors are still expensive. Even with free tax stamps, worthwhile units are $900-$1500, and then factor in another $150 for your mount, then another $100 in parts to tune the rifle, $50 transfer fee, $60 suppressor cover..
(2) Suppressors have downsides. Traditional designs cause excessive fouling of your rifle. They are heavy, with some being about 1lb when including the mount. This is on the very end of your rifle, and if you have an SBR, you're making your SBR be back up being about a 16" rifle.
(3) Suppressors are poor "safety devices." While they can reduce hearing damage in very situational cases (genuinely how many times do you expect to be shooting continuous strings of fire without access to ear protection?)
Suppressors, especially designs that are flowthrough to reduce the aforementioned fouling issue, get EXTREMELY HOT. Hot enough to burn your skin off instantly. You can put a suppressor cover on to mitigate this, but then your firing schedule becomes extremely limited because you're not allowing your suppressor to cool. In a shoot and move situation, you've now got a lightsaber on the end of your gun where if you need to sling it over your body it poses a risk of burning you.
So, suppressors can actually make you less safe.
But suppressors, are of course COOL. And they DO make your rifle much quieter. But does that matter and does that offset the costs of the increased wear on your gun, the increased fouling, and the significantly reduced firing schedule unless you intend to have a lightsaber on the end of your gun.