I went by my local gun shop on Monday and as they still haven't received guidance from the ATF on the ruling, they are still requiring a Form 4 for suppressors. The owner, a bud, recommended waiting a week or so until said guidance is received. Many FFLs are doing the same.

However, another bud randomly walked in while I was there and bought his first suppressor. He was in an out in about an hour, they took care of all the application requirements and it was approved while he waited.

This caused two dilemmas for me, am I OK with the ATF having a record of my NFA item via the Form 4, or do I wait until all that is needed is a 4473 which stays with my local gun store unless they close shop.

The second is do I buy my first suppressor (yes, I am lagging on this due to the NFA registration) for a .22 (which I am more likely to use) or my 5.56 hopefully-soon legal SBR (if Form 1s follow suite on the same ruling)?

I have debated getting a suppressor for years, mainly due to the NFA documentation.  I had a bad experience when the ATF allowed pistol braces to be registered without the $200 tax stamp (before the Big Beautiful Bill nullified that).  They screwed up my paperwork and I just forgot about that until I got a rejection notice in the mail two years later.  I was not going to refile at that point as the brace worked for my needs and I didn’t want to go through that headache again even though I knew it would be easier the second time around.

At this point, I’m just going to wait.  I know there will be a mad run on suppressors once the ATF puts out its guidance, but I’m in no rush.  Much like my SBR, it’s a nicety but not anything I absolutely must have; and I can be patient...

Honestly, get both.

Not just because more is better 🤣😂. You're getting too fundamentally different shooting experiences with the two suppressors you mentioned. With 22 you can have the spooky silent experience, which is really neat. Especially if you put it on a bolt action rifle. My buddy and I were out at the range recently and it was quieter than a normal volume conversation.

556 is supersonic, so it's not going to be quiet per se, but it does dramatically improve the shooting experience. You'll still want hearing protection on if you're the one shooting, but when my friends shoot suppressed 556, as long as I'm 10 or more feet away, hearing protection is optional.

If you insist on only getting one, get whichever one you shoot more. My intention is to convert as many of my weapons over to suppressed as possible. It's just more enjoyable to shoot suppressed. Kind of makes me angry, because if the NFA hadn't included silencers for the last hundred years, it's crazy to think of how much quieter all firearms would be in general as suppressor technology would be incorporated at a base level. Oh well, at least now that can happen.

6 minutes ago, Lord Ratner said:

Honestly, get both.

Not just because more is better 🤣😂. You're getting too fundamentally different shooting experiences with the two suppressors you mentioned. With 22 you can have the spooky silent experience, which is really neat. Especially if you put it on a bolt action rifle. My buddy and I were out at the range recently and it was quieter than a normal volume conversation.

556 is supersonic, so it's not going to be quiet per se, but it does dramatically improve the shooting experience. You'll still want hearing protection on if you're the one shooting, but when my friends shoot suppressed 556, as long as I'm 10 or more feet away, hearing protection is optional.

If you insist on only getting one, get whichever one you shoot more. My intention is to convert as many of my weapons over to suppressed as possible. It's just more enjoyable to shoot suppressed. Kind of makes me angry, because if the NFA hadn't included silencers for the last hundred years, it's crazy to think of how much quieter all firearms would be in general as suppressor technology would be incorporated at a base level. Oh well, at least now that can happen.

Yup. Its just better in every aspect for almost every gun. Especially long days on the range.