After monkeying around in Boise for the past few weeks my family and I were excited to get back to the cabin for our last full week of peace and solitude before we enter final prep for baby number two’s arrival. We were lucky enough to have some close friends and hunting buddies join us for the first bit of the weekend to celebrate July 4th.
To kick off the celebrations we all decided that our time would be best spent out in the woods with our little families. We also figured it would be a great time to get some elk training in by carrying our kids in heavy packs… Something I was pining for since my back is slowly healing from my recent bulged disc.
On Sunday morning, we loaded up the crew and hit the trail for a nice long early morning hike with our little mini-me’s attached to our backs. It was a lot of fun and my daughter loved it. She pointed out every flower we passed and was in awe of the river and birds that were surrounding us. My shoulders and legs, however, quickly reminded me that I am far from the shape that I should be in for the upcoming season. This little jaunt gave me some motivation to double down on my rehab in order to get back into the swing of summer training ASAP.
The other fun thing we got to do this weekend was to spend time hanging out and sending some lead down range. Now, this is not a wholly uncommon occurrence for us given that we have a 500 yard steel gun range out of our back door, but today was a bit different. Ya see, last Wednesday uncle sam finally pulled through and I was able to pick up my first in a series of suppressors that I have ordered for my handguns, carbines, and hunting rifles.
Suppressors in the USA have an odd stigma. They were popularized by movies such as James Bond and Jason Bourne and are now ubiquitous in the special operations community, but they also serve a great purpose to the civilian population— especially hunters. Each one of us is only blessed with two ears (if we are lucky) and preserving the internal workings of those organs is vital. Shooting large caliber rifles, pistols, and carbines with any sort of frequency can start to take a toll on your hearing even when you wear proper ear protection. So, attaching a perfectly legal suppressor to all of those tools makes great sense when you want to train more, but also keep your hearing in tip top shape.
That said, obtaining a suppressor is an absolute beast in this country. Waaaaaayyyyy back in in 1934, the newly created National Firearms Act introduced a $200 tax stamp that had to be purchased with the sell of any new firearm to ensure that the owner was properly registered. Overtime this started to apply to suppressors and the excise tax in the form of a tax stamp stayed consistent ever since that time.
However, purchasing a suppressor in 2022 is not just as easy as paying the $200 tax stamp and walking out of the store with your “can”. In order to be registered with the NFA, you must create a trust. For me, I used website that helped me create my family gun trust — They took some info and sent me a whole stack of papers on thick card stock that had to be notarized. Once that was done it was time to go to the local sheriffs office to get a whole set of finger print cards created (You will need two for each silencer you want to purchase) and then to Walgreens to get passport sized photos.
Once you do all of that legwork it’s time to go to your favorite gun store to pick out what suppressor(s) you want. At the time of purchase your store owners will likely charge you a small fee to process your paperwork (~$20). You will hand them copies of your trust, two finger print cards, and two photos. They then will go onto the ATF’s newly created digital system’s website to input the particulars of the suppressor you are purchasing as well as all of your info.
Up until this past January when the ATF rolled out their new digital system, the store would send in copies of your info via snail mail and you would be waiting for ten months or more to get information back as to whether you passed their screening. Now, if everything checks out, you can get your Tax Stamp and suppressor in as little as seven weeks (which was the case for me).
Overall it is a great investment and can truly help you in the back country as your large caliber hunting rifles will have reduced recoil and quieter shots — which has many secondary benefits of which I will go over in a later post.
All-in-all we had a great weekend celebrating our freedoms, enjoying the smell of gunpowder, and spending time with great friends!