In the United States, you can order a muffler on the internet (if you do not call it a muffler)

In the United States, the possession of a silencer – this extension of the barrel allowing the handguns to make, in the Tontons flingers, this funny "Plop! Plop! " lethal is in theory subject to severe restrictions.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is not joking with the subject: anyone wishing to acquire a suppressor must declare it, be subject to prior investigation and pay a fee, the process taking up to one year.

But in a country that likes both DIY and firearms, a nation in which the DIY modifications of these death devices are commonplace, all it takes is an internet connection, a few dollars and a bit of money. Elbow oil to bypass the entire device.

Even on Amazon

In an article written in collaboration with The Trace, an editorial specializing in the coverage of the gun issue in the United States, The Verge describes the thriving online muffler market.

The company SD Tactic Arms offers Barrel shrouds (cannon wrappers), Hawk Innovative Tech's "Solvent filters" (Solvent Filters) and Preppers Discount what appears to be tubes for flashlights. It is even possible to order some of these items on Amazon.

All these items are sold by shops clearly intended for shooting enthusiasts; they are in reality, the signs do not hide it, that silent disguised.

The purchase and possession of these objects is completely legal, only the modifications by making a real silencer impose to go through a declaration to the ATF. Apart from the fear of a raid of the office in question, nothing prevents to order one of these parts then, in a short time, to make a silent.

On dedicated Facebook groups, like the one with more than 14,000 members, the boards are freely exchanged and the opinions of the customers abound.

Laxity of the authorities

For lack of means, because the ATF like the legislator never managed to determine exactly what technically constitutes a silencer, the American authorities are only interested by far in this questionable business – with the exception of rare shine.

Their tolerance may also be due to the fact that mufflers, which have a bad name because they only partially eliminate the sound of a weapon, are generally little used by criminals.

They are not just a fun gadget for fans of spy movies. On May 31, 2019, a man shot and killed twelve people in Virginia Beach; his weapon was equipped with a silencer.

"If it had been a normal weapon, we would have understood earlier, said one of the witnesses of the massacre at NBC. We could have protected ourselves … We could all have barricaded ourselves. "