I've always wondered something about suppressors.  Maybe the fine people in this forum can help me understand more.

I understand that a suppressor works pretty much like a muffler on a car - expanding gas dissipates into an enclosed chamber which reduces the audible sound of the shot fired.  I also understand (from reading this forum) that - assuming you have the right equipment and legal issues addressed - suppressors are a fundamentally simple item to manufacture.

Here's my first question:

Inside the suppressor, is the path which the bullet travels a rifled tube (much like the barrel of the firearm) with a series of holes along it to allow the expanding gas to dissipate (somewhat like the Glock Compensated model barrels), or is the path which the bullet travels more like a series of aligned holes, larger in diameter than the bullet, which the bullet passes through (much like a muzzle-brake (break?) on a .50 BMG rifle)?

Now my second (simpler, I'm sure) question:

Is BATFE Form 4 the correct form for the purchase of a suppressor?  

I'm rather certain that I'll have to submit to the same process for purchasing a suppressor as I would for a machine gun, but I wanted to double check that Form 4 is the correct form.

Thank you everyone!

_MaH

Quoted: I've always wondered something about suppressors.  Maybe the fine people in this forum can help me understand more. I understand that a suppressor works pretty much like a muffler on a car - expanding gas dissipates into an enclosed chamber which reduces the audible sound of the shot fired.  I also understand (from reading this forum) that - assuming you have the right equipment and legal issues addressed - suppressors are a fundamentally simple item to manufacture. Here's my first question: Inside the suppressor, is the path which the bullet travels a rifled tube (much like the barrel of the firearm) with a series of holes along it to allow the expanding gas to dissipate (somewhat like the Glock Compensated model barrels),It can be, but it doesn't have to be.  You are talking about what is known as a ported barrel which us used on 22LR and some other suppressors.  Ported barrels help bleed gas off to slow down a bullet, usually to below the speed of sound to avoid the sonic crack that is known as the "crack of a rifle."  This part of a suppressor is not a baffle stack which is held in place by a tube, known as a "can" for slang or is the path which the bullet travels more like a series of aligned holes, larger in diameter than the bullet, which the bullet passes through (much like a muzzle-brake (break?) on a .50 BMG rifle)?  This part of your question is what the baffle stack is.  This portion of the suppressor is what "eats" the hot gasses and cools them down so as to "suppress" the gunshot.   Now my second (simpler, I'm sure) question: Is BATFE Form 4 the correct form for the purchase of a suppressor?  The Form 4 is what registers the suppressor with the federal government in your name, it "vests  title" so to speak of that weapon/suppressor in your name.  It really has nothing to do with purchasing a suppressor, you do that with a dealer like buying anything else from a dealer.  The process takes from 1 month to several before the form is "Approved" and you can go get your silencer from the dealer.   I'm rather certain that I'll have to submit to the same process for purchasing a suppressor as I would for a machine gun, but I wanted to double check that Form 4 is the correct form.  This is correct Thank you everyone! _MaH