https://youtu.be/DBtT93VMdo0

Suppressor? I just met her! I’m not sure why anyone would get their proverbial knickers in a twist over whether someone calls a silencer a suppressor, or vice versa, but apparently some do. And James Yeager is having none of it. Hiram Maxim called them silencers, so there. (Or, at his wikipedia.org page, not.) While the Bard pointed out that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” I’m still disappointed that ‘modern sporting rifle’ (MSR) hasn’t replaced ‘assault rifle.’ We lost that one a long time ago and it sucks. This one? Again…who cares?

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128 COMMENTS

  1. What’s wrong with fighting political correctness? I’m not saying Yeager is always right, but a lot of stuff he says is on point.

    • Forms 4 and 1 both say “silencer”, not sure why he doesn’t think the term is correct…

      • Wouldn’t that just being using the government’s preferred language and basically be the same “sin” as submitting to the PC language?

        In fact isn’t Mr. Yeager basically telling us how to talk the same as the PC police?

        Screw it. The new term is “sound-reducing-liberal-pants-wetting-inducement-device” and if you don’t use that term I will pull a Yeager and post a YouTube video admonishing you in salty language. You’ve been warned!

        • Yes. I’m serious. Yeager is now acting as the “language police” at the same time be complains about the PC language police.

          Whenever someone tells me how to talk, unless they can state a convincing reason that aids in communication, I’m going to give them the finger and usually start talking the way they told me not to just to rile them up.

          Just because the government has a term for something doesn’t mean we all have to use it.

        • Except that’s a false analogy.

          As much as I seldom agree with Yaeger, the fact is he’s right. Words have meaning.

          The one who is attempting to rename things (exactly like the PC Police) is, in fact, you.

          One of the great (and terrible) things about American English is that it always evolves – which males it very useful for a changing and evolving word-space. PC is the renaming of things to appear to be what they are by definition, not. You can label yourself as a cat all you want, the fact is, you aren’t. We can call it a “car” all we want. At the end of the day, the reality is that it is a “horseless carriage” and one cannot argue otherwise. Logically anyway.

          To quote Peter Griffin, “I’m, sorry Wilson…”

    • Agreed. That’s why I don’t use the term transgender to identify a transvestite.

      • Exactly. You can’t say that though…/sarc. The best video Yeager ever did was the Stupid Internet Gun Stuff: I can shoot this gun, not that gun. Most common sense, perfectly made argument.

      • Transgender is the accepted term to describe anyone who maybe be anywhere along in the transformation or whose sexual identity may differ than that of their assigned gender at birth. It’s a broad term and is good for non-transgender people to use.
        This is convenient as one need not search for the correct term when referencing a transsexual or anyone in between. Look at it as the same when referring to someone who may have the same ethnic background of that of….well, Obama. You could call him anything…which I do and quite often, but I believe the correct term now days is black or African American.

        As far as a can, silencer or scary pants wetting device….who gives a flying turd-ball?

        • I’ve been using “African-American identifying Caucasian” for the president’s ethnicity.

        • @ knightofbob
          I’ll try to remember “African-American identifying Caucasian” That is certainly more conducive to racial sensitivities than the insensate terminology I’ve been using the past seven and half years 😉

        • There’s no “transition” between male and female.

          There’s male and female and yes, that even includes males with surgically mutilated genitals and females with surgically mutilated genitals.

          A woman wearing high heels isn’t “transitioning” into a giraffe. It seems like this would be an easy concept.

          And no, “BUT IT’S THE CURRENT YEAR!” is not an argument for anything.

        • Except Obama is only half black, with a black African father and white American mother – which may make him one of the few people who could accurately use the term “African-American” to describe themselves.

          The rest are just racist blacks who hate American and whites.

        • @ Avenue Rabbit
          Call a magazine a clip as far as I care. I don’t give a rats ass what you do, say or think anymore than I care what James Yeager says. If people want to sound like ignorant toothless hicks, fine by me Mr. Wabbit. I’m not wasting time engaging myself in entertainment.

        • You sure type a lot of words for somebody who doesn’t care.

          How do I sound like a toothless hick if I never acknowledge the existence of transgendereds?

          Do you even own a firearm?

        • Gender is a linguistic term that has been appropriated by Big Gay to convince people that a woman can have penis and a man can have a vagina. It is a nonsense word. The correct term is transsexual since sex is a biological concept. Stop using the linguistic term gender when you mean sex.

  2. Silencer, suppressor, can, sound moderator et al.

    The only time people annoy me are those that insist that I call them suppressors. This isn’t like clip vs magazine, both terms are correct in this case.

    • Good point. While I think we need to use proper terminology, I try to avoid getting bogged down in minutiae when more than one term applies. I have a theory on these terms, and it’s based in the “Hollywood factor”: Silencers are depicted in movies as making all firearms as quiet as a whisper, whereas those who are informed of their actual capabilities see this for the completely inaccurate depiction that it is. It may be that some choose the term “suppressor” simply because they see it as more fitting description of what’s happening – suppression of, rather than silencing of, the weapons report. It should be noted that throughout the body of H.P. Maxim’s patent application of March 30th, 1909, he uses the term “A silencing device for firearms…”

    • I absolutely use “silencer,” “suppressor,” and “can” interchangeably in articles on here — even using all of them in the same post — and nobody has ever cared. They’re all correct. It’s simplistic to act like there’s only one correct, let alone acceptable, term for these things. They’re literally all correct. As is “firearm muffler,” if you’re so inclined.

      Want my honest opinion of this? Yeager doesn’t care either. It’s click bait (YouTube view bait). And I don’t blame him. It’s smart, actually. Views = money. Heck, here we are with 75 comments and tons of views on the TTAG post already, so it’s been good to TTAG as well. Thanks, Yeager 🙂

  3. I’m with Farago… Who cares?

    This is typical Tactical Response bullshit.

    Pat McNamara and Dave Spaulding did it better, anyway.

    • It’s been my experience that you could just put a big blank, fill it in with whatever you want, and then leave “Pat McNamara did it better”, and be right every time. Plus, he’s a 100% what you see is what you get real person and exceptionally kind and professional dude.

      • When you see the guy telling everyone there’s only one way do this, and it’s his way that’s right and everyone else is completely wrong, or that he has a new “system” – beware. He’s most likely a tacti-tool douchebag trainer that’s validating a curriculum via egomaniacal outbursts or the volume of his argument, rather than the substance. I spent a weekend with a clown trainer similar to Yeager once (I have never trained with Yeager, but I’m certain he has to be at least 10 times better than this guy was) and I will always be significantly more diligent in vetting instructors. Pat Mac is a awesome trainer, completely authentic, and wants you to get everything out of the class you can. Mac is there for the student – I can’t even list all the things I learned from him. Yeager appears to make himself the priority.

        • “I spent a weekend with a clown trainer similar to Yeager once”

          So Tom, what was the problem with the “clown trainer”? Did he not go over the fundamentals of “maximization of people in a small car” or “effects of seltzer water on makeup” or perhaps left out “proper giant shoe selection”? I mean, Clown College is a serious investment, one should get their money’s worth.

          Also, sorry to ruin your “This^^^^” Matt in Oklahoma.

        • Having some fun with me I see! I did get a good laugh out of that! Apparently he was a clown trainer and I did not undertake proper due diligence at some point. I tried to be brief and set myself up for that one! Honestly, I was disappointed that we didn’t cover packing people into small cars, particularly with the obsolescence of the phone booth. But seriously, I couldn’t begin to describe all the ways that class was dysfunctional, but it suffices to say that if he wore a red nose and a Bozo the Clown wig it might not have been out of place, and unlike the class, at least your concept has the humor value going for it. Those two days were like boot camp, Okinawa and a month on ship all rolled into one – all while trapped with an instructor that was there for him, rather than the student, and insisted that the gear he has is the best, and everything else is garbage and everyone that used anything different was wrong. Hence, my clown inference.

  4. Mr. Yeager seems to get bent about a lot of things.

    I prefer “pew-pew-pipe” and I’m sticking with it.

  5. Who cares? It’s not like these are legal in California. Or sold at antique shows. Whatever.

    • or the fact that any boob can buy from amazon a solvent trap adapter and oil filter.

  7. What’s the argument? (I can’t watch the video.) A “silencer” should render a weapon “silent”?

    • Yeager is saying it’s a silencer because Maxim called it that and because “suppressor” is a PC term used to try to not scare liberals.

      I’m saying he’s an asshat.

      • he is like the Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear. A knob, not PC but usually right.

        • Except Clarkson appears as a regular bloke, and Yaeger as a regular whack-a-doodle nut-job.

          I’d prefer to drink with Clarkson, and I want neither within shooting range, no matter what ever comes about.

      • He also says people invented the term suppressor to make liberals less scared. In point of fact “silencer” was a trademarked term and the competitors back in the day had to use different words. Kind of like how Xerox can’t be used by competitors to mean “to photocopy.” Politics had nothing to do with it.

        As is normal, James Yeager is full of shit.

        • Except Xerox eventually gave up on enforcement, and let “Xeroxing” fall into generic use for marketing purposes.

  8. Yaeger is an idiot and it’s not the first time that he proves it on video… so who cares?

    • +100
      Quick throw me a clip, no wait I meant Mag, crap I meant clip, ugh. Just another example on how the gun culture eats their own. I think, I just want to say supressor to make James Yeager mad. You know, cause America!

      • So are you loading an AK or a Mosin? I kinda need an accurate answer to throw you the correct munitions…

        Time is of the essence. Well?

        • It’s even worse than that, as I can buy 7.62X39 ammunition in 10 round clips to fast feed into my 30 round magazines! Yes. Words have meanings. That’s why we call them words.

        • As the consumer of many hundreds of cases of Chinese surplus ammo and around a dozen AKs, I know what you mean.

  9. Does anyone actually care what Yeager thinks? Like…really? The dude is a blowhard wannabe trying to sell a tough guy image to other wannabes, the less attention we give him, the better.

  10. I thought the Maxim Silencer was a brand name for one of the first firearms suppressors.

    • It is. “Silencer” is to suppressors (or mufflers) as Frisbees are to flying discs. Maxim sales literature consistently capitalized the word Silencer (or Silencers). He wasn’t using it as a generic term.

  12. The patent on the first car called it a “Motorwagen”. Yet we don’t call our cars “motorwagens”, now do we? The whole “the inventer called it one thing” argument is weak as hell.

    • Brits call the trunk on a Ford Mustang the “boot” and the hood the “bonnet.” And we do the opposite on Euro vehicles.

      We invented the Mustang, they invented the language – who’s right?

      I say, who cares…

  13. Who is this James Yeager anyway? Should I know about him or care? Because I gotta say, it sure doesn’t sound like it.

  15. I personally don’t care what you call them.
    The nearest “official” definition is what the US government calls them
    SILENCERS.

    Someone once told me the “correct” term was suppressor.
    So I looked up what the federal government calls them in their applications and the law.

    The ATF Form 4 application calls them “Silencers” or “mufflers”.

    https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/form/form-4-application-tax-paid-transfer-and-registration-firearm-atf-form-53204/download

    The US Federal Code refers to them as “Silencers” or “mufflers”.

    U.S.C. Section 921(a)(24
    “24) The terms ‘‘firearm silencer’’ and ‘‘firearm
    muffler’’ mean any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable
    firearm, including any combination of parts,
    designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or
    firearm muffler, and any part intended only for
    use in such assembly or fabrication.”

    Granted, the federal government did not create the term.
    The creator of the device device did.
    And that is good enough for me.
    But I am not Vocab Nazi.

  16. Look, he’s in the business of getting views. More views=more money.

    I won’t watch the video because I don’t care what he thinks.

  17. The problem with “Modern Sporting Rifle” is the word “modern” in it.

    What happens when they’re obsolete?

    • And since when was the 1940’s (AK) and 1950’s (AR) considered “modern.”

    • Modern Sporting Rifle is a ridiculous marketing term. To use it is to accept our enemy’s premise that weapons need a “sporting” use for private citizens to legitimately own them.

      The same sort of defensive thinking on the part of “conservative” leaders is why the leftists tend to win in the long run. That’s a rant for another day, however.

  18. This story is an all time low for this site.

    Why was this story written? And, more importantly, why was it published? Did Yeager pay you to boost his video? Or is he your good friend?

    Most people don’t respect Yeager and rightfully so. He’s a wannabe alpha male that only surrounds himself with yes men in order to make it look like he is dominant. As somebody else said, he’s a blow hard. He also gives bad information. And his “I’m the baddest” attitude gave him a nice brush with the law.

    To put it bluntly, he’s full of himself which is to say he’s full of you know what. This is the exact type of moron that is bad news for guns and other gun owners. Please don’t perpetuate stupidity by posting his YouTube charades.

    • Yeager doesn’t have any integrity to not produce clickbait and neither does this blog to share it.
      Just look at one of their writers saying it is mutually beneficial for both. That’s fine, but don’t expect me to respect your integrity when stuff like that gets posted.

  19. It doesn’t matter what you call it, unless you’re talking politics or law. Then the proper term is silencer. There is no debating this. The national firearms act, as well as all laws and regulations since then use the term silencer, if you wish to speak intelligently about the law you will use the term silencer.

  20. Gun mounted hearing safety device!

    Seriously, silencer is a poor term since it sure as hell doesn’t make a gun silent.

  21. Personally I don’t get all hung up on the language, but if Yeager wants to have a technical discussion of language he should FRTHO.

    Silencer is a legal term used by the government. If Mr. Maxim used that term, then fine, he invented the damn thing he can call it whatever he wants, but that’s basically marketing. “Weight loss pills” don’t generally work as their name suggests but we still call them that don’t we?

    A silencer/suppressor does not silence a gun. It just doesn’t. We don’t refer to a car’s muffler as a “car silencer” do we? Both operate the same way though.

    This is stupid, and in the spirit of stupidity I will now refer to my cans as “the things that go up”, just to tick off people like Yeager.

  22. Meh-man up and shoot 40 Yeager. See: VDMA You-tube video(yes Paul McCain) “James Yeager is a disgrace”…he he. Silencer,suppressor,can…we all know what it means.

        • The only thing McCain holds is few extra pounds, two extra chins, and heaping helping of self-righteousness.

      • I said “he he” guys…check out Rev McCain running a Benelli M4. You’ll be impressed.

  23. Shouldn’t he be instructing instructors on how to shoot trucks by stomping on sidearms?

  24. I generally call mine, “#@$%$@#$”, as in, “Crap! that #@$%$@#$ is hot! I just burned my finger again!”

    • Watch for the training tips. Stay for the non PC hilarity. I find his channel to be very entertaining. It just amases me how all the closet Libertarians come out in the TTAG comment section until Yeager, a Libertarian, is posted here. Then all the hate ensues. Hey pot smoking, gay loving, freedom lovers! Where did you all go?

  26. I prefer the term “suppressor” because the anti-gun dingleberries, who seem to think they work like they do in the movies, call them “silencers”.

  28. Really piss the libs off and call them Noise Reduction Apparatuses, or NRA’s in gov speak.

  29. We call a toaster a toaster because it toasts. We call a screwdriver a screwdriver because it drives screws. We call a silencer a silencer because it – oh, wait, that doesn’t work, does it?

    The grammar nazis are losing an opportune moment here. The antis hate “silencers” because they “silence” gunshots, and bad guys will use them. So we should SEIZE on the opportunity to call them “suppressors” or “mufflers”. Then support the Hearing Protection Act by specifically spelling out that we’re only talking about “suppressors”, we’re not talking about “silencers”. In fact, we could offer a “common sense” compromise – we’ll specifically outlaw “silencers”, so long as you’ll agree to the “common sense” health & safety benefits of using a “suppressor” that lowers a gunshot noise down to hearing-safe levels (84 dB). It’ll still be as loud as a freight train at 10 feet.

    Seriously, guys, get on the “suppressor” bandwagon; this might be something that can actually be sold to the left because it is legitimately “common sense”. And if we outlaw “silencers” (that reduce a gunshot to whisper levels, which is what they’re worried about) we might be able to get this agreed to.

  31. Call it whatever you want… I honestly couldn’t care less.

    If that was the worst issue we had to deal with as gun owners, we would be sh*tting in high cotton.

    • Speaking of grammar, good job using the phrase “couldn’t care less” correctly. I have a peeve about “could care less”. It’s right up there with those that don’t know the difference between then and than. Followed closely by the improper “should of”. Rock on!

      • If one “could care less” actually would mean they are not totally apathetic to something.
        apathetic- showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

    • Hah! Well played sir. I don’t watch his videos as I don’t want to give him the gratification of hits on his page.

      To be honest Hickok45 is the only YouTube/gun video guy I watch as he just has fun shooting guns and isn’t a tacticool blowhard.

  33. So I wonder what “caliber” he requires of his “f*cking” silencer. And does he use a gag to help reduce the noise further?

    (I am generally unimpressed by the arguments of people who rely on vulgarity for persuasiveness.)

  35. Maxim called it a “silencer”. He invented the device, so I suppose that’s the term if you really want to kick it about.

    However, if one were to be accurate, “suppressor” technically works better since the device suppresses the sound, but doesn’t “silence” it.

    If I’m trying to sell someone who is on-the-fence or anti-gun on the merits of cans, I use the term “suppressor”. If I’m speaking to gun folk, I say “can”.

    The Brits call ’em “moderators” or “mods”, which has a cool old-timey ring to it.

  36. Ahhh, everybody gets a rant now and then…why shouldn’t this guy be any different.
    Live and let live.

  37. Silencer = Xerox = Kleenex = Windex.

    Know why “Bic” hasn’t really become a generic term for “ball-point pen?” Because they defend the brand name and correct any usage of it that refers to another company’s product that they notice. Every. Single. Time.

    • “Bic” is commonly used as a genericized trademark for “disposable lighter.”

    • And Xerox decided to quit defending it’s trademark, and allow it to become a ‘generic term’ for marketing purposes….

      • Ah, Xerox … the company that gave the world graphical user interfaces and computer mice, courtesy of Xerox PARC by way of Apple and Microsoft.

        I really wonder what they’d be like as a company today if they had realized what they had, and nurtured it.

        • If only they hadn’t let Gates and Jobs tour the place.

          Xerox PARC was a magical place, back when US companies did fundamental research, then figured out what money could be made off it.

  38. Ya’ll, if the Ditch Bitch says it’s a silencer, it’s a silencer.

    Remember, keep calm and maintain ditchuational awareness at all times!

  39. Emerson knives called, and said take off their shirt. Put your afflicted wear, and bedazzled jeans back on tool… didn’t this wannabe get in a bunch of trouble about a year ago?

  40. Muffler. Just a tube with some baffles. Pretty much.

    Same thing that’s on my car, lawnmower, leaf blower, chainsaw and string trimmer. Because those are required by law. On my guns, a muffler is prohibited by law.

  41. “I’m still disappointed that ‘modern sporting rifle’ (MSR) hasn’t replaced ‘assault rifle.’ We lost that one a long time ago and it sucks.”

    You only lose if you give up. I always point out that its the use that determines what it’s called. An MSR in the hands of a criminal (or tyrant) can legitimately be called an ‘assault rifle’. An MSR in my hands in defense against said criminal (or tyrant) would more appropriately be called an ‘anti-assault rifle’. See how that works?

    • I like it.
      what model MSR would you like Sir?
      We have many to choose from. MSR 308, MSR 223/ 5.56, if you are hunting
      really BIG Game how about our MSR 50BMG?

  42. What about

    Bullet Proof Vest
    Bullet Resistant Vest
    Body Armor

    The first one was called a Bullet Proof Vest.

    Lets ask James Yeager which is correct and if he wears one to bed.

    • This so true. Probably just like silencer, bullet proof vest was a marketing term. We can’t confuse the two and history has proven people will refine some terms to better reflect their meaning.

  43. Hmmm, well yes words do matter. Silencer, while being a correct term both historically and legally, has a great deal of baggage with it these days due to the ignorance of people.

    That being said, I don’t think it is worth getting worked up over.

  46. Well, It doesn’t “silence.” It “suppresses.” In-dis-frigging-sputable.
    Like “noise-cancelling headphones.” Sorry. No. They don’t.

    • Some if not most of the noise is cancelled.
      How about someone fires a gun a mile away and you hear the report. Then they fire it again this time with a suppressor. What do you hear? That’s right. Silence.

      • “How about someone fires a gun a mile away and you hear the report. ” Unless they are aiming at your head and are good at what they do. Then you only hear it if they miss.
        From a place you’ll never see, comes a sound you’ll never hear.

  47. Farago, you disappoint me. I thought for you it was all about “the fight.” Words do have meaning, and when people aren’t actually informed, they base their opinions off of the meaning they scavenge from the scattered information they do have. That is why suppressor a superior term. I come from an “uneducated anti-gun background.” That is to say that my family was always pretty much anti gun but didn’t know much about them and never really thought about it. When I got into guns, I got to go through all of the “You think what about guns? No, that’s not true at all!” with them. Talk to someone uniformed about guns and ask them if silencers should be legalized. In my experience, most people think of silencers as the magical devices they see in the media that allow the assassin to take out target when they turn down an alley or get back to their room with nobody the wiser. Suppressed guns are still loud, most around the level of slamming a car door–not something you could do in next room on the DL. Are you going to hear them a mile away? Of course not. That doesn’t mean they’re silent. Legalize silencers, the tools of assassins? That sounds bad. Legalize suppressors, which bring the report just under the hearing safety threshold –which for most calibers is exactly what suppressors do– well, that doesn’t sound unreasonable! Words matter, in this case in how they’re perceived by people outside of our community. People who unfortunately have some measure of control over our community. We’re not stuck with what people called them before. If the first person to make a suppressor happened to call it the magical gun dildo, we wouldn’t be stuck using that term. This isn’t even about artfully crafting propaganda for “the fight.” Suppressor is far more descriptive of the device then silencer, legal or etymological precedent be damned.

    • I have a silenced .22LR that is so quiet that even inside a small closed room the action cycling is louder than the report. The silencer on of my 9mms is so quite that outdoors the sound of the round striking the steel target is louder than the report.

  48. Of course it would be called “Silencer” by the inventor, it would help make sales!

  49. Silencer is the official and legal term.
    Suppressor is the technical term since that’s what it actually does.
    Can is the slang term since it’s easier to say and that’s what it kinda looks like.

    Folks that actually own silencers usually could care less. We’re too busy having fun while everyone else bickers about terminology.

  50. Savvy suggestions , BTW if people need to fill out a ATF 4 (5320.4) , my friend filled a template form here https://goo.gl/rcJ99O.

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