Somehow we managed to miss GEMTECH‘s new Integra integrally-suppressed AR uppers at the NRA Annual Meetings this year, but my pal “CASES4CASES” found them at the Northwest Shooting Sports Expo. By pinning and welding a monocore suppressor to the end of a ~10″ barrel, GEMTECH achieves a 16.1″ “barrel” length and you avoid the hassles of registering and owning an SBR. In 5.56 it’s rated at 131 dB, and in .300 BLK subsonic it meters in at a quiet 124 dB.
The Integra upper is a complete unit with upper receiver, barrel, suppressor, and handguard. The suppressor body is welded around the gas block for a full seal and a permanent attachment, but don’t fear, the monocore is easily removed out the front of the tube for cleaning or repair. MSRP is set at $1,995 and they should be available soon, although I hear it may be a Silencer Shop exclusive at first.
Freaking SWEET.
Ohhhhhhhh
So… they pin and weld it, ensuring that we can only use it with one barrel on one upper, to get around registering it as an sbr… except it’s a silencer, so we already have to buy a stamp for it anyway. I am not currently a stamp collector but it seems like more trouble than it’s worth just to avoid $200 worth of fees.
Yes, in some ways. But SBRs do have more legal restrictions and complications than suppressors. Often an integrally suppressed upper will run better and be quieter than slapping a can on a short barrel, too. Not sure if that’s the case here, but the claimed dB numbers are certainly extremely good especially considering the barrel length.
SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs cannot be taken across state lines without getting ATF approval first. Silencers have no travel restrictions.
That is not consistent with what I have heard, are you 100% certain on that?
Any Other Weapons (AOW) and silencers do not require this permission. However, destructive devices, machine guns, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns do. The required form is the 5320.20: https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/docs/atf-f-5320-20pdf-0/download
BTW even AOWs and silencers do have “travel restrictions” in that they’re illegal in many states. So while, federally, you can transport them without notification or permission, if you bring a silencer into California or another state where they’re illegal, you’re still committing a felony.
Also, the 5320.20 can be valid for up to 364 days. As I live in WA but go across the border to ID pretty much every week, each year I’ve been filing a 5320.20 for my CZ Scorpion Evo SBR. I believe the current one’s date range is like April 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017, and I can go back and forth with it as much as I want during this period. But, yes, I *did* require BATFE approval before it was legal to transport it across the state line.
It depends.
You can only have one Form 4 pending with the ATF at a time, so if it was an SBR and it was suppressed you’d have to buy the rifle, get your Form 4 approved for the SBR, then before you could take possession rinse and repeat for the suppressor. Twice the price and twice the wait time. With the 16.1″ barrel you only need one Form 4. Unless of course you bought one of those items personally and the other with a Trust (then you could do both at the same time) and once it’s in your possession you could file another Form 4 to transfer one or the other to you or the trust to make it simple. However, that’s yet another $200 you don’t really need to spend.
Most SBR’s with a can on them are going to be nearly 16″ (or more) anyway, so why screw around? My 5.56 can is 7.2″ long. That means on an SBR down to 9.8″ it’s gonna be 16″ or over. On an 8″ barrel it’s going to be 15.2″ OAL, so why not add .9″ and make take one tax stamp out of the equation? It’s not like the 15.2″ OAL is giving me a huge advantage over a 16″ OAL.
Since it’s an upper, not a rifle you could purchase the upper to go on your AR pistol and file a form 1 for the SBR and a form 4 for the silencer.
True, but as a package this is more convenient which I imagine is their selling point.
You wanna quote a source on only having one F4 pending at a time? I have 6 pending right now. And I know others with 20+.
I can only quote the ATF. In 2011 I had two pending at the same time and they were both denied for having more than one on tap at a time. Last year I had one with my trust and one “for me personally” and neither was denied.
The reason given for denial in 2011 is “we only do one at a time per entity”.
Yeah that’s crap. I’ve had two+ concurrent Form 4s before. Last time both were sent same day same envelope. No issues.
Yeah… that’s not true at all. You can have as many pending as you want. I just received back 7 stamps, all approved on the same day. I have had 20+ pending at once.
Here’s the dilemma: Does one get the suppressed upper in .223 so as to avoid the danger of a caliber mix-up kaboom at the cost of sound and terminal performance, or get the .300BLK and reap the benefits of subsonic ammo and greater performance of the supersonic rounds and the risk of a catastrophic caliber mix-up?
Actually that’s backwards. .300 blk will often chamber in a .223/5.56 and that causes a kaboom (bullet too big for bore). If you managed to chamber a .223 in a .300 blk gun, which I’m not sure is actually possible, it wouldn’t (shouldn’t) kaboom.
Pretty sure. OAL is the same, but .300 shoulder is farther back? Seems like 5.56 would stop when shoulder hit, in .300, and would not chamber, therefore would not fire. Seems like .300 would stop when .30 bullet cannot enter .22 barrel/chamber, also not chamber/fire. Where is the problem, .300 bullet being slammed back in the case or something? Someone with both should probably check, oops, that would be me, but I haven’t gotten a round tuit yet.
If you managed to get a 5.56 chambered in a 300BLK gun (which would be quite an impressive feat), the case would fire form to the chamber, and the bullet would ricochet down the barrel before harmlessly careening downrange.
Stupid, but no one gets hurt.
Certain types of 300BLK ammo have a short enough ogive profile that you might be able to chamber a round with a healthy pummeling of the forward-assist.
Kaboom.
You’ve just fired a .308 bullet into the entry of a .224 barrel, and the results are guaranteed to be spectacular.
There have been dozens of kabooms from .300 blk chambering in .223/5.56 ARs
i get most of my round tuits at our legion post.
weird, but in illinois as a c&r holder i can own an sbr. i just can’t have a silencer.
130dbs still seems loud.
Probably half the suppressors on the market wouldn’t be hearing safe (under 140 dB) shooting 5.56 through a 10″ bbl. 131 is way, way, way quieter than 140.
ok, so just about twice as quiet as a less effective suppressor. about like a .22 rifle.
our ears are most sensitive in the 2- 4k frequency range. gunshots barely venture into the 1500 area, but i’d still want some cotton or foam plugs.
Well I think it’s 9 or 10 dB that subjectively sounds to most people like a doubling of the volume level, but every 3 dB is an actual doubling of the sound pressure level. So 131 to 140 means doubling the pressure once, then doubling the new amount, then doubling that amount one more time. So it’s WAY more sound pressure, which can equate to hearing damage, even if it “only” sounds to the ear as ~twice as loud. dB scale is a nightmare haha
parabolic nightmare for sure.
so the spl doubles approx. ea. 3db, while the perceived (audible) doubling occurs closer to ten.
and then there’s deep purple.
Or one could just engage brain. Just a thought.
Yes, sure, but it’s an easy mistake when rifles and magazines are identical and ammo looks very close at a glance. A lot of people who own both calibers use different brand magazines to distinguish calibers or mark magazines with colored bands, etc, to make it harder to screw up.
Yeah, I haven’t worked all that out yet, may end up with 20-rd .300 mags and 30-rd 5.56. Currently, just careful.
Jeremy, yes I understand that. And it’s been a dilemma since Hitler was a corporal at least. But big boy toys require big boy brains. There is no helping stupid. While it may be worth noting, it should not deter one from buying different caliber guns.
Gemtech along with Silencer Shop stopped by my local range and i got to shoot it. Extremely quiet and I did not experience any blowback.
My first thought was about cleaning it, then you addressed it.
Sweeeeeet!
Me, too, but then I ran into another thought. My 9″ AAC complete rifle was $1500, can $800, 2 tax stamps instead of one adds another $200, so we’re talking $2500 instead of $2000, but I use the can on 2 different 5.56 uppers and a .308. I can add more SBR uppers just by ordering (no delay, already have the registered SBR lower), maybe a 6.8 or a .458. You are not sidestepping registration, or delays, I think this thing really rocks, but its time will arrive when suppressors are removed from NFA, so that they would be completely unregistered and unrestricted. Until then, this seems too expensive and not versatile enough.
Feds got you right where they want you, following their rules and paying for them too. It’s like they opened the prison door and you just walked right in.
Or if you’re a glass half full kind of a person, this upper design circumvents the SBR regulations and has screwed The Man out of $200 and the additional restrictions that SBRs are subject to.
Well, if there are states where silencers are allowed and SBRs are not, this thing would rock! But the first time you want a silencer on another rifle, and you can’t use this one because it’s welded on, you’re not only out that other $200, but also the cost of another silencer!!!!
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