New from SilencerCo: a 50-state legal suppressed rifle! Furthermore, there’s no NFA wait time or tax and, in most cases, the Maxim 50 muzzleloader can be ordered online here and shipped right to your door. More info and photos from SilencerCo follow:

For the first time since the National Firearms Act (NFA) was created in 1934, civilians can enjoy suppressed shooting in all 50 states with SilencerCo’s latest innovation: the integrally suppressed Maxim 50 muzzleloader. In addition, this product can be purchased right now on the web with no regulation (no 4473, no $200 tax stamp, no photographs, and no fingerprints) and be shipped immediately to the customer with few exceptions.

In addition to producing hearing safe sound results, the Maxim 50 also offers shooters greatly reduced recoil and a 2/3 reduction of smoke emissions when compared to non-moderated muzzleloaders.  No matter where you are in the country, you can buy your Maxim 50 online through the SilencerCo store and enjoy shooting suppressed.

*The first 3,000 Maxim 50s sold will ship with a limited-edition, all-weather carrying case.*

Maxim 50 Frequently Asked Questions doc is available here and the owner’s manual is here (see page 63 for suppressor cleaning info).

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89 COMMENTS

  1. I started laughing out loud at the absolute genius of this and how libs are going to freak out.

    Id order it right this second if I had a grand to spare

  2. Okay, without me poring over the NFA or GCA, what’s the legal, moral or personal safety rationale for this being permitted and not all other suppressors?

    Seriously. (Please keep the snark to a minimum.) I don’t mind snark and sarcasm, but please keep it to a minimum and provide a salient answer, if you can.

    • Muzzle loaders are considered antiques, and are not regulated as firearms. Since the suppressor is permanently attached, it is therefore part of the muzzleloader and not regulated.

    • Legal reason is that a muzzleloader isn’t a “firearm” so isn’t subject to the same rules. It’s firearm silencers that are subject to the NFA and firearms that are subject to purchasing restrictions and such, so these laws don’t apply to air guns, muzzleloaders and other blackpowder guns, etc.

      • I laughed when I first saw an air rifle with an integral suppressor, until I shot a modern air rifle. Those things are _loud_! The pump airguns I grew up with didn’t even need ear pro…

      • now i have to look for examples of spring air piston suppressors. all i want to hear is “doink.” that’s what she said.

    • Jeremy S. covered it, but allow me to provide some context.

      The suppressor (let’s call a spade a spade) on this muzzle loading firearm (again, spades) isn’t legally a suppressor because a muzzle loader isn’t legally a firearm (and the suppressor is an integral part of the gun, i.e. it can’t be removed and repurposed any easier than you could just build a new one.)

      So why isn’t a muzzle loading firearm a firearm? There’s no logically consistent way to designate a muzzle loading firearm in a way that doesn’t also include signal cannons, flare guns, mining equipment, captive bolt guns, powder fired nail/bolt drivers, etc. As a result the GCA doesn’t include them (everything that could be used as an explosion chamber would be a firearm if they had) and therefore they’re not included in any subsequent federal legislation on firearms.

      Now, why isn’t the suppressor a suppressor even though we both know it is? Well, the same reason your car isn’t a suppressed firearm, even though you theoretically could launch a projectile quietly using its exhaust system. Only things with receivers that take cartridges are legally firearms, otherwise anything you could cram powder into and launch something with is a firearm. Your car muffler is functionally very similar to a suppressor (Maxim actually invented both) but until you attach it to something that is legally a firearm, it’s not a firearm suppressor. There’s actually an exception to that, wherein if you own a set of thread adapters that could put your oil filter (also an effective suppressor) on a firearm barrel, the thread adapter that goes on the barrel is now an illegal silencer, but that bit of nonsense is ATF’s fault, not Congress’ (not directly anyway.)

      • Unfortunately, we’re forgetting a few things:

        1. The ATF can arbitrarily decide what is and isn’t a firearm. For instance, some muzzleloaders are considered to fall under the purview of the 1968 GCA for one reason or another.

        2. When’s there’s a debate about what something means, common usage and standard dictionary definitions are often applied. In this case, Webster’s defines a muzzleloader as a “firearm that loads at the muzzle”.

        I acknowledge the point of this, and applaud it, but wouldn’t bet on the courts in Illinois seeing it as legal.

        • “1. The ATF can arbitrarily decide what is and isn’t a firearm.”

          And who is currently in charge of the ATF?

        • “1. The ATF can arbitrarily decide what is and isn’t a firearm.”

          No, they definitely can’t. Federal law (18 U.S. Code sub section 921, which was part of the Gun Control Act of 1968) defines what is and it not a firearm, and this muzzleloader is not. One of the “not a firearm” definitions is as follows:

          (C) any muzzle loading rifle, muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “antique firearm” shall not include any weapon which incorporates a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm which is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof.

          New Federal law would have to be passed to change this.

          That said, there are some states that define “firearm” differently, including muzzleloaders and even air guns and more. It would also be possible, then, for states to expand their definitions via the passage of news laws. But the ATF definitely could not simply choose to change the Federal definition. Additionally, the NFA and GCA regulations on silencers apply only to their use on firearms. There is no NFA regulation pertaining to devices for reducing the sound of non-firearms (airguns, paintball guns, black powder guns, antique guns, cars, lawn mowers, power drills, vibrators, microwaves, etc etc).

        • Agree that buyers need to beware of state laws. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn NJ, NY, CA, or IL police have arrested people under the theory that they are Firearms under state law.

  3. As an avid flintlock shooter, I must proclaim this as witchcraft, an abomination to God and nature.
    Also, neat.

  4. Too bad I don’t do muzzle loaders 🙁

    So since this is a muzzle loader, are sbr laws not a thing either? Can someone make their own suppressed muzzle loader without being charged with intent? What constitutes as integral (ie. why can I not pin/weld a suppressor to my centerfire rifle and call it integral)? So many asinine questions, so many convoluted answers!

    • If you made it integral like this is and not as a removable attachment.. no wait… wondering about the possession of baffles…

      Hmmmm….. more research needed.

    • IANAL but:

      Yes, you can have a barrel of any length you want on a muzzle loader. A Short Barreled Rifle has to be a Rifle, and a Rifle has to be a Firearm. A muzzle loader is not legally a Firearm.

      Yes, since a flash hider pinned or welded counts for barrel length, a pinned or welded suppressor would also count for your barrel length. However, that’s all it would do for you under the NFA. An integral suppressor is still a suppressor if it’s attached to something that is legally a firearm, even if you made the firearm yourself (unconstitutional as hell that last bit, but FDR’s congress and supreme court passed it so here we are.)

      If you actually wanted to build your own muzzle loader with integral suppressor (including pinned or welded), yeah, legally that’s okay. Not that ATF wouldn’t arrest you and take you to court anyway. You might have better luck if it was mechanically integral (i.e. a monolithic part of the barrel) but probably not. ATF doesn’t actually know anything about the things it’s been made into law enforcement for.

  6. Does this mean I can make and install a can on an existing muzzleloader? What size threads for a 15/16″ octagon barrel? Any ideas for an octagonal suppressor?

  7. You can’t use cartridge rifles to hunt in IL. One of these on the other hand………….Wow some libs are gonna be pissed. Look out for the law.

  10. All suppressors are illegal to possess in NJ under 2C:39. Class III dealers in NJ cannot stock suppressors or short barrelled rifles or shotguns (machine guns and sub-machine guns yes, those, no). Black powder weapons are also considered firearms in New Jersey. Suppressors will not be shipped legally to any individual or dealer in NJ. Does not matter if you stuck it on the end of a pellet rifle (also considered a firearm in NJ). Still illegal.

    Thomas J. Morris III
    Major USMCR (retired)
    Member NJ/PA/OH Bars
    Former NJ Firearms Law Instructor
    Gloucester Co. NJ Police Academy (26 years)
    Former Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
    Gloucester Co. NJ
    Treasurer NJ Association of Firearms Retailers
    Owner – Eagle Point Gun/T.J.Morris & Son

    • Major Morris is quite correct. I pity the out of state hunter that hauls that into NJ for deer season. The only plus side to that might be a prolonged legal battle that NJ might hopefully lose. I won’t hold my breath…

      Quite separately, how are you supposed to clean that thing?

    • From what I’m hearing, the law is similar in NJ. It may be the case that, while this Maxim 50 is Federally legal, it’s illegal in a handful of specific states. Unless SiCo knows something we don’t, I’m anticipating some “clarification” coming soon.

      …this reminds me of the binary triggers that fire on pull and on release. They were advertised as 50-state legal until it was pointed out that WA defines “machine gun” as firing more than one time per cycle of the trigger, not per trigger pull. Turned out there were similar definitions in other states and the manufacturers had to scale back on where it was and wasn’t legal.

    • “Black powder weapons are also considered firearms in New Jersey.”

      You are either conflating black powder with muzzle loader, or skipping the issue. What matters here is that the “device” is a muzzle loader. It may or may not be black powder only.

      Many black powder guns are cartridge firearms. Not all muzzle loaders are black powder.

      • You are correct that all muzzle loaders are not black powder. The point being made was that suppressors are illegal in New Jersey. Does not matter whether attached to a Match Lock, Wheel Lock, Flint Lock, Cap Lock, In- Line ignition, or any other system, nor does it matter what kind of propellant is used, nor does it matter if it is made before 1898 or whether or not cartridge ammunition is readily available, all are considered firearms in New Jersey under the criminal code, and anything built and designed to muffle the sound of a firearm is prohibited. Just did not want people to get jammed up.

    • Sounds like crispy creme should have done something about the second amendment while he was governor.
      And he wonders why no real conservatives trust him.
      Perhaps it’s time to enforce the law of the land.

      • Christie did. He vetoed every anti gun piece of legislation the D controlled Assembly and Senate passed.

  11. Now that I think about this a bit, this may not be a good thing. Right now the antis keep telling us that suppressed weapons will increase crime. So now, all the criminals are going to buy these super silent, undetectable, concealable .50 caliber assault muskets and create indescribable carnage. To date, the antis have maintained that muskets are the only thing covered by the 2A – now they are gonna want to ban those too.

  12. This would be great except for one not-so-tiny problem: black powder (and black powder substitute) rifles produce GINORMOUS amounts of soot which is CAUSTIC and will promptly RUIN any barrel or suppressor if not properly cleaned right after every shooting.

    As far as I can tell from the photos in this article, there is no possible way that you can properly clean the suppressor section of the barrel. If that is true, the suppressor will not last very long.

    Does anyone have any idea how this would not be a problem?

    • GOEX if I recall, been awhile since I shot my BP pistols, is a lot cleaner that traditional Black Powder. Never had an issue cleaning them.

    • Wondering this myself. Manual on the website says to use normal hot water cleaning method for the barrel and suppressor. I would think that a lot of agitation – i.e. ultrasonic cleaner – would be a wise idea.

      Also, per the manual, it appears that projectile selection is limited. Typical lead balls and minie balls appear to be verboten. Jacketed, non-sabot, projectiles only. This is apparently to prevent fouling the baffles.

      This dampened my interest some because I cast my own muzzleloader projectiles.

    • huge concern. maybe park it in a pvc tube filled with pb b’laster every night. quick, invent baffle safe powder.

      shooting this outside with only some cheap ass foam plugs in my head while enjoying an extended hunting season is really appealing. i am detecting a sense of purchase urgency.

      how long do we have before it isn’t so?

        • “Designed for in-line muzzleloaders with a 209 primer ignition system. This powder creates high velocities and unbeatable accuracy. BlackHorn 209 is the only non-corrosive muzzleloading powder. It’s non-hygroscopic, meaning changes in the temperature or humidity will not affects its performance (reduces misfires), it can be cleaned with regular oil-based solvents and does not require any special primer. BlackHorn 209 powder uses standard 209 shotshell primers. Because it’s non-corrosive, the need to swab between shots has been eliminated, increasing the amount of time in the field..”

          https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2649173432/blackhorn-209-black-powder-substitute

    • There’s no need to clean the barrel after every shooting, and few competitors do. Back in the day, it was common practice to clean the gun each day, but certainly not after each shot. I’ve gone a weekend full of shooting my flintlock at competitions with only swabbing the bore once between each 5 shots to ensure a consistent point of impact. Then fully clean after the competition is over, at least 20 shots later. That’s pretty standard.

      But yes, roughly 50% of the FF powder will remain unburned in the barrel, and you’ll need to get rid of it.

      To do that, do it like Charles Engals taught us all. Pour boiling water down the barrel while you have the nipple plugged. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then push it all out the nipple with your cleaning rod. Scrub with a bore brush. Do that all again until the water pouring out is clear. Follow with some buffler or bear grease while the barrel is still hot. Clean as a whistle and it takes all of 5 minutes.

      • I don’t see how pouring water (even boiling water) through the barrel (which includes the integral suppressor) is going to remove enough soot to prevent it from eventually caking up and becoming useless.

        I am also curious whether or not pouring water through the barrel is enough to neutralize the caustic property (dissolve and remove sulfur residue which becomes sulfuric acid with air moisture) of the soot that remains in the barrel.

        In my experience with my muzzleloader, it takes a LOT of scrubbing with wire brushes and patches and a cleaning agent (e.g. soap or appropriate solvent) to remove the soot after even just 10 shots.

        • It also has to be done the same day as shooting, or there will be rust the next morning. Black powder is nasty stuff, dirt-wise.

    • The suppressor is probably stainless, aluminum, or titanium and will not corrode like black powder on plain steel

    • Excellent question. You have hit upon the problem the manufacturer is hiding. They recommend the use of Blackhorn 209 powder. If you visit the Blackhorn website, they state that it is much less hygroscopic, but not completely non-corrosive. You must get all the fouling out of the suppressor, or it will rust from the inside! Now, Blackhorn209.com states, “We strongly recommend using oil based solvents to clean guns using Blackhorn 209. Typical solvents for muzzleloaders are water based and are not recommended. Water based solvents will create gumming and is difficult to remove.” They recommendMontana X-Treme’s Blackhorn 209 solvent, and specifically recommend against H2O. Unless you buy 10 gallons of the stuff, and a parts cleaner, or pressure washer, you aren’t going to get the baffles clean.

      Second issue. If you do follow the cleaning procedure in the owners manual, it states,

      “Dry barrel thoroughly with patches and allow
      moderator to air dry completely before use. Barrel
      should be left with the muzzle pointing up during the
      drying process to allow all water to run out of the
      baffles of the moderator.
      Shoot 5 rounds to ensure the moderator is completely
      dry. If the moderator and barrel are not fully dry, it
      may cause rust inside the barrel.”
      WHAT?!? You want me to clean it, and then shoot 5 rounds through it, to make sure it’s dry?!? Won’t that dirty it up again, and cause corrosion?
      Also, there is no hose with hot water in the field or range where I could shoot 5 more shots through it, and I can’t shoot it in my back yard.

      I think Silencerco is onto a good idea, but there is some product development still to be done.

      • “Also, there is no hose with hot water in the field or range where I could shoot 5 more shots through it, and I can’t shoot it in my back yard.”

        Oh, please.

        Tiny camping burners, like used for morning coffee, are very much a thing and not expensive.

        I’m inclined to believe the moderator will be dry after running boiling water through it and shaking out the water immediately after.

        I’m more inclined to believe that if you pour the boiling water over it with the muzzle pointed *down* after finishing cleaning it.

        The boiling water trick really is pure brilliance for frontier life…

        • The main problem is Blackhorn 209 says DON’T USE WATER OR WATER BASED CLEANERS WITH THEIR POWDER. It causes it to gum up and stick, not come off. Quoting from their website again: “Water based solvents will create gumming and is difficult to remove.”
          As mentioned previously, they have a recommendation, that comes in a 6 oz bottle. You’re gonna’ need about 6 gallons and a parts washer, not a camp stove, and boiling water, to get the baffles clean.

  13. Anyone know if a 250g projectile on top of their recommended 100g of powder is supersonic?

    …asking for a friend.

    • Ok, looks like it’s north of 1400fps.

      Obviously you could reduce powder or go up in projectile mass to go subsonic I .

      I agree. Neat!

    • Probably. My .54 cal muzzie fires a 230 grain round ball at around 1600 feet per second with 100 grains of FFg.

  14. I wonder if they’ll make a version that fits the NW states’ legal requirements for muzzle loader hunting (iron or fiber optic sights and the cap being substantially open to the elements).

  15. What’s the maintenance procedure on this one? Black powder is pretty corrosive and many muzzle loader get cleaned with soap and water after use?

  16. I wonder if anyone has had the bright idea of making one of these to work with modern powders? With a large enough charge, you could have yourself a NFA-free .50 BMG equivalent.

    • I’m sure DG would have more insight into this than me but, my understanding is that modern powders and cartridges are very sensitive to powder type, powder volume and bullet seating depth. Because muzzleloading often involves quite a lot of variability in powder volume and bullet seating, not to mention bullet design, I think the general consensus is that it is a bad idea.

      I suppose you could get around the powder volume issue with carefully measured rapid loaders and a sound understanding of modern powder burn rates but the bullet design and seating would still be issues.

    • “I wonder if anyone has had the bright idea of making one of these to work with modern powders?”

      Modern powder is an idea, but I’m thinking along the lines of a drop-in rifled barrel insert around .308.

      With a sub-sonic load, that would be entertaining as hell…

  17. F**k me to tears.
    I’m heading to the bank after work to shift some money around.
    Gotta have this. Shipped to my work.
    OMG, I’ve got a boner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Only one issue Tom. It’s illegal to hunt with in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. It uses a 209 primer. I’ll bet it doesn’t have an exposed nipple either.

    • Tom,
      I happened to see this in their FAQ:
      “STATE RESTRICTIONS
      Washington, Oregon, and Idaho do not permit the
      use of this type of muzzleloader for hunting because
      of the 209 Shotshell primer.”

      Sorry to kill your boner.

      • For Tom’s sake, I hope his wife took advantage before he read that.

        Serious question- Could a work-around be to make an adapter so a percussion cup type primer can be used?

      • Already up on that Curtis. I memorize the regs every year.
        I never keep a battery in my illuminated scopes. (Electronic devices are verboten on guns and bows.)
        Still gotta have one. To enjoy, one trigger pull at a time.

  19. Make that 49-state legal, not 50-state legal.
    It’s definitely illegal in New Jersey, where black powder muzzleloaders, BB guns, and pellet guns are all considered “firearms”, require Federal Form 4473, and are illegal to suppress. NJ bans all “silencers” or suppressors on EVERYTHING the state of NJ considers a “firearm”, including airguns and muzzleloaders!

    The NJ State Police has already stated that anyone in NJ with a suppressed airgun (BB gun or pellet guns) is guilty of a felony. That’s a shame because many airguns come with factory suppressors built into the barrel, and it’s also sheer lunacy because airguns are already quiet, so having a “silencer” or suppressor built into the airgun’s barrel is more of a sales gimmick than anything else!

    Crosman makes a cute little $99 “survival airgun”, a single-shot pelletgun, with a barrel less than 16″, that is also illegal in New Jersey also as an SBR “short-barreled rifle”, because SBRs are specifically banned by NJ law also!

    ~Written from behind enemy lines in the People’s Republic of New Jersey!

    • I just can’t wrap my mind around that. How is NJ allowed to do that? Or half the stuff I hear? I came from Cali and moved to TX, thank God, but even Cali wasnt that crazy, until this year…NJ seems bent on throwing up the middle finger at the US Constitution pretty hard…is anyone suing this state for their rights? Or is it a lost cause? honest question folks

      • Lost cause. NJ was mostly (and NYC totally) Tory during the Revolution. Not much has changed. The axe will truly fall after Christie is out in January. Everyone from NYC and Philadelphia bailed and moved here and brought their City attitude with them. The people in power here pass laws that unfortunately the majority of people here agree with which is why they are in power. There just aren’t enough Americans left in NJ to do anything with the ballot box. What few rights we will have left will be determined by the SCOTUS.

  20. Make it 46 state legal. Washington, Oregon and Idaho, it’s illegal to use 209 primers and we must have an exposed breach. Make one with a musket nipple and ill buy one post haste.

  21. some muzzleloaders were designed for smokeless powder, most modern muzzleloaders will work with smokeless if charge is measured by weight and an appropriate load is worked out. It’s 2017, people, today’s steels are better than 50-100 years ago.

  22. seems pointless since you only have one shot anyways, is that animal really going to stay in the same relative spot while you reload? doesn’t seem likely. i guess its a step in the right direction though, legality wise.
    i think the only reason this passed is because its on a single shot gun.

    • The point is to be able to hunt without ear pro, so you can hear what’s going on around you, and still avoid going deaf in the process.

  23. I’d consider buying one if it’s a .30 or .32 caliber. Quieter small game hunting and varmint/pest control is practical. Would be far better than the .22 CB ammo people use for low noise applications.

  24. In theory and if you had a lot money to spend you could buy up one of the ‘muzzleloading’ Sharps rifles and mount a suppressor on it. Then you could assemble paper cartridges and load it fairly quickly.

  25. Kind of get the feeling SilencerCo just put the ball in motion for a change on blackpowder guns being “firearms”. I will not be happy if they fucked this up.

  27. While this is LEGAL to own in Washington State, please keep in mind this is NOT legal to hunt with in Washington State.

    It uses the wrong kind of primers, and does not have an exposed primer. Please keep this in mind when you buy this. If you are in WA, WAIT until a legal variant comes along.

  29. was thinking…bad thing for me to do. The maxim50 theory make the suppresser like a car strut ..one piece no holes canister. welded shut. threads on inside. screw in “parts” if you saw off end to clean.

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