SilencerCo launches a 50-state legal suppressed muzzleloader known as the Maxim 50.
SilencerCo this week debuted the Maxim 50, an integrally suppressed muzzleloader that is legal in all 50 states. It’s the first of its kind and yep, it’s legal everywhere, from La La Land to the Big Apple.
Even better, the Maxim 50 can be purchased right now from the SilencerCo store with no 4473, no tax stamp, no application, no registration! Because it is NOT an NFA item.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines a suppressor as a “device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm…”
By the letter of the law, a suppressor is only a suppressor if it can attach to a “firearm.” But a muzzleloader is not a firearm. It’s an “antique firearm,” according to BATFE. Big difference between the two in terms of how they’re regulated. What this means is that if you permanently slap a can on the Traditions Vortek Strikerfire Muzzleloader it is not defined as a silencer because it does not attach to a “firearm” but rather it is affixed to an “antique firearm.”
Surf’s up!
Specs
- Caliber: .50
- Muzzle Average: 139DB
- Rate-Of-Twist: 1:28″
- Overall Length: 45″
- Barrel Length: 20″
- Moderator Length: 9″
- Weight: 7LBS 6OZ.
- Price: $999
Features
- Tac Trigger System – 2 Stage Competition Trigger; Set at 2lbs
- StrikerFire Firing System
- #209 Shotgun Ignition System
- The first 3,000 Maxim 50s sold will ship with a limited-edition,
all-weather carrying case.
The Maxim 50. MSRP: $999.
“It took a lot of creativity to arrive at this solution,” said Josh Waldron, SilencerCo CEO and Co-Founder. “We have been working on this product for three years, with most of that time spent waiting on a determination from the Technology Branch of the BATFE as to how this product would be classified. As soon as we received official word that it wouldn’t be considered or regulated as a silencer, we got to work on bringing the Maxim 50 to customers across the country.”
“We have been working on this product for three years, with most of that time spent waiting on a determination from the Technology Branch of the BATFE as to how this product would be classified,” he continued. “As soon as we received official word that it wouldn’t be considered or regulated as a silencer, we got to work on bringing the Maxim 50 to customers across the country.”
Shooting is cleaner, safer and easier with the Maxim 50.
It’s genius when you think about it. Like binary triggers and bump stocks, it’s a way to jab a stick in the eye of the asinine National Firearms Act and our elected, anti-gun overlords who obsess over it like “precious.”
Probably the best part of this whole announcement is that it’s right in time for whitetail season. Hunters stand to really benefit because not only does the Maxim 50 bring the report of the muzzleloader down to hearing safe levels but it also reduces recoil and minimizes resulting smoke by up to two-thirds. Shooting is cleaner, safer (for your ears) and easier.
SilencerCo added that it was “proud to bring suppressed shooting to its customers across the country, especially in states such as California, Illinois, and New York, where civilian ownership of silencers is not currently allowed.”
Amen. Those of us who call New York or California or Illinois’ home will get a taste of what it’s like to live in a free state without having to leave our own backyard.
To see more on the Maxim 50 visit silencerco.com/maxim50.
UPDATE 9/20/17, 2:37 p.m. EST:
Not so fast! The usual suspects immediately challenged the legality of the Maxim 50 within their respective state. We’re talking about California, New Jersey and Massachusetts. To that end, SilencerCo released the following statement:
If it is permanently attached, how do you clean it? Considering the amount of fouling a muzzleloader generates, a suppressor’s efficiency would not last very long. Is there a way of taking its internal parts out to clean them?
This said, IMHO one should not take advantage of a special hunting season for “primitive weapons” with a silenced weapon surmounted by a scope or other modern aiming system. What’s so “primitive” about such a contraption? In Alaska and other states during the special season one cannot use scopes or other modern sighting systems on a muzzleloader. And even without a scope, one of the modern muzzleloaders that use in-line shotgun primers and shoot jacketed bullets enveloped in a sabot is hardly to be considered “primitive.” If I had my druthers, the only rifles allowed during muzzleloader season should be the traditional ones that were carried by Mountain Men: flintlocks and percussion rifles with iron sights, loaded with either a patched round ball or a lead conical bullet–and real loose black powder–no Pyrodex, Triple-Seven, pellets or any of the other modern powders. Heck, there are even “muzzleloaders” that can use smokeless powder. What’s so “primitive” about them?
That picture at the beginning made my blood run cold.Seriously, does anyone know exactly where that was taken?
Sorry, folks. This rifle is not legal in Washington State, either. Our state has mandated that all muzzle loader rifles used for hunting must have the primer exposed to the elements and to add further insult to our rights, we can’t use 209 primers, either. And don’t get caught with a scope on your muzzle loader, either. Not legal. Up until a few years ago, we couldn’t even use jacketed bullets in our muzzle loaders but we finally managed to get our liberal asses in Olympia to change that one. And you thought Mexifornia was bad? Ugh!
Sounds to me like Washington State actually gets “primitive weapons season” right (that’s what many other states call it, or used to). There is NOTHING primitive about a center-firing, 209 primed, scoped muzzleloader. No one is “insulting” your rights by mandating that you use a REAL muzzleloader during the season designated for them.
I do really enjoy hunting with my Centerfire 209 scope muzzle loader. I wish everyone could.
If muzzle loaders are legal and suppressors are legal, then it’s a legal firearm. (IdK if suppressors are legal in Washington state) No said it was 50 state legal to hunt with in muzzle loader season
Why would ANYONE want to buy this??? I mean, if it were the 1700s, sure. But give me a break people!!!
I agree.
What kind of moron puts a photo of a guy with a suppressed firearm at a beachside amusement park? The gun industry deserves the bad press it gets!
Hey Ding Dong….That’s Santa Barbara, CA. They are trying to show that it is legal in CA…..maybe.
Hey Ding Dong…. That’s Santa Monica Pier. Be accurate when you’re trying to be smug!
But it really was a poor choice of locations!!
Been years since I’ve fired a black power firearm but I don’t recall any terrible problem cleaning them Good old democrat controlled States and their fear of an armed citizen Why can’t you democrats trust your own citizens?
Strangely enough, California has some of the loosest regulations when it comes to open and concealed carry of knives, often mush looser than states like Nevada who have few restrictions on firearms.
Even if it was legal in CA. It wouldn’t be for long. They would just pass legislation to ban it.
A straw and spitball is illegal in Kalifornia. I feel sorry for kids that grow up with the shackles already on when they hit the ground.
This wouldn’t be legal in Nevada either. Nv defines a firearm as any weapon that propels a projectile from a barrel with an explosive propellant. I might not have the wording exactly right but, muzzleloaders are classified as firearms. So, check your state laws before assuming this is legal.
We can own suppressors in Nevada, dumas. I own one and so do tens of thousands here in Nevada. The only way it would be illegal is putting a scope on it during a muzzle loader season.
95% wrong answer. A muzzle loader is 100% legal and so is a suppressor. I own one and so do tens of thousands in Nevada. Regardless of the definition of firearm, both parts are legal. The only time it would be illegal (other than a felon in possession of a firearm) is if you put a scope on it to see over the suppressor during a muzzle loader season.
Yep, it California, a “firearm” means a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. It doesn’t exempt muzzleloaders. This gun is still illegal in Kommifornia.
Yes, this is admirable innovation and counter attack by Silencer Co. Right up there with eighty percent receivers. But a bit ambitious as to its ubiquitous ‘acceptance in all 50 states’? I’m pretty sure that the modern made black powder muzzle loaders are considered by law to be ‘firearms’ in more states than you think, and in the article author’s state of Wisconsin as well? And there’s even a state Minnesota or Michigan, I believe, that includes bb guns as ‘firearms’ in their state tyranny laws?!
My question is when the fuck are ‘we’ going to quit wasting valuable tactical and strategic time by not proactively pursuing criminal charges against state officials and anyone else involved, who are attempting, or have already succeeded, to deprive us of our Constitutional rights by passing illegal fiat gun laws?
The criminal charge is right there under 18 USCC 241-242 with good precedent case law on top of it? Where it specifically points out that just because it’s a state law, doesn’t mean they can get away with it. With the NRA and other so-called pro-gun rights organizations also immediately following up with class action civil lawsuits on behalf of this manufacturer and their potential customer base where there is a good chance of taking down the tyrannists where it really hurts when they lose, as they become bankrupted when millions of citizens are deemed recipients of the settlement?
The games we must play to exercise our 2A rights (and save the old ears)….Really wish our do-nothing Congress would get moving on the various hearing-protection bills and start whittling away that archaic NFA. Hopefully, there will be some protections for our friends in ignorant states
What a joke.
Wonder how many shots you get to fire before you have to disassemble and clean that suppressor?
It’s fixed so I guess you would have to clean it along with the barrel. The ad doesn’t mention anything about being able to disassemble it.
It’s not even about how many shots you get before you “have to” clean it. I think the real issue is that it’s always going to hold at least some corrosive crud. Also would be interested to know if it ends up messing with the sabot as it exits. They start to open pretty quickly in most cases. If a sabot hits baffles on the way out, it’s likely to tear something up. I saw a guy destroy a muzzle brake with a patch left in the bore.
Inquiring minds really need to know about this stuff. Ya just never know when this might/or might not come in handy.
Actually its not a 50 state legal muzzle loader. At a state level a few states do not allow the sale of this item Silencerco released a statement noting a few states addressing this and have refunded all individuals from those states who have placed orders.
This is a quote from silencerco “Upon launching the Maxim 50, SilencerCo received several immediate legal challenges from authorities and lawyers in the states of New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California. Since we have no desire to place any consumer in a situation where they may get arrested and charged with a felony because their state defines a firearm differently than the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), we have placed orders from those states on hold and are refunding customers pending legal confirmation. We will update our customers as soon as we have multiple source verification”
Sorry to all of our New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California friends.
All kinds of political reasons to endorse this product but there’s no practical reason for it. Silencer or not you only get one shot while hunting with a muzzleloader. The recoil is already minimal (try shooting a .375 H&H Magnum for comparison) and the muzzle blast is also puny. And, “the can” is just another part that will need cleaning.
this makes no sense at all, who makes these insane laws
I bet thats fun to clean as nasty as BP or its substitutes can be.
I can clean my BP guns in less time than you can your smokeless firearms.
Real BP and the modern subs are easy to clean up with nothing more than hot water and a little Ballistol.
The only BP substitute I would never use is Pyrodex as it is highly corrosive. All the other subs and real BP are not all that corrosive and even leaving a firearm till the next day before cleaning will not cause any corrosion to magically ruin a firearm.
pretty cool, but how do you clean it without damaging the can?
Nice but useless, muzzle loaders don’t seem to have that loud crack a rifle does, they don’t fire multiple rounds, and cleaning that thing would be a nightmare plus it adds weight.
I’ve recognized that “loophole” for a while, and have a kentucky rifle kit begging to have a can welded to it. . .
As the muzzle loading “antique firearms” can also have short barrels without issue, I really really want a integrally suppressed short barreled revolving rifle, like a LeMat. For fun.
Unless you have a revolver with a gas-seal between the cylinder chamber mouth and the barrel (like the Civil War era North-Savage “Figure 8”, or, if you are talking cartridge revolvers, the Nagant 1895 used by both Czarist Russia and the former Soviet Union and its affiliates), you cannot successfully suppress a revolver.
Ah sure you can, how much noise can cylinder gap create anyway? Especially with a close cylinder gap, it’d be worth it to not need ear protection.
My first thought reading this was that lawyers eat semantics for breakfast. Good luck getting it on the market in the snowflake states, though.
Okay, I’ll ask.
What does permanent mean?
“this means is that if you permanently slap a can on the Traditions Vortek Strikerfire Muzzleloader it is not defined as a silencer because it does not attach to a “firearm” but rather it is affixed to an “antique firearm.”
It’s most likely welded or pinned in place as to not allow for its removal. Permanently affixed.
So I cantifornia?
I wonder if the suppressor has a more traditional baffle design or something different inside. How will it deal with dissasembly for cleaning (unlike smokeless rifle cans you are going to HAVE to clean it), unburnt patches or even sabots? Is this going to be a preformed pellet only operation or can you still dump in loose powder? If it has a system capable of all those me thinks I might find one in my safe soon. Got rang bad a few year ago when I walked up to finish off a deer that had ran 50 yards into a small gully. Firing the .50 cal with a 240gr sabot at 2000 fps + in the small area left me ringing for weeks. Having a can would have been nice that day. Love it when good guys find the “loopholes”!
Soaking with the barrel would be my guess, then allowed to be rinsed and drained.
Civil war soldiers were often told to load a muzzle rifle with the barrel pointed leaning AWAY from the body, not leaning over it for obvious reasons.