West Valley, Utah-based SilencerCo started up in 2008, making a .22-caliber silencer called the Sparrow. Since acquiring South Carolina-based SWR (Southeastern Weaponry Research) Manufacturing in 2011, SilencerCo has become the largest maker of silencers in the U.S.
It has been toying around with silencers for years, just waiting for an innovative idea that would put it on top. It has apparently found that product in the Maxim 9. The company’s prototype is built partially on a Smith & Wesson M&P body, but Josh Waldron, SilencerCo’s CEO, told Range365 that the guns coming out in 2016 will be designed and built completely by SilencerCo.
Waldron added, “To make room for the suppressor we had to re-engineer everything. We are just working out the final details, which is why this won’t be available until 2016.” The company hopes to have the Maxim 9 out in time for the January 2016 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show).
Even though Waldron didn’t give out too many details about the unusual weapon, he did say, “The Maxim 9 is a duty pistol, short, quiet, reliable, durable and can use any [9 mm] ammo.” Supposedly, that’s all a shooting enthusiast need to know.
The Maxim 9 is not the first gun to be made with a built-in silencer. The High Standard HDM is a semiautomatic pistol equipped with an integral sound suppressor and was used during WWII by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Sturm, Ruger (RGR) currently produces them.
Waldron points out that the maxim 9 is a much more powerful handgun than the .22-caliber silencer-handguns made by Sturm, Ruger, and he says this makes the Maxim 9 better suited for “personal protection.”
There is a market for gun silencers today, and as a matter of fact, sales are booming. Despite tight gun-control restrictions, gun owners are willing to pay from $350 to $2,500 for silencers on the market. CNN Money is reporting the ATF’s latest figures show the number of registered silencers jumped 38 percent year-over-year to 792,282 in February 2015.
It could take you months to get a registered Maxim
When the Maxim 9 goes on sale next year, it will be subject to the same federal laws that apply to silencers, or more accurately, suppressors. The noise is suppressed, but not altogether silenced. Suppressors are more vigorously regulated than most guns.
Generally, a background check takes about 20 minutes. A photo ID is electronically submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the gun shop, and if everything comes back OK, you’re out of there. But buying a suppressor or any gun that falls under the National Firearms Act including full automatic machine guns and sawed-off shotguns is another matter.
The buyer has to mail or fax a photo and fingerprints to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and pay a $200 tax. The wait for an answer can sometimes take as long as nine months, say WTVR.com. Suppressors are also subject to state law, and a few states have outlawed them. Suppressors are legal in 41 states, up from 37 a few years ago.
