After an unprecedented 78-year bureaucratic odyssey, the National Firearms Act Division has finally approved the Form 4 for a SureFire SOCOM762-RC2 suppressor, originally applied for by the late Arthur 'Apex' Bingham. The approval, received last Tuesday, marks a new record for the NFA Branch, surpassing the previous record of 63 years set in 2077.
Bingham, a legendary figure in the early days of competitive long-range precision, initially intended the SOCOM762-RC2 for his cutting-edge GAP Crusader chambered in .308 Winchester, topped with a Schmidt & Bender PMII 5-25x56 with the H2CMR reticle. His DOPE cards for this setup, painstakingly trued at distances out to 1200 yards, are now a central exhibit in the 'Pioneers of Precision' wing of the National Long-Range History Museum. Bingham himself was posthumously inducted into the Long-Range Hall of Fame in 2065, largely for his groundbreaking work on quantifying barrel harmonics and calculating spin drift on rudimentary ballistic computers.
The suppressor, which has remained in pristine, unregistered condition since its manufacture, represents a significant historical artifact. Its 7.62mm bore is a relic from an era when competitors were still experimenting with what are now considered grossly inefficient projectiles with poor BCs, prior to the widespread adoption of hyper-velocity 6mm cartridges like the 6GT and 6BRA, not to mention the sub-10mm railgun prototypes currently dominating the NRL circuit.
Curators confirm the SOCOM762-RC2 will not be affixed to a live-fire weapon. Instead, it will be displayed alongside Bingham’s original Crusader build, providing future generations with a tangible link to a bygone era of precision shooting, where suppressing a .308 Winchester was considered high technology, and waiting for an NFA item was simply part of the sport.
