Shownotes
State of the Second sits down with Brandon, the CEO and founder of Silencer Central, to walk through how the largest suppressor dealer in the country got started and why buying a can is easier now than it has ever been. Brandon explains that the company began in 2005 after he moved to South Dakota, started shooting prairie dogs, and bought a suppressor to make the long drives worthwhile. A pharmacist by trade with an MBA, he realized the real obstacle for customers was the paperwork, so he built a business model around making the process simple. Silencer Central now holds a federal firearms license in all 42 states where suppressors are lawful and ships cans directly to a customer's front door once the form is approved, a process he traces back to a federal statute and the first ATF variance he helped create.
Much of the conversation covers the current state of ATF approvals. Brandon recounts the recent eForms outage that stopped his roughly 30 agents from entering and submitting applications for several days, and the ATF town hall on Friday where the agency committed to working applications in real time and batch approving them. He breaks down why 70% of FBI NICS checks return an instant approval while the other 30% get delayed for manual review, and why trusts can slow things down when many people are listed on them. He also makes the case that the trust is the best way to buy a suppressor, because it lets you add family and friends who can use the can and lets you decide who inherits it.
The hosts, John and Kaylee, push Brandon on activism, data security, and product. He argues that suppressors are not a public safety issue in the ATF's eyes, that the only crimes he has seen involve homemade cans, and that getting suppressors off the NFA depends on people staying involved and educating their elected officials. He details the company's heavy investment in cybersecurity, naming the Banished Backcountry as his favorite can and describing the Speed K built with Federal for the growing law enforcement market. He closes by reminding listeners that one suppressor can run on multiple calibers and that approval times are fast right now, making it a good time to buy.
Links
Questions this episode answers
How did Silencer Central get started, and why did a pharmacist end up selling suppressors?
Brandon, a pharmacist by trade with an MBA, started the company in 2005 after moving to South Dakota and buying a suppressor for prairie dog shooting. He realized the real obstacle for buyers was the paperwork, so he built the business around making the process simple.
How can Silencer Central ship a suppressor directly to your front door in all 42 legal states?
Silencer Central holds a federal firearms license in all 42 states where suppressors are lawful and ships a can directly to the customer's door once the ATF form is approved. Brandon traces the model back to a federal statute and the first ATF variance he helped create.
What happened when the ATF eForms system went down, and how did it affect dealers?
A recent eForms outage stopped Brandon's roughly 30 agents from entering and submitting applications for several days. At an ATF town hall that Friday, the agency committed to working applications in real time and batch approving them.
Why is a gun trust the best way to buy a suppressor instead of buying as an individual?
Brandon argues the trust is the best way to buy because it lets you add family and friends who can legally use the can, and it lets you decide who inherits it. He notes trusts can slow approvals when many people are listed on them.
Why do 70% of suppressor background checks get approved instantly while 30% get delayed?
Brandon explains that 70% of FBI NICS checks return an instant approval, while the other 30% are pulled for manual review and delayed. Trusts can add time when many people are named on them.
What are the most common myths and misconceptions people have about suppressors?
Brandon pushes back on the idea that suppressors are a public safety issue, noting the only suppressor crimes he has seen involve homemade cans. He also addresses myths about lists and the notion that a suppressor slows the bullet.
How does Silencer Central protect customer data like Social Security numbers and fingerprints?
Going fully digital meant handling sensitive customer data, so Silencer Central invested heavily in cybersecurity. Brandon describes data protection as a major focus of the company's operations.
What makes Silencer Central's suppressors different, and which can is Brandon's favorite?
Brandon names the Banished Backcountry as his favorite can and points to the Speed K, built with Federal for the growing law enforcement market. He notes one suppressor can run on multiple calibers, and says approval times are fast right now.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome and meeting Brandon from Silencer Central
- 00:13 — The backstory: prairie dogs, South Dakota, and the first suppressors
- 02:22 — Largest dealer in the nation: dealer, manufacturer, wholesaler
- 04:16 — Shipping cans to your door and the first ATF variance
- 05:51 — The eForms outage and faster approval times
- 08:55 — Real-time approvals, NICS checks, and batch processing
- 13:10 — Trust vs individual: why the trust is the best way to buy
- 15:33 — Staying involved and educating elected officials
- 20:55 — Getting hunters to fall in love with suppressor hunting
- 23:27 — Suppressor myths: illegal, lists, and slowing the bullet
- 29:44 — Zero tolerance pressure across 42 FFLs
- 36:00 — Going fully digital and protecting customer data
- 40:02 — Manufacturing: titanium, hunters, and cleanable cans
- 43:30 — Best can on the market, the Speed K, and where to buy
About the guest
Brandon is the CEO and founder of Silencer Central, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A pharmacist by trade with an MBA, he went to school at Chapel Hill, North Carolina and worked in the pharmaceutical industry before moving to South Dakota and starting the business in 2005. He grew up in the Southeast. Silencer Central holds a federal firearms license in all 42 states where suppressors are lawful, and by his account is the largest suppressor dealer in the nation, serving as dealer, manufacturer, and wholesaler. He sits on the board for the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and stays active politically at the state and federal level.
Key quotes
"we feel like the largest obstacle for a customer buying a suppressor is dealing with the paperwork." — Brandon
"the trust is really the best way to buy a suppressor." — Brandon
"of all the people I've ever met, I've never met anyone that hunted with a suppressor who didn't say, I'll never hunt again without one." — Brandon
"anytime you see a crime done with a suppressor, whether it be hunting or non hunting, it's always one they made themselves." — Brandon
"Apathy is, I think, one of the most dangerous things that can happen with the second amendment." — Kaylee
"we've really spent almost 20 years focusing. How do we make the process easier and very customer focused instead of dealer focused" — Brandon
Transcripts
Welcome to Gun Owners of America's State of the Second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kaylee.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're talking with Brandon from Silencer Central, the CEO and founder.
Speaker B:How are you today, my friend?
Speaker C:Great.
Speaker B:How about you all doing?
Speaker B:Wonderful.
Speaker B:So let's start off a little bit with the backstory of the company.
Speaker C:Sure, absolutely.
Speaker C:What do you want to know?
Speaker B:Everything and anything.
Speaker C:Everything and everything.
Speaker C:So my wife is from South Dakota and she said, hey, how about we move to South Dakota?
Speaker C:And I said, sure.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker C:And I'd been in pharmaceuticals.
Speaker C:I'm a pharmacist by trade.
Speaker C:But I had worked in the pharmaceutical industry.
Speaker C:Just went to school at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Speaker C:That's where Glaxo was based.
Speaker C:So I'd done a lot of pharmaceutical industry.
Speaker C:And I realized very quickly that there's not a whole lot of population in South Dakota to have a big thriving business for medicine, selling prescription medication.
Speaker C:So decided it's time to start a business.
Speaker C:Try to figure out what that was.
Speaker C:I started shooting prairie dogs in the western part of the state of South Dakota.
Speaker C:And what I found is that when I once you shoot a prairie dog, they're pretty astute.
Speaker C:They go under.
Speaker C:So it felt like a five hour drive for nothing.
Speaker C:So I thought, well, after a little while at doing that, I thought I should get a suppressor.
Speaker C:See how that works.
Speaker C:Worked fabulously.
Speaker C:Just the process was tough.
Speaker C: This was like the early: Speaker C:The local dealer, you could tell it wasn't really something they wanted to do.
Speaker C:So after getting two from the local dealer, then I ended up getting my license to get them for myself.
Speaker C:I liked them that much.
Speaker C:And I realized the license is pretty expensive and the wife's putting a little pressure on me, like, you better sell a few to pay for that license that you have so you could buy toys.
Speaker C:And so I got a license in South Dakota and I.
Speaker C:So I have a, you know, I've had a federal farms license in South Dakota and now I have a federal farms license in all 42 states where suppressors are lawful.
Speaker C:So start out here and just start working events.
Speaker C:Had really good luck at events just because people like to hold a suppressor.
Speaker C:Most of ours are 100% titanium.
Speaker C:They hold it, they're like, wow, that's super light.
Speaker C:And then we created a really good process to make it easy for the customer to go through.
Speaker C:I'd say that's kind of our claim to fame.
Speaker C:I know typically the females get better credibility for being more detail oriented.
Speaker C:But maybe it's my pharmacy degree and my mba.
Speaker C:I said, you know what?
Speaker C:I think I can manage the paperwork for the customer, make it a good experience for them.
Speaker C:And that's kind of been our mission for almost 20 years.
Speaker C: So we started in: Speaker C:And you'll see, like, pretty much every decision we've made at the business was based on that.
Speaker C:And we feel like the largest obstacle for a customer buying a suppressor is dealing with the paperwork.
Speaker C:So we've kind of put it on autopilot for the customer.
Speaker C:I mean, we even have a dialer that calls you and says, hey, you bought a silencer.
Speaker C:We haven't gotten your signature back.
Speaker C:We need you to do that so that we can move forward.
Speaker C:So it's been fun.
Speaker C:It's been exciting.
Speaker C:Like I said, we have licensed locations in 42 states.
Speaker C:Super involved politically, both at a state level and national level, because of how it impacts our business.
Speaker C:I'm on the board for the Congressional Sportsman's foundation, so that gives me a little bit of, you know, footprint to talk to local representatives and understand things impacting at a state level and stay pretty involved at the federal level, too.
Speaker C:I have most of my elected officials federally on speed dial call their cell phones.
Speaker C:They don't always answer, but they usually get back to me.
Speaker C:So I'm trying to think.
Speaker C:We're based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, even though I grew up in the Southeast, and I would say, by all accounts that we're the largest dealer in the nation.
Speaker C:The ATF gives reports.
Speaker C:We had a call with them on Friday.
Speaker C:It was like an ATF town hall.
Speaker C:And I think looking at the numbers, we were about 40% of the business that they have pending applications with the atf.
Speaker C:So for looking at the pending ones that were waiting for approval, I think we were at 40%.
Speaker C:So pretty big in the market.
Speaker C:And I would say a lot of people think of us as direct consumer, so we do have a product that we manufacture.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But we're also a dealer, and we're also kind of the wholesaler, so we serve all three.
Speaker C:So it's sort of a single point of contact for the customer.
Speaker C:One thing people don't realize is we sell other people's products, too.
Speaker C:Most manufacturers, we're their number one dealer.
Speaker C:So do a little bit.
Speaker C:Everything.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:Did I answer your question?
Speaker B:Yeah, you did perfectly.
Speaker B:So you said that you hold an FFL in 42 states where suppressors are legal.
Speaker B:So you guys, from my understanding, and we talked a little bit before the show about this, you guys are the only suppressor, wholesaler, reseller that can ship the suppressor directly to your door after your form comes back.
Speaker B:Is that correct?
Speaker C:Yeah, in all 42 states, for sure.
Speaker C:Yeah, we're licensed in all 42 states.
Speaker C:There's probably other people that may do it locally or, you know, I. I don't want to say I pioneered it, but I think people give me credit for pioneering it.
Speaker C:Basically.
Speaker C:I had an attorney study the federal law.
Speaker C:The interesting thing I learned about South Dakota is that there's a river that runs through the middle and most people don't travel across it.
Speaker C:There's like this.
Speaker C:This divide, east river and West River.
Speaker C:It's very interesting that people live west river, they despise east river, and they won't drive over here.
Speaker C:So I used to sell silencers at a gun show, west river, and there was only one show there a year in April.
Speaker C:And I called my lawyer and said, hey, you think there's a way I could ship these silencers to the people West River?
Speaker C:Because they don't want to come all the way east river to pick their silencer up?
Speaker C:Which I get, you know, four hour, four and a half hour drive.
Speaker C:And he said, I doubt it, but let me check.
Speaker C:And there's actually a federal statute that says if a background check does not need to be done, you don't have to meet face to face.
Speaker C:So what I did is created a business process based on that.
Speaker C:What's interesting is it also calls out a specific form you're supposed to use, which at the time was no longer in print.
Speaker C:So I went to the ATF and said, hey, you know, what do I do here?
Speaker C:The statute exists for me to ship these where I don't have to meet face to face, but the form doesn't exist.
Speaker C:So they helped me create a variance.
Speaker C:So we had the first variance to be able to, you know, do a process that was compliant with the law, that no one had even used or talked about for a long time.
Speaker C:And then it's just evolved over the years where I meet with the ATF and say, hey, I would like a variance to do everything digitally.
Speaker C:I would like a variance to do this.
Speaker C:And some things have gone through, some haven't.
Speaker C:But, yeah, it was hard to operationalize.
Speaker C:And if you read that statute, there's a lot of things we have to do before we could ship it to their front door.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:And I think that deters some people from doing it because it's a big burden on the dealer.
Speaker C:But you know, we've been doing it for, gosh, probably 16, 17, 18 years, just that process.
Speaker C:So we got really good at it.
Speaker B:So I'm going to go straight into a toughie.
Speaker B:A couple weeks ago we saw an attack on the E forms where the ATF took it down and now it's back up again.
Speaker B:How did that affect you guys?
Speaker B:And you know, we're also seeing time frames on forms coming back very quickly.
Speaker B:So what, what does that process look like?
Speaker B:And, and not only how did the forms going down affect you guys, but how is the time frame being sped up affecting you guys as well?
Speaker C:Yeah, good question.
Speaker C:So, you know, I really, to be honest, could never get an answer at atf why I went down.
Speaker C:I, I talked to the number two person at ATF and you know, I just emailed him and said, hey, you up a little bit?
Speaker C:So part of our process is, you know, we're entering all the information into the eForms database for the customer, but the ATF wants the customer to actually review that information before we submit it.
Speaker C:And the ATF wants the customer to actually digitally sign off on what we're submitting on their behalf, which totally makes sense.
Speaker C:So what we do is our business model is we have a calendar and we let people have 10, you know, we basically put in a 10 minute segment per silencer for a customer to call into us and then we do a video call.
Speaker C:We go through every page of the application, we go through everything and say, hey, is this 100% correct?
Speaker C:And then we let them digitally sign and submit.
Speaker C:But how that affected us is, you know, I've got like 30 agents upstairs that that's all they do all day long.
Speaker C:And if you can imagine for four days, you know, we have a really good relationship with atf, but ATF is probably not as organized as you would think as a normal business would be.
Speaker C:So essentially it went down.
Speaker C:We had no update, it was going down.
Speaker C:We started out with the head of the NFA branch, the National Farms branch, who manages eForms.
Speaker C:We emailed the director, we didn't hear back.
Speaker C:And so then, then after a day, another day, then I took it to like the number two person at ATF also reached out to nssf.
Speaker C:It became a hey, what's going on?
Speaker C:And then finally they actually called me on my phone, which was nice.
Speaker C:They said they couldn't really tell me why it went down.
Speaker C:So I still don't know why it went down.
Speaker C:But just it was tough for us because we couldn't enter in any applications of people who had bought, and then we couldn't confirm and certify and submit for people who had already bought and were ready to get them submitted.
Speaker C:You know, our system is fully automated on the digital side, so we can submit a thousand applications an hour to the eform.
Speaker C:And so basically it shut that down.
Speaker C:But to answer your question now, so we were able to get right back on track pretty quick, get everything scheduled, get all the backlog work through.
Speaker C:Just opened up our hours where we were open weekends, nights, gave people more time to get certifications of whatever we had in the pipeline, you know, the approval.
Speaker C:So we had a call with ATF on Friday.
Speaker C:It was an ATF town hall meeting.
Speaker C:There's about 300 dealers on there.
Speaker C:When it started, I think it ended with like 190 at the end.
Speaker C:So there wasn't a ton of dealers.
Speaker C:Considering there's about 20,000 SOT holders in America, I was surprised how small because they had enough for 3,000 people could call in.
Speaker C:But what they told us is essentially they're going to start working applications real time and real time, meaning they'll do a background check.
Speaker C:FBI does the background check for them, and then anyone that doesn't, anyone that's automatically approved goes through.
Speaker C:So let me back up again.
Speaker C:So 70% of all people that have a background check done through the FBI NICS system, 70% of them get an instant approval.
Speaker C:And it's hard for most customers to know that because they may live in a state where their concealed carries NICs exempt and they don't even get a background check.
Speaker C:But for all practical purposes, anytime a background check's done for concealed carry or for now, I think they even let you do employees of FFLS or, you know, for handgun or long gun purchase, 70% of the time it goes directly to an approved.
Speaker C:And what the ATF's trying to do now is if it's directly approved, then the goal is to send it into approval and basically give that customer an approval.
Speaker C:Now, the trust, they're working on the trust, because that's a little bit different.
Speaker C:You know, we use the same template for every state for our trust.
Speaker C:So they've read our trust and, you know, are comfortable with it.
Speaker C:And so we're hoping that'll speed up, too, that the trust will be just as quick.
Speaker C:The problem with trust is we typically ask a consumer to put one person on the trust being themselves, because with a stroke of a pen, you can add anyone to the trust later.
Speaker C:But you can imagine if someone says, hey, you know, I want to run my trust with 20 people on it through the process.
Speaker C:If they do the background checks on those people, that's what's slowing it up because they're having to do background checks on all those people.
Speaker C:But you know, we, we see online people are saying they've gotten quick ones.
Speaker C:We've seen quick ones.
Speaker C:The other thing they committed to on Friday was they've started batch approving.
Speaker C:Like they publicly said it.
Speaker C:We've seen them do it in the past.
Speaker C:But the ATF has to pay FBI every time they do a background check.
Speaker C:So batch processing basically means that if I bought a silencer, say in October, November, December, January and February, they would approve all of them at once.
Speaker C:So that's their new standard process, both on an individual and a trust.
Speaker C:They approve them all at once.
Speaker C:So once they have that background check done, get them out the door.
Speaker C: st started doing this in like: Speaker C:And with a trust, there was no background check back then.
Speaker C:So they were real quick, they would turn them around really quick.
Speaker C:So we're excited to hear ATF sort of publicly say their goal is real time.
Speaker C:It's hard though, because most people don't know if they're going to get real time or not.
Speaker C:Like they consider it a delay.
Speaker C:So that 30% of people that get delayed, that means they've probably been arrested before or there's someone who's been arrested with a similar, with the same name and a similar date of birth and probably lives in the same state.
Speaker C:So you know, if you live in Virginia and your name is, you know, John Smith and you try to buy a suppressor, then you're probably going to be in the 30% that they have to manually review.
Speaker C:And manual reviewing is a little bit harder because FBI has to actually dig into it.
Speaker C:What people don't realize is there's that three day statute when you buy a handgun or a long gun where if the ATF does, if the FBI doesn't respond within three days, the dealer may transfer instantly at that point.
Speaker C:When we don't have that luxury on NFA with silencers.
Speaker C:We're trying to change that legislatively, but right now there is no mandate.
Speaker C:So the FBI really has as long as they need.
Speaker C:Occasionally we'll get them back that says return without action because they can't tell if the person's prohibited or not.
Speaker C:Maybe they were charged with a crime that would make them prohibitive.
Speaker C:But then the courthouse has either lost the files or their paper and they don't hear back from the courthouse as to how the actual, you know, case ended, what they were officially, you know, adjudicated with at the end.
Speaker C:So I would say that quicker turnarounds has definitely increased volume.
Speaker C:People are interested, they want to learn more.
Speaker C:I would say our phones are ringing more.
Speaker C:This is time of the year it starts slowing down.
Speaker C:Usually fall into like the first three months of the year.
Speaker C:It gets really, really busy and then it slows down as you approach summer.
Speaker C:But we've seen just it sort of pick up.
Speaker C:Far as SEO looking at like web traffic, looking at phone calls, everything's really picked up.
Speaker C:So it's gotten people interested who've kind of been on the fence, which is good.
Speaker B:So real quick, you know, if we got a lot of people who may not understand suppressors and everything like that, can you just explain the difference between a trust and an individual with the form?
Speaker C:Yeah, fair enough.
Speaker C:Yeah, fair enough.
Speaker C:So at Silencer Central, our mindset again, I've been doing it a long time, so my mindset is the trust is really the best way to buy a suppressor.
Speaker C:And the reason why is because the Silencer transfers from us, the dealer, to your trust, and we provide everyone a trust free.
Speaker C:So it's not a money grab on our part.
Speaker C:But once the Silencer transfers to the trust, you can identify who gets it when you pass away, which is a nice positive.
Speaker C:And you also can identify other people who can use the Silencer when you're not there.
Speaker C:So let's say you have a son who's 18 years old.
Speaker C:After the silencer is approved to be transferred to that trust and we transfer it to you, you could add your son who's 18, and then he or she could go and use the suppressor when you're not there, because it's owned by the trust and they're on the trust as sort of a co owner, if you will.
Speaker C:So it's nice to be able to add friends, relatives, other people to the trust so they can use it when you're not there.
Speaker C:But the other benefit is also that you can, you know, pick who gets it when you pass away.
Speaker C:So if you buy it as an individual, it's kind of finite.
Speaker C:Once you die, then it's.
Speaker C:It's incumbent upon your relatives or heirs to do what they call Form 5 to transfer it to somebody else.
Speaker C:And that's free.
Speaker C:The feds don't charge a $200 tax to do that, but it's the same paperwork that you do when you buy it.
Speaker C:So it's, you know, I've gotten the calls from this, you know, the widows.
Speaker C:It's too difficult for someone to figure out.
Speaker C:So I know people are going to lean to want to do individual because they sound like it's going through the ATF system quicker.
Speaker C:But my challenge still is that trust really is the best way.
Speaker C:So if it adds a couple extra weeks, to me, it's worth it, just because then you're.
Speaker C:Then you're in the driver's seat far as allowing other people to use it and also picking someone else to get it when you pass away.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you've talked a lot about being active.
Speaker A:Obviously, Gua is incredibly active on the advocacy side of things at the federal and state level.
Speaker A:What is your kind of roadmap for getting involved and what do you want to say and encourage others to.
Speaker C:That's a good question.
Speaker C:I mean, the hard part is since I'm licensed in 42 states, I feel like I'm always reactive, which is not where you want to be because it's kind of hard to walk it back afterwards.
Speaker C:But, boy, I would encourage people to stay involved.
Speaker C:I mean, especially if you're in a state.
Speaker C:I mean, watch state issues because they can create bigger issues.
Speaker C:You know, federally is obviously tougher.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I would say people have to stay involved.
Speaker C:You have to stop, talk to candidates.
Speaker C:I mean, people always ask me, do I think silencers will ever come off the NFA list to be easier to buy, like a regular firearm?
Speaker C:I think it will as long as people stay involved.
Speaker C:Because there's so many elected officials out there that they hear the word silencer and of course they think of movies, they think of, you know, serial killers, whatever.
Speaker C:So the only way we can overcome that is going to be able to educate our politicians.
Speaker C:And that means some responsibility on our part to go to events where they're at, try to find ways to talk to them, sort of educate them so that they want to learn more.
Speaker C:And I've tried to get most of them as customers, as far as our elected officials, too, just to kind of let them go through the process and see how people.
Speaker C:What they have to deal with so they can sort of feel that pain, if you will.
Speaker C:Yeah, you can't.
Speaker C:I can't overemphasize the importance of staying involved because even look at, like, the number of people who vote, I mean, I think, what is it, 30% of retro voters actually go out and vote.
Speaker C:I mean, it's sad.
Speaker C:And I know that looking especially at the sportsman side, the hunting side, I think it's worse than that.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:It's kind of disappointing that people aren't even voting and not getting involved.
Speaker C:You're basically letting the left tell you what you can and cannot do, which is not where we want to be.
Speaker A:No, it's so important that people kind of get off the couch.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You're doing laughs around everyone that stays home just by being active and paying attention.
Speaker A:Apathy is, I think, one of the most dangerous things that can happen with the second amendment.
Speaker A:And so it's so important that every person that loves the second amendment stays active and involved.
Speaker A:And it doesn't matter if you feel like, well, my rights aren't being attacked as much because, you know, I only use, you know, my.
Speaker A:My firearms for hunting or, well, I only have it for home defense or whatever.
Speaker A:Is what you consider that safe.
Speaker A: Lane, it's: Speaker A:It's time to understand that the Antigone left is.
Speaker A:Is not going to allow any lane to be safe.
Speaker A:And so we have to be active, we have to be involved, and we can't afford to.
Speaker A:To have any sort of apathy when it comes to protecting our rights.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, it's scary because even if you look at, I think it was Washington state, I think the governor's gonna sign a bill for the FFLs where you basically have to have steel doors and steel gates.
Speaker C:And I mean, it just drives up the cost for dealers, and it's just a gradual way for them to continue to make it harder for us to do business.
Speaker C:I mean, I've had trouble with banks where they won't do business with me because I'm in the farms business.
Speaker C:They see it as a reputational risk.
Speaker C:So, you know, it could create headaches getting involved and being vocal, but you got to do it.
Speaker C:And I think that there's plenty of people out there that respect other people who actually do it.
Speaker C:It's just, hey, how do we get more people involved and see.
Speaker C:Because what you see happen in some of these other states that you think will never come to my state.
Speaker C:It just.
Speaker C:It's sort of their playbook to see how it works.
Speaker C:So then they can take it, you know, nationally, on a federal level.
Speaker A:No, I mean, I completely agree.
Speaker A:One of the things that's so frustrating is when you're looking at a landscape and maybe you are in a blue state where everything seems to be going against you.
Speaker A:What you might need to remember and refresh yourself on is how long has the state been in that condition?
Speaker A:It's a progressive takeover.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so you have to be proactive in order to start changing those tides.
Speaker A:Taking people to the range, showing them podcasts, having conversation with them, meeting people where they're at changes their mind.
Speaker A:It might be one person at a time, but the greatest, and any marketer will tell you this, the greatest thing that you can do for any cause, whether you want somebody to buy shampoo or, you know, eat better, whatever it is, word of mouth advertising is the best form of advertising.
Speaker A:And that's where activism starts.
Speaker C:Yeah, no, that's good.
Speaker C:I like that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you brought up Washington.
Speaker B:I know that Gun Owners of California, which is our sister organization, is also fighting the same thing in California where they want to do cameras and a whole bunch of other stuff would just cause the FFLs to lose so much money.
Speaker B:And we need to fight on that level as well.
Speaker B:I do have a question.
Speaker B:You said talking about to politicians and teaching them.
Speaker B:Do you guys have resources on your website?
Speaker B:Are you guys planning to do resources on your website to help teach people how to talk to their politician about suppressor laws and how to get them changed?
Speaker C:No, that's a good idea.
Speaker C:I mean, I honestly, I don't think we have anything now, but I do think that's a good idea because I do when I talk to elected officials.
Speaker C:So NSSF, National Shooting Sports foundation, they'll ask the CEOs to come in to Washington and actually lobby with them.
Speaker C:And my experience is the elected officials are getting a lot of feedback on suppressor wait times.
Speaker C:And yeah, I agree there's probably some opportunities for us to provide more information for them.
Speaker C:I know that the American Suppressor association has some good flyers and we've used those too with educating elected officials that it's not truly silent and, you know, showing that most people that buy these things are typically well to do folks that are, you know, obviously only using them for lawful purposes.
Speaker C:So there's definitely an opportunity there.
Speaker A:So I kind of want to jump back to some of the things that you said at the very beginning and that is how you became a suppressor owner was all about hunting.
Speaker A:Hunting.
Speaker A:Like you said before, it tends to be that group that shows a lot of apathy when it comes to voting.
Speaker A:We are working to get suppressors legal for hunting purposes in all 50 states.
Speaker A:It's something that our organization, Second Amendment Hunters, is working on constantly.
Speaker A:What is kind of your take on what are the best ways for hunters to, to fall in love with suppressor hunting, to, you know, kind of get out there and, and maybe make a switch in the equipment that they choose to use.
Speaker C:It's a good question.
Speaker C:So usually when someone asks me about sort of the benefits of hunting with suppressor, I always say, of all the people I've ever met, I've never met anyone that hunted with a suppressor who didn't say, I'll never hunt again without one.
Speaker C:So I feel like that kind of almost like speaks for itself.
Speaker C:So there's, there's numerous benefits, you know that.
Speaker C:So right now the silencers are legal in 42 states.
Speaker C:There's only one state where you can't hunt in them, it's Connecticut.
Speaker C:So but the other states, you know, it almost like a lot of issues, it's just education, once they understand that it's not silent.
Speaker C:And there's some benefits also for, you know, accuracy and you know, recoil reduction for people that are more recoil sensitive, whether they're disabled or children.
Speaker C:There's so many benefits.
Speaker C:Also, just the, the obvious, the hearing protection.
Speaker C:You're seeing more and more law enforcement agencies going to requiring suppressors just because they're getting so many disability and people retiring early because of shooting indoors, where it intensifies the sound even worse.
Speaker C:But I think a lot of it is just education.
Speaker C:Once they see that, it doesn't really give you a huge advantage in game hunting.
Speaker C:It's not like you're going to shoot more game because you have of it, you have a suppressor.
Speaker C:And anytime you see a crime done with a suppressor, whether it be hunting or non hunting, it's always one they made themselves.
Speaker C:They didn't actually go through the process.
Speaker C:So it's always good to make that clarification because I always say, I think I've read one article in the last 20 years when someone actually used a suppressor they lawfully owned.
Speaker C:All the others were, you know, they bought something and made it.
Speaker C:And it's going to be hard to stop that.
Speaker B:Anyway, we just saw you guys at Pheasant Fest, which is a totally different crowd that I'm used to going and seeing.
Speaker B:So what, what is kind of like the, the feedback from people when you, when you go to an event where it's mainly focused around hunting, what does that look like?
Speaker B:Because you guys kind of stood out from the crowd as kind of like this different company compared to the sea of mostly outdoorsy.
Speaker B:Yeah, a lot of hunting dog stuff, things like that.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:Good question.
Speaker C:You know, we started events.
Speaker C:We started at gun shows initially.
Speaker C:So that's all we worked were the gun shows.
Speaker C:They called it Dakota territory.
Speaker C:So gun shows in North Dakota and South Dakota.
Speaker C:And what we found is most of the people in the Dakotas are also hunters, so they may be ranchers or target shooters, but they're also probably hunting, too.
Speaker C:So most people are probably familiar with us at those events and probably, you know, recognize the name from billboards in town over the years.
Speaker C:You know, what I find is pretty much anyone that shoots a firearm, if you ask them would they like to reduce recoil and also not have to wear hearing protection, 100% of them raise their hand and say, yes.
Speaker C:And then what you'll say is, well, then what's holding you back from getting a suppressor?
Speaker C:And they'll just say, well, it takes so long in the paperwork.
Speaker C:And we say, well, how about we let you pay while you wait with no interest or fees?
Speaker C:We'll do all the paperwork right here at the show.
Speaker C:We'll take your fingerprints, we'll take your photo.
Speaker C:We'll do your free gun trust and then remind them that we let them pay while they wait.
Speaker C:So you put 200 bucks down a day if you want, and then we just ship it to your front door.
Speaker C:We call it easy pay.
Speaker C:But what I found that shows is most guys would say, my wife will kill me if I spend this much money and come home with nothing.
Speaker C:So that's why I said, well, how much do you have in your pocket?
Speaker C:How about you put some down today and just pay while you wait and just make sure you pay it off before we ship it to you.
Speaker C:And a lot of people like that.
Speaker C:It's sort of a nice option.
Speaker C:But the benefit really, at the event is always say, everybody wants one.
Speaker C:It's just the process.
Speaker C:And we say, hey, give us, like, 12 minutes.
Speaker C:We can do all the process right here for you.
Speaker C:We have staff tired to do it.
Speaker C:That's attractive to folks.
Speaker C:They're like, yeah, okay, I'm in.
Speaker C:I'm interested.
Speaker B:So you guys do.
Speaker B:Speaking of that, you said you do.
Speaker B:You do a ton of events.
Speaker B:What are some of the.
Speaker B:The weird myths and things that people have brought up to you over the years while you're at these events?
Speaker B:And you got to go, hey, that's not right, or that's not true, or.
Speaker C:So one I used to hear a lot.
Speaker C:Well, when I first started doing this, everybody thought they were illegal.
Speaker C:Now they were illegal in Iowa, Minnesota when I first started.
Speaker C:That's been resolved.
Speaker C:So I could see people because we're kind of close to the Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska border.
Speaker C:But so a lot of people think they're illegal.
Speaker C:A lot of people think you can't hunt with them.
Speaker C:A lot of people think they're illegal in their state.
Speaker C:So, I mean, they're legal in Maryland, and sometimes when you work shows in Northeast, they just assume because they're kind of a blue state, they're probably illegal there, but it's not.
Speaker C:Not the case in most, most cases.
Speaker C:The other thing is people are afraid you lose your Fifth Amendment where like search of seizure.
Speaker C:They're like, oh, if you own one of those, someone could go through your house.
Speaker C:And, you know, ATF's clarify that unless you're involved in criminal activity and they're not coming into your house to go through your stuff.
Speaker C:So I think some people are worried.
Speaker C:They were worried about that if you have a silencer, I think some people are, like, worried that, well, if you're on a.
Speaker C:You become on a list, then I always tell them, well, if you pay taxes, you're on a list.
Speaker C:So, you know, don't worry about the silencers.
Speaker C:You know, my honest perception from working with ATF is their goal or role is to enforce what Congress told them to do.
Speaker C:And I don't perceive them seeing silencers as a public safety risk.
Speaker C:And since they don't see it as a public safety risk, I don't want to say they turned a blind eye, but they're not as aggressive or assertive.
Speaker C:I mean, if I called them and told them I lost a handgun, it's going to create a return call and they're going to want to know what happened, where if I tell them I lost a suppressor, it's kind of like, you know, thanks for the paperwork.
Speaker C:There's not as much sense of urgency.
Speaker C:So that's what I tell people to try to get there, you know, be a little bit calmer about it.
Speaker C:That, you know, since suppressor silencers aren't a public safety issue, it's.
Speaker C:You just don't see ATF all over people about it or in regard to it.
Speaker C:So I think some people are just worried about that.
Speaker C:Like, they're on the list, people are going to come check, I'm going to come see them.
Speaker C:One thing I do remind people is that that form four, the paperwork we do to transfer the silencer from us to the consumer is actually a tax form.
Speaker C:So technically, the only people that could see that would be like a Treasury agent and an atf.
Speaker C:Sort of on the criminal side.
Speaker C:So there's very few people that can ask to see that.
Speaker C:That's why you'll never see a list by atf.
Speaker C:Like, ATF has a FOIA request, a Freedom of Information act request on their website, where they have every licensed dealer in the entire country just download it and have all their information.
Speaker C:But you'll notice they never have the silencer dealers because it's all under any tax law.
Speaker C:And, you know, it's publicly, it's private, it's not public information.
Speaker C:So a lot of people are.
Speaker C:You know, they're worried they're gonna be on the list, and that's not the case.
Speaker C:I'm trying to think if there's any others.
Speaker C:I think that's some people, like.
Speaker C:I think some video games slow down the bullet.
Speaker C:So a lot of people that are younger have this perception it's gonna slow down.
Speaker C:It actually speeds up velocity.
Speaker C:It's almost having a longer barrel on there, you know, the gas pushing on its way out.
Speaker C:So I'd say that's the major sort of misconceptions, and it's hard to tell people that if that, you know, they got it in their head that it's something else.
Speaker B:You mentioned something about ATF not seeing these as kind of a higher crisis or kind of the.
Speaker B:I can't remember exactly how you.
Speaker C:Public safety.
Speaker C:Yeah, they don't see it as a public safety issue.
Speaker B:If they don't see it as a public safety issue, what is stopping them from removing suppressors from the nfa?
Speaker C:Yeah, good question.
Speaker C:So, you know, if you ask them, they would say, we enforce whatever Congress tells us to do.
Speaker C:So there was a memo leaked by a former ATF head when, right before Trump started, and they basically said we would entertain and be interested deregulating these because we don't see it as a public safety issue.
Speaker C:So I don't know that that person was speaking on behalf of atf, but kind of, if they were the head of atf, they wanted to have a conversation because they don't like the pressure of having to approve these and timelines.
Speaker C:And they are tired of the congressional scrutiny.
Speaker C:And I can just tell they're ready to be done with all that because they don't get any of that tax money.
Speaker C:None of it goes to etf.
Speaker C:So I think if it were up to them, they would deregulate them and treat them the same as, like, a handgun or long gun.
Speaker C:And what they would say is, we just enforce whatever is in the federal statute based on whatever Congress tells Us to do go talk to your congressman would probably be what they would say, which is sort of a cop out.
Speaker C:But I guess in reality that's the best we could do at this point.
Speaker A:So I do want to kind of mention this.
Speaker A:So you're, you have FFLs in 42 states.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:And so obviously with having that kind of reach across the US It's a lot of paperwork.
Speaker A:It's a lot of things to keep up with.
Speaker A:Zero tolerance policies that have been inactive under the Biden administration have been devastating to the second amendment community.
Speaker A:Is there any pressure that you feel from maintaining all of those FFLs?
Speaker C:Oh, 100%.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:People ask me what keeps me up at night.
Speaker C:It's definitely that.
Speaker C:Because the hard part is, you know, when I like it.
Speaker C:When I, when I started out as an FFL, I did everything.
Speaker C:But to now have, you know, 42 W2 employees in all these states doing that paperwork.
Speaker C:For me, it does make me nervous.
Speaker C:We're 100% digital, so we have some transparency so we can see what's going on here from the mothership to other locations to sort of audit.
Speaker C:So we audit everything.
Speaker C:But yeah, it does worry me.
Speaker C:I mean, I think one, one benefit that we have that's an advantage to us is most of the zero tolerance stuff because I've read all of the, you know, they even posted out on the web all the sort of as a FOIA request.
Speaker C:They posted everyone who's had a violation and how it ended.
Speaker C:And you know, you can go through and read every FFL has been reviewed and how it ended, which kind of seems like a privacy thing.
Speaker C:But just having read through all of those, what I found is most of them are background check related.
Speaker C:And so we're sort of fortunate in that the background check is done by the FBI before they send us the approval.
Speaker C:So I don't want to say there's no way we could screw up, but it's a little bit harder for us to screw up because the background checks already done before they send the approval to us.
Speaker C:You know, we've had like at our main location, you know, I think one time for some reason one of my employees did a background check on someone that was three days away from being 21 and they were picking up a lower receiver.
Speaker C:So that created an issue.
Speaker C:As before, we had software in place, so that's kind of a bad violation by atf.
Speaker C:So I think we had a situation too where someone brought in a barreled action and the serial number was seracoted over It.
Speaker C:So it was hard to read.
Speaker C:And that could be perceived as an obliterated serial number because it was tough to read.
Speaker C:Even though we had the right serial number in the books.
Speaker C:I could see them saying, so we've had some issues we've had to work through with our main location here in South Dakota.
Speaker C:But what we did is we just stopped doing, like, local transfers, just focused solely on nfa.
Speaker C:But no, it does scare me because I think a lot of it is open to interpretation.
Speaker C:My experience with atf, and this is just my experience, typically a blue state has blue employees, and blue employees are harder on gun owners has been my experience.
Speaker C:Whereas red states typically.
Speaker C:I've seen red employees that typically aren't as, you know, rough on the.
Speaker C:The ffl.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:It's sort of a mixed bag.
Speaker C:Like, I get nervous when I get a call from like, you know, Washington State or Oregon or, you know, Maryland, and they say, ATF's here for a surprise inspection.
Speaker C:I'm always like, okay.
Speaker C:The honest truth is our business model is so unique that when I got my licenses approved in every state, the ATF asked me to go physically meet with their people there to make sure they understood our business model, which I was happy to do.
Speaker C:But what I find is, you know, when they do go through and inspect us later, the person maybe is not there that did our initial interview.
Speaker C:So I'm having to re talk about our business and how it works and how we're in compliance with federal and state law.
Speaker C:But no, the zero tolerance does scare me.
Speaker C:You know, reason number two million one, why we need a Republican in the presidency, because that's where the Attorney General is getting direction from, who then trickles down to his employees in atf.
Speaker C:It's all open to their interpretation.
Speaker C:Oddly enough, I would say I did hear pushback from ATF people that I would call, like, maybe they're there their whole life, the lifers or whatever.
Speaker C:They were having pushback against the administration for making them enforce stuff that maybe they didn't necessarily agree with.
Speaker C:I don't know how, you know, maybe that was just the easy answer to tell me because, you know, they know I'm the dealer.
Speaker C:But I sent some of the things they were a little, you know, because it's hard.
Speaker C:Like, you know, I had a friend call me and said, hey, I might lose my license.
Speaker C:He had done a background check on a truck driver and it came back delayed.
Speaker C:And the truck driver came back on day 31.
Speaker C:And anytime it's over 30 days old, you have to do another background check.
Speaker C:So basically the guy showed up, he did a background check, it was delayed.
Speaker C:The trucker comes back, day 31 and it gives him the firearm.
Speaker C:Well, it's over 30 days and he had not done an additional background check so he could lose his license for not having done the background check.
Speaker C:So it's tough.
Speaker C:It's, it's.
Speaker C:I think the take home for me when I had problems with ATF was go 100% digital and have a digital platform where everything's managed for you and it'll catch anything that goes wrong.
Speaker C:So it sort of takes any kind of, you know, training issues away from the employees so that they have to follow the.
Speaker C:And the ATF told me that too and it sort of fixed situations we had.
Speaker C:But no, it does scare me because the Gun Control act, you know, there hadn't really been any changes during the Obama administration that would affect the zero tolerance, but it's their interpretation of it.
Speaker C:So they kind of have a monopoly on interpreting the rules, which doesn't seem right.
Speaker A:No, it definitely doesn't.
Speaker A:And we have enjoyed suing them on many, on many of those cases.
Speaker C:Oh, we appreciate you doing that.
Speaker A:Just because you know, it is anytime that you have a bureaucracy that can become a political rogue agent foreign administration is a terrifying, a terrifying situation for the citizenry right where the second amendment, our constitutionally protected right, can be open for interpretation.
Speaker A:We saw that with the pistol brace ban and with the bump stock ban and people turning into felons overnight.
Speaker A:Many of them probably didn't realize that they were going to be turned into felons overnight.
Speaker A:And so it has massive repercussions and it is GOA and gof's pleasure to sue on, on as many of those cases as we can.
Speaker C:Right, that's good.
Speaker B:So you brought up, you guys have a digital system and it's kind of a two part question and you can answer it if you want but having a digital system a lot of people have fear about having their, their stuff digitized and things like that.
Speaker B:How do you combat that fear?
Speaker B:How do you keep your customers data safe?
Speaker B:You know, because people are going to ask that question, you know, that's a good question.
Speaker C:So you know, our IT team, you know, we're probably spending a million dollars a year just for security to make sure that we have the security in place because we use a cloud based application.
Speaker C:So then just making sure it's secure.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's tough.
Speaker C:I mean we spend a lot of money on it.
Speaker C:You know, it's funny Because I'll talk to my insurance guy and he'll say, hey, you got $100 million worth of silencers out here waiting for the feds to approve.
Speaker C:We're going to charge you four or five hundred thousand dollars to insure those while they sit there.
Speaker C:But probably your biggest risk as an organization is really your IT and your infrastructure around digital.
Speaker C:So it gave me a good perspective of, you know, you know, you might Pay, you know, four or $5,000 for cybersecurity insurance and, you know, several hundred thousand for your actual product.
Speaker C:But really, you need to think of it the other way.
Speaker C:So we've really focused on how can we spend more money to protect people's data.
Speaker C:You know, we don't give access to anyone.
Speaker C:So it's all just in our closed system.
Speaker C:And it's set up where only our employees can access it here.
Speaker C:So the IP addresses are set up where they have to physically be here.
Speaker C:You know, it's been an ongoing struggle to make sure that we're protected, but, you know, we have firewalls and all type of things that we pay for to make sure.
Speaker C:Sure it's protected.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's, it's tough.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, it's, it's.
Speaker C:I always tell people that we're spending as much money as we can to make sure it's protected.
Speaker C:So we're not kind of like a, you know, sort of a mom and pop or anything like that.
Speaker C:I know other big organizations have been broken into and, and I think the reason why we take it so seriously is think about how much information we have.
Speaker C:I mean, we have Social Security number, we have people's fingerprints, we've got their date of birth, we got where they were born.
Speaker C:We have everything that the FBI needs to know about background check on someone.
Speaker C:So it's so incumbent upon us to make sure that, you know, when we leave a laptop after we, you know, if we're going to go to the restroom, make sure you log out.
Speaker C:So, I mean, we have the same kind of protocols.
Speaker C:A lot of our employees here came from healthcare, and so we kind of have a lot of the protocols that you would see in a hospital or any other kind of organization where privacy, with HIPAA having that same mindset here, but it's, it's a daily task to, you know, pay people and make sure that your, your information is protected.
Speaker C:And the most important thing I would say is it's a heavy investment for us.
Speaker C:We're spending a lot of money there to make sure it's secure.
Speaker C:And just, you know, we always ask people to trust us, that we're professional and our goal is going to make sure.
Speaker C:Because that would be a huge hit for us if information was compromised.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I know people, especially in our space, that appreciate when companies are willing to say we're doing everything in our power to be proactive in the protection of your information because that's definitely not a situation where you want to be on the reactive side of things.
Speaker C:Oh, totally.
Speaker C:Yeah, totally.
Speaker C:I mean, it creates some customer struggles too, because a customer might call and say, hey, I want to do a pistol brace and can you mail me my fingerprint cards?
Speaker C:We're always like, you know, that's tough for us because if you don't get them or they go to a different address, it's got all your information on there, it's got where you're born, Social Security number, your fingerprint.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So it creates struggles for us on, hey, what's the best way to make sure we're taking care of our customer, but also make sure we're not sending them something that could, you know, create a, you know, some kind of issue for them on identity theft and things like that?
Speaker B:No, and that's a, that's a huge thing to have to combat and that's why I asked the question.
Speaker B:So it's good question.
Speaker B:You know, a lot of people in our space are very anti technology, things like that.
Speaker B:So it's, you know, well, at least.
Speaker A:In the gun community, like you said you were, you are on the, the manufacturing side of things as well as the dealer side of things.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:When it comes to the manufacturing side, kind of walk us through the process of what makes your product unique.
Speaker A:That makes it, in your opinion, probably the best.
Speaker A:But give, give the people what they want as far as the product detail.
Speaker C:So I should back up and tell you why I got into manufacturing.
Speaker C:So the reality was a couple things.
Speaker C:One, when I first started doing this, customers would come up to my booth, they would look at the product and they would pick it up and they would say, gosh, this is heavy.
Speaker C:This looks very tactical.
Speaker C:This looks more like maybe someone who used to be in the military is using this on the weekends.
Speaker C:And what they were wanting is something that looked more for like a hunter.
Speaker C:And so that was one thing that made me think, okay, maybe it's a different market for the hunter and the tactical shooter.
Speaker C:And then the next thing was, almost 90% of my sales when I first started were from like say January till April because that's when all the Gun shows were all the gun shows just because of the agricultural base here, people would go to gun shows, and that's when they were scheduled in the winter, when there was nothing else to do.
Speaker C:And I needed all my inventory during that period of time.
Speaker C:So there's really.
Speaker C:At that point, there was not that many people who were willing to supply me with that much product for those three or four months and could get it to me in a timely manner.
Speaker C:So it sort of forced me to say, hey, I gotta go find a manufacturer that can make for me.
Speaker C:So going back to the hunting, what I found with hunters is they want it really, really quiet.
Speaker C:Whereas if you look at a tactical shooter, their goal is typically for it to be hearing safe.
Speaker C:But the hunter is like, man, the quieter it is, the better it is for me.
Speaker C:So I want it super, super quiet.
Speaker C:They don't care if it's a little bit longer, but they also want it really, really light.
Speaker C:So what you'll find is most of our suppressors are 100% titanium.
Speaker C:So we buy so much titanium, and we typically buy two years at a time, that we can pay for what normally people would pay for almost stainless steel.
Speaker C:Because we buy so much titanium, it's very tough to machine titanium.
Speaker C:So we struggled to find manufacturers that had experience there were willing to sort of jump in with us.
Speaker C:But we basically made a line of suppressors that were sort of tailored to the hunter, where it's lightweight, it's super quiet.
Speaker C:You'll see a lot of our suppressors come apart to clean as well.
Speaker C:When I first started, the rim fires did not come apart.
Speaker C:And then the first evolution was rim fires came apart to clean, which makes sense because you could get some lead build up because that bullet's not jacketed.
Speaker C:But then you don't see many other larger suppressors come apart to clean.
Speaker C:And I find probably 30 to 40% of people want to be able to take it apart.
Speaker C:They want to clean it.
Speaker C:They want to make sure it's not filling up and losing its volume and getting louder.
Speaker C:So really, pretty much everything we make comes apart to clean as well.
Speaker C:But I think the titanium, just because it's stronger, is sort of giving us an advantage.
Speaker C:You know, it's funny, when I first started, a lot of people thought, you know, this guy's doing titanium, that'll never work.
Speaker C:And now I see a lot of people are coming out with titanium suppressors just because there's a demand for that.
Speaker C:And I know that sounds like a hunter specific, but if you take a regular tactical shooter and you tell them you're going to give them a lighter suppressor.
Speaker C:It's also quiet.
Speaker C:They're not going to complain.
Speaker C:So it ends up we kind of made something for hunters, but it's worked out really well for tactical.
Speaker C:But, you know, like I said, we sell everyone's products.
Speaker C:So if someone sees a product on our website, or even not on our website, just call us.
Speaker C:Because we have really good relationships with manufacturers.
Speaker C:Most of the ones on our websites are ones that we buy direct, so we don't have to go through a wholesaler, so we have a little bit better control of the inventory we're getting.
Speaker C:But if there's something they don't see on our website they want, only thing they have to do is call us, because usually we can get it through a wholesaler and go through the same process where we let them pay while they wait and give them a free trust and then ship it to their front door.
Speaker B:All right, here, here's the hardest question of the day.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Best can on the market.
Speaker B:Go, go.
Speaker C:I tell you, I am 100% obsessed with the Banished backcountry.
Speaker C:Just because it's five and a half inches long and it's 7.8 ounces, it's super, super light.
Speaker C:Every show I work, when I hand it to someone, it's hard for them to say, no, I don't want one.
Speaker C:And of course, I typically use it for hunting applications.
Speaker C:So it's, it's a little bit fun fatter, but it's, it's hearing safe on a Remington Ultramax.
Speaker C:So, I mean, that one, that one's very solid for the hunting perspective where people want it light, short, and quiet.
Speaker C:You know, that's mostly what I do.
Speaker C:You know, I do shoot some machine guns.
Speaker C:I do have this, you know, just over the years, working gun shows, people come up and say, hey, you know, I've got a machine gun that I'm getting a little older, my wife's not gonna know what to do with.
Speaker C:So I think I'm up to about two or 300 machine guns.
Speaker C:So I, I, I do have an addiction problem there that it's a good thing I'm friends with the federal ammo guys so that I can afford to feed those.
Speaker C:But, you know, even a pistol can.
Speaker C:Like, we have a banish.45, which is nice too, for, you know, using on full auto and on pistols.
Speaker C:But again, I'm, I'm sort of biased towards titanium, lightweight and durability.
Speaker C:But definitely I like the banish 30 for, you know, its Ability to be quiet, not be that long.
Speaker C:And also very lightweight.
Speaker B:I told you that was the hardest question of the day.
Speaker C:Oh yeah,.
Speaker B:There's so many great kids now.
Speaker B:Did you guys go up to that event?
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:Now I can't remember where they tested all the suppressors against each other.
Speaker C:I, you know, I don't know if we got an invite to that or not.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:Was that AAC that helped put that together?
Speaker B:I think it was AAC who put that.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Together some.
Speaker B:Either it was aac.
Speaker B:I know Huxworks was there and DE was there and Bunch.
Speaker B:I can't remember what it was called.
Speaker C:Yeah, we go to Cancon and things like that.
Speaker C:You know, sometimes I tell my team, like unless it's a consumer event, sometimes we don't go just because it, you know, it.
Speaker C:You wonder like even if there was because like I never saw any information after that.
Speaker C:So that was my concern.
Speaker C:Do we spend a lot of money, go up there and shoot and test and then not really have anything to show for it afterwards.
Speaker C:But no, I do think we should probably go to more of those.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, we have a can we came out with recently.
Speaker C:It's called a Speed K. We made it for federal ammunition.
Speaker C:Federal ammunition came to us and said, hey, we see law enforcement market increasing in their suppressor use.
Speaker C:Federal has great market share with their ammunition, with law enforcement agencies.
Speaker C:And they wanted something else to be able to sell to those agencies that they saw was a growing market.
Speaker C:So we spent about two and a half years in design with them and we came up with a 3D printed.
Speaker C:We call it our internal code for it's a two by four.
Speaker C:So it's, you know, it's four inches long and it's two inch diameter.
Speaker C:So the law enforcement like it because they can clear rooms real quickly.
Speaker C:I know my team showed me some videos this weekend.
Speaker C:I've got a saw, like an FN saw.
Speaker C:And they used it on that.
Speaker C:They loved it.
Speaker C:That was the best running thing.
Speaker C:So of course I don't have any.
Speaker C:I hadn't spent the money to get the belt fed part.
Speaker C:They just put the AR15 mag in the side.
Speaker C:But I could tell the show in the videos are like, oh man, this is awesome.
Speaker C:We gotta scale this up.
Speaker C:People love it.
Speaker C:But our Speed K is 100% Enel, so it's a little bit stronger material.
Speaker C:So they can handle full auto.
Speaker C:And it's probably, you know, rated for law enforcement that use burst and also full auto.
Speaker C:But also the military side as well, all right.
Speaker B:Well, we are, we've, we've taken up enough of your time for today.
Speaker B:We appreciate you being on with us.
Speaker B:Go ahead and plug away Social's website where you want people to go, what they want them to do, you know, all that.
Speaker C:Yeah, no, totally.
Speaker C:Well, I'd say if you've ever been on the fence about getting a suppressor, it's really the best time because the ATF approval times, you know, their goal is to be real time and that's kind of what we're seeing a lot of approvals.
Speaker C:So you know, you could just do a Google search for signal.
Speaker C:So central go to our website, call us.
Speaker C:You know, we have, we have the Same number of 5 star reviews for people that bought online or talked to our people.
Speaker C:But I'm probably biased to talk to our people just because you know what people.
Speaker C:One thing about misconceptions you were asking about earlier, a lot of people think that if you buy a suppressor you can only use it on one gun and they don't think about the multi caliber functionality where you can buy a 30 cal and use it on a 2 2, 3 as well and anything in between.
Speaker C:So I would recommend they call, visit you, see us at an event, stop by.
Speaker C:We could do all your paperwork there.
Speaker C:But yeah, we'd be happy to work with people and show them how convenient it is where, you know, we've really spent almost 20 years focusing.
Speaker C:How do we make the process easier and very customer focused instead of dealer focused and to just ship it right to your front door when the feds approve it.
Speaker B:Perfect.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, thank you again for coming on.
Speaker A:This has been an absolutely wonderful conversation.
Speaker C:I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker C:Thanks so much for thinking of us again.
Speaker B:Like Kaylee said, appreciate you coming on guys.
Speaker B:Make sure to like share and subscribe.
Speaker B:Leave a five star review on all podcasting apps.
Speaker B:Make sure to subscribe to the new state of the second podcast YouTube channel and hit the little bell for notifications and have a great rest of your day.
