May 16, 2025 • 12 mins
In this episode, we dig into the controversy surrounding the stalled Hearing Protection Act, the online firestorm aimed at Silencer Central, and what it all means for hunters, shooters, and conservationists. Was this a case of corporate sabotage—or just a misunderstood push for funding wildlife through Pittman-Robertson? We take a balanced look at both sides, share personal insights as hunters, and urge listeners to step back, ask better questions, and stay grounded in truth.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey, folks, Today we're diving deep into a hot button
issue that's been stirring up a lot of noise in
the gun world, the fate of the Hearing Protection Act,
the online outrage over Silencer Central's lobbying activity, and what
this means for hunter shooters and conservation minded folks like me.
(00:28):
So let's break it down. So the Hearing Protection Act
what it should be. So here's the deal. The Hearing
Protection Act or HPA people like to call it, has
been floating around for years. The idea of that is
pretty simple, remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act or
the NFA. So they've been on there for a long time.
(00:50):
I think this was since nineteen thirty four. I always
mix up the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act.
But the point is they've been there for one hundred
years ish, and so many Americans want to shoot firearms
without blowing out their ears. And nobody really knows exactly
why suppressors are on there. Machine guns were on there,
(01:11):
short barreled rifles were on there, any other weapon type devices.
Lots of stuff is on there, but there's not really
a clear and concise answer why silencers are restricted under
the National Firearms Act, So the Hearing Protection Act has
been around for a while and would basically just remove
suppressors from that Act. It would scrap the two hundred
(01:34):
dollars tax stamp, and it would treat suppressors just like
regular firearms still regulated by the Gun Control Act, so
they have to be serialized. There has to be a
documented chain of custody from manufacturer to dealer to distributor
or distributor dealer to en consumer, so that would still exist.
They would just be treated just like any other gun
(01:55):
rather than a special NFA item. So that would make
it way easier for law abiding gun owners to protect
their hearing without waiting months for government approval. And there's
so many problems with the NFA, but some people are
perturbed by the weight. My first suppressor, I waited eleven
months to get mine. It was not fun to wait
(02:17):
that long. I had to pay a two hundred dollars
tax stamp, which used to be a big deal. It's
becoming less and less of a big deal. But the
biggest thing is that you have to get approval from
the federal government for essentially a muffler, and your name
is now in a registry and this can be found
through a FOYA, and it's just a huge imposition on
(02:39):
ultimately what is the right to keep in bare arms.
So there is a lot of reasons why silencers why
the NFA shouldn't exist. Let's just say that there are
a lot of reasons why the NFA shouldn't exist, and
especially why silencers are the most reasonable item to be
taken off of the NFA. So it all sounds like
common sense, right, especially since suppressors or silencers don't actually
(03:03):
make guns silent, And there's kind of this whole debate
of are they silencers or suppressors. They just suppress the weapon,
they don't make it silent. Yes, I know that, I
know that, but legally they are called silencers. That is
the term used in the law. So I use the
terms interchangeably. Heck, a lot of times I just call
them cans, But cans suppressors, silencers, you know what I'm
(03:23):
talking about. So they don't actually make the gun squiet,
they just take the edge off. But somehow, despite a
supposedly pro gun Congress, the Hearing Protection Act has stalled again,
this time in the House Ways and Means Committee. And yeah,
that's pretty frustrating. A lot of folks here are pointing
(03:44):
fingers at Republicans for letting it die quietly in committee.
Gun rights groups are calling it a betrayal of the
Second Amendment, and people are pretty understandably fired up. Now,
enter Silence A Central. Here's where it gets messy. In
the middle of all of this, word got out that
Silencer Central, one of the biggest names in the suppressor world,
(04:06):
spent fifty thousand dollars on lobbying last year, and that
raised eyebrows fast. The lobbying disclosure said it was to
support legislation that would use suppressor tax revenue for quote conservation.
It's kind of vague language. Actually, it's definitely vague language,
and the Internet did what it does, and speculation exploded.
(04:31):
So people started accusing Silencer Central of secretly trying to
keep suppressors under the NFA to protect their shipping model
and keep their business edge. So I actually have the
document pulled up in front of me here, and the
text for the specific lobbying issues were quote develop and
support suppressor tax stamp conservation legislation. So here's the debacle.
(04:58):
Are they conserving the tax stamp or is the tax
stamp money going to fund conservation. I think there are
camps who are interpreting it both ways, and the internet
is obviously just there's a lot of people fear mongering
and dog piling and jumping on this issue and getting
pretty upset thinking that it is conserving the tax stamp
(05:23):
keeping the tax stamp, and I'm not entirely sure that's
what it means, but it is definitely a problem of
vague language. So what people are speculating about is silence.
Essentral is basically carved out a special business model where
you apply for a suppressor silencer through them. They actually
(05:44):
have a business entity in every state. It goes through
that process and it can actually be shipped to your
door by certified mail. And they're really the only ones
that can do that because I think they've really worked
hard to carve out that business advantage. And they're aren't
the best. They're not the worst, but they're not the best.
(06:04):
They do have quality cans, they sell their own brand
as a manufacturer, and they sell other brands, so it's
a pretty complex business model, but they have really cornered
the market on streamlining that process. So what people are
saying or what people are worried about is that they
want to keep that process because they know how to
navigate it, and they are very profitable and very good
(06:26):
at navigating that process, Whereas the true Second Amendment supporter
thing to do would be to remove the process entirely
and let firearms be sold in gun shops just like
anything else. And I think that would be ideal. But
I also look at it and see that, you know,
if sounds essential was able to carve out such an
(06:48):
effective business model despite so many hurdles. If they could
ship straight to your door or go through dealers or like,
they would be just as successful without the tax stamp
and all those other hurdles. Right now, they have kind
of exclusivity because they are better at navigating that than
other people, but they would still be wildly successful. So
(07:11):
I'm not necessarily going to assume that this is them
wanting to keep it to keep their business advantage, but
it's it's not a wild theory. If suppressors get reclassified,
Silencer Central could lose a huge part of what makes
their system so smooth. Mail order suppressors form fours trusts,
the whole package. So yeah, some folks are saying Silenceer
(07:32):
Central is not really fighting for the Hearing Protection Act
because the NFA kind of benefits them, But what if
it's not that. Here's where it gets interesting and why
we're talking about it on the show. That lobbying disclosure
mentioned conservation, and this is what I talked about earlier.
If you've spent any time around back country hunters and
(07:54):
anglers or other conservation groups, you've probably heard about this
idea long before the Silencer Central drama. Using the two
hundred dollars tax stamp revenue to fund Pittman Robertson programs
instead of dumping it into the general tax spot. So,
if you don't know Pittman Robertson, the Pittman Robertson Act
(08:14):
is kind of the lifeblood of wildlife conservation in the US.
It's been around since nineteen thirty seven. Every time you
buy AMMO firearms or archery gear, a portion of that
money goes straight into funding habitat restoration, public shooting ranges,
wildlife management, and hunter education programs. So I think most
(08:36):
gun owners, including myself, would agree it would be far
better if we did not have a two hundred dollars
tax stamp, did not have to file paperwork, did not
have to ask the government for permission to own silencers.
I think a lot of people agree on that. But
if we're stuck on paying the two hundred dollars tax stamp,
wouldn't it be better if that money went towards public
(08:56):
lands and hunter education instead of just disappearing in Washington,
DC bureaucracy. So just a little bit from kind of
my own perspective as a hunter. And I used to
be a hardcore libertarian and I've backed off of that
stance a fair amount, but I'm a hunter. Like I said,
I even own a Banagh thirty from Silencer Central. It's
(09:20):
not the most extreme high performance can out there, but
for my needs it's solid. It works on thirty calnd down.
It can be using full configuration or a shorter configuration.
The ordering process was really smooth, and then I actually
mess it up by using a step down adapter and
I caused a baffle strike and it was my fault,
(09:41):
wasn't theirs. But they fixed it fast and free, and
that's really good customer service. Even shipped right back to
my door. Nowhere else I don't think it could do that.
So Silence Essentral has been great to work with, and
let's be real, they're absolutely crushing it in the suppressor
game right now. And that success, well, it breeds envy
(10:02):
just like anything else in business. If Silence is Central
takes a pr hit, companies like Silencer Shop and Capital
Armory stand to scoop up a whole lot of business.
So I've got to ask, is this a legitimate concern
or are other brands potentially just looking for someone to
burn for their own gain. I'm not defending Silencer Central blindly,
(10:26):
but I'm also not throwing them under the bus because
of some clickbait video with a half bake theory. What
we should be doing this isn't about picking sides. This
is about digging deeper, asking better questions, and refusing to
jump on the outrage bandwagon just because it's easy. Yes,
I believe that suppressors should be off the NFA, no question.
(10:49):
I literally just got back from the range moments ago
shooting a can and it just got me thinking about this.
I just wish that everybody could be shooting suppressed and
saving their hearing and it would just be so much better.
But if that's not going to happen, right now, I'd
way rather see that two hundred dollars go to conservation
than into a government black hole. If Silence of Central
(11:13):
really was pushing it for that angle, then maybe they
weren't selling us out, maybe they were playing the long game.
And yeah, maybe they could have been clearer about it.
But vague lobbying language doesn't equal villainy. So let's not
jump on the bandwagon and dogpile on this brand right now.
They may it may come back that they're very wrong,
(11:36):
or it may come back that this was all a
huge misunderstanding. So right now, let's keep watching, Let's ask questions,
and let's not let a wave of YouTube drama divide us,
because at the end of the day, generally, I think
we're all after the same thing, protecting our gun rights,
protecting our hearing, and protecting our public lands. So that's
(11:59):
it for this episode. I'm sure the story is going
to continue to develop, but if you've got thoughts, send
them in and we'll keep this conversation going, maybe on
my Instagram. Might even do another episode of this if
it continues, But just be honest, respectful, and grounded in
the facts. Until next time, Stay safe, be free, and
never stop seeking adventure,
Hey, folks, Today we're diving deep into a hot button
issue that's been stirring up a lot of noise in
the gun world, the fate of the Hearing Protection Act,
the online outrage over Silencer Central's lobbying activity, and what
this means for hunter shooters and conservation minded folks like me.
(00:28):
So let's break it down. So the Hearing Protection Act
what it should be. So here's the deal. The Hearing
Protection Act or HPA people like to call it, has
been floating around for years. The idea of that is
pretty simple, remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act or
the NFA. So they've been on there for a long time.
(00:50):
I think this was since nineteen thirty four. I always
mix up the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act.
But the point is they've been there for one hundred
years ish, and so many Americans want to shoot firearms
without blowing out their ears. And nobody really knows exactly
why suppressors are on there. Machine guns were on there,
(01:11):
short barreled rifles were on there, any other weapon type devices.
Lots of stuff is on there, but there's not really
a clear and concise answer why silencers are restricted under
the National Firearms Act, So the Hearing Protection Act has
been around for a while and would basically just remove
suppressors from that Act. It would scrap the two hundred
(01:34):
dollars tax stamp, and it would treat suppressors just like
regular firearms still regulated by the Gun Control Act, so
they have to be serialized. There has to be a
documented chain of custody from manufacturer to dealer to distributor
or distributor dealer to en consumer, so that would still exist.
They would just be treated just like any other gun
(01:55):
rather than a special NFA item. So that would make
it way easier for law abiding gun owners to protect
their hearing without waiting months for government approval. And there's
so many problems with the NFA, but some people are
perturbed by the weight. My first suppressor, I waited eleven
months to get mine. It was not fun to wait
(02:17):
that long. I had to pay a two hundred dollars
tax stamp, which used to be a big deal. It's
becoming less and less of a big deal. But the
biggest thing is that you have to get approval from
the federal government for essentially a muffler, and your name
is now in a registry and this can be found
through a FOYA, and it's just a huge imposition on
(02:39):
ultimately what is the right to keep in bare arms.
So there is a lot of reasons why silencers why
the NFA shouldn't exist. Let's just say that there are
a lot of reasons why the NFA shouldn't exist, and
especially why silencers are the most reasonable item to be
taken off of the NFA. So it all sounds like
common sense, right, especially since suppressors or silencers don't actually
(03:03):
make guns silent, And there's kind of this whole debate
of are they silencers or suppressors. They just suppress the weapon,
they don't make it silent. Yes, I know that, I
know that, but legally they are called silencers. That is
the term used in the law. So I use the
terms interchangeably. Heck, a lot of times I just call
them cans, But cans suppressors, silencers, you know what I'm
(03:23):
talking about. So they don't actually make the gun squiet,
they just take the edge off. But somehow, despite a
supposedly pro gun Congress, the Hearing Protection Act has stalled again,
this time in the House Ways and Means Committee. And yeah,
that's pretty frustrating. A lot of folks here are pointing
(03:44):
fingers at Republicans for letting it die quietly in committee.
Gun rights groups are calling it a betrayal of the
Second Amendment, and people are pretty understandably fired up. Now,
enter Silence A Central. Here's where it gets messy. In
the middle of all of this, word got out that
Silencer Central, one of the biggest names in the suppressor world,
(04:06):
spent fifty thousand dollars on lobbying last year, and that
raised eyebrows fast. The lobbying disclosure said it was to
support legislation that would use suppressor tax revenue for quote conservation.
It's kind of vague language. Actually, it's definitely vague language,
and the Internet did what it does, and speculation exploded.
(04:31):
So people started accusing Silencer Central of secretly trying to
keep suppressors under the NFA to protect their shipping model
and keep their business edge. So I actually have the
document pulled up in front of me here, and the
text for the specific lobbying issues were quote develop and
support suppressor tax stamp conservation legislation. So here's the debacle.
(04:58):
Are they conserving the tax stamp or is the tax
stamp money going to fund conservation. I think there are
camps who are interpreting it both ways, and the internet
is obviously just there's a lot of people fear mongering
and dog piling and jumping on this issue and getting
pretty upset thinking that it is conserving the tax stamp
(05:23):
keeping the tax stamp, and I'm not entirely sure that's
what it means, but it is definitely a problem of
vague language. So what people are speculating about is silence.
Essentral is basically carved out a special business model where
you apply for a suppressor silencer through them. They actually
(05:44):
have a business entity in every state. It goes through
that process and it can actually be shipped to your
door by certified mail. And they're really the only ones
that can do that because I think they've really worked
hard to carve out that business advantage. And they're aren't
the best. They're not the worst, but they're not the best.
(06:04):
They do have quality cans, they sell their own brand
as a manufacturer, and they sell other brands, so it's
a pretty complex business model, but they have really cornered
the market on streamlining that process. So what people are
saying or what people are worried about is that they
want to keep that process because they know how to
navigate it, and they are very profitable and very good
(06:26):
at navigating that process, Whereas the true Second Amendment supporter
thing to do would be to remove the process entirely
and let firearms be sold in gun shops just like
anything else. And I think that would be ideal. But
I also look at it and see that, you know,
if sounds essential was able to carve out such an
(06:48):
effective business model despite so many hurdles. If they could
ship straight to your door or go through dealers or like,
they would be just as successful without the tax stamp
and all those other hurdles. Right now, they have kind
of exclusivity because they are better at navigating that than
other people, but they would still be wildly successful. So
(07:11):
I'm not necessarily going to assume that this is them
wanting to keep it to keep their business advantage, but
it's it's not a wild theory. If suppressors get reclassified,
Silencer Central could lose a huge part of what makes
their system so smooth. Mail order suppressors form fours trusts,
the whole package. So yeah, some folks are saying Silenceer
(07:32):
Central is not really fighting for the Hearing Protection Act
because the NFA kind of benefits them, But what if
it's not that. Here's where it gets interesting and why
we're talking about it on the show. That lobbying disclosure
mentioned conservation, and this is what I talked about earlier.
If you've spent any time around back country hunters and
(07:54):
anglers or other conservation groups, you've probably heard about this
idea long before the Silencer Central drama. Using the two
hundred dollars tax stamp revenue to fund Pittman Robertson programs
instead of dumping it into the general tax spot. So,
if you don't know Pittman Robertson, the Pittman Robertson Act
(08:14):
is kind of the lifeblood of wildlife conservation in the US.
It's been around since nineteen thirty seven. Every time you
buy AMMO firearms or archery gear, a portion of that
money goes straight into funding habitat restoration, public shooting ranges,
wildlife management, and hunter education programs. So I think most
(08:36):
gun owners, including myself, would agree it would be far
better if we did not have a two hundred dollars
tax stamp, did not have to file paperwork, did not
have to ask the government for permission to own silencers.
I think a lot of people agree on that. But
if we're stuck on paying the two hundred dollars tax stamp,
wouldn't it be better if that money went towards public
(08:56):
lands and hunter education instead of just disappearing in Washington,
DC bureaucracy. So just a little bit from kind of
my own perspective as a hunter. And I used to
be a hardcore libertarian and I've backed off of that
stance a fair amount, but I'm a hunter. Like I said,
I even own a Banagh thirty from Silencer Central. It's
(09:20):
not the most extreme high performance can out there, but
for my needs it's solid. It works on thirty calnd down.
It can be using full configuration or a shorter configuration.
The ordering process was really smooth, and then I actually
mess it up by using a step down adapter and
I caused a baffle strike and it was my fault,
(09:41):
wasn't theirs. But they fixed it fast and free, and
that's really good customer service. Even shipped right back to
my door. Nowhere else I don't think it could do that.
So Silence Essentral has been great to work with, and
let's be real, they're absolutely crushing it in the suppressor
game right now. And that success, well, it breeds envy
(10:02):
just like anything else in business. If Silence is Central
takes a pr hit, companies like Silencer Shop and Capital
Armory stand to scoop up a whole lot of business.
So I've got to ask, is this a legitimate concern
or are other brands potentially just looking for someone to
burn for their own gain. I'm not defending Silencer Central blindly,
(10:26):
but I'm also not throwing them under the bus because
of some clickbait video with a half bake theory. What
we should be doing this isn't about picking sides. This
is about digging deeper, asking better questions, and refusing to
jump on the outrage bandwagon just because it's easy. Yes,
I believe that suppressors should be off the NFA, no question.
(10:49):
I literally just got back from the range moments ago
shooting a can and it just got me thinking about this.
I just wish that everybody could be shooting suppressed and
saving their hearing and it would just be so much better.
But if that's not going to happen, right now, I'd
way rather see that two hundred dollars go to conservation
than into a government black hole. If Silence of Central
(11:13):
really was pushing it for that angle, then maybe they
weren't selling us out, maybe they were playing the long game.
And yeah, maybe they could have been clearer about it.
But vague lobbying language doesn't equal villainy. So let's not
jump on the bandwagon and dogpile on this brand right now.
They may it may come back that they're very wrong,
(11:36):
or it may come back that this was all a
huge misunderstanding. So right now, let's keep watching, Let's ask questions,
and let's not let a wave of YouTube drama divide us,
because at the end of the day, generally, I think
we're all after the same thing, protecting our gun rights,
protecting our hearing, and protecting our public lands. So that's
(11:59):
it for this episode. I'm sure the story is going
to continue to develop, but if you've got thoughts, send
them in and we'll keep this conversation going, maybe on
my Instagram. Might even do another episode of this if
it continues, But just be honest, respectful, and grounded in
the facts. Until next time, Stay safe, be free, and
never stop seeking adventure,
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