Silencer Central: A Closer Look

by
posted on August 2, 2023

In 2021, "American Rifleman Television" visited Silencer Central to explore the company's simplified suppressor-buying process and other elements of this rapidly growing company. Now, we're back at the company to take a closer look at some of its other elements. Watch our "American Rifleman Television" feature segment above to learn more about how Silencer Central is growing and what else the company offers.

"I think several customers were hesitant to become a first-time [suppressor] owner because they were unsure of the process," said Maggie Jelen, Silencer Central director of operations. "They were unsure of their role, and they'd heard some stories about the lag time, the significant time from purchase to obtaining their product. And that either made people hesitant or scared them off completely. And I think with our operations and the efficiencies that we found, we're breaking down those barriers for our customers and really allowing them to have ease and comfort and speed in their purchase of their first silencer products."

A stack of yellow suppressor boxes inside a caged room.

One of the biggest obstacles Silencer Central faced in its mission was the unique regulatory framework that governs suppressor sales, and for years, that created a burdensome wait for firearm owners interested in adding suppressors to their collection. The company has worked with BATFE to create electronic Form 4 approval processes in order to cut down that wait time.

"It is interesting in our industry, you actually have to have the silencer on the shelf to make the sale to the person, even though they could potentially wait weeks or months to get approved," Silencer Central CFO Josh Robinson said. "And so not only do we have the silencers that we anticipate to sell, we've got silencers that we've already sold. Right behind us here in this room, there's 100,000 silencers sitting on the shelf."

Silencer Central's goal is to ultimately cut down on that obstacle and reduce suppressor-wait times from many months to just weeks.

A man holding Silencer Central's Banish suppressor baffles.

"The biggest obstacle for customers over the years has been, 'Gosh, why do I have to wait a year to get it?'" said Brandon Maddox, CEO of Silencer Central. "So to see a process now where, you know, I'm feeling very confident that a customer could get approved in a 45- to a 90-day window. It's golden."

In addition to offering a wide variety of suppressors, Silencer Central is now offering an in-house barrel-threading service for its customers.

"It seems like we would work shows, and a customer would come up and you could just tell in their thinking whether they want to get a suppressor. They're like, 'How do I get this on my rifle?'" Maddox said. "So that's when we said, 'Does it make sense for us to bring barrel threading in-house?' You know, our goal always was to double down and get the most expensive, most accurate, most precise machinery so that we could thread it perfectly."

Throughout the process, Silencer Central has continue to grow and has expanded its location and its employee base to meet the needs of its customers.

A man placing a rifle barrel inside a machine for barrel threading.

"My philosophy as a business owner is I'm 100 percent convinced that if a customer's happy with Silencer Central, they're gonna refer us to a friend, and they're gonna buy another one," Maddox said. "So, to make that work, a lot of times, you throw more employees at a problem to fix it."

Coupled with its expansion, Silencer Central is also looking for ways to streamline and automate its processes in order to create a better experience for the end user.

"We'll continue to find ways to automate our processes," Maddox said. "The goal will be that the customer has the best experience. Honestly, Silencer Central's entire business model has been created around making the process simple, because I personally went through a process that was painful, and when I would work shows and events over the last 17 years, that's the biggest issue."

To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.

Latest

MR73 01 Knupp
MR73 01 Knupp

Review: Beretta Manurhin MR73 50th Anniversary Edition Revolver

Why is one of the most legendary handguns of the 1970s a revolver that was built specifically for one of the most elite police forces? The answer lies within the unique story of the Manurhin MR73.

Gunsite Celebrating NRA’s 153rd Birthday On The Air

The Yavapai Amateur Radio Club (YARC) of Prescott, Ariz., will be operating a special event station on Nov. 17, 2024, in celebration of the NRA’s 153rd birthday.

I Have This Old Gun: British Pattern 1801 Sea Service Pistol

One of the mainstays in the British Royal Naval arsenal of small arms was the Pattern 1801 Sea Service Pistol, a design that equipped sailors for ship-to-ship fighting.

New For 2025: Hi-Point Large Format Pistols

Hi-Point Firearms expanded its handgun lineup with large-format pistol variants of its popular pistol-caliber carbines.

SAAMI Conference Reflects Growing Industry Dedication To Innovation

“This year’s record attendance is a clear indication of the importance of this event to the ammunition and firearm development and testing community, as well as government and law enforcement test labs and procurement activities,” said Joe Bartozzi, SAAMI president and CEO.

Favorite Firearms: Outstanding Customer Service!

I purchased my first pistol, a .32-cal. Walther PPK in 1969. Why choose a .32 ACP and not a more powerful .380 ACP? Because .32 was the chambering that Ian Fleming’s fictional character James Bond switched to when Q forced him to give up his beloved .25-cal. Beretta.

 

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.