Posted on 06/15/2016 5:22:25 AM PDT by marktwain
This is part 1 of a 2 part series. At the NRA annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, I was able to talk to Josh Waldron, CEO of SilencerCo. Josh is more than a visionary. He is a man who acted on his vision, and is changing the gun culture and the national culture. Josh has always been independent. He had a successful career as a photographer before co-founding SilencerCo in 2008. From linkedln.com:
I asked Josh about the future of silencers and silencer legislation. The National Firearms Act (NFA), passed in 1934, imposes severe regulation and a $200 tax on legal silencers.After 12 years as a photographer, Waldron became restless in his career, and, Coincidentally his long time childhood friend, Jonathon Shults, was also looking for other opportunities. Together they were drawn to the suppressor industry because they saw market potential that could not be ignored. They found that all the existing suppressor companies had rather antiquated technology, poor customer service, and subpar marketing, not to mention that the suppressor industry was an obscure market that not many people knew existed. Waldron and Shults felt like this obscure industry had amazing potential. They believed that if they started a company that focused on innovation, customer service, marketing, and consumer education, they could create a much bigger market.
“It starts as education. Ever since we started the company in 2008, we have had a focus on education and advocacy. When I first started the company there were only 18,000 silencers sold in the United States each year, and that was every manufacturer.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Great detail, worth the read. Reforms in 13 states already. Working on the federal level. Trump mentioned.
Great interview and insights; I book marked the website, too.
The restrictions on silencers are particularly silly, even compared to other gun laws. I shoot better without excess noise, and I own multiple (legal) silencers. Shooting .308 with a silencer next to someone shooting the same caliber without is startling in the contrast. As much as I like shooting, if I lived next to a range, I’d want everyone to use a silencer.
There are some European countries where one is legally required to use a silencer to shoot at the range.
I have a Silencerco Sparrow in ATF jail right now.
I got my AR-15 & AR-10 Advanced Armaments suppressors back in 2001-02, and it was only a 4mo wait. There weren’t that many choices. Now, there are many more mfgrs and prices have come way down. I hope more people get them.
Josh Waldron believes that Trump will sign the Hearing Protection Act. That bill removes silencers from the NFA category that requires the $200 tax. It makes them legally like long guns. Sales would increase 50-100 times.
In countries where silencers are easy to get, nearly all shooters have them. There are 100 million gun owners in the U.S.A., who have been deprived of good hearing protection for decades. They should all be very angry.
Franklin Roosevelt’s punishing regulation and tax on gun mufflers was one of the Federal government’s worst public health decisions, ever.
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