PSA--Why you should NOT use Silencer Central to purchase a suppressor

[Dave C.]

After finally receiving my suppressor from Silencer Central, I feel the need to warn others that you should only buy from them if you want to wait an additional 3-6 mos to receive your can. Allow me to break down how their delays and incompetence easily led to an additional 4+ mos of waiting.

1. Started the process with SC 2/11/22. This included my fingerprinting, payment, and filling out most of the necessary documentation. I received email confirmation from SC that they would "Begin processing paperwork to the ATF." Being unfamiliar with the process, I was unaware that SC still had to submit the eForm to ATF. They DID NOT DO THIS UNTIL 3/10/22.

2. While every eForm ATF approval time is slightly variable and different, most approvals submitted in mid-Feb when mine should have been processed began coming back around early July. Don't ask me why but around this time, ATF apparently began "slow-walking" approvals. Mine which was submitted 3/10/22 did not get approved until 10/31/22. SC's delays easily resulted in an additional 3-4 mos before my suppressor was approved just based on this alone.

3. Once the ATF approval was obtained, I had to sign one more form which I did that day and they then informed me that they had to notify local LE of the purchase. This is total BS! I have spoken to several dealers and FFL's. Everyone else does this at the time of PURCHASE and when you start the process so that the wait time overlaps with the ATF approval process. SC waits until you get the approval and then sends the notification via snail mail, waits 7 business days until they receive confirmation from LE that the notification was received, then once that 7 business days are up, they "start preparing your suppressor for shipment." I'll address the local LE notification first as I had a lengthy discussion with SC over this. Their attorneys are completely incompetent and have misinterpreted code section 478.96(b) which says NOTHING about waiting until ATF approval is obtained before notifying local LE. So, either SC atty's are incompetent or SC has decided they will wait until the approval is obtained and save a few cents by not sending notifications on the small percentage of ATF denials. Why they couldn't start processing the can for shipping during this time is beyond me as well. Once the 7 business days were up and they started processing the can for shipping, it was another 3-4 days before it was actually shipped. I finally received the suppressor on 11/22/22, over 3 wks after ATF approval.

End result==well over 4+ mos of additional wait due to SC's incompetence and poor business practices. BUY LOCAL WHEN YOU CAN GUYS!

 

[JPeters218]

My Timeline
1/5/22 - Purchased suppressor
2/1/22 - I received my eform from them and completed it that day
3/7/22 - E-Form was certified
10/18/22 - E Form is approved
4473 is completed
10/24/22 - I have to E-Sign 4473 again
11/12/22 - Shipping label is created
11/15/22 - USPS receives item
11/18/22 - Expected delivery date

Start to finish was a total of 317 days

I will say they make the process really easy and simple. And I probably would recommend them to a first time buyer because of this. (Once I see how other dealers‘ processes work I may change my mind on this). I’m also really happy with my banish 30. But I definitely will not be buying from them again. Purely because of the timeline.

 

[mtnrunner260]

@Dave C.
Did you purchase at the western hunt expo?
I purchased there on 2/11 as well. My eForm was submitted 4/13.
Still waiting.
This is my first suppressor purchase so going through them certainly seems easy but unfortunate if their practices compound ATF wait times.

Did you reach out to them for updates during the process?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’ve had a very different experience than you. I have 2 cans on order from though them and there was a few weeks of delay up front but that’s because I didn’t buy their banish like so I had to wait for them to receive the silencers from the manufacturers (dead air, TBAC).

 

[Packin_packout]

Had a similar issue to OP with them sitting on it for about 2 months, no issue on them not notifying cleo at time of submission. Mine was in stock, just took several calls to get them moving. This was three years ago. In comparison have run three different local dealers w/o issue. Most cases they text me when it is accepted by atf and has never been more than a few days...and I am running a multi person trust. It seems very inconsistent with them based on others I have talked to.

 

[Dave C.]

@Dave C.
Did you purchase at the western hunt expo?
I purchased there on 2/11 as well. My eForm was submitted 4/13.
Still waiting.
This is my first suppressor purchase so going through them certainly seems easy but unfortunate if their practices compound ATF wait times.

Did you reach out to them for updates during the process?

Yes and yes. I'll bet your 2-month delay in submission of your eForm will result in at least a 6 month delay in approval.

 

[Dave C.]

I’ve had a very different experience than you. I have 2 cans on order from though them and there was a few weeks of delay up front but that’s because I didn’t buy their banish like so I had to wait for them to receive the silencers from the manufacturers (dead air, TBAC).

Everybody's a fan until they get screwed themselves. If you're too clueless to realize the few wks of delay up front is likely gonna result in an additional 3-4 mos of wait time, then that's your problem.

 

[JPeters218]

Everybody's a fan until they get screwed themselves. If you're too clueless to realize the few wks of delay up front is likely gonna result in an additional 3-4 mos of wait time, then that's your problem.

@thinhorn_AK has said in multiple threads that SC makes sense for him. They’re one of, if not the only place that will ship it right to your door. He doesn’t have any dealers anywhere near him, so he’s willing willing to add a few weeks or months on to the timeline in order to save himself a lot of travel time and money.
Silencer central has its place. Mostly for rural people. But they also make it incredibly easy to buy your first suppressor like I did. In those situations it makes some sense to trade some time for money/ logistics/ simplicity.
I won’t be using them again because I found a local shop to go through, but I’m not mad that I did. Sure it took longer than I expected, but I’m happy with my Banish and the smoothness and simplicity of the process.

 

[dieselchessy]

Curious why more folks don’t use Silencer Shop. They have dealers with kiosks all over. I’ve not seen folks comment on they adding long delays into the process.

To the OP,

I’m not understanding your math of how a 2 week delay multiplies into a few month delay.
That would imply that every few weeks the ATF wait time increases by 2 months, and that’s not the case.

For as long as I can recall the wait has been 200 to 300 days on average. For a short spell with E-file folks we’re teased with “90 day approvals”, but that hardly came to fruition. Quickly things settled back to the normal 200 to 300 days.

 

[B23]

Bought three cans from them in early 2022. Their CS was great I have no issues with them on that and their staff was great to deal with but even though they were good to work with their process, at least then, was slowwww and I waited over a year to get my cans. Also, they're suppressors are good quality but there's better cans out there with regard to noise suppression. If you want a direct thread 1.5 diameter can, get a TBAC Ultra 7 or 9. The Banish30 in 9in configuration is the same as a TBAC Ultra7 and not even close to the TBAC Ultra9. If you don't mind a little larger diameter can the Dead Air Nomad LT is a great can and if you want the best rated 30 cal can out there and don't mind an extra few ounces the new TBAC Magnus is a pretty awesome can. To do all over again, I would have gotten the DA Nomad LT and I'm seriously considering one now.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Everybody's a fan until they get screwed themselves. If you're too clueless to realize the few wks of delay up front is likely gonna result in an additional 3-4 mos of wait time, then that's your problem.

I’m not sure what to say other than my few weeks of delay was purely because they had to order the silencers I wanted since I wasn’t buying banish cans. They can’t exactly sell me something they don’t have in stock can they? Similar to how back order works. They just call the manufacturer and order what the customer wants. In my case it is a dead air and a TBAC so it seems perfectly reasonable to wait 2 weeks for them to get those.

It looks like you got your silencer in ~ 9 months but you think it should have happened 3-5 months faster??? I waited 14 months with my paper form so I don’t really feel too bad for you.

I’m sorry you aren’t happy with your purchase, luckily there are other options and you won’t have to go through the horrors of waiting 9 months for a supressor ever again (lol).

 

[HandgunHTR]

Here is my timeline, purchasing from a local Silencer Shop dealer (i.e. using the SS process).

January 3rd, walk into the store and purchase a Dead Air Nomad. Do everything on the SS kiosk for both my wife and me (fingerprints, pic, upload of trust).
Can is transferred to my dealer via Form 3 (didn’t even come to them from SS, it was from their other distributor). Can shows up there on January 25. Begin the e-file paperwork via SS on January 28th. Certify on Feb 4th and e-file is submitted same day.
Approved June 8th. Picked it up June 11th.

While I completely understand using SC if you don’t have a dealer close, if you do, I would definitely recommend using a SS dealer if you have the option.

And if you live in TX, Capitol Armory is a good choice as well and they will ship to you in TX too.

 

[B23]

And if you live in TX, Capitol Armory is a good choice as well and they will ship to you in TX too.

I've bought a couple cans and a few firearms from Capitol Armory over the years and they have always been top notch to deal with and I live in Wa. State. You don't have to live in Tx to purchase from them and they have the same deal worked out where you can have cans delivered right to you in many different states.

How to Buy a Suppressor Online - Capitol Armory

Capitol Armory makes it simple to buy a suppressor online with a large selection of "in stock" suppressors from 8 major manufacturers.

www.capitolarmory.com

 

[blacktail434]

I've bought a couple cans and a few firearms from Capitol Armory over the years and they have always been top notch to deal with and I live in Wa. State. You don't have to live in Tx to purchase from them and they have the same deal worked out where you can have cans delivered right to you in many different states.

How to Buy a Suppressor Online - Capitol Armory

Capitol Armory makes it simple to buy a suppressor online with a large selection of "in stock" suppressors from 8 major manufacturers.

www.capitolarmory.com

No FFL middle man required?

 

[B23]

For firearms absolutely need FFL but there's a few different places, Capitol Armory being one of them, that has it worked out that once the stamp comes back they ship your suppressor directly to you. Click on the link, it'll take you to their site and explain it all a lot better than I can or give them a call, they're very helpful and will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

My dealings with them were great 2 cans paper form 8 months for both cans, this was 2yrs ago..My issue was the local approved dealer...he let his ATF paper work expire or it was delayed so both my cans set at his shop for month with my stamps while he waited for his new paper work from ATF so he could transfer them to me...The entire process is a goverment run shit show...just try to thru it without getting any on you.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I've bought a couple cans and a few firearms from Capitol Armory over the years and they have always been top notch to deal with and I live in Wa. State. You don't have to live in Tx to purchase from them and they have the same deal worked out where you can have cans delivered right to you in many different states.

How to Buy a Suppressor Online - Capitol Armory

Capitol Armory makes it simple to buy a suppressor online with a large selection of "in stock" suppressors from 8 major manufacturers.

www.capitolarmory.com

That is great to know. The last time I bought from them was pre 41F when I lived in TX. Both them and Silencer shop would mail them right to me.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

That is great to know. The last time I bought from them was pre 41F when I lived in TX. Both them and Silencer shop would mail them right to me.

I might order a TBAC takedown 22 just to try them out if they can send to AK.

 

[fatbacks]

I have bought several through silencer shop over the past few years. Every single one went fast and smooth. Sounds like Silencer Central is becoming a bureaucratic black hole holding up paperwork just like the ATF


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave C.]

Curious why more folks don’t use Silencer Shop. They have dealers with kiosks all over. I’ve not seen folks comment on they adding long delays into the process.

To the OP,

I’m not understanding your math of how a 2 week delay multiplies into a few month delay.
That would imply that every few weeks the ATF wait time increases by 2 months, and that’s not the case.

For as long as I can recall the wait has been 200 to 300 days on average. For a short spell with E-file folks we’re teased with “90 day approvals”, but that hardly came to fruition. Quickly things settled back to the normal 200 to 300 days.

Because eForm submissions from mid-Feb were getting approved in July. This can be seen by following the approval timelines here and on Reddit. There then seemed to be major shift at ATF--either they started slow-walking eForm approvals, took agents off the eForms, or just saw a major increase in apps. But, ultimately, it doesn't really matter. Had SC submitted my application when I completed the paperwork and purchased the can, I would have had it in July. Instead, they didn't submit until March and I got my can in Nov. I think I'm being pretty "conservative" in saying their delay only cost me a few mos. In reality, it cost me more like 5 mos.