Episode Details

Dead Air's Mike Pappas joins State of the Second hosts John and Kaylee to clear up what most people get wrong about suppressors, starting with the Hollywood myth that they make a gun whisper-quiet. As Pappas puts it, that sound is "a made up sound effect." He walks through the real tradeoffs of owning a can, the added length, weight, heat, cost, and the wait time, and explains why the benefits still win out: hearing protection, a better shooting experience, and being a more considerate neighbor at the range.

Pappas shares how he got into the industry. He started as an auto mechanic who was always into guns, managed a gun store in Salt Lake, was one of the original people who started SilencerCo where he spent about five years, and then launched Dead Air in 2014 with Eric Rogers, doing their first SHOT Show in 2015. He breaks down the regulatory reality of building suppressors under a manufacturing FFL with an SOT, the Form 2 and Form 3 paperwork, and the $200 stamp. He's candid that some of the rules don't make sense to him, but the company follows them to the letter.

The conversation turns political and cultural. Pappas and the hosts discuss the SHUSH Act and Senator Mike Lee's push to take suppressors off the NFA registry to Title One, what deregulation would mean for the market, and why suppressor hunting is expanding state by state. Kaylee makes the case that gun owner inaction is the real threat, pointing to record-setting comment campaigns against rules like the universal background check rule, the Green Tip ammo ban attempt, and the frame and receiver serialization push. They close on community: events like CanCon, Thunder Beast's open suppressor data gathering, and Red October, and the idea that video games and movies are an on-ramp that gets new people interested in the real thing. Pappas points listeners to deadairarmament.com.

Links

• deadairsilencers.com

Questions this episode answers

Why don't real suppressors sound like the quiet ones in movies and video games?

Mike Pappas says the near-silent gunshot you hear in Hollywood is a made-up sound effect, and that a real suppressor is not anywhere close to that. A can reduces the report enough to protect hearing and improve the shooting experience, but it does not make a gun whisper-quiet.

How did Mike Pappas get into the silencer business and start Dead Air?

Pappas was an auto mechanic who was always into guns, then managed a gun store in Salt Lake and became one of the original people who started SilencerCo, where he spent about five years. He launched Dead Air in 2014 with Eric Rogers and did the company's first SHOT Show in 2015.

What paperwork and licensing does a company need to manufacture suppressors?

A company builds suppressors under a manufacturing FFL with an SOT, files Form 2 and Form 3 paperwork, and the customer's transfer carries the $200 tax stamp. Pappas admits some of the rules don't make sense to him, but Dead Air follows them to the letter.

What would the SHUSH Act and moving suppressors to Title One mean for the industry?

The SHUSH Act and Senator Mike Lee's push would take suppressors off the National Firearms Act registry and treat them as Title One items, removing the $200 stamp and the long wait. Pappas calls that wait the biggest barrier to entry for any silencer company, so deregulation would open the market.

Why is suppressor hunting becoming legal in more states?

Suppressor hunting is expanding state by state as more legislatures allow it, part of the broader shift toward treating cans as normal gear. Pappas frames suppressor use as being a more considerate, polite neighbor to your fellow shooters.

Why does gun owner inaction matter, and how have ATF comment periods been beaten back?

Host Kaylee argues that g