Why the Suppressor SHOULD NOT be apart of the NFA! | #13 Mike Baldasarre

In this episode of Gun Owners of America's State of the Second, hosts Kaylee and John sit down with Mike from Sylvan Arms, a South Carolina manufacturer of firearm parts and accessories. Sylvan is best known for its folding stock adapter, now in its fourth generation, but Mike walks through a much wider catalog: a tool-free QD Picatinny-to-M-LOK rail adapter, a full suppressor line, and new Glock slides. He shares the suppressor lineup in detail, including a direct-thread 22, a direct-thread 9mm for handguns or long guns, two QD rifle cans in 5.56 and 30 caliber, and a 45 caliber direct thread on the way. The 5.56 QD suppressor carries an MSRP right around 550 and ships with the muzzle device, which the hosts frame as an on-ramp for people getting into suppressors for the first time. Much of the conversation centers on policy. Kaylee makes the case for getting suppressors out of the NFA through the SHUSH Act and the Shall Not Be Infringed Act, and points to GOA's work through Second Amendment Hunters to allow suppressors for hunting, which is not legal in all 50 states. Mike, a Marine Corps veteran who suffers hearing loss and tinnitus and wears VA-issued hearing aids, grounds the argument in his own experience: suppressed weapons would have let troops communicate on the battlefield. The group walks through the long wait times for tax stamps, the 1930s origins of the NFA, the pistol brace ban and its hit to a billion-dollar part of the industry, the 80 percent lower and frame-and-receiver rule change, and the Texas suppressor freedom bill that gave the state AG standing to sue on behalf of suppressor owners. The episode also covers the business side. Mike explains Sylvan's customer-driven design philosophy and its goal of keeping products affordable for the average buyer, the current industry-wide summer slump, and how accessory sales tend to track firearm sales. He clears up two common suppressor myths: they cut roughly 30 decibels to a hearing-safe level rather than going silent like in the movies, and they are not illegal, they are sold through a dealer who handles the tax stamp. Mike closes by teasing new products ahead of SHOT Show, including a motorcycle saddlebag mount and a possible aluminum Glock lower that could become Sylvan's first full firearm. GOA membership is 25 dollars a year. Links sylvanarms.com Questions this episode answers What is Sylvan Arms, and what products does it make beyond the folding stock adapter? Sylvan Arms is a South Carolina manufacturer of firearm parts and accessories, best known for its folding stock adapter, now in its fourth generation. Its catalog also includes a tool-free QD Picatinny-to-M-LOK rail adapter, a full suppressor line, and new Glock slides. What is in Sylvan's suppressor lineup, and what does the 5.56 QD suppressor cost? The lineup includes a direct-thread 22, a direct-thread 9mm for handguns or long guns, two QD rifle cans in 5.56 and 30 caliber, and a 45 caliber direct thread on the way. The 5.56 QD suppressor has an MSRP right around 550 and ships with the muzzle device. What are the SHUSH Act and the Shall Not Be Infringed Act, and what would they do for suppressors? On the show, Kaylee points to both bills as ways to get suppressors out of the National Firearms Act (NFA). Removing suppressors from the NFA would end the long tax-stamp wait owners currently face when buying one. Why does Mike personally care about getting suppressors out of the NFA? Mike is a Marine Corps veteran who suffers hearing loss and tinnitus from his service and wears VA-issued hearing aids. He argues that suppressed weapons would have let troops communicate on the battlefield. How much sound does a suppressor actually reduce, and is it really silent like in the movies? A suppressor does not go silent like in the movies. It cuts roughly 30 decibels, bringing the report down to a hearing-safe level rather than eliminating the sound. Are suppressors illegal, and how do you legally buy one? Suppressors are not illegal. They are sold through a dealer who handles the tax stamp. How did the pistol brace ban and the 80 percent lower rule change affect the firearms industry? The pistol brace ban hit a billion-dollar part of the industry, and the 80 percent lower came under a frame-and-receiver rule change. Mike notes that accessory sales tend to track firearm sales, so shifts like these ripple through the business. What did the Texas suppressor freedom bill actually accomplish? The Texas suppressor freedom bill gave the state attorney general standing to sue on behalf of suppressor owners. Chapters 00:00 — Welcome and meet Mike from Sylvan Arms 00:40 — Beyond the folding stock adapter: the full product line 01:44 — Sylvan's suppressor lineup and what's coming 02:37 — The SHUSH Act and getting suppressors out of the NFA 03:35 — Mike's hearing loss and the case for suppression 05:45 — Suppressors for hunting and the long tax-stamp wait 09:09 — The pistol brace ban and its hit to the industry 10:42 — Pistol brace history and text, history, and tradition 12:57 — 80 percent lowers and the frame and receiver rule 15:17 — The summer slump and the economy 18:01 — Design philosophy: affordable, customer-driven products 27:00 — Suppressor myths: Hollywood and the legality question 33:46 — The Texas suppressor freedom bill 36:08 — Adapt and overcome, plus why South Carolina 42:32 — Where to find Sylvan and SHOT Show teasers About the guest Mike handles sales for Sylvan Arms, a South Carolina firearm parts and accessories manufacturer, and has been with the company for about three years. He is a Marine Corps veteran who suffers hearing loss and tinnitus from his service and wears hearing aids provided by the Veterans Administration. He also spent 27 years in law enforcement before entering the firearms industry. Surname "Baldasarre" is from the episode title [VERIFY]. Key quotes "But the reason I wear those is because of hearing loss I suffered while I was in the Marine Corps because weapons aren't suppressed." — Mike "It doesn't do anything crazy or evil or it's just reduces decibels." — Mike "a right delayed is a right denied" — Kaylee "What Sylvan Arms likes to do is make your experience better, make what you need to do better at a price that's affordable." — Mike "culture is upstream of politics. Politics is upstream of the industry, and the industry is upstream of the end consumer." — Kaylee "It's not the assassin's tool. It's not, you know, the CIA secret thing." — Mike