Silencer Shop Podcast Hiram

In this episode, you’ll learn all about one of your favorite suppressor companies - Griffin Armament - their experience with suppressors and what to expect from the industry in the years to come. Meet Evan Green, one of the owners of Griffin Armament. He and his brother Austin are both former army snipers using their military background to meet the needs of gun owners across the country. Evan says, “Being outside your comfort zone is a blessing and a curse.” What led these two elite veterans to break out of their comfort zones?

What started in Wales, WI in 2004 has grown to be a commercial success, an armament company selling nationally and changing the industry. The brothers’ interest in firearms and suppressors began in childhood. Growing up as homeschooled brothers in the Midwest, they devoured books on WWII, Vietnam, and biographies on famous snipers. They also knew some people who had silencers; Evan said it was life-changing the first time he used one, compared to the first time you ride a motorcycle or go climbing. Later they used silencers in the military, having competed for two sniper slots among sixty others. Evan and Austin got both of the openings.

More importantly, how did they get into the suppressor business? While still in the service, Austin recognized the suppressor market was steadily growing in the early ’00s, and he wanted in. At first, he juggled both and found it extremely difficult. The first several years of the business were spent researching, with very little research already out there to build on. Austin’s research became simply trial and error. Batch after batch failed, wasting time and money. Looking back, Evan sees it as character building, not wasted effort at all.

What were the biggest hurdles of beginning their own business? Not working with your brother! Evan says that’s been great: “He is a super believer [in the business]. I like it a lot.” And how are they navigating the suppressor business after the 2020 boom? We don’t want to give away all the details. Listen in to find out more!

In this episode, you learn about the highs and the lows of your soon-to-be-favorite podcast. And what is it that makes Silencer Shop so special? We created a group of fun-loving people, a culture of innovation, and an open door policy. At Silencer Shop we don’t believe in the impossible. We are the embodiment of “Don’t tell me I can’t do that, I’ll show you!”
How did we get the duo Tyler and Mike? Let’s take it back to the start. Reminisce with us on the beginnings of Silencer Shop and what makes our company special in this episode. How did it start, where are we now, and where are we going? Get the answers here from Tyler and Mike and don’t mind their microphone fiddling.
How did these two find their way home to Silencer Shop? A summer job at Academy after Tyler left the military introduced him to a gunsmith who worked at Silencer Shop. Mike was working in the resale of firearms and ammunition. A rise in demand and prices sent him to Silencer Shop, working in a cubicle near Tyler. The company was still young and a dealer with a regular barnyard cast of characters who filled our storefront. Crickets, dogs, and sweaty men shared the space waiting for their shiny new silencers. When Silencer Shop pivoted to distributing, it opened the rest of the country to our reach.
Then came the upending 41F law. The ATF decided everyone who wanted to buy silencers needed fingerprints, even trusts. Because Silencer Shop simplifies silencer purchases, this led to the idea for our innovative kiosks. Tyler and Mike share how an idea one weekend turned into a five-month plan to bring these kiosks into existence.
Tyler and Mike share the learning curve they both went through in working at Silencer Shop. With no watercooler conversations at most jobs discussing silencers, they appreciate that the Internet fosters a “silencer culture” that led to this incredible podcast.
We’ve got great plans in the works. Ride along with us and you’ll see!

What do an Army tank commander, a pharmaceutical sales rep, and a Director of Sales at SilencerCo have in common? The one and only Dewie Vieira. Although these 3 roles seem starkly different from one another, Dewie, who is currently the Senior Product Specialist at SilencerCo, helps us connect the dots in this episode of the Silencer Shop Podcast.
Dewie was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, a humble town that’s small and unassuming. But he credits Georgia for his upbringing and claims to be a southerner at the core. These cities might have helped shape him, but what equally shaped who he is, is his father. You see, Dewie’s father, and grandfather, was in the military. As a third generation enlistee, Dewie had already grown up with a deep sense of responsibility, balance, and discipline that most take years to learn.
So, what would’ve been culture shock for most in enlisting in the Army and going through training camps, was a seamless transition for Dewie. While he grew up with strong leadership traits, they were all sharpened during his time as a tank commander in the Army.
We won’t give away Dewie’s entire story here, because it’s his to tell. But everything he talks about had us on the edge of our seats, ready to hear more.
In this episode, you’ll learn about his time as an Army tank commander, including a sweet story involving what not to do with a tank; as well as his brief stint at a pharmaceutical sales company and how he landed a job at SilencerCo. Dewie also dives into the SilencerCo BOGO event of 2018 and how it affected the suppressor market after 41F (you don't want to miss this!).
As you can see, there are stories within stories, so listen in and let Dewie take the wheel!

If you could see patriotism in someone’s veins, Michael Cargill’s blood would show red, white, and blue. Deep in the heart of Texas, we visited Michael of Central Texas Gun Works. This unassuming shop sits centrally located and provides everything from classes to gun sales. Celebrating his 10th year since opening CenTex, Michael has a lot of experience under his belt (his belt, by the way, usually holds a huge, incredible silver buckle that’s arguably the size of Texas).


But there’s more than just a buckle on his belt, there are notches of experience too, and it starts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where Michael was born and raised. After completing school, he went on to join the United States Army where his home was more nomadic during his 12 years of service. That is, until he landed a job in Austin, Texas. And after a few jobs as a civilian, he went on to open up Central Texas Gun Works.


But what facilitated such a career move? A devastating experience to a family member. After that, Michael decided to take action by educating and teaching his family self defense, gun safety, firearms laws, and shooting. The exposure grew quickly from there. What was once just training his family in his living room grew to neighbors and friends and an overbooked conference room. It was then he began his journey of setting up his own shop.


In this episode, you’ll learn all about what makes Michael tick. You’ll hear just how passionate he is about firearms education and protecting our constitutional rights. He also talks about being the first gun shop to accept cryptocurrencies for gun sales.


It’s no secret that Michael Cargill is a 2A champion and true patriot through and through. Listen in to hear more!

Buckle up because if Jimmy Bell is involved, it’s gonna be a wild ride! We sat down with Jimmy to discuss what brought him to where he is today, at his gun shop, Texas Ordnance Depot in Hico, Texas. His story has many twists and turns, but ironically, he landed back full circle, only 3 miles down the road from where he was raised by his mom and grandfather, who he was named after.


Jimmy doesn’t only have his name in common with his grandfather, though. He also followed in his footsteps in joining the United States Marine Corps. Those footsteps led him to a deployment – boots on the ground during the Battle of Fallujah – as well as becoming part of the Second Force Recon, and HVT (High Value Targets) Task Force.


In this episode, you’ll learn about the guy who built his dream with his high school friend, Cody Kerr. You’ll also learn about his time as a SilencerCo rep, and how every single experience led to his creation of Texas Ordnance Depot.


Hico, Texas (between DFW and Austin) may sound unfamiliar, but Texas Ordnance Depot has put the town’s name on the map. It features a gun range, shop, workshop, and even a room for classes in case you’re looking to get your LTC (license to carry). The purpose of Texas Ordnance Depot is to cater to the modern gun owner – whether they’re experienced, or they’re looking to learn about firearm and suppressor ownership.


As you can see, Jimmy is more than just the man behind the gun counter. Listen in to hear more.

Here at Silencer Shop we like to make things easy for you when it comes to NFA purchases, but we also want to educate you and hopefully in some form or fashion entertain you and that’s why we bring you our very own podcast. As our company has grown so has our list of interesting friends and we would like to share their fascinating stories. So, once a month we plan to bring you an episode and tell a story about one of our interesting friends. We hope you come along with us on this journey as we explore the ever changing landscape of the firearms industry. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.