Suppressor Companies - Customer Service - Best & Worst?

Jcon268 · Oct 2, 2019

So I've been doing research on suppressors and it has come to my attention that good customer service is a critical feature of any company that I would want to purchase an NFA item from.
It's hard to test suppressors before buying one. Bought one you're unhappy with? Are you screwed? Perhaps so.
Have a maintenance issue? Who is going to pick up the phone and what will they tell you on the other end? This is important for all firearms, but I think it goes double for suppressors.
I'd like to get a list going of people's personal experiences regarding the customer service side of each of these companies.

I've heard some not so savory things about Advanced Armament Corp.
I've heard mostly good things about SilencerCo as a company.

It has to suck to do a bunch of research, buy what you think is the perfect can for you needs only to get the cold shoulder when a problem arises.

PDXSparky · Oct 3, 2019

I would suggest staying in state and consider one of the fine suppressors made by Bower's. Tom makes good suppressors and provides 1st rate customer service.

Jcon268 · Oct 3, 2019

PDXSparky said:
I would suggest staying in state and consider one of the fine suppressors made by Bower's. Tom makes good suppressors and provides 1st rate customer service.

Where in Oregon is he based?

Lazyfaire · Oct 3, 2019

I vote for Silencerco silencers. With an ASR mount you can use many on pistols and rifles (depends on the cans) needing only the proper piston inside.

But I buy mine through Capitol Armory (out of Austin TX). I sent them copies of my prints, pictures and (in my case) a copy of my trust. They will have you Docusign the papers an send them to your FFL. All you do is get them signed, pay your stamp and wait. Very easy for future buys.

Jarhead 0311 · Oct 3, 2019

A lot of the commercial built cans are sealed closed so if you have an internal or attachment problem you must farm it out to the manuf or an SOT smith. That why I decided to build one on a form 1, myself. It wasn't that hard, cost about 1/3rd of a factory can and its quieter on the meter then most others I've tried, and I can take it apart for maint. Plus the satisfaction of doing it. You might want to consider it too.

Member 34319 · Oct 3, 2019

Ruined a front end cap on my Rugged Obsidian using a trilug they specifically say not to use as they tend to be off spec. They sent a new end cap free of charge to me in a matter of days after one email.

They have also answered my endless amount of questions regarding caliber ratings for everything I've purchased that is theirs in an extremely fast manner.

Other than Rugged, the YHM team seems on top of their stuff. Never had a need to use their customer service, but asked them questions about products I wish they made. They answered all my emails quickly. They eventually made something similar to what I was asking about.

Jcon268 · Oct 4, 2019

I used the Silencershop Kiosk avenue for my first suppressor (Dead Air) and will probably use it again for further purchases since my information is already uploaded. All I need to do is get re-fingerprinted. It sounds like SilencerCo and YHM both have great service and I'm strongly considering Rugged as an option. Anyone have any experiences with Gemtech? I just don't want to get blown off if an issue comes up. I've heard numerous people state that AAC all but refuses to honor any warranty issues unless under very specific circumstances. That concerns me.

Jcon268 · Oct 4, 2019

Jarhead 0311 said:
A lot of the commercial built cans are sealed closed so if you have an internal or attachment problem you must farm it out to the manuf or an SOT smith. That why I decided to build one on a form 1, myself. It wasn't that hard, cost about 1/3rd of a factory can and its quieter on the meter then most others I've tried, and I can take it apart for maint. Plus the satisfaction of doing it. You might want to consider it too.

PM inbound

Lazyfaire · Oct 4, 2019

The reason I use Silencerco cans in general is that using the QD ASR mounts on them, and using the ASR flash hider or brake, I can move them accordingly. I think in general that most of the big name suppressor companies make a good product. This is just the line that I have gone with.

Chaffee · Oct 4, 2019

Another thumbs up for Bowers, Lifetime warranty, Gold star service, and top quality products. And they are local in Cornelius, OR.

Jcon268 · Oct 4, 2019

Chaffee said:
Another thumbs up for Bowers, Lifetime warranty, Gold star service, and top quality products. And they are local in Cornelius, OR.

Oh wow, that's just down the road from where I bought my first suppressor. Do you know if he has a storefront area? I'd like to stop by next time I'm out in that area.

Chaffee · Oct 4, 2019

No storefront, just his machine shop, give him a call

PDXSparky · Oct 9, 2019

Tom Bowers is a really nice guy and knowledgeable as well.

SilencerGuy · Nov 30, 2019

That's a touchy question! Up front, I'm a silencer manufacture, and this is not some covert marketing ploy. My job is demonstrating to government agencies, I'm doing this to simply talk to people interested in silencers. I'll never say our silencers are the best, because that's an Opinion and we all know what opinions are like. I will tell you that ours are different. I'll put some links below if you would like to check us out. When I do demonstrate to agencies, I do invite non-law enforcement to attend and try our silencers. I'm not buying the bullets, so why not? I can tell you that my 11 year old daughter shoots a bolt action 5.56 with our LYNX and my 12 year son shoots a bolt action .308 with our Pantera. I researched these cans and bought them before I was asked to join the company, which is just a small group of dudes that decided to strike out on our own. We do guarantee our silencers as long as you don't do something like run it over with bush-hog, which has happened. As far as customer service, we're pretty chill.