June 12, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Silencer Central.

The newly named CEO of the National Rifle Association has a lot to say about Silencer Central CEO Brandon Maddox.

“He’s a quintessential entrepreneur,” said Doug Hamlin, who was named to his role in May but has known Maddox for years through a previous role with the NRA.

“Brandon saw a need, and he addressed it, and the momentum that he’s built with his business is actually off the charts.”

Maddox and his success at Silencer Center led the NRA to award him its Pioneer Award in May. The honor recognizes outstanding personal achievement and celebrates the profound and enduring impact that a recipient has had on the shooting and hunting community.

“We look for an individual who has innovated and created products that are of high value and quality,” Hamlin said, adding that Silencer Central “is very unique. It takes tremendous leadership to achieve what he has done.”

Maddox has grown Silencer Central from a one-man operation to a team of more than 150 in Sioux Falls that is licensed to sell and deliver silencers to customers’ doors in 42 states.

He sums up his reaction to the Pioneer Award with one word: Wow.

“I was surprised,” he said. “The people who have won this in the past are so impressive, and they’ve been much later in their careers, so for me to win this at 52 is really an honor.”

Previous winners in recent years have included John Nosler, founder of Nosler Partition Bullet Co.; Dick and Jim Cabela of Cabela’s; and Melvin Forbes, legendary riflemaker and founder of New Ultra Light Arms; in addition to many other leaders of major companies within the firearms industry.

In Maddox, the award recognizes a business model that has opened up the silencer product category to the masses.

“Before, it felt like the government created a huge barrier to not buy them, but that’s changed, and we’re proud to have helped play a role in it,” Maddox said. “Once we talk with people and help them understand the process, they see the benefits, they see how easy we make it, and now thanks to solid leadership in federal government, they’re receiving silencers much faster than ever before.”

Then, buyers easily become repeat buyers. After buying one silencer, it’s not uncommon for a customer to buy two more.

“Most hunting excursions are meant to be social,” Maddox said. “With earmuffs on, you can’t talk with your parent or child or grandchild. And if you’re hunting with a guide, you’re not understanding as well because everyone is muffed up. You’re scrambling to find your muffs, and it costs you a proper shot. So it’s not long before people realize what a positive change it brings to the experience.”

NRA CEO Hamlin has hunted with a silencer too and noticed the difference.

“When you talk to people that are involved in shooting sports, you’ll see a lot of them are wearing hearing aids,” he said. “Hearing is a limited resource, so not only are you able to avoid doing serious damage to your hearing … but you’re also able to create a smoother shooting experience with less recoil.”

There are hundreds of millions of firearms in the U.S. and only 3 million to 3.5 million silencers in use, showing the potential is still huge, Maddox said.

While some new products in the firearms industry often fall victim to new regulations, “I read the federal regulations and worked with attorneys to find a business model that followed current regulations and then executed according to that,” he said. “So it has staying power.”

It’s a business model that has put the industry on notice.

“I have literally had other silencer manufacturers reach out to me and said, ‘Can you put me in touch with Brandon Maddox because I want to distribute my product through Silencer Central,'” Hamlin said. “They’ve come to realize what he does it not easy. He makes it look easy. And by combining forces with Silencer Central, their business is growing as well, and they benefit because administratively he’s figured it out. Everyone is winning.”

And when Maddox won the national award, that too reflected what Hamlin said he has come to know about the South Dakotan.

“The day we gave the award in Dallas, he had to leave right away because his daughter was graduating and he wasn’t going to miss a family event,” Hamlin said. “He’s just a very kindhearted, generous man — a pillar of the state of South Dakota and a real role model for so many.”

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