I heard yesterday that there were layoffs at Silencerco.  Rumor says 250 laid off but my friends are saying that number is exaggerated.  Supposedly at SHOT, they received 0 orders as every had already made their purchases in anticipation of HRC.  Unintended consequences.

Everyone stocked up on all of the stuff they thought would get banned.  No new orders and that means friends lose jobs.  Hopefully the individuals bounce back and find employment soon.  We're around 3% unemployment in Utah so it should be quick.

Anyone else hear anything?  There seems to be some consolidation going on in the industry as well.

I'll buy another as soon as I can. I wanted to get an Omega 9k for the Scorpion Evo, but they just came out with the Omega 45k. I could use that on more stuff. We already have an Omega and Osprey from them.

Hopefully they bounce back soon.

I haven't got one yet due to the NFA hassle.  However if the law changes, I would buy a half dozen in short order.

Out of curiosity, what are the (estimated) real numbers?  How many people did they employ before?

I've also read that layoffs were around 100.  I want to say that SiCo employed over 500 people.  Over the past 2-3 years, they've been on a big hiring spree, operating 24/7, and still not able to produce enough.  Now, I guess that is not the case.

until HPA passes.
then they'll be working 36 hours a day.

Unfortunately, (fortunately) by then most if not all of the affected employees will be otherwise employed.  So it either screws Silencerco, in that they lose those guys for good, or it screws their new employers, if they decide to return.

I'm just hoping the Hearing Protection Act isn't lost in all the noise about immigration and the current left wing freak out.     

I was looking at others, and I never liked the idea of Silencerco.  Personal preference.

Ok now I'm curious. Not looking to sell you on Silencerco, just genuinely curious what "idea" you don't like about them?

I only own two cans, and only one is Silencerco. I was seriously impressed by their customer service back when I bought, though. One of the owners answered the phone to sell me some accessories.

I've got more cans now than I ever intended to buy and somehow 2 SBRs got registered too... I can't say enough good things about SiCo's customer service, they fixed a can I had an endcap strike on and upgraded the ASR lock to their newest design for free ($0.00!) definitely glad I mostly have their cans! That said I hope they made good business decisions over the boom. And didn't spend all the windfall on expansion and increasing short term production anticipating that the HPA would pass or that 41p/f would go away under Trump.

Either way after the big push for 41p, f whatever I know a lot of guys just don't have anything left in their NFA funds. Thats the way markets move. I hope the good companies like SiCo survive the crunch and that the HPA passes quickly, I'd love to have a Maxim 9 as an EDC lol.

SiCo will survive.  With good times, you expand.  I believe it was 2 years, maybe 3 years ago that they did their expansion.  It's an impressive facility and I would love to work there.  However the smell of burning metal would drive me crazy.  It's fascinating to watch all of the machines running but from what I can tell, they've got their product streamlined.  When you have machines that run $300k+, you know they're going to take advantage of every minute they can to be efficient.

I've been looking at their Omega 9k.  Very tempted to buy it and then they release the Omega 45k.  Seems more versatile but the db numbers, at least for 9mm, are worse on the 45k.  I thought they'd be a little better because of the difference in internal volume.

Just remember that most sound tests run at the muzzle end of the can. Yes, the .45 can will be louder at the muzzle shooting 9mm, but will actually be quieter for the shooter. I've seen this in my own cans.

yeah...HPA is murder for the suppressor industry.

Saw this article on TFB the other day. I agree with the author.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/02/13/happens-hearing-protection-act-passes-opinion/

I also predict an increase of DIY kits and instructions for sale in short order.   

lf they treat suppressors like firearms when it comes to construction I'll have three the day HPA goes into effect.

I've been casually looking at lathes and researching how to build cans. I won't do it unless the construction of suppressors is deregulated. Not worth the investment if I still need to file a Form 1. Definitely worth it if I can build as many cans as I can host without a ton of bureaucratic hassle.