WEBVTT 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:03.000 Hey, Frugal Firearms podcast listeners. Today 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.200 is a very different show because today we have 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:08.800 a show that was recorded live at SHOT Show 2026 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.839 with Yankee Hill Manufacturing. Their CEO was 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:15.859 available to us, so we could not pass up the 00:00:15.859 --> 00:00:18.480 opportunity to get a short discussion on his 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:21.760 products, largely that are now suppressors. So 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.000 the audio is a bit rough, but again, you don't 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.940 pass up an opportunity to talk to a great company's 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:35.829 CEO. So I hope you enjoy it. My engineers were 00:00:35.829 --> 00:00:38.130 very upset because I kind of gave them a napkin 00:00:38.130 --> 00:00:39.670 sketch and said, you know, I've been toying around 00:00:39.670 --> 00:00:41.829 with this idea for years, you know, what do you 00:00:41.829 --> 00:00:44.030 think? And they come up with their own ideas 00:00:44.030 --> 00:00:45.929 and try other stuff. And after three or four 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:48.350 months of development, they're like, your napkin 00:00:48.350 --> 00:01:20.200 sketch is the best one. Hey, this is Craig and 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:23.280 Ken from the Frugal Firearms Podcast live at 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:27.480 SHOT Show 2026. And we are with Chris, who is 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:32.340 the CEO, correct? CEO, president, owner. Everything? 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:34.319 Yeah, chief bottle washer. You're the everything? 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:38.120 Yeah. Of Yankee Hill Manufacturing. And we have 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:40.459 been chasing this company for a really long time 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:42.519 because we know that they're great in the value 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:44.760 space. But you know what? We're going to talk 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:48.819 about primarily today's suppressors. You know, 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:50.879 if you've heard our shows before, you know that 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:54.060 we're from California, and having a suppressor 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:57.700 sent to us for the purpose of testing, yeah. 00:01:58.219 --> 00:02:01.280 We'd enjoy it for a few minutes before the feds 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:04.299 show up and arrest us. Yeah, so. Ken, you've 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:08.360 got some Yankee Hill manufacturing products on 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.020 your guns before. What do you have that's not 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:14.219 suppressors? I have the backup iron sights. So 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:16.360 do I. Those are great. Those are great. And they 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.219 have flash suppressors, and they have rails, 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:21.139 and they have a lot of different products. Right. 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.659 But right now, since we are now at the, apparently, 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:28.759 the suppressor and hunting outdoor trade show. 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:30.719 Everything is suppressors at this show. It's 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:32.439 all about suppressors this year. It's all about 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.500 quiet. It's all about suppressors, and sadly, 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:37.780 it's nothing about California. But YHM has been 00:02:37.780 --> 00:02:40.400 in the space for a while now, and what we're 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:41.800 going to talk about, by the way, this is a lot 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:43.840 like, for you drinkers out there, Ken is not 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:46.080 one of those. Not one of those. Yeah, this is 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:48.180 like Jack Daniels. I'm the designated driver. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.620 You can make the product, but you can't use the 00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:54.800 product. Right. And that goes right to the core 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:57.340 of the problem that YHM has. So, Chris, go ahead 00:02:57.340 --> 00:02:59.699 and take my mic and take over, sir. Sure. So, 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:02.020 yeah, like you said, we're kind of in the Jack. 00:03:02.090 --> 00:03:05.650 Daniels situation, where we can make the product 00:03:05.650 --> 00:03:07.770 in Massachusetts, but we can't sell our own product 00:03:07.770 --> 00:03:10.969 within the state. Even using it is tricky if 00:03:10.969 --> 00:03:12.509 you want to go by our Attorney General's rules. 00:03:12.870 --> 00:03:15.229 So I kind of like to say we're made in Massachusetts 00:03:15.229 --> 00:03:19.490 and sold to America. Apparently that makes California 00:03:19.490 --> 00:03:22.050 also not part of America, so sorry. Yeah, sadly 00:03:22.050 --> 00:03:24.229 it's true. There's lots of parts that are not 00:03:24.229 --> 00:03:27.949 in America right now, including Washington and 00:03:27.949 --> 00:03:31.759 Oregon and places like that. What you've got, 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.340 your primary product right now, you want to talk 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:36.300 about your suppressors. So why don't you go ahead 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:39.580 and grab one and then tell us. I'll hold the 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:42.560 mic for you while you're demoing it. What's special 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:45.439 about it? It looks modular to me, and I think 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.560 that is a great advantage. You'll want to talk 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.620 about why it's modular and then talk about things 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:54.560 like why you're a good value in the space. And 00:03:54.560 --> 00:04:00.099 by the way, listeners, I... unable to use this 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:03.400 product in california at least presently had 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:05.539 to do some homework so what homework did i do 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:08.419 i went by the silencer shop smooth over here 00:04:08.419 --> 00:04:11.000 at shot show and what did i ask him i said hey 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.419 if you guys will you represent lots of brands 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:15.819 did you say over something like 62 i believe 00:04:15.819 --> 00:04:19.279 like 62 brands if if they represent that many 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:21.959 brands which ones do you consider to be the best 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:25.420 values and they gave me three companies And YHM 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:27.740 was one of them. So that's why we're here, because 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:31.100 someone we trust is actually saying that they're 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:33.459 the best values. So, Chris, I'll hold the mic. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:35.660 You tell me about that product. Yeah, I think 00:04:35.660 --> 00:04:37.779 you hit the nail on the head with kind of YHM's 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:40.660 whole philosophy of best value. You know, we 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:42.019 don't want to be the cheapest guys. We don't 00:04:42.019 --> 00:04:44.160 want to be the most expensive guys. We want to 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:46.199 be the guys who put out a quality product that 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:48.959 the average shooter, hunter, individual can enjoy 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.160 without having to take out a second mortgage. 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:53.660 Now, that's a shotgun suppressor, right? Yep. 00:04:53.829 --> 00:04:55.810 This is our Victor 20 shotgun suppressor, 20 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:58.769 gauge. And as an acoustics engineer, so I know 00:04:58.769 --> 00:05:01.930 what a decibel is, how many dB are you taking 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:04.189 out of that and how much is that increasing, 00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:06.910 let's say, the longevity of someone's hearing 00:05:06.910 --> 00:05:09.250 or the enjoyment that they get or everything 00:05:09.250 --> 00:05:12.389 else? Yeah, so in the 20 gauge version, we're 00:05:12.389 --> 00:05:15.420 about 132 decibels. measured at the shooter's 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:19.720 ear so for reference guys that's 132 db is not 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:21.740 something you want to have continuous noise but 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:25.680 remember this is just a noise that is very momentary 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:29.220 and do you happen to know i think i do how many 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:31.939 decibels the same gun would put out unsuppressed? 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:35.899 It's above 160, probably closer to 165. Now, 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:38.680 do you think that that is an equation that is, 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:41.399 well, they're a quarter more loud? No, because 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:45.000 decibels don't add up that way. It's many, many, 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:49.920 many times louder going from 130s to the 160s 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:53.120 or 170s. Logarithmic scale, correct? Logarithmic 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.579 scale, yes. I feel like we need the whiteboard 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:58.220 and back now. That's right. Hold on. I'm sorry. 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.279 You know, I can always add that later for those 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.220 who want to do a map. I don't think too many. 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:04.860 That's what I do for a living, but I don't think 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:07.459 other people want to do that. Yeah. So a lot 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:09.220 of companies throw around the word hearing safe. 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:12.209 I don't like to use that term. Hearing safe, 00:06:12.290 --> 00:06:14.290 meaning OSHA has basically studied and said that 00:06:14.290 --> 00:06:16.769 impulse noise is like a gunshot. Anything under 00:06:16.769 --> 00:06:19.329 140 decibels is not likely to cause permanent 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:22.089 hearing damage. And so suppressor companies throw 00:06:22.089 --> 00:06:24.269 around this idea that it's hearing safe if it's 00:06:24.269 --> 00:06:26.990 under 140 decibels. It's hearing safe for one 00:06:26.990 --> 00:06:29.550 shot because sound is like radiation. It's exposure 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:32.939 over time. Right. So that's exactly right, guys. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.579 And it's not a tipping point thing where 141 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:40.519 is bad and 139 is perfectly OK. It does not work 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:44.139 that way. So even at 132 decibels, you know, 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.399 you fire two shots in an eight hour period and 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:49.379 you're above that limit threshold. Exactly. Exactly. 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:53.540 So tell us about. You know, the innovation here 00:06:53.540 --> 00:06:56.000 to me seems to be not just the modularity and 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.800 why maybe you would want modularity in a shotgun 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.220 suppressor, but also the fact that most of the 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:06.160 volume of the thing is down below. And I haven't 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:08.220 seen that. I'm not saying it's exclusive, but 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:10.360 I haven't seen it in other designs. Yeah, well, 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:12.420 there's a few reasons for that. First of all, 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:14.379 you picked up on the modularity. Obviously, that's 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:16.959 important because it allows the user to customize 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:21.379 the suppressor to their specific needs. If you 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:23.139 want to shoot this down into the 4 -inch configuration 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:25.360 because you're going to be hunting grouse through 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:27.079 brush and you need to be able to swing quickly 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:29.399 and you're willing to give up some of the sound 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:32.699 reduction, that becomes about 138 decibels in 00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:35.079 the 4 -inch configuration. And so you can kind 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.379 of tailor it to your specific needs. And then 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:39.939 to the other point, most of the volume is below 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:43.790 the bore. And that kind of works twofold. Number 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:46.189 one is it lets you use your standard beads. So 00:07:46.189 --> 00:07:48.990 you don't have to do optics or crazy sights or 00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:50.290 anything on your shotgun. You don't have to do 00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:52.810 a whole bunch of modifications. And two, because 00:07:52.810 --> 00:07:55.360 you are shooting, you know... shotgun ammunition 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:58.819 which has wads and cups and discs and all kinds 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:00.819 of different things it's a very different beast 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:03.019 than a rifle suppressor things that open up as 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:04.860 soon as it leaves the bore yes things that open 00:08:04.860 --> 00:08:07.079 up things that have a tendency to move and wander 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:09.199 and so over time eventually you're going to get 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:11.879 a piece of a wad or you know unburnt powder or 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:13.879 something that's going to be trapped in suppressor 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.680 and this way it allows it to fall out of the 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:18.339 way of the bore so you can continue shooting 00:08:18.339 --> 00:08:20.740 until you go and take it apart to do your maintenance 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:22.300 you wouldn't even know that there was anything 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:24.660 in there And it's just kind of an inevitability 00:08:24.660 --> 00:08:26.259 with a shotgun. Eventually you're going to get 00:08:26.259 --> 00:08:28.660 something in there. This keeps it out of harm's 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:30.980 way so you can continue shooting. So you are 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:33.360 not following the model of a lot of companies 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.700 that are using 3D printing, which are incredibly 00:08:36.700 --> 00:08:39.620 complicated in some cases. And they look to me 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:41.740 like you're never going to be able to clean this 00:08:41.740 --> 00:08:44.179 thing, except maybe by dunking it and solvent 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:46.100 and shaking it and hoping everything comes out. 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:49.220 You can actually inspect everything in there. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.500 What kind of maintenance cycle do you recommend 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:54.610 for this? So we recommend at a minimum, if you 00:08:54.610 --> 00:08:56.409 spend a day at the range or, you know, a hunting 00:08:56.409 --> 00:08:58.590 trip, at least take it apart. Make sure that 00:08:58.590 --> 00:09:00.549 there's nothing that looks out of sorts. But 00:09:00.549 --> 00:09:03.730 just general cleaning every, you know, 500 rounds 00:09:03.730 --> 00:09:05.909 or so. Take it apart. Give it a scrub. Give it 00:09:05.909 --> 00:09:09.659 a soak. The material is 7075 aluminum for the 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:11.980 outer shell. And then the cones and baffles inside 00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:15.320 are all 17 -4 stainless steel. So any solvent 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:17.000 or anything you want to use isn't going to touch 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.039 the stainless. But some of the more aggressive 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:21.320 stuff will affect the aluminum. So basically 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:23.279 anything you would clean your gun in, you're 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.759 going to be able to clean your suppressor. And 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:26.700 since it's modular, you can actually do that. 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:29.500 Take it right apart and view each individual 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:31.399 baffle and say, like, this one I need to get 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:33.159 the toothbrush in there and scrape. And this 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:34.740 one at the end, all I need to do is give it a 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:37.519 little dunk and wipe. Ken once had a parts washer 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:39.779 that didn't work out very well. Don't go there. 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:43.279 That's a bad. See, I had a parts washer I purchased 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:46.360 once, and it lasted about 20 minutes before it 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.580 died. And there's a roll. The actual parts washer. 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:50.759 You killed the parts washer with the solvent 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:52.879 you put in it. Wrong solvent went into it, and 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:54.659 it destroyed the parts washer. Yes, that's a 00:09:54.659 --> 00:09:56.960 separate issue. On some of our older suppressors. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.940 particularly 22s that were all aluminum and needed 00:09:59.940 --> 00:10:02.279 constant cleaning. We had some people that would 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:04.559 run the dip. Anyone in the suppressor world knows 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:07.679 what that is. And they would come back to that 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:09.419 in the morning, and they were like, oh, my can 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:11.340 is either missing or it's Swiss cheese now because 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:12.519 it would eat right through the aluminum. Yeah, 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:15.700 completely. Now, tell me about it. Is this safe 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:19.179 for birdshot, buckshot, slugs? I mean, are there 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:21.799 any rounds? Since shotgun fires so many different 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:24.340 types of things, are there any things that you 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:27.230 shouldn't run through it? The only thing that 00:10:27.230 --> 00:10:29.309 we recommend you don't run through it is like 00:10:29.309 --> 00:10:32.169 the flight control wads. Those are basically 00:10:32.169 --> 00:10:34.269 their whole mantra is, you know, any gun, any 00:10:34.269 --> 00:10:36.490 choke, it's going to work. And so basically it's 00:10:36.490 --> 00:10:38.190 designed to kind of puff up and fit whatever 00:10:38.190 --> 00:10:40.169 you're shooting it through. And it doesn't like 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:42.090 to do that, you know, eight to ten times in a 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:43.990 row down through the suppressor. Yeah, okay, 00:10:44.070 --> 00:10:46.250 I get it. It doesn't cause any damage to the 00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:48.710 suppressor, but we find an excess amount of wad 00:10:48.710 --> 00:10:51.009 material in there. And so we recommend you don't 00:10:51.009 --> 00:10:54.250 use that. Okay, okay. So we're not also, I hadn't 00:10:54.250 --> 00:10:56.129 even thought of this until now. You're going 00:10:56.129 --> 00:10:58.470 to use a cylindrical choke? So, yeah, with the 00:10:58.470 --> 00:11:00.490 chokes in here, it ships with the improved cylinder. 00:11:00.710 --> 00:11:02.769 Oh, it does have a choke built into it. Okay. 00:11:03.250 --> 00:11:07.850 I wasn't sure that that was actually a choke 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:09.750 that was in there. I thought it was actually 00:11:09.750 --> 00:11:11.990 part of just the entire disassembly of the unit. 00:11:12.210 --> 00:11:14.090 Yeah, no, the choke is its own separate piece, 00:11:14.129 --> 00:11:15.529 so it's going to ship with an improved cylinder 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:19.250 choke. And then for the 20, we have modified 00:11:19.250 --> 00:11:21.990 and full available. And for the 12, we have modified 00:11:21.990 --> 00:11:25.090 full turkey and skeet as well. You use a standard 00:11:25.090 --> 00:11:28.799 thread choke size, like I think Remington. Browning 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:31.899 Satori has a different choke thread? This is 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:34.220 proprietary just because only our chokes are 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:35.919 going to fit in there. You're not going to take 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:37.840 a Carlson's choke that's three inches long and 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.899 fit it in that space. Okay, got it. But to that 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:43.519 point, the mounting system uses the choke threads 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:47.000 of the firearm, but it's only using that to mount 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.039 the suppressor to the firearm. The actual choking 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:51.320 of the shot happens at the muzzle. So just like 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:53.580 an unsuppressed shotgun, the last thing that 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:58.039 that shot and that wad sees is the choke. I started 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:00.899 the conversation a little earlier before we started 00:12:00.899 --> 00:12:03.539 filming, but my understanding is that for the 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:07.919 purposes of the law, only the back piece is the 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:12.960 registered piece. Until the NFA goes away, that's 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.279 another topic. We're not going down that road 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:16.720 right now because we don't know what's going 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:22.100 to happen. You must have the back piece on because 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:26.110 that's the serialized piece. Up ahead of that 00:12:26.110 --> 00:12:29.409 is simply the number of baffles you decide to 00:12:29.409 --> 00:12:31.649 include. Yeah, modular suppressors are a little 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:33.850 bit tricky, mainly because the ATF keeps flip 00:12:33.850 --> 00:12:35.509 -flopping on what they consider a suppressor, 00:12:35.509 --> 00:12:37.129 what they consider extra parts, what they consider 00:12:37.129 --> 00:12:39.730 spare parts. But at this point in time, yes, 00:12:39.809 --> 00:12:42.750 kind of the keystone component is the mount of 00:12:42.750 --> 00:12:44.429 the suppressor because you can't mount it to 00:12:44.429 --> 00:12:46.529 the firearm and you can't mount any baffles to 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:48.629 that without that piece. So that's the piece 00:12:48.629 --> 00:12:51.090 that we serialize. We ship it in its full -length 00:12:51.090 --> 00:12:53.230 configuration, and the ATF has said you can make 00:12:53.230 --> 00:12:54.970 the suppressors shorter, but you can't make them 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:57.029 longer. If you make it longer, then they consider 00:12:57.029 --> 00:12:59.490 that being a whole new suppressor. Yeah, it makes 00:12:59.490 --> 00:13:01.909 about as much sense as it sounds. Government 00:13:01.909 --> 00:13:04.330 regulation, you've got to love it, yeah. They 00:13:04.330 --> 00:13:07.230 didn't offer rationale as to why, did they? No, 00:13:07.269 --> 00:13:09.110 but they don't have to, so they don't. Well, 00:13:09.110 --> 00:13:10.889 they would change their mind anyway if that was 00:13:10.889 --> 00:13:13.429 the case. Tell us a little bit about the background 00:13:13.429 --> 00:13:16.259 of the company. I mean, before suppressors and 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:17.919 stuff like that, and all the stuff you used to 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:20.399 do before suppressors were maybe the main focal 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.779 point. Yeah, well, you guys mentioned it. You 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:25.179 know us for backup sites, handguards, and muzzle 00:13:25.179 --> 00:13:28.139 devices. For years and years and years, that 00:13:28.139 --> 00:13:30.919 was our bread and butter product. If you look 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.500 at a Bushmaster catalog in the 90s, their BMAS 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:37.159 accessory line was 99 % YHM parts. Yeah, YHM. 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:40.120 We developed and produced and basically sold 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:42.659 to them, along with other third -party labels. 00:13:43.829 --> 00:13:48.370 And in the late 90s, my father, who was the CEO 00:13:48.370 --> 00:13:50.690 at the time, basically said, you know, we've 00:13:50.690 --> 00:13:52.710 developed all these great products that the OEMs 00:13:52.710 --> 00:13:56.429 haven't picked up. Let's market these products 00:13:56.429 --> 00:13:59.769 under our own label. And so that led to YHM, 00:13:59.809 --> 00:14:02.970 the brand, as opposed to YHM, the machine shop. 00:14:03.929 --> 00:14:08.490 Ah, I see. And YHM is actually a location, isn't 00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:12.320 it? I mean, Yankee Hill is a little tiny community 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:15.360 in western Massachusetts. Is that right? Yeah. 00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:17.559 So if you look at like the Northampton Leeds 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:19.879 area, Yankee Hill is kind of a local neighborhood. 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:22.179 You won't find it on a map or anything like that. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:24.639 But that's where it got its name from because 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:26.820 the garage that they started it in was in an 00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:28.799 area known as Yankee Hill. And so it was the 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:30.799 Yankee Hill Machine Shop. So who do you hire, 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:33.820 and what does your team look like? I mean, we 00:14:33.820 --> 00:14:35.419 have one of your team members holding my phone 00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:38.200 right now. So he's doing a fantastic job, and 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:40.120 his arms are probably getting tired. He's probably 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:41.899 wondering how much longer we're going to film. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:45.539 But at the same time, who comprises your team? 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:48.840 And maybe a little bit of background about why 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.240 should someone choose your products over the 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.860 next guy down the road? Well, my team at this 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.399 point is quite large. We're just under 50 employees. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:59.960 We've obviously got myself. and some management, 00:15:00.100 --> 00:15:01.559 kind of keeping track of different departments. 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:06.000 But YHM is in a unique position where we do everything 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.259 in the product development cycle. So I've got 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:11.659 people who just do R &D work and produce prototype 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:14.639 products. I've got engineers that just make those 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:16.679 prototype products and do production -ready products. 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:22.139 I've got graphic artists and people in marketing 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:24.720 backgrounds to market and sell the product and 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:29.670 do the manuals and do the packaging. obviously 00:15:29.670 --> 00:15:31.889 machinists who make the product who make the 00:15:31.889 --> 00:15:34.470 things i've got people who assemble and package 00:15:34.470 --> 00:15:36.269 the product and then i've got a sales team who 00:15:36.269 --> 00:15:38.029 actually markets the product out to the general 00:15:38.029 --> 00:15:40.490 public and then i've got a fulfillment team who 00:15:40.490 --> 00:15:42.409 actually puts the stuff in boxes and make sure 00:15:42.409 --> 00:15:44.389 it goes where it needs to go how do you come 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:47.909 up with new product ideas is is that just a you 00:15:47.909 --> 00:15:50.009 know sit around on a friday after work with a 00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:52.450 you know with a drink in your hand and and brainstorm 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:55.809 or is it driven by let's say other market influences 00:15:55.809 --> 00:15:58.590 it's a little bit about so sometimes it's just 00:15:58.590 --> 00:16:01.519 a creative thing that happens, I wake up with 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:03.480 an idea in my head and say, hey, guys, I want 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:05.139 to try this. Let's see what we do to make it 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:08.340 work. And do they go, oh, no, not again? No, 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:10.820 they're pretty good about it. When I used to 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:12.820 be in that position with my father and he'd come 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:14.580 in and say he had a new idea, sometimes it was 00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:16.019 like, oh, boy, what's taking me? Uh -oh, where 00:16:16.019 --> 00:16:18.519 are we going now? Yeah, I can imagine. And sometimes 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:20.860 their product ideas come from my design team 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:22.519 and they say, we want to try this. You know, 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:25.299 the V20 was a direct result of that. They were 00:16:25.299 --> 00:16:27.519 like, you know, we've got the V12. Well, let's 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:29.059 scale it down to 20 gauge and see how it sounds. 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:33.019 And it sounds phenomenal. Is there a market for 00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:36.440 16 gauge or 10 gauge or anything else? I think 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:38.659 there's a very limited market. I can't say that 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:41.860 it fits our design philosophy of kind of making 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:44.259 it affordable to the masses. Right. I think it 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:46.200 would be so niche. We wouldn't be able to make 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.919 enough of them to kind of get that, you know, 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:51.659 quantity of scale to keep price down. So tell 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:54.700 us about warranties. So the YChem product has 00:16:54.700 --> 00:16:57.379 a limited lifetime warranty. Basically, if it's 00:16:57.379 --> 00:16:59.679 something that we did, so if it's a defect in 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:01.820 the material itself for the manufacturing process, 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.720 we'll warrant that 100%, whether that looks like 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.200 a repair or a replacement or whatever it is. 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:10.180 If it's something that the customer does, the 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:12.559 item of warranty, we do have kind of a grace 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:15.039 period where the suppressors will say, okay. 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:17.119 We're not going to leave you completely on the 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.079 hook here because, you know, you did something 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:23.339 stupid or uneducated. Right. So we're able to 00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:26.019 get that suppressor or the newest replacement 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:30.119 into their hands for 50 % off MSRP. Well, that's 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:32.839 fair. I mean, you can't cover everything forever 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:35.839 and never expect. And being modular, I mean, 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:38.259 if you damage for somehow you damage one or two 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:41.140 of these baffled areas, you can switch those 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:43.410 out without too much difficulty. Yeah, basically 00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:46.029 the suppressor comes back to us, and then we 00:17:46.029 --> 00:17:48.609 swap out the damage components. And even in the 00:17:48.609 --> 00:17:50.349 non -modular ones, most of them are constructed 00:17:50.349 --> 00:17:52.910 in a way that we can repair them and don't have 00:17:52.910 --> 00:17:55.430 to replace the entire suppressor 99 % of the 00:17:55.430 --> 00:17:58.549 time. Very good. What happens in the 1 % of the 00:17:58.549 --> 00:18:01.490 time? The 1 % of the time, luckily, it's not 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:04.730 as big of a deal now that we have the $0 tax 00:18:04.730 --> 00:18:08.650 stamp and 5 -day turnarounds for forms. So now 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:10.009 basically it looks like, okay, we're going to 00:18:10.009 --> 00:18:12.170 send a... suppressor to the dealer of your choice 00:18:12.170 --> 00:18:15.009 they process the form four and you've got a brand 00:18:15.009 --> 00:18:17.529 new suppressor so what's coming up for yankee 00:18:17.529 --> 00:18:21.250 hill in terms of new products new ideas and and 00:18:21.250 --> 00:18:23.289 maybe talk a little bit about the you know the 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:25.049 rest of your product line there's a couple things 00:18:25.049 --> 00:18:26.789 here on the table that we haven't discussed yet 00:18:26.789 --> 00:18:29.849 you're not just suppressors and if suppressors 00:18:30.190 --> 00:18:32.690 Let's just say went away tomorrow. You know, 00:18:32.710 --> 00:18:35.750 the Supreme Court said, you know what, suppressors, 00:18:35.750 --> 00:18:38.789 we're not doing that. And then you'd still have 00:18:38.789 --> 00:18:40.630 a business to maintain and a team to maintain. 00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:42.490 You know, what else you got and what else is 00:18:42.490 --> 00:18:44.670 coming up? Yeah, well, we kind of have the trifecta. 00:18:44.670 --> 00:18:47.130 We do the suppressor lineup. We do the parts 00:18:47.130 --> 00:18:49.809 and accessories that we used to be well known 00:18:49.809 --> 00:18:52.779 for. 20 years ago, coming to SHOT Show and I 00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.500 first started coming to the show, people would 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:58.019 come in and say, oh, yeah, I know your hand guards 00:18:58.019 --> 00:19:00.079 and your sights and whatever. And I see you also 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.259 have a suppressor or maybe two at the time. And 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:04.900 now it's a total flip -flop where people come 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:06.440 in and see the suppressors, and they're like, 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.299 I didn't know you made all these parts and accessories. 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:10.400 And it's like, yeah, we've been doing that for 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.940 50 years. Is that how you're going to stay in 00:19:12.940 --> 00:19:15.240 front of the suppressor market with so many new 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:17.299 entries into the market? Because like I said, 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:21.039 you cannot, I mean, you're not seeing this, but 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:25.339 yeah, 60 -plus vendors who are out there selling 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:27.980 their own designs. Yeah, and that's only, now 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:30.359 wait, you know what? That's only through the 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:32.829 suppressor store. Right. Yeah, that's true. And 00:19:32.829 --> 00:19:36.470 there's other vendors out there and ones that 00:19:36.470 --> 00:19:40.349 they simply don't cover. So how does a person, 00:19:40.509 --> 00:19:44.869 how do you make a choice? I think the choice 00:19:44.869 --> 00:19:46.950 is obvious when it comes to YHM because you get 00:19:46.950 --> 00:19:51.509 such a value for the price. And as far as, you 00:19:51.509 --> 00:19:53.700 know, what do we think of these? you know, pop 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:55.319 -ups and things like that. We've seen it before. 00:19:55.539 --> 00:19:57.319 We've been around for three generations now. 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:00.859 We've seen with 41F in 2016, all of a sudden 00:20:00.859 --> 00:20:03.619 everybody was making suppressors because something 00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:05.440 was going to change. Whether that was good or 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:07.660 bad, people don't like changes. So if it had 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.559 a serial number, it sold in 2016. We saw the 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:18.440 same thing in the 2008 Obama era when there was 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:21.839 constant talk of banning the AR -15. All of a 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:23.500 sudden, everybody and their brother was making 00:20:23.500 --> 00:20:26.059 AR -15s and bolt carriers and all kinds of parts. 00:20:26.460 --> 00:20:29.519 And the guys like us who have been doing it and 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:32.740 have built a brand and a good reputation, it 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:35.960 was kind of steady business for us. It was business 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:38.200 as usual. So roughly how many states is this 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:42.910 available in? 42. 42 states out of 50. Okay, 00:20:43.970 --> 00:20:46.849 Massachusetts, California, who are the other 00:20:46.849 --> 00:20:51.529 six? New York, New Jersey, Hawaii definitely, 00:20:51.990 --> 00:20:55.529 Rhode Island. Rhode Island is really bad. They 00:20:55.529 --> 00:20:57.829 actually just rewrote their laws to try to make 00:20:57.829 --> 00:21:00.069 it better for police, but I think they kind of 00:21:00.069 --> 00:21:04.859 wrote themselves into a corner. Of course, you 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:07.420 know, Chicago, Illinois area, they're still out 00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:10.660 of it. And I'm an ASA board member, too. I don't 00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:13.599 know if Tim talked about that. No, you need to 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:16.740 talk about that. So I don't know what ASA is. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.900 American Suppressor Association. Okay, that's 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:21.799 correct. Okay, if I knew, it doesn't mean the 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:24.200 listeners know. Well, now they know what it is. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.319 What do we do? Yeah, what do you do? How are 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.539 you on the board? So much like the NSSF, it's 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:30.940 a trade organization, but based around silencers 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:34.250 and suppressors. And their goal is to totally 00:21:34.250 --> 00:21:35.849 deregulate suppressors in the United States. 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:38.990 It's safety equipment. Yeah. And so they've been 00:21:38.990 --> 00:21:42.849 working very hard for over a decade, 15, 20 years 00:21:42.849 --> 00:21:46.150 at this point, lobbying and introducing bills 00:21:46.150 --> 00:21:48.890 and going to testify and try to fight bad bills 00:21:48.890 --> 00:21:52.009 to increase suppressor ownership. And they've 00:21:52.009 --> 00:21:54.529 been very successful on the state level of getting 00:21:54.529 --> 00:21:56.529 more states on. They've done a fantastic job 00:21:56.529 --> 00:21:59.230 of states that used to allow suppressed shooting 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:01.809 but not suppressed hunting. to allow hunting 00:22:01.809 --> 00:22:04.430 in those states using suppressors as well. Okay. 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:06.109 And so that's how we've gotten that number up 00:22:06.109 --> 00:22:08.509 to the 42 states where we are now. Where was 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:11.930 it when you started? I think it was about 36 00:22:11.930 --> 00:22:15.230 states. Okay. That's progress. Yeah, because 00:22:15.230 --> 00:22:16.710 some of them are just going to be really hard 00:22:16.710 --> 00:22:20.490 cases. Hawaii, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts. 00:22:20.829 --> 00:22:22.569 They're going to be hard cases no matter what. 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:25.670 Right. There's certain states that just because 00:22:25.670 --> 00:22:28.299 it's... tangential to guns, it's going to be 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:30.500 an instant no. They don't care to learn more. 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:32.579 They don't care to find out what the reality 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:34.680 of this thing is. It's just, oh, it's gun -related? 00:22:34.859 --> 00:22:37.779 No, nothing to do with that. So are you going 00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:40.680 to be able to... Let's say California opens up, 00:22:40.740 --> 00:22:44.319 which is a big market. Are you going to be able 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:48.099 to scale to that? Oh yeah, absolutely. That's 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:49.599 one of the great things is being in the position 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:52.220 of, we make the stuff, not we get it in from 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:54.579 someone else and put it together. I just make 00:22:54.579 --> 00:22:57.579 more. So your stuff is made in the USA? It's 00:22:57.579 --> 00:22:59.799 all made in the USA, yep, with USA -sourced materials 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:01.799 whenever physically possible. Do you happen to 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:04.039 know how many of your competitors are using USA, 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:08.920 let's say, sourced parts? I don't know that off 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:11.400 the top of my head, and whatever numbers they 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:13.400 throw out there, it's difficult to verify anyway. 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:16.079 But for the most part, the suppressor manufacturers 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:19.420 are all, you know, pulling for USA -made. So 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:22.000 you listeners have heard us say before that, 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:25.990 you know, hey, the reality of frugal in the firearms 00:23:25.990 --> 00:23:28.009 industry, actually almost any industry right 00:23:28.009 --> 00:23:31.109 now, is there's a lot of imports, and you just 00:23:31.109 --> 00:23:34.829 have to accept that and try to pass laws and 00:23:34.829 --> 00:23:36.950 try to encourage companies to manufacture in 00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:38.750 the United States. But it doesn't mean it's going 00:23:38.750 --> 00:23:39.930 to happen, and it doesn't mean it's going to 00:23:39.930 --> 00:23:42.509 happen soon. So you have to appreciate that these 00:23:42.509 --> 00:23:44.369 guys are actually building stuff and have been 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:47.890 in the United States. What else you got for us, 00:23:47.950 --> 00:23:50.079 Chris? Well, I don't know if you've seen, but 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:52.559 we seem to have this diamond logo all over everything. 00:23:52.859 --> 00:23:57.519 2026 is our 75th anniversary. Wow. So 75 years 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:00.220 we've come from making screw machine parts in 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:05.059 a garage to making AR -15 parts to being a nationally 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:08.000 recognized suppressor manufacturer that we are 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.119 today. Very good. I hope you have a good succession 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:16.140 plan. I do. I have a succession outline. Good, 00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:19.019 good, good. Yeah, I know with a lot of companies, 00:24:19.140 --> 00:24:22.200 that's hard to find. Maybe passing it on to the 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:24.019 son or daughter isn't always the right thing 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:26.920 to do from a business perspective. Depends on 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.660 the family. So I know that they have a very big, 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:33.440 how are we going to replace Tim Cook? But they 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:35.559 replaced Steve Jobs, and it's worked out. So 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:38.779 it's a possible thing to do. Every year, you're 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:41.640 in the same spot here in the law enforcement 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:44.240 section of the show. For those who can make... 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:47.759 it to the show yeah but let's say you can't come 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:50.579 to shot where do people find your stuff is it 00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:52.900 just online is it locally sourced is it through 00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:55.740 various distributors how do you do it uh yes 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:59.480 So we have two -strip distribution who supplies 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:01.819 the dealer networks out there. We also do dealer 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:04.880 direct sales. So if a shop out there wants to 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:07.420 buy one of something and maybe for whatever reason 00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:09.400 doesn't qualify or doesn't work with a distributor 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:11.259 who carries our product, we do sell direct as 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.779 well. And then everything basically without a 00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:16.240 serial number on it, we also sell retail on the 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:19.839 web at YHM .net. And how much of the business 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:23.140 is moving toward maybe as a percentage towards 00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:27.380 suppressors? I would say we're probably 85 % 00:25:27.380 --> 00:25:29.980 or better suppressor. Wow, really? That's a big 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.559 swing from where you've been in the past. Now, 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:34.200 obviously, that's a little bit skewed because 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:36.059 you were talking about, you know, sites and parts 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:38.420 and widgets. Those are a lower dollar item. The 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:40.400 suppressors are a higher dollar item. So it depends 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:43.180 if you're looking at volumes of dollars or volumes 00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:47.150 of parts. Got it. Got it. Any other anecdotal 00:25:47.150 --> 00:25:49.170 stories, funny stuff, things you want to pass 00:25:49.170 --> 00:25:51.289 on? So I always like to share this story. Part 00:25:51.289 --> 00:25:54.210 of our development process is we get a suppressor 00:25:54.210 --> 00:25:56.009 together and we go, yeah, this looks really good. 00:25:56.069 --> 00:25:57.650 It sounds good. It does everything we want it 00:25:57.650 --> 00:26:00.210 to do. Let's flip it around and shoot it backwards. 00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:03.930 And you'd be surprised how many times we do that. 00:26:03.950 --> 00:26:05.890 We're like, oh, it sounds a little bit better 00:26:05.890 --> 00:26:09.880 this way. Even after doing this for suppressors 00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:12.539 alone for 20 -plus years, it still surprises 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:16.180 us sometimes when we get a design that just works 00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:17.720 the way we want it to. We try to flip it, and 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:19.380 it works. We've even done that with competitors' 00:26:19.579 --> 00:26:21.980 products, and we're just like, okay, we've got 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:23.980 it in. Let's build the jig to shoot it backwards. 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:26.640 This is significantly quieter than I never thought 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.660 to try this. Wow. You know, one of your competitors, 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.160 I'm not... going to name it but they actually 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.779 have an idea these guys just make modular stuff 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:37.240 nothing else and they actually have a challenge 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:41.000 for their people to like we think we got it right 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:44.019 but we'll give you a reward if you can make it 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:47.079 quieter than us but i don't know how they're 00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:49.839 testing it and there's a lot of ways i'll tell 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:52.180 you guys something about audio i learned this 00:26:52.180 --> 00:26:55.450 in my first two weeks as an audio engineer Audio 00:26:55.450 --> 00:26:58.289 is the only area of engineering, I was told, 00:26:58.410 --> 00:27:00.670 where you can be wrong by 50 % and still have 00:27:00.670 --> 00:27:04.630 a good answer. So, yeah. I believe it. What really 00:27:04.630 --> 00:27:08.009 matters, though, here is the quality of the product, 00:27:08.210 --> 00:27:09.910 the price point of the product, the value of 00:27:09.910 --> 00:27:11.609 the product. They stand behind their warranty. 00:27:11.849 --> 00:27:13.950 And at the same time, you're protecting your 00:27:13.950 --> 00:27:16.509 hearing. Protecting your hearing. You cannot 00:27:16.509 --> 00:27:19.220 replace that. Any other comments for us, Chris? 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:21.920 I'm a testament to that. And that hearing safe 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:23.940 number, I've got a hearing aid in both ears because, 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.880 oh, hearing safe. Every suppressed shot I take 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:30.259 is hearing safe. And from years of shooting unsuppressed 00:27:30.259 --> 00:27:32.259 and then additional years of shooting suppressed, 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.940 thinking I was hearing safe, I have a hearing 00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:38.980 aid now at 45. Yeah. That's a very youthful 45, 00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:40.680 though, Chris, I'll tell you that. Thank you. 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:42.759 You're wearing it well. Ken, what else you got? 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.519 I appreciate the opportunity. I actually have 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:48.839 some ideas of my own, but I'm not a manufacturer, 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:50.339 and I live in a state where I can't do anything. 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:52.960 Well, maybe Chris will hire you as a design engineer 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:55.720 or something like that. We'll see. Some outside 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:59.890 consulting, maybe. We'll see. Yeah. Yeah. We 00:27:59.890 --> 00:28:02.829 introduced the Victor 12 last year. And at that 00:28:02.829 --> 00:28:05.130 point, it was one of only a very small handful 00:28:05.130 --> 00:28:06.990 of commercially available shotgun suppressors. 00:28:07.049 --> 00:28:09.369 And we had salespeople and engineers coming from 00:28:09.369 --> 00:28:11.309 other companies and going, wow, we really like 00:28:11.309 --> 00:28:13.589 this. Like, you know, we wish we had been given 00:28:13.589 --> 00:28:15.970 more time to develop ours further and to do things 00:28:15.970 --> 00:28:19.089 a little different. And I approach every product 00:28:19.089 --> 00:28:22.210 with a mentality of I'm not I didn't do a 12 00:28:22.210 --> 00:28:24.490 gauge shotgun suppressor just to say we can make 00:28:24.490 --> 00:28:26.990 a shotgun suppressor now. It had to be a good 00:28:26.990 --> 00:28:30.130 12 -gauge shotgun suppressor. And I don't want 00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:32.190 to badmouth anybody, but I kind of got the feeling 00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:34.029 like a lot of these guys were just told we need 00:28:34.029 --> 00:28:36.150 a 12 -gauge suppressor. And that was the end 00:28:36.150 --> 00:28:38.049 of the conversation. Well, it's your management 00:28:38.049 --> 00:28:39.890 style because a lot of times the boss will come 00:28:39.890 --> 00:28:42.470 down and say, make this happen. I'm going to 00:28:42.470 --> 00:28:46.650 go play golf. Right. Yeah. My engineers were 00:28:46.650 --> 00:28:48.950 very upset because I kind of gave them a napkin 00:28:48.950 --> 00:28:50.650 sketch and said, I've been toying around with 00:28:50.650 --> 00:28:53.750 this idea for years. What do you think? And they 00:28:53.750 --> 00:28:55.789 come up with their own ideas and try other stuff. 00:28:55.849 --> 00:28:57.329 And after three or four months of development, 00:28:57.430 --> 00:28:59.750 they're like, your napkin sketch is the best 00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:03.710 one. And they're not just saying that because 00:29:03.710 --> 00:29:06.190 you pay the bill. No, they were very disappointed 00:29:06.190 --> 00:29:07.809 that it was the best one because they were like, 00:29:07.869 --> 00:29:09.769 all right, we're degree engineers here. We're 00:29:09.769 --> 00:29:12.779 going to go do this. do this finite element analysis 00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:14.460 and gas flow and stuff and they're like we're 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:16.339 going to make this better and they're like damn 00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:19.779 napkin sketch see sometimes actually intuition 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:23.119 is sometimes the best guide yeah and that's why 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:26.460 you're leading the company right all right any 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:28.819 other comments chris no i think they're pretty 00:29:28.819 --> 00:29:34.079 much covered pleased happy you know i feel really 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:36.160 blessed to be in the position i am you know as 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:38.380 a little kid i knew this is what i wanted to 00:29:38.380 --> 00:29:40.960 do growing up i wanted to take control of ygm 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:42.880 and you know do what we do and keep the family 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:45.559 business going outstanding that's that's nice 00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:48.640 to hear yeah passing it on so you know hey i 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:51.140 want to thank chris and and tim in the background 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:53.619 there whose hands are probably getting very tired 00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:56.740 uh for For helping us get this video posted, 00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:59.279 definitely recommend that you look at YHM's site. 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:01.519 You know, just look at the suppressors. Look 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:03.259 at all the other stuff that they have. Yeah, 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:05.859 the Ken and I have used for years. Absolutely 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:09.579 worth it. And we'll see you guys, hey, in another 00:30:09.579 --> 00:30:10.660 video on another day.