As the representative for UN12 Magazine, I was invited by SilencerCo to take part in the SilencerCo Summer Camp 2026 event. This is the travel blog of my experience with the company and its team. I can tell you this was an event unlike any other, where SilencerCo exclusively invited 20 top journalists in the country for a couple days of amazing views, amazing food, amazing company—and of course amazing suppressed firearms. Did I say it was AMAZING yet?
Day 1—Arrival & Settling In
Flew into SLC and took a short 20 minute-ish ride from the airport to SilencerCo headquarters. We all dropped our bags off, and we signed waivers, checked in and got our badges. Had a catered lunch and a Q&A session with Chief Marketing Officer Mike Aland, President Scott Clinger, and Legal Counsel David Kellis. Lots of questions on the latest about the elimination of the NFA tax stamp for suppressors. Many things are still up in the air, as well as the timelines as to when the ATF will have factual info about FFLs removing their SOT forms and be able to release suppressors to the public using Form 4473. This year, there will potentially be over two million suppressors released to the public.
After the Q&A, we broke up into groups and were taken inside to do a tour of the manufacturing areas, as well as the company’s private range for them to do burn-down testing, prototyping, sound-signature testing. It’s one of the most impressive armory areas, with wall after wall of nearly every type of firearm you could imagine. Countless types of different ammo as well to test with. We even got some free time to shoot a few select suppressed firearms ourselves in the range area.
SilencerCo runs its operation virtually 24/7 to keep up with demand. The facility is approximately 72,000 square feet, with nearly 70 CNC machines and 300 employees. One important talking point that really stood out is that not only do the SilencerCo suppressors have a lifetime warranty, the warranty department prides itself on having truly one of the fastest warranty repairs to the customer in the industry. They work on getting warranty cans shipped back to the customer in an average of 48 hours.
Following the tour, we all loaded up onto the bus for a three-hour scenic ride heading north to the Day Mountain Ranch Resort in Preston, Idaho. It’s a beyond scenic location covering nearly 2,400 acres. It’s also the ultimate in glam cabin camping with beautiful cabin vibes, full kitchen, and even soaking tubs. Downstairs in our suite was a large room with six roomy bunk beds, some table games, and TV. While all this is very cozy and roomy, the rolling hills and the outdoors are where this property shines.
About Day Mountain Ranch Resort
The overall property is 2,355 acres of rolling hills and some of the most scenic shooting areas you can imagine. Opened up in 2020, the resort currently boasts six luxury cabins, four cottages, an outdoor pavilion, event barn, and even a covered firearm range. The range has shooting out to 2 miles, and has approximately 350 steel plates spread out all over the hills to allow patrons to shoot at every distance without having to go set anything up. If you are ever looking for a team retreat or just a family getaway, this is a superb place to visit. They also have access to a phenomenal catering company that can come out and create superb meals for you and your squad.
For more info and to book cabins visit www.dmrresort.com and you can follow their adventures on IG @dmrresort
After getting all settled, we had a fantastic dinner outside in the pavilion and got to hang and talk the others and the very supportive and knowledgeable SilencerCo staff. Having a bit of time to chill, we got some nighttime glow-in-the-dark skeet shooting in. Utilizing different shotgun platforms all strapped with the Salvo12 suppressor, we hung out in the dark, under the stars, shooting lots of luminescent UFOS. It was an absolute action-packed first day at SilencerCo Summer Camp 2026.
Day 2—Long Range Shooting
After a much-needed and very comfy sleep, we all met back up early at the pavilion for some morning fuel before having a full day out in the sun atop the mountain. SilencerCo brought in some very knowledgeable and great PRS shooters to help coach and train us in the long-range and hunting shooting world.
Paired with a new event named The Ultimate Hunting Experience, we experienced 13 stages with distances ranging as short as 200 yards (but on very small targets), up to out over 1,200 yards. After breakfast, we loaded up on the side-by-sides and took the roads less traveled up from base camp all the way to the top of the mountains for the start of all the stages. Being able to oversee the valleys at every angle, even with the sun beating down on everyone, there was no lack of excitement from both the seasoned long-range vets and the new blood to the Experience.
Admittedly, I was a bit intimidated even having a decade-plus of experience with firearm activities. Being very comfortable with pistols and close-quarters things, and not having much experience to shoot out past 600 yards, this was a very educational event, with lots of help and no egos. Only people helping people learn and getting excited when you make a shot and hear a “ping” a few seconds later.
Our group’s first stage was at 1200 yards, and with pro shooter Chase sitting next to me and walking me through reading the wind and proper scope setup, hitting that target on the first shot was not only awesome but a massive confidence booster in a part of our industry that is not as easy as these guys make it look.
A midday break to head back down for some fuel and hydration was a welcomed sight. From lunch, we headed back up the hill for the rest of the stages with a full belly and a brain full of knowledge, making most everyone feel like an experienced hunter and sniper. At the end of the stages everyone made it back down the hill once again and there were a bunch of awesome raffle items ranging from weapon lighting, archery equipment, and suppressors to complete rifles, all raffled off by the guys at The Ultimate Hunting Experience. If you have ever wanted to shoot long range, or even just learn more about the sport, this is absolutely a superb experience to take part in!
About The Ultimate Hunting Experience
UHE was launched in February 2026. It was created since there was a shortage of events outside of intimidating competitive shooting for hunters and shooters to build their skills and increase their success in the field. This puts shooters of all experience levels in place to let them test their gear, their shot processes, and their decision making. There are five gentlemen who started this and all have deep experience, from a hunter education instructor to retired service members, PRS shooting experts, and precision rifle manufacturers. Along with precision shooting, they also offer archery situations to let those interested to learn their archery gear.
For more info please check out www.theultimatehuntingexperience.com and you can follow them on IG @ultimatehuntingexperience.
Later in the afternoon, after the UHE raffle giveaways, we got to enjoy a couple hours of downtime to get dirt and dust out of all the body parts and throw on some fresh clothes while dinner was being prepared. Some took naps, some went out for a hike, some had a few cocktails, but everyone enjoyed their respective downtimes. This was followed by another amazing catered dinner while a large rainstorm and attendant lightshow greeted us as we sat under the pavilion canopy.
Day 3—Olympic Shooting Day
Woke up early with great excitement for the final full day of shooting and experiencing all that SilencerCo has to offer. After breakfast we had a quick briefing about what was about to transpire. There was a 10-stage (in multiple locations) Olympic competition shooting setup. We shot stages with suppressed shotguns, handguns, 300 BO rifles, .22LR, a few different AR platforms, and even a 8.6 BO Q bolt gun.
This was designed to challenge each shooter in their own way and of course get to experience across the wide gamut of SilencerCo cans. They genuinely have a suppresser for EVERY situation and need. Everyone had a card that tracked their scores for each stage. At the end of everyone shooting, that card was turned in and points were tabulated to go into some super-sweet giveaways. One additional way to get points was to find some “golden tickets” that were hidden around the property. “Hidden in plain sight” was not as easy to find these as one might have thought.
With so much beautiful scenery surrounding us, it was easy to get distracted from finding these tickets. One of the coolest people there had found one and actually gifted it to me the night before at dinner. After scratching the ticket, it added 20 points to my final total. The grand prize was a super kitted-out e-Moto bike wrapped with a super-sweet SilencerCo camo pattern… AND wouldn’t you know it once the random generator was spun… I ended up with the grand prize! It’s something I am still trying to take in as that is unlike anything I have ever won before.
The end take away from this entire experience… Spending a few full days with numerous firearms enthusiasts and experts in creating the best-quality sound-suppression devices for your firearm is an experience I will surely not forget anytime soon. It was just all positive vibes and pro-2A people, and it’s something everyone should experience. Companies like SilencerCo who are leading the fight to get rid of the NFA (as well as to help preserve your hearing) deserve all our support. And why they create so many products and put so much into the technology for everyone to enjoy. There is a reason why their current lineup covers more than 20 suppressors. They have a solution for every pistol, AR, bolt gun, and shotgun. Hopefully soon enough everyone across the country who wants one can experience having a suppressor on everything in the collection. And, we learend, a couple of new products they are currently developing will be debuted in the upcoming months.
SilencerCo
URL: silencerco.com
The Ultimate Hunting Experience
URL: theultimatehuntingexperience.com
Day Mountain Ranch
URL: dmrresort.com