NO END IN SIGHT

If you own, use, or enjoy modern silencers, there’s one man you have to thank for the privilege and that’s Dr. Phil Dater. Though suppressors have been around far longer than Dater, his designs and DNA can be found across the industry and the globe.

But being the father of modern silencers wasn’t Dater’s life goal. Silencers weren’t even on his radar until he was well into his 40s. His love for tinkering and learning, and distaste for sitting around, put him on a journey to pave the way for practically every modern silencer company we all know.

Dater was born in New York City and spent most of his youth there. He moved to Kansas as a teenager and graduated high school in Wichita. Dater went on to study engineering at the University of Kansas. To put himself through school, he worked for the Coleman lantern company. Eventually, Dater had a change of heart and pursued medicine. He finished medical school in New Orleans. Then, he joined the Air Force in 1965 as a physician. In a hospital basement, Dater began next and, to us, his most important career journey, shaping the way we enjoy and employ silencers in the 21st century.

We sat down with Dater at his home and