The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has reported a significant surge in the sales of suppressors, with over 500,000 units sold in just the last three months.
The latest data, as released by the agency on August 4, indicates that more than 6.65 million suppressors are now registered under the National Firearms Act. Some gun rights advocates have previously pointed to a legislative change that allegedly streamlined the ATF’s processes, reducing the Form 4 processing time to about nine days, based on information available on the ATF website.
In June, the National Shooting Sports Foundation disclosed that around 6.1 million suppressors were owned privately. Notably, the ATF Director Robert Secada highlighted in a July article that, starting from fiscal year 2021, the average waiting time for the most commonly submitted ATF forms dropped to 18 days.
🚨Breaking news🚨
It’s official! @SilencerShop completed the first legal, unregistered suppressor transfer since June 26, 1934.@AkGuyYour purchase has been approved & @wts_tws concealed his carry permit and skipped a background check. This is one big beautiful victory. 🇺🇸🔫 https://t.co/5cyDgVWeM9 pic.twitter.com/grhXqpMjJV
— America’s Gun Owners (@GunOwners) August 13, 2026
Following this, Chekada pointed out that despite the shorter wait times, the number of submitted forms rose from under 485,700 in fiscal year 2021 to over 1.84 million by the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, with 1,045,503 Form 4s processed in the same year.
William Sack, who serves as the senior director of legal affairs at the Second Amendment Foundation, expressed that silencers are becoming increasingly favored among gun owners due to their practicality for home defense, shooting practice, and hunting—citing hearing protection as a major benefit of using them.
He also mentioned the historical burdens posed by the National Firearms Act, including a $200 tax and lengthy processing times, which had previously dissuaded potential buyers from acquiring silencers. However, he noted that these regulatory challenges are being alleviated following significant legal reforms.
In July 2025, President Trump signed a settlement bill that eliminated taxes on suppressors, along with other types of firearms. This legislative change stemmed from a senator’s proposal to exempt these categories from NFA regulations.
Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, stated that the absence of the $200 tax has led to a dramatic increase in suppressor ownership, suggesting that without the NFA’s stringent taxation and registration, suppressors would have already been widely accepted and utilized.
The timing of these disclosures coincided with U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix granting a summary judgment on August 5 concerning an appeal from the Silencer Shop Foundation. Following a stay that expired on August 12, at least two individuals, previously opposing this move, were indicted for transferring suppressors without following the ATF Form 4 process.
The Justice Department has acknowledged in legal documents from May 2025 that the beneficial applications of suppressors significantly outweigh their potential misuse by criminals.
