A report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) shows “over 845,000 suppressor applications’ were submitted from January through May of 2026 alone.
The NSSF drew figures from ATF data showing that of the more than 845,000 applications received, “768,000 were approved.”
If the overview is broadened to National Firearms Act (NFA) checks in general–i.e., suppressors, short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns, etc.–the increase in checks in June 2026 compared to June 2025 was “177 percent.”
The surge in sales comes after President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill (BBB) removed the $200 tax on NFA items. The BBB initially removed the $200 tax and NFA registration requirements. But on June 26, 2025, Breitbart News noted the Senate parliamentarian said the NFA language did not comport with the Byrd Rule. As as result, the BBB passed with the removal of the federal tax stamp requirement for suppressors–from $200 to zero–but with the cumbersome NFA regulations still in place.
The removal of the tax immediately meant suppressors cost $200 less than they once did…and sales are booming.
Information from the American Suppressor Association shows the current surge in suppressor purchases follows over two decades of increasing state-level changes to allow broadened use of the devices for hunting.
Suppressors do not silence firearms. Rather, they muffle the ear-splitting sound of a gunshot, protecting the hearing of hunters and the ambience of nature as well.
WATCH:
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. He is a lever action man in an AR-15 world. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].
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