More than 5 Million NFA Suppressors in USA!

In May of 2021, the ATF showed 2,664,774 legal silencers in the USA

The number of legal silencers in the USA is almost certainly over five million. The National Shooting Sports Federation, (NSSF) revealed a Freedom of Information Act request submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives, (ATF), was finally answered this summer. The total number was at 4.86 million at the end of July, 2024.  From NSSF:

In a recent Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA), NSSF received
from ATF the additional number of silencers from May 2021 to July 2024.
An incredible 2,193,123 more suppressors are protecting the hearing of
hunters and shooters. That means a whopping 4.86 million silencers and
counting are in possession by law-abiding Americans.

The  number of tax stamps issued for silencers, also commonly referred to as suppressors, had to be pried out of the ATF with an FOIA. The ATF has gained a reputation of long waits and poor responses to FOIA requests. Before the Biden administration took power, detailed information on all National Firearms Act items were publicly available in an annual report called Firearms Commerce in the United States.  Once the Biden administration took control of the ATF, the annual report was, without notice, discontinued. The ATF would not publish the information. They slowly responded to FOIA requests, which is how the NSSF finally obtained the numbers. The numbers show an accelerating demand for legal silencers, with an average of nearly 60,000 tax stamps being issued each month.

The average does not tell the whole story The demand has been accelerating. This source has information which shows there were 3.5 million silencers through January of 2024. Thus 1.4 million silencers were added in the six months from January 2024 to the end of July, 2024. It is virtually certain there are over 5 million legal silencers in the USA today.

Much of the increase has come from the ATF streamlining the Tax Stamp approval process for commercially made silencers, while complicating the process to make your own silencer.  Another part of the increase comes from the major inflation created by the Biden administration in the last 3.5 years. While everything else has become more expensive, the tax stamp remains the same as it was when created in 1934: $200. In 1934, $200 was roughly four months wages for a common laborer. Today, it is one or two days wages. In 1934, a silencer might cost $5-10. Today they can cost $200 - $2,000, so the tax stamp becomes a fraction of the total cost instead of 95% of the cost.

Sales of silencers/suppressors may slump with the election President Trump. The possibility of something like the Hearing Protection Act is plausible. One of the giants in the silencer/suppressor industry is not worried. Brandon Maddox explained there is such a pent-up demand for silencers, his business will only increase if the regulatory hassles are eliminated.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are looking for programs to cut, to increase efficiency. Moving silencers out of the NFA would take legislation. President Trump could declare an amnesty, as is allowed under federal legislation. An amnesty might incentivize Congress to reform the NFA and pass the Hearing Protection Act.

More incentives to remove items from the NFA exist in the courts. The case in Illinois looks promising.

President Trump is moving much faster this term. He has put together an incredible team, well in advance of taking office. He now understands the treachery inherent in the bureaucracy. Top level bureaucrats have monetary and power incentives to oppose him. They may have significant crimes to hide which may be revealed.

Analysis: He who cuts the first deal on revealing potential criminal actions usually gets the best deal. There are thousands of people in the bureaucracy who know where good information is to be found about criminal activity. They have jobs, pensions, and perks to protect. Some of them are already talking. Many of them know how practices can be streamlined, and where positions can be cut.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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