Well, well, well. The American Suppressor Association dropped a doozy of a report, and the numbers don't lie: when you take away a $200 barrier, Americans stock up on suppressors like they're going out of style.
From January through April 2026, gun owners submitted a staggering 660,744 Form 4 applications for suppressors. That's roughly 90 percent of all 2025's total—in just four months. January alone saw 240,270 applications, the single biggest month in ASA's data history. And even after that initial rush, February through April each stayed higher than any individual month in 2024 or 2025.
The change came courtesy of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, which zeroed out the federal transfer tax on suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs starting January 1, 2026. (Machine guns and destructive devices still carry the $200 tax, because apparently Washington's selective about "common use.")
Now here's what gets me: Washington took away the tax but kept the registry. You still file Form 4s. You still submit fingerprints and photos. You still wait on federal approval. The $200 tax was never really about funding—it was a barrier dressed up as revenue collection. And constitutional challenges are already asking the obvious question: if there's no tax, what's the legal basis for forcing peaceful citizens into a federal registry for hearing protection?
Good news on the processing front: ATF managed to keep median eForm 4 wait times between six and twelve days despite volume tripling. That's a far cry from the months-long waits we used to see.
The market projections are eye-opening. ASA's likely case estimates 1.5 million applications for 2026—double 2025—with a wholesale value around $953 million. The upside scenario? 1.85 million applications.
As of late May 2026, roughly 6.14 million suppressors are registered nationally—up 1.7 million from January 2025. Texas leads with nearly 945,000, followed by Florida at 401,000.
The 7.62mm family dominates registered cans at 34.4 percent, with rimfires at 21.9 percent. Makes sense—affordable, practical, and now finally accessible to more shooters.
Bottom line: The market spoke loud and clear. Americans want suppressors for hunting, home defense, range time, and everything in between. Removing one federal barrier unleashed demand we've never seen. The question now is whether Washington will finally acknowledge that suppressing our hearing is unnecessary—once the tax is gone, the whole NFA scheme for these items starts looking mighty shaky.