By Dean Weingarten | Contributing Writer
Under the Trump administration, the numbers of National Firearms Act items registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) has become much more transparent.
There are more than 6.6 million suppressors (“silencers”) registered as of Aug. 4, 2026.
Under previous administrations, there was an annual release of information in the Firearms Commerce in the United States report from 2011 to 2021. No annual Firearms Commerce in the United States report was published in 2022, 2023 or 2024 during the Biden administration. Some numbers were obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests. In the first year of the second Trump administration, the 2024 report was published in September of 2025, a welcome return to normalcy.
When this correspondent was at the SHOT Show back on Jan. 22, the ATF announced there were 5,776,685 silencers registered in the NFRTR. Because the Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill, the $200 tax on purchasing or making your own silencer was reduced to zero. As expected, the number of people registering silencers with the ATF has skyrocketed. By examining previous numbers, and extrapolating between dates, the number of suppressors registered in the NFRTR as of each January, from January 2011 to January 2026 has been extrapolated in the chart shown below.
Since January of this year, the ATF has been posting the number of devices, also generically referred to as “cans,” registered in the NFRTR on a regular basis. The Trump administration is doing a much better job of releasing numbers than previous administrations. As of Aug. 4, the number of silencers registered in the NFRTR is 6,654,209. This is 877,524 silencers registered in less than eight months in 2026. Only 345,791 more suppressors need to be registered by the end of December to reach 7 million registered devices.
A recent court ruling means the requirement to register silencers has ceased to exist for some people. The court ruling only applies to the plaintiffs in the case. The plaintiffs include the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Gun Owners of America, among others.
It seems likely the entire requirement for people non-commercially purchasing, transfering or making silencers, short barreled rifles (sbr), short barreled shotguns (sbs) and Any Other Weapons (aow) will be found to be unconstitutional because of the removal of the $200 tax for silencers, sbr, and sbs; and the $5 tax for aow. This has not happened yet. It may happen in the future. Readers are urged to exercise caution. While it appears unlikely the Trump administration will appeal the ruling of United States District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in the Northern District of Texas in the Fifth Circuit, the Department of Justice has until early October of 2026 to do so.
Different rulings might appear in other cases. If a reader decides to use the current District Court permanent injunction, they should make certain they are one of the covered parties to the case. One way to do this is to become a member of the CCRKBA, or other associations in the case.
Another reason for caution is the District Court ruling only applies to federal law. It does not apply to state law. Several states have laws concerning silencers, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, and any other weapons. Readers are advised to be certain what the laws in their state may apply before they take action based on the case settled by Judge Hendrix in the federal District Court.
The effective ban on the private ownership and making of silencers for many decades is one of the worst public health decisions of the federal government. Many millions of shooters have lost hearing because of the pernicious consequences of the law. One of the most common words heard at a gun show is “What?” as the questioner struggles to overcome hearing damage. Much of the hearing damage could have been prevented if silencers had been common and inexpensive, as there have been in England, Scandinavia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
If you are traveling to other countries to hunt, research their laws on the use of suppressors before you go. In South Africa, silencers have been an over the counter item, cash and carry. In Namibia, some hunters have reported a letter explaining you are using the silencer (moderator) for hunting is sometimes required.
The ban on silencers (based on the effective economics), or more recently, the extreme restrictions, have caused enormous harm. It appears the Trump administration is working to stop the harm. It would never have happened without decades of activism by millions of Second Amendment supporters.
