I'm not overly happy about how things came out in the One Big Beautiful Bill, but we still made some headway. The removal of the $200 tax stamp was a key moment, and now that it's signed, it's the law. The tax stamp is no more.
And, to be fair, that tax stamp has stopped a lot of people from buying things like short-barreled rifles and suppressors. It's just one more step that has to be undergone well before you drop the money on the product you're getting registered.
But regardless of how many it discouraged, there are a lot of suppressor sales already, and that's likely to skyrocket now.
Americans eager to quiet their firearms have been buying “silencers” at a historic rate, and that is expected to surge more once the tax is removed under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that was signed into law.
Industry officials told Secrets that there is a growing demand for suppressors as gun owners seek out hearing protection devices.
...Industry spokesman Mark Oliva, with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said that recent attention to the benefits of using suppressors at gun ranges and hunting, as some European nations recommend, is boosting sales. And cutting the tax should help more.
“The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill will remove a significant barrier to lawful suppressor and firearm ownership, when it is ultimately implemented, that we believe has kept many on the sidelines, especially when it comes to suppressor purchases,” Oliva told Secrets.
“There are over 413,000 suppressors entered into the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, the central registry for all items regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA). That figure has grown steadily, especially in recent years as more people learn the benefits of using suppressors. A recent NSSF study found a 265% surge in annual suppressor registrations. We would expect this increase to grow more sharply with the $200 tax stamp barrier removed,” Oliva added.
I don't care who you are, a 265 percent increase is massive on every level. There's no product I can think of that has seen that kind of growth in sales. That's massive.
And now that the price is effectively $200 cheaper than it was, yeah, that's likely to increase.
For some, the drop in price isn't enough. We're concerned about the registration, and those folks aren't exactly likely to head out and buy suppressors.
But they don't need to. Suppressors are one of those products that, contrary to what many might think, only fit certain calibers. You can't throw a 5.56 suppressor on your 9mm handgun, after all. It doesn't work right.
So what the end of the tax stamp will do, among other things, is get some people who are already in the registry to buy more suppressors. Others just couldn't justify handing Uncle Sam $200 to do jack-all with, so they didn't get into that game and now will.
That's good for the suppressor industry as a whole and for the gun consumers, too. After all, if they sell more, more people will get into the business of making and selling suppressors, which will result in lower prices overall.
It's a win across the board.
If it makes certain parties in this country upset, well, I can handle something that's nothing but upsides.
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