New data uncovered as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) shows a dramatic rise in the number of silencers owned by Americans in recent years.
Comparing the new FOIA data to the ATF’s previous reporting,1ATF, “Firearms Commerce in the United States: Annual Statistical Update 2021,” 16, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/2021-firearms-commerce-report/download. Americans purchased and registered over 830,000 new silencers between May 2021 and January 2024, bringing the total number of registered silencers to 3.5 million.2This total includes civilian silencers as well as those owned by state and local law enforcement. The National Firearm Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) does not include those owned by the U.S. government: https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/undefined/atf-national-firearms-act-handbook-chapter-3/download. This 31-percent increase is particularly alarming given that it occurred in just 32 months — compared to the 87 years it took for Americans to stockpile 2.7 million silencers between 1934 and 2021.
The table below combines the new FOIA data, which breaks down the number of silencers owned by Americans in each state, with the ATF’s previous figures.
| State | Registered Silencers (through January 2024) | Prior Figures (to May 2021) | Difference | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 3,493,765 | 2,663,730 | 830,035 | 31.2% |
| Alabama | 79,936 | 64,506 | 15,430 | 23.9% |
| Alaska | 20,367 | 15,192 | 5,175 | 34.1% |
| Arkansas | 47,864 | 38,058 | 9,806 | 25.8% |
| Arizona | 112,837 | 85,353 | 27,484 | 32.2% |
| California | 18,996 | 17,271 | 1,725 | 10.0% |
| Colorado | 99,595 | 67,008 | 32,587 | 48.6% |
| Connecticut | 25,227 | 18,648 | 6,579 | 35.3% |
| Delaware | 1,154 | 411 | 743 | 180.8% |
| Florida | 242,267 | 175,156 | 67,111 | 38.3% |
| Georgia | 176,931 | 129,566 | 47,365 | 36.6% |
| Hawaii | 461 | 403 | 58 | 14.4% |
| Iowa | 35,061 | 22,529 | 12,532 | 55.6% |
| Idaho | 56,960 | 40,755 | 16,205 | 39.8% |
| Illinois | 3,930 | 3,297 | 633 | 19.2% |
| Indiana | 85,960 | 63,249 | 22,711 | 35.9% |
| Kansas | 41,606 | 31,811 | 9,795 | 30.8% |
| Kentucky | 61,078 | 44,040 | 17,038 | 38.7% |
| Louisiana | 67,831 | 72,042 | -4,211 | -5.8% |
| Massachussetts | 13,984 | 10,409 | 3,575 | 34.3% |
| Maryland | 43,851 | 32,275 | 11,576 | 35.9% |
| Maine | 14,066 | 8,285 | 5,781 | 69.8% |
| Michigan | 73,976 | 49,324 | 24,652 | 50.0% |
| Minnesota | 50,832 | 48,154 | 2,678 | 5.6% |
| Missouri | 65,859 | 49,754 | 16,105 | 32.4% |
| Mississippi | 44,911 | 36,545 | 8,366 | 22.9% |
| Montana | 40,706 | 25,409 | 15,297 | 60.2% |
| North Carolina | 110,142 | 76,759 | 33,383 | 43.5% |
| North Dakota | 29,459 | 23,042 | 6,417 | 27.8% |
| Nebraska | 34,195 | 25,879 | 8,316 | 32.1% |
| New Hampshire | 43,382 | 36,954 | 6,428 | 17.4% |
| New Jersey | 6,362 | 3,889 | 2,473 | 63.6% |
| New Mexico | 28,537 | 19,873 | 8,664 | 43.6% |
| Nevada | 50,048 | 37,880 | 12,168 | 32.1% |
| New York | 9,354 | 7,406 | 1,948 | 26.3% |
| Ohio | 92,150 | 68,736 | 23,414 | 34.1% |
| Oklahoma | 72,167 | 62,404 | 9,763 | 15.6% |
| Oregon | 72,580 | 49,197 | 23,383 | 47.5% |
| Pennsylvania | 116,607 | 83,563 | 33,044 | 39.5% |
| Rhode Island | 100 | 96 | 4 | 4.2% |
| South Carolina | 60,465 | 50,422 | 10,043 | 19.9% |
| South Dakota | 109,738 | 55,666 | 54,072 | 97.1% |
| Tennessee | 91,539 | 60,573 | 30,966 | 51.1% |
| Texas | 591,349 | 529,150 | 62,199 | 11.8% |
| Utah | 113,560 | 79,557 | 34,003 | 42.7% |
| Virginia | 113,046 | 90,454 | 22,592 | 25.0% |
| Vermont | 5,270 | 3,528 | 1,742 | 49.4% |
| Washington | 110,735 | 78,279 | 32,456 | 41.5% |
| Wisconsin | 62,684 | 40,596 | 22,088 | 54.4% |
| West Virginia | 20,225 | 13,696 | 6,529 | 47.7% |
| Wyoming | 23,825 | 16,681 | 7,144 | 42.8% |
silencer regulations
Since 1934, silencers, or sound suppressors, have been highly regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) because they muffle the sound of gunfire and make it difficult to determine where a shot originated. The NFA imposed strict registration requirements on silencers — along with machine guns and short-barreled firearms — and people interested in building or purchasing them must first submit an application to the ATF along with their fingerprints, a passport-style photo, and a $200 tax stamp before undergoing an enhanced background check.
As the ATF notes, the NFA application process was designed “to curtail, if not prohibit, transactions in NFA firearms,” and the $200 tax “was considered quite severe and adequate to carry out Congress’ purpose to discourage or eliminate transactions in these firearms” in 1934. But the tax — roughly $4,600 in today’s dollars — has never been raised or adjusted for inflation.
To learn more about silencers and other deadly firearms innovations, click here.
what’s driving the surge?
Several factors may explain the surge in silencer sales. In December 2021, the ATF debuted a new online “eForms” system — after successful lobbying from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — that dramatically sped up the NFA application approval process. What used to take several months has been reduced to a matter of days. Two large silencer retailers, Silencer Central and the Silencer Shop, have claimed that their customers have been approved in as little as three to seven days, respectively.
Silencer retailers have also worked hard to streamline the silencer-buying process. For example, retailers today will prepare NFA applications for customers and set up “NFA trusts,” making it easier for multiple people to own silencers. In addition to offering financing, Silencer Central will mail customers fingerprinting kits and, once they’re approved, ship silencers to their front doors — all so customers never have to set foot in a brick-and-mortar store. For its part, the Silencer Shop has placed kiosks in gun stores across the country to collect personal information and fingerprints.
As discussed here, groups like the NSSF, National Rifle Association, and American Suppressor Association have lobbied for bills that would remove silencers from the NFA and allow them to be sold and transferred like non-NFA firearms — including the recently introduced Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing (SHUSH) Act — as well as state laws relaxing silencer restrictions. These efforts often pitch silencers as protecting the hearing of hunters and shooters, but even silencer-equipped firearms can still cause permanent hearing damage if the user does not wear some form of hearing protection.
Finally, more companies are producing silencers today than ever before. While dozens of companies primarily focus on manufacturing silencers, a number of gun makers have gotten in on the act, too. Sig Sauer and Ruger introduced their first silencers in 2013 and 2016, respectively, and Smith & Wesson purchased Gemtech, a large silencer manufacturer, in 2017. In the years since, gun makers CZ-USA, Daniel Defense, FN, Primary Weapons Systems, and Savage Arms have all added silencers to their catalogs — in addition to the many firearms that come with threaded barrels to accept silencers.