Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, who has been watching the suppressor numbers since the injunction landed in August
Quick take: August was the first full month under the new NFA position, and the numbers show exactly what you would expect. Ordinary gun sales were flat. NFA checks tripled. Suppressors that used to mean a $200 stamp and a wait measured in months are now, for a large share of buyers, a same-day counter transaction.
- NFA checks: 185,744 in August 2026, against 61,594 in August 2025. That is a 201.6 percent increase.
- Adjusted total: 1,115,410, a 2.2 percent increase over the 1,091,342 recorded in August 2025.
- Raw FBI total: 1,917,379 checks processed, up 10 percent from 1,743,509 a year earlier.
- Where it happened: Texas led with 28,030 NFA checks, Florida second with 12,808.
Two numbers in the same month tell completely different stories. The gun market did almost nothing. The suppressor market went vertical.
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Table of Contents
What Changed in August
A federal judge in the Northern District of Texas ruled on 5 August that the National Firearms Act’s registration and approval requirements for suppressors, short-barrelled rifles and short-barrelled shotguns exceed Congress’s constitutional authority, now that Congress has eliminated the transfer and making taxes on those items.
The government had seven days to seek a stay from the appeals court. That deadline passed without one, and the injunction took effect just after midnight Central on 13 August.
That leaves roughly nineteen days of the month operating under the new position. The 185,744 figure is what nineteen days did.
Read the Two Numbers Separately
The adjusted figure is the one the industry uses as a proxy for retail gun sales, because it strips out permit checks and rechecks that have nothing to do with someone buying a gun. It rose 2.2 percent. In practice that is a flat month.
The raw FBI number rose 10 percent, and NFA activity is a large part of why. Once you separate the NFA line out, you can see that the growth in August was not people buying more rifles and pistols. It was people buying cans. The raw monthly totals come from the FBI NICS firearm checks report.
If you only read the headline total you would conclude the market surged. It did not. One product category surged inside an otherwise ordinary month.
Texas and Florida Are Not a Coincidence
Texas at 28,030 and Florida at 12,808 lead by a wide margin, and both have obvious reasons.
Texas is where the case was decided, has a large suppressor-owning population already, and has spent years pushing on this issue legislatively. Florida has a big shooting population and, from 1 September, a four-month sales tax holiday that includes suppressors for the first time.
That second point matters for September’s numbers. Florida buyers who could have bought a suppressor in late August had a reason to wait a week.
What a Buyer Should Actually Expect
The injunction is not a national instruction to the ATF to stand down for everyone. It bars enforcement against the named plaintiffs, their member organisations and, where applicable, those members’ current and future customers.
In practice that covers a great many buyers, because the plaintiff organisations have large customer bases. But it is not universal, and the answer at your particular counter depends on who you are buying from.
Ask the dealer directly whether they are transacting under the injunction. Some are, some are still running Form 4s, and a few are doing both depending on the item. Our guide to buying a suppressor covers what the process looks like now.
The Number to Watch Next
September is the first month with no pre-injunction period in it at all, plus the Florida tax holiday running the whole way through.
If NFA checks hold near 185,000 with a full month and a tax holiday, that suggests demand has found a level. If they climb past 250,000, the August figure was people moving early and the real ceiling is higher than anyone modelled.
Either way the suppressor market has changed shape permanently. A product that took nine months to receive is now something you can walk out with, and that turns a considered purchase into an impulse one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many NFA checks were there in August 2026?
NFA checks tied to Form 1 and Form 4 applications reached 185,744 during August 2026, against 61,594 in August 2025. That is a 201.6 percent increase.
Did overall gun sales rise too?
Barely. The NSSF-adjusted figure, the closest proxy for retail gun sales, was 1,115,410 in August 2026, a 2.2 percent increase on the 1,091,342 recorded a year earlier.
Why is the raw FBI number so much higher?
The raw figure of 1,917,379 includes permit checks, rechecks and NFA activity that are not retail gun sales. It rose 10 percent year on year, and the NFA surge is a large part of that gap.
Does the NFA ruling apply to everyone?
No. The injunction bars enforcement against the named plaintiffs, their member organisations and, where applicable, those members' customers. It is not a nationwide order, so ask your dealer how they are processing the transfer.
Which states bought the most?
Texas led with 28,030 NFA checks in August, followed by Florida with 12,808.
Related Reading
- How to buy a suppressor
- The best suppressors
- Suppressor laws by state
- What a suppressor actually costs
- How suppressors work
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