Silencer Saturday #410: What Does 2026 Hold?

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday, brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new YHM R45 Multi-Host Suppressor. This week we are looking forward to 2026. SHOT Show is looming and with the changes to US suppressor laws starting on January 1st, we are poised for some major market shifts.

Silencer Saturday @ TFB:

• Silencer Saturday #409: Surefire's New SOCOM RC4
• Silencer Saturday #408: Beretta 71 Ammo Selection
• Silencer Saturday #407: Black Friday Suppressor Deals
• Silencer Saturday #406: Suppressing Picky Hosts With The BOE Mod1
• Silencer Saturday #405: SilencerCo Scythe STM

What is Changing?

Starting January 1st, 2026, the ATF will no longer charge for tax stamps. For the last 90 years or so, those stamps cost $200 per suppressor. That was an effort to price bad guys out of the silencer market back when it was introduced. These days, it just adds inconvenience and drives up prices. When stamps drop to $0 there will be an influx of new purchasers who just would not pay for a stamp previously. There will also be an influx of purchases from people who already have a bunch of silencers but can afford to buy more silencers if each one is effectively $200 cheaper (this is me).

On top of the stamp cost change, tax stamp approval times have gotten significantly shorter. Back when I was getting into suppressors, waiting more than a year was the norm. Approvals are now a matter of a few days, and sometimes even the same day. The January surge is likely to interrupt that trend but hopefully that is a short-term impact. So, with fast approvals and free tax stamps, what can we expect to see in the near future in the world of silencers?

Integral Suppressors

Integrally-suppressed firearms are likely to see a major upswing in popularity. Buying a new gun and leaving it at the shop for over a year was a nonstarter for many buyers. Detachable suppressors could stay at the dealer while the gun went home, though.

And adding $200 to the purchase price of an otherwise affordable gun like a .22 makes it a lot less affordable. Think of classic setups like a Ruger Mark 2 integral (as seen in Collateral). The base gun is reasonable, and rimfire suppressors tend to be affordable. But tacking on another $200 could be a large percentage of the purchase price.

We have already seen this with a new integral suppressor model of the Tippmann M4-22. I predict more options will be coming at SHOT Show 2026. Cartidges that are meant for suppressed use are the obvious choices. Options like .300 Blackout, .338 ARC, and 8.6 Blackout all are likely candidates for new guns. Also be on the lookout for drop-in barrels with integral suppressors for guns that work with such systems.

More Short-barrel Host Options

Silencer tax stamps are not the only tax stamp going to $0. Short barrel rifles and shotguns will also have free tax stamps (as will “Any Other Weapons” but those are much less common). Though these are not always NFA items, they often are, and they are often paired with suppressors to keep the overall length short and convenient. Much like the integral suppressor options above, free tax stamps keep affordable setups affordable.

This will probably spur manufacturers to bring out new options. What those will be, no one knows. I am hoping for short version of interesting retro guns. I would also enjoy seeing more little shotguns availble.

Short barrels can also include options that are not SBRs in the legal sense. Ruger’s recent release of threaded 16-inch Hawkeye rifles are one example. Those are clearly ready for suppressor use though they are standard rilfes in the American legal system. Be on the lookout for other threaded options with shortened barrels even if they are not under 16 inches.

New Market Participants

Demand for suppressors will be high, and where there is demand the free market loves surging supply to meet a demand. More firearm companies have gotten into the suppressor game and that is very likely to continue. It is an obvious move for a company that makes guns to also make silencers that pair well with their guns. Some of these will be interesting or will offer great performance. Others will be outdated and extremely forgettable.

Apart from the benefits of selling more items, engineers at these gun companies will love having control over the suppressor that gets paired with the gun. Adding suppression to a gun changes the way the system works. Many end users add silencers to guns an experience worse performance, and this is often the fault of the silencer instead of the gun itself, though these users tend to blame the gun. Manufacturers that make their own silencers can test those pairings and make sure there are no unexpected issues.

Original Ideas

The most exciting new developments will be the truly original ideas. Regulatory hurdles often stifle innovation, and the American suppressor market is no different. The products that make economic sense when there is a fixed $200 tax per unit are very different from products that make sense with no added tax.

North Reach Manufacturing Blue Pill is one such new idea. It is a silencer in the traditional sense, in that it is a set of baffles in a tubular configuration with theads on the ends for mounting other accessories. It has a serial number and is regulated just like any other silencer. What makes it interesting is that it is designed to thread onto other silencers as a bonus extension section. Nothing says that you cannot have two serialized silencers attached together, it just would not be economical in a world where that would incur $400 of tax stamps. But in a $0 stamp scenario this is a product that may sell well. Not happy with the realities of running a K can? Enjoying your rifle suppressor, but wish it was just a little quieter? Buying some extra baffles to attach up front seems appealing in both scenarios.

The possibilities are the exciting part. Who knows what clever ideas we will see? There will probably be some meme fodder items as well, and that is part of the fun. Be sure to follow our TFB and TFBtv coverage from SHOT Show 2026 as we see what new ideas are brewing, both good and bad.

Thanks for joining us, we’ll see you here again next week.

SILENCER SHOP –      HANSOHN BROTHERS –      DEADEYE GUNS

MAC TACTICAL

ALL YHM PRODUCTS AT BROWNELLS

DEALERS: If you want your link to buy YHM suppressors included in future Silencer Saturday posts, email:   silencers@thefirearmblog.com