NFA DAY OF DEFEAT - Guide for Builders

Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from your law

Introductory caveat: we are not lawyers, this is not legal advice, everything you read here is my opinion.

Introduction

On August 5th, 2026, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling applying to two related cases, Silencer Co. v ATF and Jensen v. ATF. Both cases challenged the constitutionality of the NFA’s regulation of suppressors, short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and short-barreled shotguns (SBS’). The ruling issued was for the plaintiffs in both cases - finding that the NFA could not constitutionally apply to these firearms¹.

In short, this ruling means that suppressors, SBRs and SBS’ are not subject to NFA regulations, and that the ATF may not require tax stamps, registrations or other approvals for an individual to acquire these items.

The judge issued this ruling with a seven-day waiting period before it took effect. This waiting period has now passed. The ruling is now in effect nationwide. This is an incredible victory for gun owners all free Americans.

Much of the commentary I have seen in gun circles has been related to how beneficiaries of this ruling can now purchase suppressors, SBRs, etc. I’ve seen comparatively less discussion about how builders can make their own suppressors, SBRs and SBS’.

This guide will provide information about how, right now, you can DIY these items. Read on!

Cui Bono?

Let us begin by laying out clearly who is able to build their own items.

This ruling enjoins the ATF from enforcing NFA regulations against the plaintiffs in this case, and plaintiffs’ customers and members.

For simplicity, let us list two sets of plaintiffs:

Commercial Manufacturers:

The first set are commercial manufacturers / sellers of suppressors. These plaintiffs are:

• Silencer Shop

• B&T USA, LLC

• Palmetto State Armory, LLC

• Silencerco Weapons Research, LLC

• Hot Shots Custom LLC

This ruling allows these plaintiffs, and only these plaintiffs, to manufacture suppressors without requiring a Form 1 registration, and to sell these items without requiring a Form 4 transfer.

As such, for people who simply want to buy these items without NFA registrations / tax stamps, these (and only these) are the shops you can purchase them from.

Simply being a customer of one of these companies does not extend the injunction to you. There’s been a lot of confusion around this. If you bought a random accessory from PSA in 2022, this alone does not extend the injunction to cover you.

The “customer” provision of the injunction applies to these plaintiffs only for people purchasing items that would otherwise be regulated by the NFA - e.g. buying a suppressor from Silencer Shop - and only for that transaction.

Note: an earlier version of this article listed “SBRs and SBS’” in conjunction with suppressors in this section. It has since been pointed out that to perform a transfer of an SBR or SBS, the GCA requires approval which has historically been understood to mean a Form 4. As such, this injunction is being interpreted to not allow the sale of SBRs / SBS’ without a Form 4, even if the Form 4 is not required under the NFA.

DIY Builders:

The second set of plaintiffs are gun rights organizations / policy advocates. These are:

• Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA)

• Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC)

• Gun Owners Foundation (GOF)

• Gun Owners of America, Inc (GOA)

The ruling allows current and future members of these orgs to make suppressors, SBRs and SBS’ without requiring a Form 1 registration. From a practical perspective, this means that individuals wishing to build their own suppressor, SBS or SBR should become a member of one of these organizations.

Once membership is confirmed, individuals are protected under the injunction and can theoretically make as many suppressors, SBRs and SBS’ as they want. However, as we detail in the next section, all other federal and state laws still apply.

Other Laws Still Apply

We have been very careful with our language up to this point, because in many ways this ruling is quite limited. Consider the following points:

1. Suppressors, SBRs and SBS’ are still firearms
   These items are all considered legal, Title 1 firearms and this ruling does not change that. Any regulation applicable to these Title 1 firearms that was present prior to this ruling, except the NFA registration requirement, is still in effect.
   
   One major way that this applies is that if these designs are being sold in a commercial context, standard FFL rules / 4473 requirements still apply. This ruling does not allow private individuals to begin printing and selling FTNs at scale.
   
   Similarly, it is still illegal for felons and other prohibited possessors to make or acquire these items.
   

2. This ruling only affects the ATF
   This ruling enjoins the ATF from enforcing the NFA against suppressors, SBRs and SBS’. It does not enjoin any state from enforcing regulations against these items. Many states and localities have their own regs controlling these items.
   
   If your state made it illegal to own a suppressor, this ruling does not change that. While you may not get fucked by the ATF, you’ll still get fucked by your state.
   

3. This ruling does not affect other NFA items outside of suppressors, SBRs, SBS’.
   The ruling is limited in its scope. The NFA as a whole remains on the books and is not “dead.” Other items regulated under the NFA - Machineguns, Destructive Devices and many sorts of AOWs², among others - still require registration and tax stamps.

What To Do As A Builder

With all this in mind, how can a DIY builder use this ruling to begin building his own items?

The following must be true:

1. The builder must be a member of one of the gun rights orgs listed above

2. The builder must live in a state / locality which does not have additional rules or regulations preventing him from building or owning the item he wishes to build

3. The builder must not be otherwise prohibited from owning one of these items, or a firearm generally (i.e. not a felon, etc.)

If all these three things are true, then as of now, a builder can do the following:

1. Build / print new suppressors, SBRs or SBS’ (i.e. print an FTN)

2. Configure an existing firearm as an SBR or SBS (i.e. put a stock on an AR pistol)

In doing this, assuming there are no local laws to the contrary, the builder is not required to do any of the following:

1. Get an approved Form 1 / tax stamp for the item he is building

2. Create a serial number for the item he is building

3. Engrave any serial number or other information onto the item he is building

What Happens if the Ruling / Law Changes?

The obvious question is: if I build a suppressor, SBR or SBS while this injunction is in place, what happens if the injunction is later rescinded, or if the law changes?

The short answer is: we don’t know. And we can’t know until it actually happens.

This said, for several reasons it seems a safe bet that any design created during the current legal state of affairs will not retroactively be declared illegal under a law change, at least not without some “safe harbor” method of registration.

Builders may wish to create documentation or proof that they created these items during a time when it was legal to do so, and to keep this proof on file in preparation for future law changes.

1. Yes, suppressors are legally considered “firearms".

2. There is some complexity and controversy regarding whether AOWs “count” under this injunction or not. For simplicity, I choose to ignore this and simply act as if AOWs are still NFA-regulated.