ATF stopped enforcing NFA approval and registration for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs on October 9. The 4473s, NICS checks, SOT, SBR delivery gap and state-law walls all stayed put — and that is where a dealer's risk now sits.
Palmetto State Armory's 17-state SBR rollout turns the NFA ruling into a shipping map. The counter math on transfer fees, attachment margin, the ITAR cost facing silencer makers, and the dealer-rule appeal still on the docket.
Retail background checks slipped 2.3% in September while NFA checks doubled. The week also brought a new federal suit against New Mexico's waiting period, a straw-purchase indictment, and another PTR sales reorganization.
A Springfield shop sold a suppressor in the time it takes to run a background check - the first real retail read on ATF's October 9 guidance. Week one taught dealers that the federal paper moved, but the compliance load did not.
This week, I'm joined by Cameron Tapler, Director of Branding and Product Management at Palmetto State Armory and the face most people see on PSA’s growing YouTube Channel. Cameron didn't come up through marketing. He started at PSA nearly a decade ago as a compli...
Smith & Wesson's $160 million purchase of Savage Arms puts two major long-gun lines under one roof. A practical growth playbook for independent FFL dealers: audit your supplier concentration, lock terms while two reps still compete, and make sure local buyers can actually find you.
ATF stopped enforcing NFA registration for suppressors, SBRs and SBSs on October 9, but state law never moved. New Mexico's waiting-period fight and Montana's felony statute show what that costs dealers at the counter.
Q3 2026 retail data shows firearm units down 7.8% while revenue held nearly flat - a mix shift toward lever-actions, premium handguns and suppressors that changes what dealers should stock and how customers find them.
Customers searching for an FFL dealer near them compare stars, recency and replies before they ever compare transfer fees. A practical review playbook for gun shops, including the FTC rule that governs how you may ask.
A Florida prosecutor says unregistered SBRs and suppressors are not automatically contraband, ATF imposters are calling gun owners, and an Indiana gun counter cracked a five-year forged-expungement scheme. What each one means at your transfer counter.