After nearly a decade of research and industry collaboration, the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) recently dropped its first set of standards for suppressors. Released this August out of Shelton, Connecticut, the new playbook lays out how the increasingly popular firearm muzzle attachments should be tested, measured, and mounted. The inaugural Voluntary Industry Performance Standards Criteria for Firearm Sound Suppressors for the Use of Commercial Manufacturers, officially SAAMI Z299.6-2025, includes everything from bore alignment guidelines to torture-test abuse standards.
What does that mean for shooters? For the first time, suppressors will be held to the same kind of standardized performance benchmarks long applied to firearms and ammunition. For years, suppressor designs have had a Wild West flair, with each manufacturer doing things their own way. That meant no universal expectations for quality, durability, or fit. With the new guidelines, SAAMI has laid the groundwork for a common language and a framework for consistency across the board.
The new standards cover the nitty-gritty details, like measurement protocols for sound performance, suppressor-bore alignment, and minimum barrel length. The document also includes thread and socket drawings and language recommendations for communicating intended cartridge as well as the maximum firing cadence and rounds before cooling. There are also stress tests and over-pressure evaluations, plus what SAAMI calls “abusive mishandling scenarios,” which is basically a battery of tests to conduct that mimic real-world use.
In plain English: SAAMI didn’t just check the easy boxes. They hammered out everything from thread pitch to how many rounds a can should handle before cooling off. And while adherence to SAAMI standards on the part of gun, ammo, and firearm component manufacturers is voluntary, the organization's guidelines have long been accepted as the industry standard.
Alan Serven, SAAMI’s senior director of technical affairs, will do a thorough walkthrough of the details later this month at the PCB Conformal Ballistic Training event in Buffalo, New York. But the takeaway for shooters is simple: whether you’re mounting a suppressor on a hunting rifle, a competition pistol, or a tactical setup, you can expect more consistency in how suppressors are designed and tested going forward.
“Sound suppressors have become standard equipment for many firearm owners, and with more manufacturers producing these hearing-protection devices to meet consumer demand, SAAMI manufacturing standards were requested by industry,” said SAAMI president and CEO John Bartozzi.
Suppressors are far from new. Suppressors date back to at least 1909, when Hiram Percy Maxim filed the first patent for the Maxim Silencer, which was available in practically every caliber from .22 to .45. It was marketed to sportsmen as a practical way to reduce noise and protect hearing.
Modern cans aren’t all that different from Maxim’s original design, which is a tube with internal baffles to slow down and cool expanding gases. However, materials and engineering have improved so that modern shooters can use suppressors made from lightweight titanium alloys with modular designs and quick-detach mounting systems.
What has held suppressors back from hitting mainstream shooting circles has been regulation. The National Firearms Act of 1934 slapped a prohibitive (at the time) tax and strict paperwork requirements for purchasing and owning suppressors, limiting civilian use for decades. In 1934, the $200 tax stamp for owning a suppressor, a price that has not changed since, equates to about $4,800 in 2025 dollars.
However, attitudes toward suppressors have shifted in recent decades. Many shooters see them as less exotic gear and more of an essential tool for hearing protection. In 2019, the ATF processed 342,860 NFA applications for suppressors, in 2022, that number was 709,508 — they’ve steadily increased in popularity among hunters and shooters of all kinds.
That shift is one reason SAAMI’s move to formalize standards carries so much weight. More than a century after Maxim’s first design, suppressors are no longer on the fringe. With SAAMI’s stamp of approval, cans are making a serious move into the shooting mainstream.
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