Palmetto State Armory Starts Shipping Short-Barreled Rifles Without a Form 4 to 17 States, and Its Seat as an Original Plaintiff Puts a Court Injunction Behind the Sales

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AUSTIN, TX — Palmetto State Armory is now shipping eligible short-barreled rifles to buyers in 17 states, Texas among them, through its ship-to-FFL program, and the company says its role as an original plaintiff in the Silencer Shop Foundation lawsuit puts those sales on firmer legal footing than ATF’s nationwide nonenforcement policy alone. PSA laid it out in a video announcement on its YouTube channel: “Effective today, Palmetto State Armory has expanded the availability of eligible short-barreled rifles through our ship to FFL program in 17 states.”

PSA posted the announcement on Oct. 23, as reported by Texas Gun Rights. Eligible buyers take delivery through a participating dealer using ATF Form 4473 and a background check, the same paperwork as any other gun purchase. Under the National Firearms Act, a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches has required ATF Form 4. That process involved fingerprints, identifying information, and a wait for federal approval. Congress cut the $200 transfer tax to zero effective Jan. 1, 2026, but the registration requirement stayed in place until now.

According to a pinned comment from PSA on the video, the 17 states are:

• Idaho
• Utah
• Wyoming
• South Dakota
• New Mexico
• Minnesota
• Kansas
• Texas
• Arkansas
• Mississippi
• Tennessee
• Kentucky
• Indiana
• West Virginia
• Vermont
• New Hampshire
• Maine

Texas Gun Rights reports that PSA says more states could be added as its compliance team reviews state restrictions.

Two things got us here. A federal court ruled on Aug. 5, 2026, in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, consolidated with Jensen v. ATF. Then on Oct. 9, ATF announced it would stop enforcing major NFA registration and approval requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other firearms, as I reported at the time. The court’s order itself covered only specific parties. ATF extended nonenforcement to everyone else as a matter of agency discretion, meaning the agency chose not to enforce the law rather than being ordered to stop.

That difference is the heart of PSA’s announcement. “There’s an important distinction between a government agency choosing not to enforce a law and a federal court ordering that agency not to enforce it against specific parties,” the company says in the video. PSA was a plaintiff in the original case, so it is covered by the court’s injunction, a judge’s order barring ATF from enforcing those requirements against the covered parties.

“Enforcement policies can change. A future administration could decide to take a different approach,” PSA says. “But a federal court injunction isn’t something a new administration can simply disregard because it doesn’t like the decision. It remains legally binding unless a court modifies, stays, or overturns it.” Texas Gun Rights reports that the permanent injunction protects covered customers as well as the plaintiffs themselves. For buyers going through other companies, the relief rests on ATF’s policy alone.

PSA was careful not to oversell it, and I appreciate that. “That doesn’t mean the injunction can never change,” the company says. “And it doesn’t mean every state has suddenly made short-barreled rifles legal.” The NFA was never repealed. According to Texas Gun Rights, the registration statutes and criminal penalties are still federal law. ATF’s own guidance reportedly says enforcement could resume if legal circumstances change or a future administration rescinds the policy. It also reportedly says federal law provides no automatic grandfather protection for firearms acquired without registration.

“Federal background checks and applicable dealer transfer requirements remain in place, and state and local laws still matter,” PSA says. That is why the list stops at 17. Just like carry laws by state, what is lawful in Texas is not automatically lawful one state over. A responsible gun owner’s mindset includes knowing exactly where the legal lines sit before buying, and that applies doubly when the federal ground is still settling.

For buyers in the eligible states, PSA’s short-barreled rifle lineup currently lists 14 models with prices starting at $499.99. Options include the Guardsman-15 10.3-inch 5.56 NATO, 8.5-inch .300 Blackout builds, the Sabre-15 Mini MK12, and the JAKL 6.5-inch 9mm, though several are already out of stock.

More from USA Carry:

• Michigan Bills Would Erase the State Felony for Suppressors and Short-Barreled Rifles After Federal Court Gutted NFA Registration
• Florida Prosecutor to Sheriffs and Police Chiefs: Florida Law Does Not Require an ATF Tax Stamp for Short-Barreled Rifles and Shotguns After Silencer Shop Ruling
• Ohio Senate Passed Its Suppressor Bill 31-1. Now a House Lawmaker Wants Short-Barreled Rifles and Shotguns Added.
• Congress Zeroed the $200 Tax and Kept the Registry. A Federal Judge in Texas Just Ruled It Cannot Have Both
• Tax Zeroed, Registry Kept: Missouri Attorney General Sues ATF to Strike NFA Registration for Suppressors and Short-Barreled Rifles

For decades, a few inches of barrel separated an ordinary rifle purchase from fingerprint cards and months of waiting on Washington. For now, in 17 states, that line is a Form 4473 at the counter. Whether it stays that way depends on the courts and on who runs ATF next. PSA’s plaintiff status is the company betting that the first of those matters more than the second.

I will continue tracking Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF and ATF’s NFA nonenforcement policy as both develop.

Read the original story: Palmetto State Armory Starts Shipping Short-Barreled Rifles Without a Form 4 to 17 States, and Its Seat as an Original Plaintiff Puts a Court Injunction Behind the Sales