“TATE001” — That’s the official serial number of what appears to be the first legally registered 9mm potato silencer. It’s registered with the ATF under the name Zach Clark, who said he pulled off the feat as an act of defiance against the National Firearms Act (NFA). The spud suppressor may be the most remarkable result of the NFA tax cut enacted at the beginning of the year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which made the cost of registering suppressors $0. The lower cost of compliance, combined with a recently-digitized process, has made new kinds of suppressors — including potatoes — more viable than before. While the NFA requires registration of all sound-suppressing devices that attach to a gun barrel to be registered with the ATF, it provides a process for people to register their own homemade designs. In the same way that somebody buying a suppressor from a store would have to fill out an NFA registration form and get the ATF to approve it before taking possession of the device, a home builder has to submit their intent to build one and get approval before actually constructing the device. Clark went through that process with his potato suppressor design. He said he made sure to keep potatoes out of his house while he waited to hear back from the ATF. Some lawmakers have warned in the past that the ATF’s interpretation of what constitutes a silencer is overly broad and could include potatoes. In 2022, Republican Congressman Daniel Webster warned, “Anyone with a potato in their home could be committing a felony.” In the end, Clark framed his potato silencer as a form of activism that uses levity to spotlight what he views as a serious problem with the NFA. “Trying to have fun while taking on the government is the best way to do it,” he said.
