NEWS – UK Home Office launches consultation to deregulate sound moderators for firearms
The Home Office has launched a consultation that seeks views and opinion about whether the wording of the Firearms Act 1968 should be amended, de-listing sound moderators as being ‘firearms’.
The consultation, which runs until 2nd April 2024, asks contributors to share their views on the whether these items should be deregulated, stating in the consultation description:
We are seeking views on our proposal to use a Legislative Reform Order made under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 to remove a firearm accessory, known as a sound moderator, from firearms licensing controls.
Sound moderators currently need to be covered by a firearms certificate, issued by the police. Sound moderators are not dangerous as firearms, and removing them from firearms licensing controls does not have any implications for public safety. The proposal is to amend the definition of firearm in section 57(1)(d) of the Firearms Act 1968 to remove the reference to sound moderators.
The Current Situtation
UK firearm and hunting regulations are currently undergoing more scrutiny than ever before, with discussion on everything from the material used for hunting projectiles to the where, when and how of gamebird releases.
The current situation is that sound moderators (suppressors to our former-Colonial cousins) are readily available from most gun shops and firearms dealers – but they require a valid firearms certificate in order to buy one. In fact, you need to show a specific need for each sound moderator purchased, and have a ‘slot’ available on your certificate. They are listed under Section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968 as a firearm, being “an accessory to a lethal barrelled weapon or a prohibited weapon where the accessory is designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by firing the weapon“.
These days it is a reasonable expectation for UK rifle hunting that you will have a moderator for each rifle you own, and it is unusual for a rifle to be seen out in the field without the stubby cylinder at one end.
While they are easier for British shooters to obtain than for our friends in the USA, there is still an amount of paperwork that must be submitted to change from one moderator to another, and to many it seems like an unnecessary level of regulation for what is essentially an expensive tube.
Why use a sound moderator?
Contrary to the Hollywood portrayal (looking at you, John Wick) – sound moderators do not ‘silence’ the sound of a rifle shot. The noise associated with firing a rifle is a combination of several things – the initial explosions of the primer and propellant, the gases exiting the barrel and the noise the projectile makes as it passes the sound barrier. A sound moderator will not prevent the ‘crack’ of that bullet breaking the speed of sound, but it will slow down the gases and ejecta that propelled that bullet.
As the name suggests – a sound moderator moderates the sound made by the rifle – but it does not silence it entirely.
For modern rifle shooters using a sound moderator is more of a matter of personal safety – a moderator can reduce the sound of a shot by around 50-60%, and make some serious headway into preventing hearing loss. While I will always be wearing some kind of hearing protection when shooting a centrefire rifle, for a rimfire (mounted with a moderator) I feel like I can use it without blocking out the other sounds of the field.
A welcome change
An amendment to section 57(1)(d) of the Firearms Act 1968 will not only make it easier to purchase a sound moderator without additional paperwork and vetting, it will also make it easier for hunters to change from one moderator to another, or to immediately upgrade when possible.
Deregulation of sound moderators will also reduce the burden on the Police firearms licensing teams who have to administer the purchase and registration of each moderator.
How to respond
BASC, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, have written a guide for their members on how to reply to the consultation – you can read that (and their analysis) here.
Richard is a UK wilderness skills and outdoor safety instructor with over a decade of experience working on expeditions, in SAR, training the military and emergency services.
He has appeared on television and web series numerous times, and is a regular contributor to podcasts, magazines and other publications.