SOUND MODERATORS
Today (17/6/25) the Government finally responded to the survey which you completed in February 2024 (You did, didn’t you?)
They propose to take sound moderators OFF Firearm certificates (FACs), (although you will still need an FAC to acquire and posses one for a Section 1 firearm) by “amending that Act [the Firearms Act 1968] to make it an offence for a person to possess a sound moderator unless that person is in possession of a firearm certificate allowing for lawful possession of a firearm.”
At first I was concerned that nowhere in the 14 page document did they mention air rifle sound moderators, except for Scotland where air rifles are on FAC.
However, an esoteric section of the 1968 Act (S 57 1 (d)) States “and so much of section 1 of this Act as excludes any description of firearm from the category of firearms to which that section applies shall be construed as also excluding component parts of, and accessories to, firearms of that description.” That complex wording would seem to mean that if an accessory (sound moderator) is not on a firearm subject to S1 (FAC required) then the accessory itself was also excluded from the need for an FAC.
It follows that since sub-12ft/lb air rifles are excluded from the requirement for an FAC, likewise accessories for them – such as a sound moderator – will not require an FAC.
When it came to the question of removing sound moderators from FACS, the responses were interesting: These are the numbers who agreed:
- Representative of shooting body 35
- Registered firearms dealer 363
- Shotgun/firearms [sic] certificate holder 11,709
- Member of the public 1,311
- Representative of police/law enforcement body 78
- Other 199
- Community/third sector/gun control 89
- Rural organisation 9
This showed that 94% of the people who responded wanted sound moderators taken of FAC – 78 being police representatives.
Now “all” we have to do is wait for this to pass through parliament. If you have any comments please let me have them below.
THANKS!
