Michigan Officials Repeal Ban on Hunting with Suppressors
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.15.16
On February 11, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) voted to approve the Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 1, repealing the long-standing state ban on hunting with suppressors and making Michigan the 38th state where hunting with suppressed firearms is now legal. The announcement drew praise from both hunters as well as Second Amendment advocates.
“We are incredibly excited that hunters in the great state of Michigan can now use suppressors to help protect their hearing while they’re in the field,” Knox Williams, President of the American Suppressor Association (ASA), said in a press release. “It was a pleasure working to educate the NRC Commissioners and members of the DNR on the realities of suppressor use. We applaud their decision to remove the prohibition on suppressor hunting without the two restrictive provisions. In doing so, they have done their part to ensure that the next generation of hunters does not have to sacrifice their hearing.”
The commission ultimately approved an amended version of the proposal that removed the ban entirely. Earlier drafts of the proposed rule limited how quiet suppressors could make a hunting firearm, as well as banning subsonic ammunition from being used alongside suppressors. The final version of the proposal removed these two limitations.
“While several iterations of the rule change were contemplated over the past several months, the NRC ultimately decided that an outright repeal of the prohibition on suppressed hunting was in the best interest of sportsmen in The Great Lakes State,” stated the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “This is a major victory for law-abiding sportsmen in Michigan.”
The proposal was supported by the NRA and ASA, along with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Safari Club International, and other hunting and conservation organizations. Michigan is now the latest of 16 states which have legalized suppressor hunting since 2011.
That news could not have come any sooner for hunters. Advocates for the device have long held that suppressors not only protected against hearing loss, but also allowed sportsmen and women to harvest game without causing noise complaints. Additionally, suppressors could also aid in accuracy by reducing recoil, and spooked animals less.
You can watch a short documentary on an Alaskan bear hunt with a suppressor below:
