Wyoming: Hunting Improvement Bill Under Attack in the House

Hostile Amendments Introduced - Call your state Representative TODAY to Oppose Them 

During Committee of the Whole (COW) today in the state House of Representatives, a pro-hunting bill that would remove the state prohibition on hunting with sound suppressors was amended with unnecessary and crippling changes.  Senate File 132, introduced by Senator Ogden Driskill (R-01), has already passed in the Senate and House Agriculture Committee by overwhelming margins.  However, Representative Albert Sommers (R-20) added a last-minute amendment that would maintain the state’s ban on hunting with suppressors for all game except varmints.  Please contact your state Representative and politely ask him or her to vote to remove this crippling amendment when SF 132 comes up for a final vote either tomorrow or Wednesday.

This is your last chance to contact your state Representative and politely encourage his or her support of this common sense hunting reform measure – WITHOUT the Sommers amendment.

Currently, more than half of the states across the country allow hunters to use suppressors.  Recently Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas adopted new rules allowing for use of suppressors when hunting game.  It’s time that hunters in Wyoming are able to enjoy the same opportunities available to sportsmen in more than half of the country.  For more information on firearms and suppressors, click here.

Noise complaints are being used more frequently as an excuse to close shooting ranges, informal shooting areas and hunting lands throughout the country. Increased use of suppressors will help to eliminate many of these complaints and protect hunting and shooting areas well into the future.

In order to acquire a suppressor, a purchaser must submit the appropriate paperwork to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives where long wait times for approval are unfortunately common (four to six months).  Also, purchasers must undergo a background check by the FBI, find a licensed dealer authorized to conduct the transaction and pay a one-time $200 tax for each device.  While suppressors do not eliminate the sound of a firearm, they do reduce the muzzle report in a manner similar to the way that a muffler reduces exhaust noise from a vehicle.  The benefits associated with suppressor use include increased accuracy due to reduced recoil and muzzle blast, protection from hearing damage and reduced noise pollution.

Please contact your state Representative TODAY and urge his or her support for SF 132  and opposition to the Sommers amendment.