January 21, 2025

Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Members Get to Work on Federal Firearms Legislation

Article Contact: Barry Snell,

Why It Matters: Access to firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition is critical to most hunters and every recreational shooter in America. Federal legislation that protects and expands that access is beneficial to the sporting-conservation community, not just from a practical perspective, but an economic one as well. Increased sales of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition is a net benefit to Pittman-Robertson funding, which is dispersed to states to fund critical things like wildlife conservation, hunter’s education, and range maintenance and construction nationwide.

Highlights:

  • R. 404, the Hearing Protection Act (HPA), introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) member Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia, seeks to remove firearms suppressors from onerous restrictions of the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), and instead simply require the same sort of NICS background check used during the sale of any firearm to purchase them.
  • R. 10145, the Protecting Americans’ Right to Silence Act (PARTS Act), introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus member Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, seeks to amend the definition of a “firearms silencer” in the 1968 Gun Control Act (GCA), to mean the whole product rather than constituent parts, which would simplify things for manufacturers and make it easier for owners to easily purchase replacement parts like wipes or baffles.
  • 89, the Sporting Firearms Access Act, introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus member Sen. James Risch of Idaho, seeks to clarify the GCA’s definition of “sporting purposes,” which is interpreted extremely broadly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and unnecessarily restricts otherwise common firearms and ammunition used for hunting and recreational shooting.

Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) are wasting no time in standing up for America’s firearm owners this session. Within days of convening the 119th Congress, several CSC members went to work to advance legislation that would simplify existing federal gun laws to the benefit of sportsmen and women and expand access to basic safety equipment and affordable firearms and ammunition.

The first of those bills is H.R. 404, the Hearing Protection Act (HPA). The HPA was submitted by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus member Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia, and would remove firearms silencers from the registration and tax regulation scheme created by the National Firearms Act of 1934. If H.R. 404 passes, gone will be the days of filing registration paperwork and paying the $200 NFA tax, and waiting to take possession of your suppressor. Instead, you’d be able to simply walk into any gun store that sells suppressors, select the suppressor you want, fill out a standard 4473, get a quick NICS check, pay your money, and walk out the door with your new can. As a real value add for state wildlife conservation efforts, the HPA would also add suppressors to the list of items subject to a manufacturer-level excise tax through Pittman-Robertson which would ultimately put more money on the ground for conservation, ensuring access to hunter education courses, and assisting states in developing and maintaining shooting ranges, among other benefits.

Suppressors are increasingly popular items with hunters and recreational shooters, and for good reason. Despite public perception created by decades of creative sound editing in Hollywood action movies, a suppressor does not completely silence host firearms. However, suppressors do soften the shock of muzzle blast, change the tone of the report, and diminish the most damaging sound transients and frequencies. And while old fashioned hearing protection (i.e. ear plugs or muffs) are still required for most calibers and gauges to bring the sound levels down to safe limits, the net result of suppressor use is a much safer shooting experience—not just for the shooter, but for everyone around them, as well as hunting dogs. Suppressors are the only firearms safety device that not only protect the user, but everyone else, too.

Also dealing with firearms suppressors is H.R. 10145, the Protecting Americans’ Right to Silence (PARTS) Act, sponsored by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus member Rep. August Pfluger. The language of the PARTS Act is also embedded within this year’s version of the aforementioned HPA. In short, the PARTS Act would clarify the nearly 60-year-old, outdated definition of a “firearms silencer,” which is unnecessarily broad and confusing, and includes the consumable parts within the suppressor tube itself. By defining a suppressor as the complete device, the regulatory burden placed on manufacturers is significantly reduced, costs are reduced, and the end user would be able to replace individual components when damaged or worn out without additional registration requirements or taxes paid to the ATF.

Lastly, the Sporting Firearms Access Act, S. 89, has been introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus member Sen. James Risch of Idaho. The Sporting Firearms Access Act would clarify and specify the definition of “sporting purposes” in the GCA as it pertains to lawfully importable firearms and ammunition. The ATF has taken liberties with the definition of “sporting purposes” over the years, broadly interpreting it to unnecessarily restrict the types of firearms ammunition that appropriately licensed FFLs have been able to bring into the United States. Many types of firearms and ammunition commonly used by hunters and recreational shooters have been caught in this net for years, and by clarifying the definition, importers would be able to bring several affordable brands and models of firearms and ammunition into the country, thus increasing access to necessary elements to ensure strong participation in the hunting and shooting sports.

It is still very early in the process for all these bills, and this promises to be a very busy year in Congress, so as always, we will keep you up-to-date as we begin working these bills through the legislative process.

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