Good news for hunters in gator country:

KEY LARGO, FL – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted unanimously to repeal the 57 year old prohibition on the use of firearm suppressors for taking deer, gray squirrels, rabbits, wild turkeys, quail, and crows. Following the passage of the new regulation, the Commission then voted unanimously to authorize an Executive Order to allow the measure to take effect immediately. Minutes later, Executive Order # EO 14-32 was signed, making hunting with suppressors for all animals in the state legal, effective immediately. The new regulation amends 68A-12.002 General Methods of Taking Game; Prohibitions by striking “silencer equipped” from the language. With the enactment of the new regulation, Florida becomes the 33rd state to allow hunters to use legally possessed suppressors in the field for all game animals. Earlier this year, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana all enacted similar pro-suppressor hunting reform. Of the 34 states in which suppressor hunting is legal, Montana is now the only state which restricts their use to certain types of animals.

In many European countries, suppressors are considered good manners. A suppressor works in the same way as a muffler on an automobile to quiet the noise of a gunshot. It does not, however, eliminate the sonic boom created by a supersonic projectile (virtually all hunting rifle projectiles move faster than the speed of sound). In this context, the allowance of suppressors for hunting makes a good deal of sense, and may reduce the impact hunting with firearms has on the hearing hunters in Florida.