Silencers on the rise among hobby hunters in Germany

An amendment to firearms law passed by the previous federal government has caused demand for silencers for hunting weapons in Germany to surge.

The number of silencers registered in the National Firearms Register has more than doubled since the reform came into force on 1 September 2020, according to a response from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to an inquiry by the Left Party parliamentary group. As of 31 August 2020, there were 85’159 silencers registered; by 31 May 2022, the number of these firearm accessories entered in the register had already risen to 197’412.

Since the 2020 amendment, hobby hunters throughout Germany may purchase silencers without requiring a special permit — though only for long guns approved for hunting use. The device, which suppresses the muzzle report, may also only be used during hunting or at hunting practice shoots. Hunters must report the purchase of this accessory to the authorities within two weeks, just as they would when acquiring a rifle, whereupon the silencer is entered into their firearms ownership card. A shot fired from a weapon fitted with a silencer is considerably quieter, but still clearly audible.

Prior to the amendment, some German federal states had very restrictive regulations. In certain places, almost only professional hunters or foresters had any realistic chance of obtaining a permit for a silencer. Individual hobby hunters took legal action to obtain an exemption permit, without success. Opponents of the relaxation cited potential criminal uses at the time and instead recommended that hobby hunters wear hearing protection.

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, however, silencers play only a “minor role” in connection with illegal arms trafficking in Germany. In response to a question about a media report concerning the sale of items intended for use as “silencers” by an online retailer, the federal government stated that the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Customs Criminal Investigation Office had not yet taken any action. It would first need to be clarified whether the items on offer were subject to firearms regulations.