Are silencers effective for hunting?

[SticksMcKinley]

My Swede has always shot superb groups. If I'm shooting for groups I wait a couple minutes between shots, can or no can. I have found a ~50fps velocity increase on a cold bore/can. I'm not a group shooter per say. I zero for cold bore and like to shoot steel from hunting positions. This is what it looks like off a bench at 100yards. All 5 shot groups, 143gr Eldx R23, lapua brass, 2910fps suppressed off bags.

Thanks for the reply - nice groups! Looks like what my CTR can do with Hornady Precision Hunter 6.5 CM. Last question if you don't mind - what thread pitch did you use on the muzzle?

 

[VikingsGuy]

I put a SiCo harvester on my 6.5X55 t3 ultralight. Shoots every bit as good as it did before I threaded it. Recoil is next to nothing. Poi shift was 2moa I believe. My new T3X 7mag is getting threaded this weekend!

I would love to thread my T3X lite SS 300wsm but have shied away give relatively thin muzzle diameter, can you provide details on the How and the Who of getting these done?

 

[65swede]

Thanks for the reply - nice groups! Looks like what my CTR can do with Hornady Precision Hunter 6.5 CM. Last question if you don't mind - what thread pitch did you use on the muzzle?

I might get blasted for this: I did 5/8×24. The muzzle diameter is .635. My smith recommended it and explained how he could cut the threads so the can would square on the threads. My brother is a very talented and knowledgeable machinist; he understood what the smith was saying and backed it up. I hunt with it a lot, never had the can come loose even a little. I have no qualms about the result.

 

[65swede]

I would love to thread my T3X lite SS 300wsm but have shied away give relatively thin muzzle diameter, can you provide details on the How and the Who of getting these done?

He's in Mesa, AZ. I will PM you his info.

 

[SticksMcKinley]

I might get blasted for this: I did 5/8×24. The muzzle diameter is .635. My smith recommended it and explained how he could cut the threads so the can would square on the threads. My brother is a very talented and knowledgeable machinist; he understood what the smith was saying and backed it up. I hunt with it a lot, never had the can come loose even a little. I have no qualms about the result.

Heck, I'm glad that worked for you. I tried the same on a T3x in 7mm-08, but cut the barrel to 18". If I did it again, I think I'd go 1/2x28 since I can swap the SiCo adapter. I suppose my concern would be wearing out the threads at 5/8x24, but I don't know if that's a valid concern. A talented and knowledgeable machinist is pretty far from my skill set!

 

[VikingsGuy]

I might get blasted for this: I did 5/8×24. The muzzle diameter is .635. My smith recommended it and explained how he could cut the threads so the can would square on the threads. My brother is a very talented and knowledgeable machinist; he understood what the smith was saying and backed it up. I hunt with it a lot, never had the can come loose even a little. I have no qualms about the result.

I suppose the 6.5 bore has a little more meat on the bones, I would be surprised if this would work on the 300wsm (.308) I am considering. But no blasting from me, I believe in the sacred bond between a man and his gunsmith.

 

[Aussie_hunter_JD]

Banned in aus but I've used them in NZ a few times. I always describe it as taking out the boom but leaving the bang! It's noticeable but nothing like what hollywood makes it out to be (that ridiculous soft whistle) which is what most anti suppressor folks seem to think they do.

 

[Big Fin]

Oops, duplicate.

 

[devon deer]

Banned in aus but I've used them in NZ a few times. I always describe it as taking out the boom but leaving the bang! It's noticeable but nothing like what hollywood makes it out to be (that ridiculous soft whistle) which is what most anti suppressor folks seem to think they do.

Spot on there mate, I have one for my 30-06, it is gathering dust in my gun cabinet, I have a perfectly engineered rifle, stick a tin can on the end and all that balance goes out the window.
Cheers
Richard

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

I started using one two years ago and like it, killed six deer and a couple of hogs using it so far. I did shoot two deer in about a minutes time using it but I've also shot three deer in a couple minutes time with a unspressed 308. A lot of that has to do with shot distance and wind/direction. I'm not going to go and start cutting and threading my old hunting rifles but most of the stuff I have bought since has been factory threaded.

I'm still debating on hauling it around in the mountains as it does add some weight to the rifle but for stand hunting whitetails it's nice.

There can be some hidden costs when getting into the suppressor or NFA game. You will have to pay the $200 tax. If you get a QD can you may have to buy extra muzzle devices if you want to use it on multiple rifles, I probably have $500 invested in muzzle devices. Then you have to decided if you want to purchase these items as a individual or through a Trust like I did. Since the laws changed there isn't much of a difference I guess. I bought all my stuff when having a Trust was beneficial and easier.

Basically it can be a giant worm hole should you decided to pursue it. I enjoy all my Class 3 stuff though and used to cohost machine gun shoots, I've made a lot of good friends in the process.

 

[WyoDoug]

I plan to eventually get silencers on my rifles due to my hearing loss right now anyways. Problem is they are legal in Wyoming but my understanding is you have to get a federal permit to have one. A benefit to me personally besides protecting what is left of my hearing is it eliminates flinching which I find myself doing now and then especially with the 7MM Win Mag. As commented in the previous posts, sometimes you need to re balance the gun so you don't have unexpected drop but a good gunsmith can resolve that fairly quick.

 

[brockel]

I’ve only had experience calling coyotes with them. It still spooks the second dog when calling in a double but they are confused on where the sound came from

 

[Brauee20]

I want to get a threaded .22 and use a can for squirrels. I know a few spots where I could easily fill a limit with subsonic rounds and a suppressor. That's also the big thing to remember about using a suppressor -- without using subsonic rounds, it's still noticeably loud. Biggest reason I would be in favor of it would be hearing protection. But it's not high on my list right now.

I call this abomination the little critter gitter. Homebuilt form 1 can, can shoot .22 through 9mm and rifle up to .308. I can hear the hammer drop with .22 subs. I'll be packing it on my Colorado elk hunt in hopes of stumbling into some grouse. Won't be blowing the woods out around us if we do.

 

[MTSLW]

The major benefit using a suppressor for hunting is that you don't blow your ears out every time you shoot. They are super effective when hunting. For coyotes especially they can't be beat and we get multiple shot opportunities that we most likely wouldn't get if we weren't shooting suppressed. There are starting to be some really good ones in the $500 range and once you try one, you won't go back!

 

[SoCalHuntr]

It wouldn't cost much to have a Tikka T3X threaded for a suppressor. I'd not avoid that make/model on those grounds. YMMV.

The reason this is a bad idea was listed in the second response. The t3x is a lite gun and the barrel barely has enough meat in order to thread. Sometimes not enough to get it threaded. So buy a gun with a barrel that is meant to be threaded or already threaded.

 

[Rakestraw]

I don't use silencers. I use titanium muzzle device like muzzle brake to reduce recoil but that causes much noise. By the way, i am not a hunting lover.

 

[HighDesertSage]

It wouldn't cost much to have a Tikka T3X threaded for a suppressor. I'd not avoid that make/model on those grounds. YMMV.

I threaded my tikka, works great with a harvester.

 

[HighDesertSage]

The reason this is a bad idea was listed in the second response. The t3x is a lite gun and the barrel barely has enough meat in order to thread. Sometimes not enough to get it threaded. So buy a gun with a barrel that is meant to be threaded or already threaded.

BS, I was able to get 5/8x24 theads on my tikka t3 lite 270 win.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

A few reactions:

First, decibels are a logarithmic scale so a 30dB drop is a 1,000x drop (and 20dB drop is a 100x drop).

This is absolutely correct. But this describes sound intensity (acoustic power).

The pressure wave doubles every 6dB. So a 20dB drop is 1/10th the sound pressure. But our hearing perception doesn’t track very linearly. It has some scale factor that is a function of frequency and duration and intensity. It is somewhat unique to individuals. I’ve read that a general rule of thumb is somewhere between 6-10dB is perceived as doubling/halving the “loudness”.

Even still. A 30 dB drop is between 3-5x “quieter” which significant!

I just wish we could make them more affordable and accessible like those crazy gun nuts in New Zealand and Europe.

 

[VikingsGuy]

BS, I was able to get 5/8x24 theads on my tikka t3 lite 270 win.

You can do whatever you wish, but without enough barrel diameter to put a decent shoulder at the end of those threads (0.100" + thread pitch) you are at best going to have less consistency and and worst risk concentricity loss that can result in safety issue. There is enough diameter on my tikka ss lite barrels to do a 1/2", for .223-.284, but then at .308 caliber the 1/2" threading doesn't leave enough barrel wall. Most silencer manufactures state 0.725" minimum barrel diameter for 5/8" threading and 9/16" smallest for .30 calibers (https://thunderbeastarms.com/tech/thread-specifications). To each their own I guess.