Hunting with a suppressed rifle?

[wisconsinteacher]

I'm trying to get my wife into rifle hunting and hopefully an out of state hunt. I'm thinking about getting a suppressor for the .243 that I have. I know that the .243 would super quiet and have very little recoil after a suppressor was added. For those of you that have one, what kind do you have and how do you like it for hunting? I don't know what else to do for her to avoid the noise other than wear ear plugs and muffs over the top.

 

[Schism]

I have a couple suppressors from Dakota Silencer. They are Varminter 3.0 models which have been renamed "Banish". I've had them for several years and they work great but if I were to buy another today I would be looking at a suppressor from TBAC, most likely their Ultra 7.

 

[MThuntr]

electronic earbuds/muffs especially if you're sitting still.

I can't say the 243 would be "super quiet" with a suppressor but definitely more quiet than without.

 

[Fire_9]

It still won’t be real quiet but they help significantly. I think every rifle should be suppressed. An ultra 7 or a harvester would get my vote but I haven’t looked at all the options out there in a few years

 

[Dsnow9]

I hunt with a gemtech dagger and love it, less noise, recoil, and extremely fast re-acquisition of target. I can’t think of an animal I have shot that I didn’t see the impact after getting the suppressor. I can’t see myself hunting without one.

 

[robsev]

Check out Silencerco Omega. It’s light, fairly short, and quiet. My granddaughter hates loud noise and she loves shooting her.243 with this suppressor on it.

 

[406LIFE]

I'll be writing this up elsewhere on my first season with a suppressor.
I harvested 11 animals with my AAC Jaeger. It was about $375, on sale plus the tax stamp. I waited six months for the stamp and had it well in time for hunting season. It did shift my POI 4 up and 4 right. It was a dream to shoot on my 300WM. Recoil was so light it went unnoticed, stating in target in the scope was never an issue, and the rifle was so quiet that deer 100 yards away barely took notice and definitely didn't spook.

If you're thinking about it, take the plunge. I don't get anything from AAC but for the average hunter, I'd say this fit the bill.

 

[bmt99]

I think once you have one, you will want another, and another. I believe it is like a gateway drug.

Also, for sound, some of the companies don't follow the mil standard for measuring sound correctly (location from muzzle) so it is hard to say what the decibel reduction will be. Partly because it costs a lot of money in R&D and a quality device to measure decibels is over $4k last I heard. Either way, it will be significant.

Silencer Central (formerly Dakota Silencer) makes this simple and walks you through having a gun trust (recommended). Lane Silencer is another popular one for folks I know.

 

[turbobrick]

I hunt with one of three Griffin Sportsman suppressors on my rifles at all times. I’ve used on 300blk, 260rem, and 300wm, plus 300wsm soon. In the field, all these sound so good, people can’t believe it. The 300wm is really tamed down in noise and recoil, my wife shoots hers with no issues.

I prefer Griffin these days because they offer the most muzzle devices and I think taper mount is the best interface. I also have their taper mounts on my Silencerco Harvester for my 1895 in 45/70.

For a hunting rifle, light weight is the biggest factor, followed closely by length. My first hunting can was a AAC 762SDN6, which weighs nearly twice what the Sportsman does. That was not a great set up.

 

[kentucky_rifleman2020]

I'm trying to get my wife into rifle hunting and hopefully an out of state hunt. I'm thinking about getting a suppressor for the .243 that I have. I know that the .243 would super quiet and have very little recoil after a suppressor was added. For those of you that have one, what kind do you have and how do you like it for hunting? I don't know what else to do for her to avoid the noise other than wear ear plugs and muffs over the top.

It will somewhat be helpful, but unless your using sub-sonic bullet then suppressor won’t work to its potential.....other considerations will be
1)tapering of the barrel. A lot of rifle barrels are too thin to thread and withstand the back pressure created using a suppressor.
2). For a 243win to perform well, it truly needs a 24 inch barrel. 243 uses combo of light bullet & high velocity to be effective. For a rifle to be conveniently carried during a hunt, I’d recommend the barrel 18” or under, so I’d recommend looking into a Ruger American Predator 308 18” factory threaded. Recoil wouldn’t be much different & they below $600.
3) I’ve got a buddy who works for Brownell, he recommend that even if threaded, he prefers a tactical style suppressor that slips over flash hider/brake. It’s easier to service and store. It also eliminates any risk of doing serious damage caused by cross threading or improperly torquing while changing barrel attachments.

 

[turbobrick]

It will somewhat be helpful, but unless your using sub-sonic bullet then suppressor won’t work to its potential.....other considerations will be
1)tapering of the barrel. A lot of rifle barrels are too thin to thread and withstand the back pressure created using a suppressor.
2). For a 243win to perform well, it truly needs a 24 inch barrel. 243 uses combo of light bullet & high velocity to be effective. For a rifle to be conveniently carried during a hunt, I’d recommend the barrel 18” or under, so I’d recommend looking into a Ruger American Predator 308 18” factory threaded. Recoil wouldn’t be much different & they below $600.
3) I’ve got a buddy who works for Brownell, he recommend that even if threaded, he prefers a tactical style suppressor that slips over flash hider/brake. It’s easier to service and store. It also eliminates any risk of doing serious damage caused by cross threading or improperly torquing while changing barrel attachments.

There are not yet really any commercially available big game appropriate sub sonic calibers out there for any use past 100 yards IMHO (338blk shows some promise, and 45-70 absolutely works to a point). The expanding 188gn 300blk from Discreet will no doubt kill deer sized game with authority up close, but its not practical on anything much bigger or farther out. I would argue that super sonic ammo through a suppressor is 100% using the can to its potential, by taking much of the muzzle blast away which is the biggest interface the shooter has with the sound from gunfire. Super sonic ammo obviously creates a sonic crack, but it is a much smaller part of the equation when shooting suppressed.

1. You're way off base on that one. Some barrels are too thin for the thread size normally associated with their caliber ie: 5/8-24 for .308. In those cases, the barrel is normally threaded for something like 7/16-28 or even 1/2-28 a direct thread adapter is used in the can, or a thread adapter, or a taper mount or other QD muzzle device in the appropriate thread. Additionally, some barrels are threaded so that the crown of the barrel bottoms out on the inside of the muzzle device to allow a shoulder when the barrel is otherwise too thin to provide one. Pressure is not an issue in common calibers, neither at the threads even small ones (300wm is commonly used on 1/2-28 threads for hunting applications) nor anywhere else in the system.

2. For 3 seasons I carried 2 different 260rem rifles with 22 inch barrels with 8 and 9 inch long suppressors with no issues whatsoever. For the last 3 seasons, I have carried a 26" barrel 300wm with an 8" long suppressor. Its been a non-issue for me, you just have to be cognizant of your muzzle. If you live in a very brushy place, something like a 30-30 or my 1895 in 45/70 with an 18" barrel and an 8" can would be awesome. I had a Ruger Predator in 260rem (yet another with 22" barrel) and it carried really well, they are great rifles.

3. There are maybe 2 suppressor manufacturers that make cans that slip onto a flash hider anymore, that is an antiquated legacy design for the military. It is also something intended for carbines and not for precision shooting, would be a very poor choice for hunting. With a taper mount like Griffin, or a QD like Silencerco or Dead Air, the mount stays on the barrel threads, so there are no cross threading or torque issues.


Respectfully, it sounds like you have zero personal experience with suppressors and have misunderstood some of what you were told by people who may have had some experience. What you have raised as issues are not, and hunting with a suppressor is easier now than it has ever been.

 

[matechakeric]

i believe game wardens strongly rely on hearing gunshots to help them find poachers and wrong-doing during and outside of legal hunting windows. check your state regs before getting one -- obviously haha

 

[FEENIX]

I have an Eliteiron Bravo SD ...



... that I can also on any caliber/chambering .30 cal and smaller that are threaded 5/8-24".

On my 6.5 CM, I do not need ear protection.

 

[TWC]

Pretty much everyone uses one in the UK, including myself. Makes a difference to recoil and sound suppression. Some much better than others, the better ones tend to be heavier. Plenty of discussion on them in UK deer stalking forums. Have a search on ‘The Stalking Directory’.

 

[matechakeric]

Pretty much everyone uses one in the UK, including myself. Makes a difference to recoil and sound suppression. Some much better than others, the better ones tend to be heavier. Plenty of discussion on them in UK deer stalking forums. Have a search on ‘The Stalking Directory’.

i think it was on the meateater, Steve was talking about how when he went to Scotland for stag, the guy he was hunting with was shocked Americans don't use suppressors. And he was shocked that Europeans did. I believe game wardens rely heavily on the sound of gunshots to ID suspicious shooting and know where to start walking towards.

 

[FEENIX]

check your state regs before getting one -- obviously haha

... as well as the "actual" out of state that the OP is going to hunt.

 

[matechakeric]

... as well as the "actual" out of state that the OP is going to hunt.

that's implied by checking your state's regs haha. "your state" could the sate you live or the one you will be hunting in. either way, it's the state the gun laws will apply for so check them

 

[TWC]

i think it was on the meateater, Steve was talking about how when he went to Scotland for stag, the guy he was hunting with was shocked Americans don't use suppressors. And he was shocked that Europeans did. I believe game wardens rely heavily on the sound of gunshots to ID suspicious shooting and know where to start walking towards.

Yea, it is surprising that you don’t across the pond. I can see why game wardens would be against it but I would think that the money to be made from their use would do some talking...

Not many European countries allow them either. I know Spain does and Germany only recently.

 

[FEENIX]

that's implied by checking your state's regs haha. "your state" could the sate you live or the one you will be hunting in. either way, it's the state the gun laws will apply for so check them

You'll be surprised how many people do not know.

 

[WyoDoug]

Legal in Wyoming. I intend to get one when I can afford it. I have bad hearing from my military artillery days when hearing protection was not enforced.