Do you shoot suppressed?


  • Total voters
    234
Just want to get some feedback from the folks using suppressors for hunting, especially where hiking may be on the menu. My question, do you go for the most suppression in that scenario, or do you go with a compact design that still helps a lot compared to unsuppressed, no doubt, but it will have a higher decibel level and less recoil reducing benefits? For example, do you.......

1. Run a 22" barreled 28 Nosler with the Ultra 5
2. Run an 18" barreled 28 Nosler with an Ultra 9

Without being a suppressor hunter myself, I can see very valid points for either of the scenarios above. My gut feel would lead me towards number 1, but would love to hear what many of you with experience have to say.
 
It's sad that people still recommend NOT using a suppressor for hunting. I 100% have tinnitus from growing up hunting with no suppressor or hearing protection. Guys who are "tough" or tell you to "suck it up" are the same ones who already can't hear, or will have poor hearing later in life. I value my hearing so much now, that I exclusively shoot suppressed AND wear hearing protection.
 
Just want to get some feedback from the folks using suppressors for hunting, especially where hiking may be on the menu. My question, do you go for the most suppression in that scenario, or do you go with a compact design that still helps a lot compared to unsuppressed, no doubt, but it will have a higher decibel level and less recoil reducing benefits? For example, do you.......

1. Run a 22" barreled 28 Nosler with the Ultra 5
2. Run an 18" barreled 28 Nosler with an Ultra 9

Without being a suppressor hunter myself, I can see very valid points for either of the scenarios above. My gut feel would lead me towards number 1, but would love to hear what many of you with experience have to say.

Another option in between those 2 could be 20" with the 6" Dominus. The claim is that Dominus sits in between the Ultra 7 and 9 in sound reduction performance.
 
Just want to get some feedback from the folks using suppressors for hunting, especially where hiking may be on the menu. My question, do you go for the most suppression in that scenario, or do you go with a compact design that still helps a lot compared to unsuppressed, no doubt, but it will have a higher decibel level and less recoil reducing benefits? For example, do you.......

1. Run a 22" barreled 28 Nosler with the Ultra 5
2. Run an 18" barreled 28 Nosler with an Ultra 9

Without being a suppressor hunter myself, I can see very valid points for either of the scenarios above. My gut feel would lead me towards number 1, but would love to hear what many of you with experience have to say.
Mark,

I have a 22" barrel suppressed (I also have an MB for it) but not 28N or Ultra 5. I, too, would go with option 1. Good luck!

Ed
 
I would like to get a suppressor, but which one of my rifles would I put it on? My perfect suppressor would be usable on all my rifles. I would work on everything from .224 on up to my .358. I don't have a .375 (yet). I talked to a manufacturer about making a universal can with interchangeable "guts" so it would be efficient for all calibers. He was not receptive to the idea at all. He gave me a song and dance about the ATF would consider every caliber a separate unit and it would be illegal. I disagree, but I'm not a lawyer. I still think that it would be a viable option to alleviate having to have multiple license's.
The ATF has been abundantly clear that most parts of a silencer are silencers by themselves, and unfortunately the legal definition of "silencer" backs them up. You can shoot smaller calibers through a silencer, like 224 through a 30 cal silencer, with minimal loss in efficiency. Something like an Omega 36m is the closest you'll get to an all in one silencer.
 
Just want to get some feedback from the folks using suppressors for hunting, especially where hiking may be on the menu. My question, do you go for the most suppression in that scenario, or do you go with a compact design that still helps a lot compared to unsuppressed, no doubt, but it will have a higher decibel level and less recoil reducing benefits? For example, do you.......

1. Run a 22" barreled 28 Nosler with the Ultra 5
2. Run an 18" barreled 28 Nosler with an Ultra 9

Without being a suppressor hunter myself, I can see very valid points for either of the scenarios above. My gut feel would lead me towards number 1, but would love to hear what many of you with experience have to say.
You seem to be almost intentionally leaving off the Ultra 7 here, I would never run a 9" can on anything unless it was a stationary/prone rig, regardless of barrel length. In your specific hypothetical case I'd stick with a 20-22" barrel and run something short and fat like the TBAC Dominus CB.

By the same token, short cans only really work on smaller cases (556, Grendel, Dasher, Creedmoors etc) or in situations where you really just want to take the edge off of the blast but still plan on running at least light hearing pro and form factor/size is paramount. For example I have a Dead Air Sandman K that I run on all of my AR's (and occasionally on my PRS rig so that I don't have to double up with plugs and earmuffs when its hot outside). A 5" can generally wont be hearing safe on anything bigger than a 308 class cartridge, and even then that's going to depend on barrel length. On my 16" 556 and 6.5 Grendel it's great (noticeably louder than my Sandman S on the same guns), my 26" 6.5 Creedmoor PRS rig is marginal (my ears will ring if I run a whole stage with no hearing pro), and my 16" 308 AR10 or my 12" 556 sound basically unsuppressed with that can on though.
 
You seem to be almost intentionally leaving off the Ultra 7 here, I would never run a 9" can on anything unless it was a stationary/prone rig, regardless of barrel length. In your specific hypothetical case I'd stick with a 20-22" barrel and run something short and fat like the TBAC Dominus CB.

By the same token, short cans only really work on smaller cases (556, Grendel, Dasher, Creedmoors etc) or in situations where you really just want to take the edge off of the blast but still plan on running at least light hearing pro and form factor/size is paramount. For example I have a Dead Air Sandman K that I run on all of my AR's (and occasionally on my PRS rig so that I don't have to double up with plugs and earmuffs when its hot outside). A 5" can generally wont be hearing safe on anything bigger than a 308 class cartridge, and even then that's going to depend on barrel length. ). A 16" 556 and 6.5 Grendel are all ok (noticeably louder than my Sandman S on the same guns), my 26" 6.5 Creedmoor PRS rig is marginal (my ears will ring if I run a whole stage with no hearing pro), and my 16" 308 AR10 sounds basically unsuppressed with that can on it.
Definitely not intentional. Mostly, I was bouncing from the two extremes. Anything in the middle is fair game, and your response is exactly what I was looking for. I haven't researched the nuances much around cans, so I'm fairly oblivious to the functional limits of what makes a great system for different cartridges, etc. your response helps put that a bit into perspective for sure.
 
Beyond the positive benefits of running a suppressor it does add some negligible weight and some noteworthy length to a rifle. However, in my opinion the shift in the rifle's balance is the most noticeable change for me. It can be adapted to, but in all four of the traditional shooting positions, as well as merely getting into them, you will need to make adjustments to your routine.
 
I shoot a custom Rem 700 in .300 Win with a 21" barrel and direct-thread Ultra 5. It's a bit on the heavy side, but I pack it up & down hills OK. I've taken 3 critters over 500 yards so far. All were high-confidence situations with excellent results. For a sheep hunt I'd go with something lighter.
 
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Gotta love memories and suppressors.
 

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I put a 6 inch Gunwerks on my Mark V 6.5 RPM. It is a pencil barrel and still shoots quite well. I haven't put one on a rifle yet and had it mess up accuracy. I haven't put one on a rifle yet that already has an established load though. I have worked up each rifle with the suppressor on. This last trip to Africa we bought suppressors there to put on the rifles that we developed here with the Gunwerks suppressors. They all shot just as well but needed a change on the zero.
Since you hunted in Africa and purchased the Suppressors in Africa Did you get to bring the Gunwerks Suppressors back to the USSSRA with you?
 
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