Do silencers change a rifle's preferred load?

I have a 300 PRC and a 338-378 that I've started running cans on. These rifles are different in every aspect possible. I load for both. Both shot little low and little left. Other than that they are good.
It's possible your will shoot differently, but IMO the cans are definitely worth the effort of a new load.
I just put a suppressor on my 338-378. It is a Bannish from Silencer Central. It is rather quiet, but the recoil is as bad or worse than the radial brake that Weatherby put on the rifle. My POI changed about one inch high and another inch to the right. I guess that is to be expected when using 110g of 7828 and a 247 grain Hammer Hunter bullet!
 
I can only speak to my own experiences, of course.
Bought my first can (30 cal) two years ago (1 year wait sucked). I have used it on a 300BO AR and my .308. I've learned two things. First being is that my POI shifted 9 MOA when I pulled the break and put the can on my Savage 10. Second being is that it's like driving a really nice truck. Once you have used it, you won't want to go back.

If you decide to use it on your bolt system, use direct thread and just leave it after you do your load development. It's just easier in the long run. Direct thread will keep your position of the suppressor the same (more or less) every time you take it on and off for cleaning. I wanted to go this crazy route of buying muzzle devices that would make swapping between the two rifles easier, but my POI would shift every time I took them on and off, and not a little bit. It was a hard lesson to learn after a couple hundred dollars later. DT is also better because they like to loosen after several shots. Check it frequently. I also bought a pair of high temp grill gloves with silicone grips and a rubber belt wrench to tighten/remove it. Carbon buildup can make it difficult to remove. Depending on the material, they take a fair time to cool down.

You'll buy more, don't you worry. It's nearly as addictive as buying firearms itself. I have three now. The .22LR one is laughably quiet on the 10/22 and the pistol (sr22). Bought my first big boy pistol can (.45 cal) this summer. Now I'm considering buying another 30cal or maybe one that will cover up to .338 should I decide to get one. The $200 "could I have this daddy" tax is a pain and they are still pricy as hell, but I think of all the accessories I've bought for my rifles, this one is the most beneficial one I've ever used.
Sorry for the word salad and do enjoy suppressor use!

Helpful links:
Plug in your rifle info and go…

Subsonic load data from Hodgdon. I haven't played with it yet, so take that with a grain of salt.
Thanks for the feedback about switching between rifles.
 
I just put a suppressor on my 338-378. It is a Bannish from Silencer Central. It is rather quiet, but the recoil is as bad or worse than the radial brake that Weatherby put on the rifle. My POI changed about one inch high and another inch to the right. I guess that is to be expected when using 110g of 7828 and a 247 grain Hammer Hunter bullet!
The Banish is the one I was eyeballing.
 
Looking to purchase my 1st silencer and am wondering if you have had to change a rifle's favorite load? POI shifts I expect but starting over for several rifles has me spooked. What are your experiences with old handloads and adding a suppressor?
In our experience makes little difference to group sizes
 
IMG_3398.jpeg

I frequently, when completed with load dev, will shoot other suppressors to see how they effect groups. Suppressors definitely change things. Example, if I wanted to shoot the sti on this barrel I'd tweak some things with the load. To be fair the load was developed with the Scythe.
 
I just put a suppressor on my 338-378. It is a Bannish from Silencer Central. It is rather quiet, but the recoil is as bad or worse than the radial brake that Weatherby put on the rifle. My POI changed about one inch high and another inch to the right. I guess that is to be expected when using 110g of 7828 and a 247 grain Hammer Hunter bullet!
Wow that's surprising. I put the same one on my 338-378 and it's quiet and recoil is way less. I let my buddies 11 year old boy shoot it, it's that good. I shoot 107 grains of IMR8133 with a 275 grain Parker bullet. I do not understand that. Crazy
 
Wow that's surprising. I put the same one on my 338-378 and it's quiet and recoil is way less. I let my buddies 11 year old boy shoot it, it's that good. I shoot 107 grains of IMR8133 with a 275 grain Parker bullet. I do not understand that. Crazy
Recoil at my shoulder is not a problem. It is the scope chasing my forehead that is my situation. I shoot 104grs of 7828 launching a 350 gr. Barnes TSX flat base bullet out of my 378 (that rifle does not like boat tail bullets) at a bit over 2600 fps mv and a radial break. Recoil isn't a problem, but I have a scope with better eye relief on the 378.

Good for your buddy's son. When my boys were that age they used to fight over who got to goose hunt with my 10 gauge double barrel shotgun. If I didn't need a new scope, I would buy a Banish suppressor for the 378. As you say, "It is that good." But mine still kicks!
 
When I got my first two cans (TBAC Ultra 7 and Ultra 9), I had 7 rifles with well established, bery accurate loads. Two I knew would not ever wear them (7RM and 300RUM), and five I planned switching from a brake to a can (6CM, 25SST, 6.5SLR, 6.5SS, and .280AI). All five had POI shifts, between .2MIL and 1.1MIL. Oy one needed a slight load tweak, the 25SST which was loaded at max. I think that was key.

A can will increase and CHANGE pressure. All my loads went up between 10-23fps IIRC.

If you are running in a wide accuracy node (which doesn't necessarily mean a narrow velocity difference node for charge weights), that really helps your chances of getting little to no change needed in your load. What I mean by accuracy node, is if you have a .5-1.5gr charge weight node that might have a velocity swing of 60fps, but POI does not change at 500, that is where you want to be. Those are the very forgiving nodes that really help with any minor changes. I don't look for velocity flat spots when working a ladder test, look for the least vertical dispersion with at least 3-4 charge weights in a row, regardless of speeds.
 

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