Supressed or not

[gvjm]

I am a very new hunter. So far I have shot in competitions. I am a big proponent of shooting suppressed because I really like my ears and reduces recoil. I would assume it would even make more sense shooting with a can when hunting, otherwise I will have to wear ear plugs all day. I realise that adding a can increases weight and length. But I guess that is cost/inconvenience of doing business.

I have been told by more experienced hunters that shooting supressed is unnecessary and even a bad idea. Unnecessary because I would be shooting outdoors and the adrenaline is going to protect my hearing. I have even been told that I would not even realise the gun going off because of the adrenaline. I have also been told that because hunting rifles have lighter barrels, a suppressor will cause unpredictable barrel harmonics and would not make consistent POI shifts.

I am looking to shoot 700 to 1000 yards and mostly deer/elk size animals. Do you have any experience about these points?

I have suppressors as do some of my friends. I don't hunt with as for years I've hunted with Walker electric ear buds. ARs are not hearing safe with suppressors, some bolt guns are on the threshold. Many will argue that they are hearing safe and they have no particular problems. I took the advice of the retailer who sold me my suppressors, supersonic means ear protection with or without a can.

 

[Rocketeer77]

I am a very new hunter. So far I have shot in competitions. I am a big proponent of shooting suppressed because I really like my ears and reduces recoil. I would assume it would even make more sense shooting with a can when hunting, otherwise I will have to wear ear plugs all day. I realise that adding a can increases weight and length. But I guess that is cost/inconvenience of doing business.

I have been told by more experienced hunters that shooting supressed is unnecessary and even a bad idea. Unnecessary because I would be shooting outdoors and the adrenaline is going to protect my hearing. I have even been told that I would not even realise the gun going off because of the adrenaline. I have also been told that because hunting rifles have lighter barrels, a suppressor will cause unpredictable barrel harmonics and would not make consistent POI shifts.

I am looking to shoot 700 to 1000 yards and mostly deer/elk size animals. Do you have any experience about these points?

You have been given a number of old wives tales with no basis in reality. Here in NZL the vast majority of hunters will use suppressed rifles. Accuracy; there no difference whatsoever, if there are issues it's the usual suspects. A badly mounted can, poor machining etc can be a major problem yet that's not a can issue is it?

 

[Philward]

I'll be the odd man out here. I did the suppressor thing about 10 years ago, then got over it. I never liked the extra length added to the barrel, even on short barrels. I didn't like the cost, wait time or paperwork that went with the suppressors. The recoil reduction on the big guns wasn't as good as a well-designed brake.

For the cost of a suppressor, I can buy some premium electronic hearing protection and a lifetime supply of batteries. I've always hunted with hearing protection and I've never shot an animal (even grouse and rabbits) without some sort of hearing protection on, even when I had the suppressors.

Finally, on page 3, the first dissenting opinion.

 

[WanderingGoatie]

I just read through a few pages of responses and my takeaway is that MOST people who don't find value in the added weight/length/cost of a silencer, also have extremely limited experiences with suppressed shooting.

 

[jbur13]

I love suppressed. Just started hunting with a can this year. This elk was two weeks ago. 7mm, 20" with 1/8 twist. I think it confuses animals and they don't know where it came from. I had another bull run right towards me after this one dropped.
I think I'm going to use a brake on my 300rum, it's a 22" carbon barrel, I feel the brake is much better at taming the kick but it's not terrible with the can. I'll be shooting longer ranges with the RUM and have time for hearing pro.
IF you only hunt long range, then you'll have time for hearing protection and I would go with a Brake. If you walk a lot like I do, then the suppressor is a huge benefit when you don't have time for earplugs.

I've even tried electronic earplugs and hated them.

 

[Allen Lone wolf]

I think suppressor are great. I personally don't own one but I have considered it mostly for the cool factor I guess. I'm 66yrs old and have been using hearing protection since I was 19. I worked for a company for 43yrs that required hearing protection depending on the area you worked in. Been shooting high powered rifles that long and always wore ear plugs or muffs. The company required annual hearing test and the always accused me of cheating taking the test in a "sound proof" booth with a headset on. They said it wasn't possible to hear that good. I told one lady I could hear chiggers crawling across the floor at night. Lol. Maybe it's just a freak of nature or God just blessed me that way. Maybe if it ain't broke no need to fix it. That's money I can put on another rifle!

 

[RockyMtnMT]

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?

We were getting ready to go to Africa with our Gunwerks suppresors and forth out that if we ran into an agent that went by the letter of the law, we would be in trouble trying to bring them back if we didn't have an import license. Decided to leave them home and purchase suppresors there and leave them for future hunts.

 

[Raudy707]

Can't. Live in California. Would be a felony and I'd lose all my guns and do 10 years in a prison. But even if I could, I probably wouldn't use one.

 

[yorke-1]

Sometimes I feel like the suppressor guys are like CrossFiters, vegans, and Sherman wildcat shooters……..

 

[Elkeater]

Sometimes I feel like the suppressor guys are like CrossFiters, vegans, and Sherman wildcat shooters……..

Hey I'm curious about those Sherman short mags. I may contemplate ordering while drinking my vegan protein shake after CrossFit today.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Sometimes I feel like the suppressor guys are like CrossFiters, vegans, and Sherman wildcat shooters……..

I haven't tried being a vegan, but I'm guessing I won't get near the satisfaction I get from shooting suppressed. Shooting suppressed is like having a big fat, juicy, tender steak!

 

[Griswold#13]

Just got my 2nd and 3rd supressor in the mail yesterday. I will validate what a lot of others have said, once you go suppressed you never go back.
I agree that a good break takes away a little more recoil but the significant concussive forces from a break shooting the magnums is enough to make a guy flinch even though the recoil is not that strong.
I got my wife a tikka 260 last year with a 20" barrel, Has a 9" suppressor on it. In that guns first year it killed a deer at 525, antelope at 550, and an elk at 475. She can hit a plate at 880 all day long as well so as far as affecting long range accuracy? they dont IMO

 

[yorke-1]

I haven't tried being a vegan, but I'm guessing I won't get near the satisfaction I get from shooting suppressed. Shooting suppressed is like having a big fat, juicy, tender steak!

You can't fool me, I know that steak is actually made from mushroom protein and TVP! Lol

 

[CMP70306]

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.

Not a 28 Nosler but I do have experience with an 18" and a 24" 6.5 PRC with both the Nomad Ti and Nomad L suppressors. The 18" with the Ti is definitely on the loud side as I can only shoot a couple rounds before my ears start to ache. Fine for hunting purposes but not ideal. The Nomad L on the other hand is substantially quieter and can easily be shot quite a bit on the 18" PRC without hearing issues. With the 24" the performance is improved, the Ti isn't as harsh and the L you could probably shoot all day.

Sometimes I feel like the suppressor guys are like CrossFiters, vegans, and Sherman wildcat shooters……..

I'm not any of those so I can't say for certain but I do know that I have successfully converted a number of people simply by hunting with and letting them target shoot with my suppressors. Originally my Dad had zero interest in using a suppressor even after I had been hunting with it for several years until he shot his boar twice with an unsuppressed 26" 6.5 PRC and no hearing protection. Shortly after he wanted his own and now has an 18" PRC as his main hunting rifle that exclusively wears a suppressor. Same with my brother, he had no interest in hunting with one in the beginning but he tried it on his 26" .300 Win Mag and ended up building one with a 20" barrel specifically for hunting suppressed.

As for the rest of our group, I bought the suppressors in 2017 to help save my hearing and started hunting with them in 2018 after I got a hunting rifle with a threaded barrel. This year half our group, predominantly all the younger guys, will be hunting with a suppressed rifle. Most of the older guys don't want to be bothered with the extra paperwork or the effort of adding threaded barrels to their guns but the younger guys are all for it.