Suppressed vs Non-Suppressed Hunting

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I use a modular direct thread can for hunting in a single baffle + end cap configuration. Helps with recoil and takes the sound from ear ringing to just loud. About 4.5" long and weighs 6oz. Perfect for a 16-20" bolt gun.

They aren't my favorite company (JK Armament), but as long as you know what you're getting you can buy one of their aluminum bodied suppressors and then they'll allow you to upgrade one (or more) baffles to titanium. So, I bought their aluminum VersaX 155 and upgraded the blast baffle and end cap to titanium to use as a micro hunting suppressor when not being used on other things in the aluminum configuration.

I have other suppressors that are full length, but for that occasional exposure having a cheap suppressor like the JK that you can configure into a micro size is pretty nice.
He's a solid dude. I became friends with Jake who owns JK Armament when I was stationed in Mt Home. His products are top tier. He's worked with high end suppressor companies in many capacities and does his own thing now but he knows what hes doing.
 
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But what's with the hate towards them? "Instagram cool" "tacticool" etc...I don't really get it?
There's a large percentage of the US hunting community that genuinely hates any progress in technology and quality of life improvements in hunting. The reasons vary but normally it's nostalgia, manhood, and/or money. Decades ago it was "sissy sticks" and now trekking poles are just common sense. If it's some kind of long range scope/gun/technology then it's time to break out the ol' "Carlos Hathcock didn't need gadgets". It's just a boring cycle of the same stuff.
 

Wyo_hntr

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There's a large percentage of the US hunting community that genuinely hates any progress in technology and quality of life improvements in hunting. The reasons vary but normally it's nostalgia, manhood, and/or money.
Ah yes....fudds....
 
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Ah yes....fudds....
I think the term is way overused to the point it has lost its meaning but kind of? A part of it is SOME boomers that have an inferiority complex about how they compare to the generations of men that came before them. This group has some decent overlap with the demographic of hunters/gun owners who grew up on extraordinary tales of snipers, heroic military feats, and mountain men. They read those stories and wonder how they would compare. So they inflict all sorts of unnecessary discomfort on themselves as a way to feel like they're carrying on some legacy that they have literally no connection to.

Trekking poles? You mean SISSY STICKS.
Any advancement in cartridges, stocks, scopes, triggers, bipods, tripods? Carlos Hathcock did it with a .30-06, Unertl scope, and sheer GRIT!
Camoflage? Fred Bear killed everything on the planet in a checkered shirt.
Rangefinders? I'll just MIL it with my reticle to get the distance (a backup sure but let's be real it's mainly LARP)

That's just a small but vocal group of people I see a fair bit. Their lives would be better if they let go of their weird emotional baggage. It's not the same as people who use the same excuses as that group but really just don't want to spend money. Which, hey, fair enough as to not spending money but they don't need to go in some macho circle to justify it.
 

Wyo_hntr

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I don't think only boomers are fudds, or fudds are only boomers. But I get your point.
 
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I don't think only boomers are fudds, or fudds are only boomers. But I get your point.
I don't either. I think a portion of the more vocal people people fit the description I gave. I personally won't shoot unsuppressed now (excluding shotguns) but I use ear protection when I'm not hunting anyway so I'm perfectly fine to shoot with people who aren't suppressed. If they have a brake I'll definitely create some distance though.
 
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He's a solid dude. I became friends with Jake who owns JK Armament when I was stationed in Mt Home. His products are top tier. He's worked with high end suppressor companies in many capacities and does his own thing now but he knows what hes doing.

He may be a solid dude, and no disrespect meant, but their products aren’t top tier, or mid tier.

I ordered their VersaX 45 and when I received the suppressor I noticed that the baffle holes were still in the white. Just raw drilled holes that weren’t well finished. No anodizing on the aluminum there.

I emailed them. Their response was that they had just drilled out previously anodized 9mm baffles to make the 45 caliber version and left them raw, and they justified it by saying that the tensile strength of some aluminum approaches the tensile strength of steel, and I’m quoting, “within a few shots…that bare aluminum is covered in carbon and is fine”.

Apparently they aren’t aware that tensile strength doesn’t equate to abrasive strength, and even with carbon buildup raw un-anodized aluminum has significantly reduced wear properties. Otherwise no special material would ever be needed for suppressors because it would just be coated in magical carbon…right?

The extra end cap I bought from them was not the correct diameter, and not just the wrong end cap, just a completely incorrect size that matched no caliber. I ordered a 9mm endcap and it was a 0.357” hole, vastly too small for 9mm to be safely shot from, and not matching any size end cap they sold. Thankfully I noticed and did a check before shooting it.

Their anodizing is light, their engraving is nonexistent, a light scuff removes it, which doesn’t meet ATF requirements for depth.

So yeah, the product you get feels like what a podunk shop selling solvent traps would produce.

But, thankfully, they use 1.375x24 threading for both front and back threads on the main tube and baffles, so I can just buy proper aftermarket components to use with their registered tube.






 
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atmat

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Some have asked why the "hate". The above statement is the "why".

For those that won't associate with anyone not using a can - I'm sorry...?
Lol dude, c’mon. “Not shoot with” and “not associate with” are worlds apart.

Most of my shooting buddies run braked magnums. I love the dudes, I hang out with them — I just won’t shoot with them anymore. I enjoy shooting with simple foam plugs and not getting rocked by their muzzle blast.

It’s okay to have preferences and decide with whom/how you spend your time.
 
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Lol dude, c’mon. “Not shoot with” and “not associate with” are worlds apart.

Most of my shooting buddies run braked magnums. I love the dudes, I hang out with them — I just won’t shoot with them anymore. I enjoy shooting with simple foam plugs and not getting rocked by their muzzle blast.

It’s okay to have preferences and decide with whom/how you spend your time.

No, I get it. They're inferior and you don't want to associate with them at "the range".

It's all good.
 

z987k

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No, I get it. They're inferior and you don't want to associate with them at "the range".

It's all good.
No, he just doesn't want a small concussion

I stop shooting and move if someone comes next to me at the range with a brake. It's pretty terrible. I'd say it's inconsiderate at a public range. They're not inferior, it's just really annoying to everyone around them.
 
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I can’t eat, sleep, or even be productive at work because I’m so worried if someone won’t shoot with me. I wake up in a cold sweat when I do sleep from the nightmare this thread has become. When I’m fully awake and calm and realize it’s just a dream, I realize that it doesn’t matter if I’m a “Fudd” because I never have or will shoot at a range. I plan on no one being right beside the muzzle of the barrel either when I shoot an animal. 🤣
 

sveltri

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Moving forward I will only hunt suppressed, if hunting with someone else who isn't I guess I just won't be able to effectively spot for them as I'll be knuckle deep in my ears. If I'm shooting a competition I'll likely be shooting a brake strictly for maximizing recoil reduction and spotting impacts/misses. It has been very interesting to see animal responses to suppressed shots.
 

atmat

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I can’t eat, sleep, or even be productive at work because I’m so worried if someone won’t shoot with me. I wake up in a cold sweat when I do sleep from the nightmare this thread has become. When I’m fully awake and calm and realize it’s just a dream, I realize that it doesn’t matter if I’m a “Fudd” because I never have or will shoot at a range. I plan on no one being right beside the muzzle of the barrel either when I shoot an animal. 🤣
Lol some of y'all are weird about writing fan fic.
 

Taudisio

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I have suppressors, I also have friends/family without them. To say you won’t go shooting or hunting with a person who is shooting unsuppressed is asinine. I absolutely prefer to hunt suppressed. Will I hunt unsuppressed in the future? Probably. Will my ears ring? Probably. Would the world be more convenient if every rifle was suppressed? Yes. Is that feasible? No.

Some of you are way too one sided.
 
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No, he just doesn't want a small concussion

Now that's funny right there 🤣

I stop shooting and move if someone comes next to me at the range with a brake. It's pretty terrible. I'd say it's inconsiderate at a public range. They're not inferior, it's just really annoying to everyone around them.

You do realize that you don't have the privilege to go through life without being offended, right?
 
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