Why use a Suppressor?

[Flyjunky]

Lot's of info and numbers:

Suppressor Sound Rankings — PEW Science

What is the quietest silencer for your suppressed firearm? The quietest suppressor for your use case is listed on this page with detailed links to the Silencer Sound Standard test data. PEW Science test data with PEW-SOFT is the most accurate suppressor test data available.

pewscience.com

perfect, thank you

 

[Bowhuntone]

once you use a suppressor you don't want to go back. The combination of sound and recoil reduction makes for a very pleasant shooting experience.

 

[TradLife406]

I put it off for a while...

But the other day Scheels in Billings was running a promo sale. 100 dollar gift card when you buy a can.
So I bought a Thunderbeast 7 for myself and a Silencerco Harvester Evo for my daughter to use. I highly recommended buying from Scheels. They made the process so freaking easy!

I really think a kids gun needs a can. Let them learn how to shoot without the loud boom.

And honestly I'm sick of ear plugs. I like just putting my normal ear buds in with an audio book or podcast when I'm set up looking and glassing for deer for hours. Helps my ADD and pass the time.
I tried the Axil buds last year but they didn't seal my ear up enough.

Or you go to the range and over the ears and the stock breaks the seal.

I also had my first whoops season before last. Went to unload my gun and accidentally bumped my trigger when trying to drop my mag. Safety somehow was off. I about ruptured my left ear drum.
Now I pop my bolt handle up before I drop the mag.
Obviously being more aware is the best bet for this. But a can would have not damaged my ear or as much.

 

[Bbddalton]

Because it looks cool.

 

[EODBrad]

Because it looks cool.

I love my suppressors, but am I the only person that thinks using a suppressor for remote mountain hunting is ridiculous? The things are heavy. And I am not trying to take out Taliban who will shoot back if they can locate the origin of the shot. Just my 2 cents.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I love my suppressors, but am I the only person that thinks using a suppressor for remote mountain hunting is ridiculous? The things are heavy. And I am not trying to take out Taliban who will shoot back if they can locate the origin of the shot. Just my 2 cents.

How much tinnitus do you currently have? Sounds like not too much yet.

Cans help with recoil, without the noise of a brake. I've found I personally wasn't consistent about getting ear pro in while hunting. I have hearing damage and now I take my kids hunting, that was the tipping point to use suppressors. I'm not going to damage their ears, they can do that themselves once they aren't under my supervision.

 

[mlevimadden]

I love my suppressors, but am I the only person that thinks using a suppressor for remote mountain hunting is ridiculous? The things are heavy. And I am not trying to take out Taliban who will shoot back if they can locate the origin of the shot. Just my 2 cents.

The scythe is like 8 oz with the direct-thread mount. I went with a 20" instead of a 24" barrel that I would have done for an unsuppressed build, so that's like 5 oz of barrel weight lost.

I will gladly pay a 3 oz weight penalty, and lose 100 fps of MV reducing my maximum terminal range from 800 to 700 yds in order to have a suppressor on my mountain rifle.

 

[EODBrad]

How much tinnitus do you currently have? Sounds like not too much yet.

Cans help with recoil, without the noise of a brake. I've found I personally wasn't consistent about getting ear pro in while hunting. I have hearing damage and now I take my kids hunting, that was the tipping point to use suppressors. I'm not going to damage their ears, they can do that themselves once they aren't under my supervision.

I wear hearing aides . Haven’t always been good about protecting my hearing, but now I’m trying to save what I’ve got left. I appreciate that suppressors reduce noise, but I carry ear plugs that do a better job of protecting my hearing.

 

[EODBrad]

The scythe is like 8 oz with the direct-thread mount. I went with a 20" instead of a 24" barrel that I would have done for an unsuppressed build, so that's like 5 oz of barrel weight lost.

I will gladly pay a 3 oz weight penalty, and lose 100 fps of MV reducing my maximum terminal range from 800 to 700 yds in order to have a suppressor on my mountain rifle.

Shorter barrels turns the conversation in an entirely new direction. I’m not willing to turn my magnum into a non magnum. Nothing against non magnums, but I’m not willing to increase recoil without getting a velocity benefit. I guess it boils down to what you prioritize. To each his own. I will not be lugging around a suppressor, or chopping my barrel down.

 

[mlevimadden]

Shorter barrels turns the conversation in an entirely new direction. I’m not willing to turn my magnum into a non magnum. Nothing against non magnums, but I’m not willing to increase recoil without getting a velocity benefit. I guess it boils down to what you prioritize. To each his own. I will not be lugging around a suppressor, or chopping my barrel down.

Personally, I think it makes more sense to go with a more overbore/magnum cartridge for short barrel suppressed setups to mitigate the velocity loss from barrel length and reap the benefits of recoil reduction from a suppressor.

I went with 6.5 PRC instead of a 6.5 creed for my latest build. I'm still getting a 2760 MV with the 20" tube shooting 147 ELDM's, which is probably about equivalent to what a 6.5 creed would do with a 26" barrel.

I went a little heavier on the build to make it more shootable, so it's a 9.5# gun ready to hunt. This puts my unsuppressed recoil around 16 ft-lbs. The scythe does a great job taming recoil and feels around 10 ft-lbs of suppressed recoil (35% reduction).

For hunting elk at 7k ft of elevation, the 147's are still at 1800 fps out to 900 yds with my current setup. This is way further than I need, and in hindsight I wish I would've just gone with a 6 creed for my chambering to further reduce recoil. The gun was rebarreled from a 300 WM though, so I can't lose all my Fuddness in one step.

 

[EODBrad]

Shorter barrels turns the conversation in an entirely new direction. I’m not willing to turn my magnum into a non magnum. Nothing against non magnums, but I’m not willing to increase recoil without getting a velocity benefit. I guess it boils down to what you prioritize. To each his own. I will not be lugging around a suppressor, or chopping my barrel down.

Another way of looking at your setup is that you could save 8 oz by chopping down your barrel and not running a suppressor.

Personally, I think it makes more sense to go with a more overbore/magnum cartridge for short barrel suppressed setups to mitigate the velocity loss from barrel length and reap the benefits of recoil reduction from a suppressor.

I went with 6.5 PRC instead of a 6.5 creed for my latest build. I'm still getting a 2760 MV with the 20" tube shooting 147 ELDM's, which is probably about equivalent to what a 6.5 creed would do with a 26" barrel.

I went a little heavier on the build to make it more shootable, so it's a 9.5# gun ready to hunt. This puts my unsuppressed recoil around 16 ft-lbs. The scythe does a great job taming recoil and feels around 10 ft-lbs of suppressed recoil (35% reduction).

For hunting elk at 7k ft of elevation, the 147's are still at 1800 fps out to 900 yds with my current setup. This is way further than I need, and in hindsight I wish I would've just gone with a 6 creed for my chambering to further reduce recoil. The gun was rebarreled from a 300 WM though, so I can't lose all my Fuddness in one step.

Sounds like your setup is dialed. And I think a suppressor makes a lot of sense for those that are trying to create a heavier system. Can’t say that I’m a fan of 6.5 for elk though

 

[mlevimadden]

Another way of looking at your setup is that you could save 8 oz by chopping down your barrel and not running a suppressor.

Sounds like your setup is dialed. And I think a suppressor makes a lot of sense for those that are trying to create a heavier system. Can’t say that I’m a fan of 6.5 for elk though

Both fair points, I was late coming to suppressors, so I'm only a few months into suppressor ownership. I'm firmly in the camp of "I wish I would've done this sooner" and "I'll never shoot an unsuppressed rifle again if I don't have to". I'll gladly pay the 8 oz penalty for the benefits, but different strokes for different folks.

The gun I built off of was a tikka superlite in 300 WM that I'd hunted with for almost a decade. I definitely don't miss the 35+ ft-lbs of recoil from shooting that light setup, so I'll pay the price and carry a couple extra pounds of rifle to have a steadier setup for longer shots.

I don't get many early season rifle tags, so I'm usually carrying a muzzleloader on my backpacking hunts rather than the rifle, so 2 lbs doesn't bug me as much as a guy who's carrying his rifle on 10-day sheep hunts every August.

I have a couple rifle elk tags this year, so hopefully I get the chance to test it out. I'll report back if the 147's bounce off a cow, but it's pretty low on my list of worries.

 

[Axlrod]

Another way of looking at your setup is that you could save 8 oz by chopping down your barrel and not running a suppressor.

Sounds like your setup is dialed. And I think a suppressor makes a lot of sense for those that are trying to create a heavier system. Can’t say that I’m a fan of 6.5 for elk though

Welcome to rokslide!
I think you will fit in, around here not too many are fans of a 6.5 for elk. 6 and 5.56 are the right millimeters!