You've carried a suppressed rifle far and wide

[whoami-72]

Currently have a 22" barrel 6.5 suppressed with a rex mg7k. You get used to it way faster than you think. The only times I've noticed it is when I accidentally touched stuff near the ground with the muzzle. If you just carry it muzzle up you'll never notice. All that being said, my future rifles will have a much shorter barrel. I base the length upon the caliber but I'll float between 16-18 on most guns and maybe the occasional 20". It's not worth changing a good shooting rifle/barrel over but it is something I'll plan for in the future. I also would never shoot over 500 and try to keep it under 2-300.

 

[HGL]

I've got an 18" and a 22" that I hunt with a Tbac Ultra 7. I think 18-20" is about the ideal compromise, although I don't find the 22" to be overly annoying.

But trust me, any annoyance is far outweighed by the enjoyment of shooting suppressed! You'll never go back.

 

[Lawnboi]

Balance can be a bigger deal than length when hanging a suppressor on a long barrel. Something to keep in mind.

16-20 would be as long as I’d go on any future build.

Personally wouldn’t go under 20” on a 6.5 creed. 22 creed I just went 16.5”. 6 creed id probably build at 18”. These all keep a decent bullet in that 2700-2900 muzzle velocity area.

 

[HappyHuntr]

19” barrel; 7” can. There is a reason the longest normal factory hunting guns have a 26” barrel

 

[kthomas]

My hunting rifle is a 6.5 Creedmoor cut to 18", using a 5" suppressor.

With such a short barrel length, I'm using 123 scenars to achieve velocity. Not enough barrel length to move the heavier projectiles at an appropriate speed, IMO.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I have hunted with 18”, 20”, 21”, and 26” all with a 6.5” suppressor. I honestly don’t notice a difference 18-21, but with the 26” it drove me insane!

 

[BJames]

Current favorite set up, 17” tikka with a Tbac ultra 5. The smith who cut the barrel refused to go smaller than 9/16x24, Tbac wants 100 thou for adequate shoulder hence the 17”. Hornady 143 eldx are moving at 2630 fps, still makes it a 600 yard stick depending on conditions.

I went this route after a season with a 24” proof CF in 300 WSM and my Tbac 338 Ultra. That’s a big can, kinda like walking around with an antenna strapped to your back

 

[Trackselk]

Love the antenna analogy
I ended up with 18" for both my 6.5cm and 22cm. Now I just have to wait FOREVER for my can to be approved.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Dragging a 22” barreled rifle with a 7” suppressor on it through alders is terrible. It just hangs up constantly. I won’t do that again. Anything I shoot suppressed will have an 18” max barrel.

 

[Mark at EXO]

I’ve had 24”, 22”, 20”, and 18” with 7” & 5” cans, using both traditional stocks and folding chassis.

Definitely love the shorter stuff. Wouldn’t want anything beyond 20”, that’s for sure.

This is 18” + 5”…

 

[Weldor]

20-22 6.5 prc works good. velocity still pretty decent. neither is tough to carry with 9" can.

 

[Trackselk]

20-22 6.5 prc works good. velocity still pretty decent. neither is tough to carry with 9" can.

31" barrel, wow!

 

[Weldor]

here it is on 22.5

 

[brockel]

We run a thunderbeast suppressor on a 26” and 24” barrel. Hunting west. It’s not a big deal Carry guns in the kifaru gun bearer

Except when you are hiking in the dark and that thing keeps blocking your headlamp. That’s the only thing I hated about long suppressed barrels and a gunbearer. I run no longer than 20” and prefer a little shorter now.

 

[Weldor]

I prefer 20" also, but not against taking a 22.5 in fairly open country.

 

[NeverSummer]

I've run a suppressed .308, both 16.5" and 18" barrels, TBAC ultra9 gen 1 can, for years hunting elk, black bear and mule deer. It's fantastic, wouldn't change a thing. I do prefer the 18" barrel for a bit better velocity. I have a 21" 6.5 PRC (Seekins Havak Element) that I've been running the Ultra9 on, I might spring for an Ultra7 for this rig. Once you get a nice suppressed setup you'll never go back.

 

[isocyanate]

I've run a suppressed .308, both 16.5" and 18" barrels, TBAC ultra9 gen 1 can, for years hunting elk, black bear and mule deer. It's fantastic, wouldn't change a thing. I do prefer the 18" barrel for a bit better velocity. I have a 21" 6.5 PRC (Seekins Havak Element) that I've been running the Ultra9 on, I might spring for an Ultra7 for this rig. Once you get a nice suppressed setup you'll never go back.

Thoughts on the 16.5 308 for elk? I have a shorty that I love and trust completely for accuracy out to 500.

Was thinking with the velocity it's probably a 400 yard gun at the most, but I like being closer anyway. My 178 eld-m load goes 2450 with an ultra 9 on the end, factory 175 gold medal closer to 2400.

Planning to buy some 175 terminal ascent to check out for accuracy this year in prep for another rifle hunt. Federal specs the minimum velocity for this bullet at 1400 FPS which is about 700 yards according to my calcluators. Not taking any shots near that far, so looks okay.

 

[Loo.wii]

Don’t forget to shoot a couple of groups through with you can on it I noticed that my groups open up significantly after 3 rounds when I have my can on. Make sure you wait till your suppressor and barrel are cool to the touch before you shoot your next group.

 

[isocyanate]

Don’t forget to shoot a couple of groups through with you can on it I noticed that my groups open up significantly after 3 rounds when I have my can on. Make sure you wait till your suppressor and barrel are cool to the touch before you shoot your next group.

Thanks for that reminder. I don't shoot old stump without the can, but I'll take the time to shoot several cold bores with it on. The TBAC has been so good with holding zero on-off-on that I don't ever worry about it.

 

[Formidilosus]

Planning to buy some 175 terminal ascent to check out for accuracy this year in prep for another rifle hunt. Federal specs the minimum velocity for this bullet at 1400 FPS

You need to be aware of what “expansion” means in this regard. At 1,400fps the nose barely starts to open (caliber size at best), and the wound created is no better than a blunt tipped field point arrow.

For a 308, especially a short barreled 308, you want to be in soft bullets- ELD-M’s, TMK’s, etc. Maybe the ELD-X’s, though even those aren’t needed.