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Suppressor for Hunting & Target Practice

treillw

The day has come. I'm considering purchasing a suppressor. My ears ring after shooting even with plugs and muffs. It's probably more from the other 6 people at the range ripping off shots than my own gun though. I think I need to reevaluate my shooting location. I know a very small amount of info about suppressors. I have two guns which I would like to put it on:

Cooper Model 92
300 win
9/16x24 thread
currently has factory seamless brake
24" barrel

Ruger Precision
6.5 CM
5/8x24 thread
currently has factory self timing brake
26" barrel

Questions:
  • What suppressor is best for precision accuracy?
    • I've heard good things about Thunderbeast and Silencer Co
  • What suppressor is best for hunting?
    • I probably don't want the length over 5". I figure the muzzle brake adds 2" to my gun. If I add another 3" onto that for a 5" can, maneuverability shouldn't be terrible.
    • Lightweight options out there? The can will get to see a lot of country.
  • Would you get a muzzle brake adapter for each gun, or have the can direct thread and put an adapter on one of the guns?
  • Would you get a .300 caliber or .338 caliber?
    • I don't have any current aspirations for a .338, but who knows what the future holds.
    • How much does being over sized affect the noise reduction?
  • I'm also wondering if I should even bother putting it on my hunting rifle. The braked 300 barks pretty loud, but once I get it tuned up, I don't really need to shoot it more than a few shots a year.
    • Hearing protection while hunting isn't always convenient or achievable though
  • Do you see much of a point of impact or accuracy difference when removing the can?
    • It might be nice to use the can for practice and remove it for lugging around the mountain.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer any of my many questions! Thanks!
 
TBAC Ultra 5 might be your ticket in 30cal

***
*** 6.5creed ultra 5

300win mag
 
Unless you want to re-thread the Cooper to 5/8-24, a direct thread can is out unless you buy 2. I'd look at Tbac too, they have a brake adapt system where swapping the can will be easy.
 
How effective are the Thunderbeast brakes when shooting without the can?

Any idea of how they compare to a terminator t2 brake or an apa micro bastard in terms of recoil reduction and noise?
 
I have a Harvester for hunting, have 1/2 28 and 5/8 24 adapters for direct threading. 9/16 24 and others are available. It is longer with the muzzle brake potion on the end of the can. Pretty quiet and recoil is reduced. Not for rapid fire, I have a full auto rated can for 22-250 and smaller. The Harvester is good to 300 wm. 338 rated cans are longer/heavier in general than 300 and lower rated suppressors. I wish I had purchased these years ago.
 
I have SiCo and GemTech cans, both are good, and honestly I don't believe there's a huge sound suppression difference between most modern centerfire cans. That said, I think where it does start to matter is mounting, durability/construction, and size/weight.

If I were you, I'd be looking at the two companies you've already honed in on; both make outstanding cans.

I will say they'll change the way you shoot. Suppressors are awesome for their intended purpose, but they hold heat in the barrel like crazy, even more so if you wrap the suppressor to prevent mirage. I used to keep mine on rifles almost full time at the range, however I've stopped just due to how hot the barrels get, and how much it slows the process down. This doesn't apply if you're ok with burning out barrels faster.

Regarding POI shift, you'll see it with most cans (at least I have). That said, it's almost always repeatable.

338 or 308 can, if you're going to be shooting 338s, get a 338 can. It'll still suppress a .308 nicely; bonus points if you get a can that supports modular end-caps.

I like mounting to brakes/flash suppressors better; feels more robust. I've had issues with the direct thread mounts getting dirty and wanting to cross thread etc.
 
So it looks like a 300 win is around 140 db with a TBAC 5" ultra.
and a 6.5 with a 300 TBAC 5" ultra is around 132 db

For comparison:
A braked 300 win is around 170 db
A 22 lr is 135-145 db
A 9" can would get the 300 down to ~133 db (best it gets)

I'm just trying to wrap my head around how loud the gun with be with the can. Don't have any buddies nearby that have suppressors. So it seems like the 300 will be roughly on the same level as a 22lr and the 6.5 might be a shade quieter? Does that sound right? Any other good ways to compare things?

As I understand it, decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, so 1 db is roughly 10x louder if I remember correctly?

Thanks for all the help!
 
Make your own on a form 1. All you need is minimal tooling and the wait time is about 3 week's instead of a 12 months. They work as good as a commercial can.
 
treillw said:
So it looks like a 300 win is around 140 db with a TBAC 5" ultra.
and a 6.5 with a 300 TBAC 5" ultra is around 132 db

For comparison:
A braked 300 win is around 170 db
A 22 lr is 135-145 db
A 9" can would get the 300 down to ~133 db (best it gets)

I'm just trying to wrap my head around how loud the gun with be with the can. Don't have any buddies nearby that have suppressors. So it seems like the 300 will be roughly on the same level as a 22lr and the 6.5 might be a shade quieter? Does that sound right? Any other good ways to compare things?

As I understand it, decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, so 1 db is roughly 10x louder if I remember correctly?

Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...

Raw decibel reduction doesn't tell the whole story. Don't get hung up on it, and most silencer retailers will tell you the same. In layman's terms, what a can does is remove the loud "boom" you associate with the gunshot. On a center fire bolt gun, the shooter will usually only hear what sounds like a loud/quick pressure release (imagine what an air compressor would sound like if it dumped ~50gal @ 200PSI in a quarter second). How loud will depend on a few factors, but generally speaking they all 'sound' pretty close to the same (to me anyway).

On a decibel meter your 300 WM might be close to a 22lr shooting HV rounds, however to my ears, I'd rather listen to a suppressed 300 WM versus an unsuppressed HV 22lr. Anything without a suppressor will usually 'sound' louder/sharper.

Your surroundings will also do funny things to the acoustics. Expect for cans to sound differently if you shoot them in a valley, near a pine forest etc.

Lastly, there's one thing you can't get away from; in most cases your bullets are going to be supersonic. If you've ever been shot at, or worked pits at a match before, you'll know this is pretty loud. When shooting my cans (and my friends) I never notice this from behind the gun. When I'm in the pits pulling targets, it's louder than is comfortable.
 
There is some great info on SilencerTalk.com. Lots of great pics and designs for baffles, blast chambers, and such. Suppressors are a lot of fun to make and really not that hard to do. I had less than 50.00 in my first build in components(plus 200.00 for tax stamp). Once you shoot with one it is hard to go back!! Have fun!!:D:D

Paul
 
Curious as to how with shooters claiming a three ounce Magnetospeed on the end of a barrel affects harmonics and accuracy, what's a can do? Must reloads be adjusted to suit? I don't own one. They're illegal in the Peoples Republic of Delaware.
 
hogpatrol said:
Curious as to how with shooters claiming a three ounce Magnetospeed on the end of a barrel affects harmonics and accuracy, what's a can do? Must reloads be adjusted to suit? I don't own one. They're illegal in the Peoples Republic of Delaware.
Click to expand...

Suppressors will affect POI almost every time (barrel contour dependent), and often times will affect group size too (usually in a positive way). The difference between an MS and a suppressor is that a suppressor is repeatable, and they lock up tight. A magneto speed gets attached at a different angle/position each time, and occasionally isn't as tight as it should be.

It's usually best to develop a load unsuppressed. If it shoots well with the can off, it'll almost always shoot as good/slightly better with the can on. Conversely, I've developed loads with a can on, and once removed, it looks like a shotgun pattern. This doesn't happen if you do load dev with the can off.
 
I have Sig cans and love them. I use them on hunting rifles and it adds length but its worth it. Once you start to use them you wont go back. I also dont like carrying hearing protection in the field for a broke rifle.
 
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