Suppresors in Montana

[RobG]

I found this F&S article on sub-sonic rounds. I'm honestly not seeing a lot of use for suppressors except for recreational shooting and illegal activity, and maybe wounding big game. Supersonic will still damage the hearing. I disagree strongly with the claim in the article that subsonic is ideal for home defense as that is the one time you want to make as much noise as possible. On the other hand, a criminal doesn't want to draw attention to himself. Oh well, cat is out of the box, "told you so" maybe in the future.

 

[Fire_9]

I'm honestly not seeing a lot of use for suppressors except for recreational shooting and illegal activity, and maybe wounding big game. Supersonic will still damage the hearing. I disagree strongly with the claim in the article that subsonic is ideal for home defense as that is the one time you want to make as much noise as possible. On the other hand, a criminal doesn't want to draw attention to himself. Oh well, cat is out of the box, "told you so" maybe in the future.

Please expand on why outside of recreations shooting you think there is no use for them except for illegal activity and wounding big game? I think the point they're trying to make about subs for home defense is you could fire a round in your home without blowing your ear drums. If I fire a round in my home in self defense the purpose is not to make as much noise as possible, it's to put a hole in someone...

 

[RobG]

Please expand on why outside of recreations shooting you think there is no use for them except for illegal activity and wounding big game? I think the point they're trying to make about subs for home defense is you could fire a round in your home without blowing your ear drums. If I fire a round in my home in self defense the purpose is not to make as much noise as possible, it's to put a hole in someone...

Seriously? Afraid of blowing out your eardrums taking out an intruder? As for wounding big game, did you read the article? If not is it's common knowledge the energy goes as velocity squared. Your energy lost is nearly an order of magnitude on a big game rifle. The author claimed a specially made 30 cal bullet was still marginal beyond 50 yards.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Rob, I'm a suppressor fan for the range and hunting, not trying to stir things up, but how does a suppressor contribute to wounding an animal? A suppressor will actually slightly increase velocity and the reduction in recoil and 'boom' definitely help me to shoot more accurately. As to home invasion, I'm shooting the gun however it is setup at that second, but I do have a friend with permanent tinnitus from a single shot taken indoors. My main question was about wounding game, because in a home invasion rather the weapon at hand is suppressed or not, doesn't enter into the equation of rather or not to use the gun.

 

[schmalts]

I disagree strongly with the claim in the article that subsonic is ideal for home defense as that is the one time you want to make as much noise as possible. On the other hand, a criminal doesn't want to draw attention to himself. Oh well, cat is out of the box, "told you so" maybe in the future.

Make as much noise as possible?? What advantage is there to making more noise and damaging your hearing going to do? I'm more worried about hitting my target than trying to scare a bad guy with a louder bang.

 

[Fire_9]

Seriously? Afraid of blowing out your eardrums taking out an intruder? As for wounding big game, did you read the article? If not is it's common knowledge the energy goes as velocity squared. Your energy lost is nearly an order of magnitude on a big game rifle. The author claimed a specially made 30 cal bullet was still marginal beyond 50 yards.

Touch off a pistol in your house and let me know how it goes for you. My guess is you would suffer hearing loss. Ok I get your point about hunting with subsonics but I took it as suppressor use in general.

 

[mtmuley]

So.... How much does one of these suppressors weigh? mtmuley

 

[fishing4sanity]

The one I have, the Ultra 7, weighs 11.5 oz.

 

[mtmuley]

11.5 ounces on the end of a hunting rifle barrel. mtmuley

 

[Fire_9]

Yep, on the end of the barrel is where they go...

 

[BrentAK]

Most people are shooting with a rest of some sort and not off hand. So point is moot to me. Sorry mtmuley I usually agree with all your other statements just not about suppressors.

 

[mtmuley]

Fire9 is funny. I'm trying to understand the benefit of hanging an awkward 11.5 ounce weight off the end of my barrel. Or off the end of my protection handgun. Hearing protection can be addressed in other ways. Where is the benefit? mtmuley

 

[BuzzH]

Does seem like there is a lot of effort is put into making a hunting rifle light and handy...only to add weight and awkwardness with a suppressor.

Not to mention the cost, not sure how it all pencils out as a win?

 

[fishing4sanity]

Bottom line , it comes down to personal preference if you enjoy shooting/hunting with or without one. The benefit, or lack thereof, is up to the guy behind the trigger. If any of you guys ever find yourself in the middle of nowhere Washington and you're curious, stop by the farm and we will go shoot some suppressed rifles. Blackbart asked a few questions about the legality issues of suppressors, hopefully he got the answers he was looking for. I bought the Ultra 7 for my new hunting rifle, still in load development, but hoping to get it some field use next fall. Good hunting/shooting to all!

 

[marksjeep]

Senate bill is up. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/59

I will be supporting this effort.

Question for those that run suppressors. How much does your POI shift with/without the suppressor attached? I preach shooting practice/proficiency to my kids and to folks I have introduced to hunting. If there is a device that I can use to mitigate muzzle blast, recoil, and noise during range sessions with their big game rifles, I'd very much encourage it's use at the range. That leads to increased practice rounds down range and ultimately better shooting skills. I can see the argument that suppressors add bulk and detract from the balance of a big game rifle when in the field hunting. But, I also see almost no disadvantage to using one at the range, other than a possible POI shift, which can likely be dealt with by a quick rezero of the scope during your final range session. So, how much POI shift do you see with/without the suppressor attached?

 

[1_pointer]

If there is a device that I can use to mitigate muzzle blast, recoil, and noise during range sessions with their big game rifles,

This is why I want one and especially for my two young boys.

Buzz- Penciling this type of stuff out rarely ever "works". Same could be said for custom/semi-custom rifles. That said, for me, if this bill passes and the price comes down I'll have one for my boys rifles for the reasons above. If the price stays in the current neighborhood I probably won't buy them as I can see better uses for that money.

 

[Fire_9]

It truly is personal preference. The points made about adding weight and throwing off the balance are spot on. I have only hunted with mine a few times for those reasons. But I see that changing in the future. As they get shorter and lighter, it makes them easier to run on a hunting rig. Couple that with a rifle that is setup for this purpose and you basically get a rifle that balances well and is the same size that a lot of people carry. You sacrifice a little velocity but to some of us that's not a big deal. I'll take a short barrel with reduced recoil and reduced noise over a 26" barrel any day. But to each their own. I know this doesn't appeal to a lot of people.

1_pointer- I suggest if you want to get one you better get them soon or be will to wait. If that bill passes it will be like trying to find an AR-15 after Obama got elected

 

[fishing4sanity]

How much does your POI shift with/without the suppressor attached? ... I also see almost no disadvantage to using one at the range, other than a possible POI shift, which can likely be dealt with by a quick rezero of the scope during your final range session. So, how much POI shift do you see with/without the suppressor attached?

There will most likely be a shift in POI that you'll need to adjust for, but it's going to vary rifle-to-rifle and even suppressor-to-suppressor on the same rifle. Barrel stiffness and weight of a given suppressor are going to make quite a bit of difference. I apologize for not remembering barrel specifics, but on my 300RUM with a fairly thin Benchmark barrel the change seems like it was 4 or 5" at 200 yards. My newest rifle has a stiffer barrel and I'm sure POI shift is less, but I haven't checked because my rifles that are setup for suppressors run the suppressor all the time, range or hunting. The shift should be consistent so you could write down the adjustment or if you are using these shooting apps on your phone keep both profiles in there.

 

[belly-deep]

Fire9 is funny. I'm trying to understand the benefit of hanging an awkward 11.5 ounce weight off the end of my barrel. Or off the end of my protection handgun.

If you want to be tacticool, its the only way....

 

[Fire_9]

If you want to be tacticool, its the only way....

Think what you want but it has nothing to do with the tacticool factor. It's about adding another level of safety and being a more civilized shooter