Anyone have experience with suppressed hunting rifles?

[Cryogaijin]

Greetings THR! I am wondering if anyone here has experience hunting with a suppressed bolt action? I have a degree of hearing impairment (Not related to shooting) and I am greatly worried about exacerbating it through one of my beloved hobbies. Naturally you can't really wear hearing protection while hunting; you need all your senses, so the only real other option is suppression.

So. . . experiences?

 

[madcratebuilder]

Typical hunting bolt rifle with a quality can should be 80db or less. Check the ones on youtube.

 

[MrCleanOK]

Check your state regs and make sure hunting with a can is legal. In many states it is not.

 

[suzukisam]

no experience hunting with them, I believe its not legal here, But I have shot many. what do you wanna know? It depends on your can, but a 308 bolt sounds about like a nail gun with standard velocity ammo. The gun is not going to be completely quiet without going to sub sonic ammo. and for most hunting purposes, at least for me, that wouldn't be practical. With subsonic you'll still have a decent clack. definitely no need for ear protection though. I have worn ear protection while deer hunting. I usually just leave one in and one out and poke one in real fast if I'm where I think I need it, and can use it, like say a blind or something

 

[Tirod]

Suppressors are recently legal for hunting in Missouri, but the expense of one and the tax stamp are a bit much. A good suppressor may let you shoot some without hearing protection, which is exactly why they should be required for field use. You'd think the medical insurance industry would want that.

Suppressors reduce the report, but they don't quiet the action, which is nil on a bolt gun. Self loading actions tend to be the noisy part, the bolts clanking around are still as loud as ever, making at least as much noise as they would loading the first round. What suppressors help do is reduce or eliminate game being spooked by the report - hog hunters in Texas have reason to use them, and the hogs are even responding to the sound of bullets hitting hide when shot at, much less going nocturnal.

Aside from the $200 tax stamp, there is the purchase price, wait time, and your state's restrictions on use. That takes some research, the subforums here or at Silencertalk can fill in answers. Like universal CCW, it's far from a blanket approval.

 

[Cryogaijin]

Alaska is good to go for hunting suppressed.

which is exactly why they should be required for field use. You'd think the medical insurance industry would want that.

I've always felt this. I'm personally of the opinion that every shooter with hearing damage should take the government to task for the irrational war against less loud firearms. If the damn things are >>required<< for cars why are they restricted for firearms?

 

[Picher]

You can wear Lee Sonic plugs and still hear pretty well. There are also electronic ear protectors for hunting that allow excellent hearing, but block loud sounds.

Why bother with a can on a hunting rifle? It would be a pain to carry around.

 

[Owen]

No way is a centerfire hunting rifle going to get under 80dB supressed. anything under 140 is superb.

 

[txhoghunter]

Normal talking volume is in the 60-70 db range and I doubt a suppressed rifle will get to the 80 db range.

A suppressed hunting rifle (.223) should be around 135 db (according to Surefire using their suppressors). Now those numbers change if you use subsonic ammunition, but it would be hard to hunt with an underpowered load like that. (unless you're hunting rabbits, which then you might as well use a .22)

 

[WoofersInc]

Typical hunting bolt rifle with a quality can should be 80db or less. Check the ones on youtube.

You Tube is not a good example. The sound equipment used for most of those does not reproduce sound accurately. Even most of the Hollywood stuff has trouble with sound reproduction which is why they have the sound guys to fix that in a studio.

Most of the major brand suppressors have a noise reduction of about 30-32 decibels right now. The muzzle blast is contained but you will still get the sonic crack of the bullet with standard hunting ammo

Most centerfire rifles are in the 155 to 170 decibel range depending on the chambering. Doing the math means none of them are below about 125. Most suppressor companies are trying to get whatever below 140 as that is what is considered "hearing safe" for short duration exposure. The only suppressor I've seen even close to the above mentioned 80 number was a SilencerCo's SS Sparrow at 115 decibels.This is a 22lr suppressor


Anybody that can make a reasonably sized and weight suppressor that would take a centerfire gun to 80 decibels would be making more money than he could ever spend.

 

[HM2PAC]

I wear Peltor muffs while hunting, and highly recommend them to everyone. I hear everything much better....wings, quacks, footsteps...., and the gun going off is brought to an acceptable level.

 

[crestoncowboy]

It is illegal to take any game animal in nc with the use of a supressor, says so in our game books.

 

[Cryogaijin]

Glad I don't live in NC. My sister used to, and I think I scared people there, when I'd be jogging her Greyhounds (Wearing coats! heh) while in shorts and a T-shirt at 28f.

 

[crestoncowboy]

A few of my friends just moved back to NC from alaska to be close to their families, they liked it there though. I read an article on a supressed sniper rifle dont remember what caliber but with the supressor it said noise was comperable to that of a ruger 10/22 clicking on an empty chamber. It was in one of those tactical and police weapons magazines.

 

[jmorris]

The only suppressors I have used hunting are on 308's or a 458 socom both are "hearing safe" for me. I can't use them for game animals but are ok for hogs and other varmints in my state.

You might try proears electronic muffs, you hear more than you normally with them on, until you make a shot.

 

[Malamute]

I use ear plugs when I hunt. I don't put them in until I'm ready to shoot, or expect to. I've done the one in/one out until ready to shoot also. If I don't have time to get the ear plugs in, I don't shoot. It's real simple. I already have serious hearing damage, NO game animal is worth losing any more hearing over, period.

In one shot at a deer that I didnt put ear plugs in for, I lost noticable hearing from one shot in my left ear. It was instantly intensly painful. I'll never do it again. I simply don't get how people say they don't hear the shot. I always do. Even if you don't notice the shot, it can still do damage.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Like a few others have said, I bought electronic ear muff style hearing proteciton. There were something like $80 to $120. I personally like them. In fact, you can turn them up and hear nature sounds even better (makes you work even harder at being quiet). They cut out in like 10 miliseconds so you are protected when the gun goes off.

 

[A-FIXER]

Hunting suppressed

I live in Nebraska and my bolt rifles .204,.223,.243,.308,.30-06 and 7mm mag, are all suppressed this state Allows hunting with said can's and I do enjoy the hunting with them, Again what I am about to say is not out of the books (but to me) when I shoot in the open hunting area with my .308 HB sounds no louder than a 10/22 and with about the same recoil. But at the rifle range sitting at the bench under the canopy you hear it more. And when it hits the p-dog or deer what you here is the twhap, as for the crack of the round through the air I can not say I hear it, but again other than my time spent on the Marine Corps rifle range as the round hits the paper can not say I was not in the open but in the pit. I shoot suppressed whenever I shoot hunting or just target practice. And yes your're able to get multiple shot on the p-dogs around 300 yrds, as I see it the only thing that disturbs them is the dirt kicking up around them on windy days when I miss.

 

[A-FIXER]

And no I do not even use any hearing protection even on the 7mm mag....

 

[T.R.]

I've been archery hunting deer last few years at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. I've become acquainted with the Base Wardens who are US Fish & Wildlife Officers. Sadly, they must cull deer from time to time if the hunting harvest does not match forecast numbers.

The Officers shoot at night with an old Winchester rifle in .243; the rifle is fitted with a professionally manufactured suppressor. This device eliminates almost all of the BANG but does nothing for the super sonic CR-A-A-A-ACK of the bullet as it breaks thru the sound barrier. In other words their night shooting is not silent at all. But this set up meets their needs.

I have no first hand experience to share. Everything stated above comes from conversations with the Base Wardens.

TR

 

[Shear_stress]

Suppressors make so much sense for hunting that it amazes me they still bear a stigma even among many gun owners.

Not true elsewhere, though. A few years back, I got to handle a suppressed .308 Valmet Hunter at a gunstore in Europe. The folks behind the counter were a little amazed that a rig like that would be illegal in many U.S. states.

 

[Cryogaijin]

Suppressors make so much sense for hunting that it amazes me they still bear a stigma even among many gun owners.

Exactly.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Pretty sure they are legal for hunting in Colorado, but cannot be used in conjuction with an SBR, which is not legal. (Don't ask me why.)

There was a thread at Colorado AR-15 shooters on this back in 2007 with an official letter from Colorado Division of Wildlife.

You always want to check your local and state reg.s regaurding such.