Which is quieter? Or is either?

[SUPRX22]

I am thinking of getting a 223 in a 20" barreled Axis for a truck gun.Are they any quieter than a 243 if I want to take it night calling for coyote/fox? Not many people where I live but don't need to make people wonder what's going on.
My neighbor did that with some tannerite set up against an old tank.A 25/06 was involved.

 

[courtgreene]

Neither. It may be quieter but not much when you’re talking about shattering the silence of the night. Suppressed is obviously much quieter.

 

[LoonWulf]

Agreed, the .223 will be less annoying but still pretty loud.
A long barreled .22 Hornet or .22 Mag is what we used for game control close to houses, when i was in highschool.

We also did our best to let the neighbors know we were going to be shooting that evening, as there were quite a few people who would ride around an poach the area. Saved conversations with the cops.

 

[SUPRX22]

Thanks.Tell me a little about suppressed shooting.I've seen some talk of it but don't know much.

 

[LoonWulf]

there are a number of guys that run suppressors on the boards, hopefully they will chime in. Living in hawaii those arnt an option for me

 

[SUPRX22]

It is legal in my state so long as the rest of the firearm is.No full automati

 

[pdsmith505]

Regarding silenced shooting.

I hunt with a silencer almost exclusively these days. Anything that breaks the sound barrier will still be noticeable as a gunshot for an appreciable distance.

This season I took a deer one evening at the very end of hunting hours with a silenced .308 bolt gun. Another member of my club hunting a half mile away heard the shot and stopped by to help me load it up. He heard the shot and commented that I must have been using my silencer because it sounded like a small rifle.

On the range, my .223s and .308 sound about the same through that silencer... somewhere around the report of a .22lr without a silencer.

 

[FL-NC]

They are both loud, but the 243 is probably louder. I have been hunting with a suppressor too. Besides the cost of the suppressor, there is a $200 tax, paperwork, and waiting for approval. I have been waiting on one 13 months to date.

 

[natman]

The 223 will be quieter, but neither could be considered quiet enough for your purposes, especially when fired at night.

 

[MCgunner]

I've noticed my .223 is quite a bit more silent than my .308 or any of my other centerfire rifles, even 7.62x39. But, that don't mean you can't here it a ways away.

 

[MCgunner]

Wanna wake up the neighborhood? Fire off a belted magnum. The neighbor across the road shot 2 pigs in his front pasture one night not too long ago. He was using a .300 Win Mag. I jumped out of bed, but realized what was going on. LOL Sounded like a 105.

 

[SoonerMedic]

Thanks.Tell me a little about suppressed shooting.I've seen some talk of it but don't know much.

Must use subsonic ammo for it to truly be suppressed. Requires a tax stamp and paperwork. But, with suppressed ammo, your neighbors will not hear a thing from inside their house when the trigger is pulled.
This is my dad’s setup. Suppressor ran him between $7-800 and $200 for the tax stamp.

 

[MCgunner]

Too expensive and too much hassle. I don't have neighbors to disturb. I'll just make noise like always.

 

[SamT1]

I’m a pretty private guy. So I love my suppressor. It’s nice to be able to shoot varmints without alerting the old lady in the house down the road even in the daytime.
In general if there’s some wind out during the day a 308 is quiet enough not to disturb anyone.
At night on a 308 it’s still pretty loud. A 22LR is about right. It won’t wake someone up from any distance I’d be willing to shoot away from their house.

The blackout below with a 194 grain cast bullet running 1100fps is super quiet. The other night a friend and I shot off a whole magazine in his back yard while the wives talked and the babies slept. When we walked in a little later after moving on to a couple beers they wanted to know what we’d been doing outside all that time.

 

[SoonerMedic]

I’m a pretty private guy. So I love my suppressor. It’s nice to be able to shoot varmints without alerting the old lady in the house down the road even in the daytime.
In general if there’s some wind out during the day a 308 is quiet enough not to disturb anyone.
At night on a 308 it’s still pretty loud. A 22LR is about right. It won’t wake someone up from any distance I’d be willing to shoot away from their house.

The blackout below with a 194 grain cast bullet running 1100fps is super quiet. The other night a friend and I shot off a whole magazine in his back yard while the wives talked and the babies slept. When we walked in a little later after moving on to a couple beers they wanted to know what we’d been doing outside all that time.

I beg to differ....the .308 with subsonic ammo is not much louder than a .223. Maybe a handful of decibels?

 

[jmorris]

I beg to differ....the .308 with subsonic ammo is not much louder than a .223. Maybe a handful of decibels?

Super to subsonic is a pretty big difference, not as large as suppressed/unsuppressed but sub&suppressed is the winner for quiet.

Caliber is less of a factor, my 458 with a can running subs makes less noise than a 308 or .223 running supers.

 

[pdsmith505]

Subsonic 308 is just a big .300 blk... subs through my blackout+can sound like a staple gun.

 

[SamT1]

I beg to differ....the .308 with subsonic ammo is not much louder than a .223. Maybe a handful of decibels?

I’m talking about 308 supers. I don’t do subs in the 308 since I own 2 300 Blk rifles, they are both fully functional with subs too semi auto and the scope POI change isnt bad enough to not still be on target at the range the 300 subs are effective.

I’d agree 223 is loud. Those dang flash hiders they put on every AR15 are gonna be the death of lots of ears.

 

[SoonerMedic]

I’m talking about 308 supers. I don’t do subs in the 308 since I own 2 300 Blk rifles, they are both fully functional with subs too semi auto and the scope POI change isnt bad enough to not still be on target at the range the 300 subs are effective.

I’d agree 223 is loud. Those dang flash hiders they put on every AR15 are gonna be the death of lots of ears.

Ahhh ok I thought you were talking about .308 subsonic and suppressed lol

 

[redbullitt]

Both are too loud for that if you are trying to be guiet. 223 will naturally have less bark simply because there is less powder being burned though.

What kind of range are you working with?

If you want supersonic, then I think the 223 with a long barrel would be my choice, but a 300blk or similar can do it very well too.

Suppressor with subsonic ammunition would be ideal, 22lr or if you need bigger something less than 35 cal. The big bore guns just make more noise no matter what. A suppressed 300blk Bolt action with a long barrel is very quiet, AND offers good supersonic capability too. Handy gun for sure!

If a suppressor is not an option, barrel length is your friend. It makes a big difference. No muzzle brakes or porting of course.

A subsonic 22lr from a long barrel, or a pistol caliber rifle with a long barrel would be pretty quiet with subsonic ammunition. The 300blk with a long barrel again is a good choice!


HOW ABOUT A SERIOUS SUPPRESSED AIRGUN? They can be powerful and quiet. Could be ideal in the right situation. My 22pcp is a hoot...

 

[Bfh_auto]

17hmr is great for night hunting. Of those 2 I would go 223 as long as it doesn't have a muzzle brake. My neighbors don't care about noise though.

 

[jmorris]

The big bore guns just make more noise no matter what.

My form 1 can I built for my .458 socom makes less noise, with supers or subs than my 762-SD or M4 1000/M4 2000 factory cans. There’s more to making things quiet that just bullet diameter.

 

[jmorris]

HOW ABOUT A SERIOUS SUPPRESSED AIRGUN? They can be powerful and quiet. Could be ideal in the right situation. My 22pcp is a hoot...

I have a couple PCP’s, I haven’t shot any coyotes with them though, even my .25 doesn’t have the energy of a .22lr and that’s been my minimum on the varmints, so far.

That and the .22 is quieter.

 

[SamT1]

A local shop had a 45 cal air rifle that they claimed had equal energy to 45 acp. It was like $2000 though so Sam won’t be finding out anytime soon. Sounds like a lot of fun thought. Who knows what we may have available in the years to come. I could go for a 30 cal 200 grainer going 1100. Especially if I could cast my own.

 

[jmorris]

You can get In the 500 ft/lb range for $1000 but they are not quiet at all despite being an air rifle.

You can get them in .308, 357 or 45.

https://www.airforceairguns.com/The-Texan-by-AirForce-Airguns-s/118.htm