Using a Suppresser on a .308 hunting

[warren5421]

I would like to use a suppresser hunting with a .308, but would like to know if they work ok where it is not breaking the law. I plan to shoot coyotes on our farm. They are staying out about 400 to 500 yards now as after 300 of them shot they give me a wide birth. If you use a suppresser could you tell me brand name you use and if you shoot PB through it.

[Larry Gibson]

I have killed a lot of Coyotes with suppressed .308W rifles. Obviously you're going to need jacketed bullets. I first started using a Sionics suppressor in '80 to hunt with. I found a good 130 - 150 gr jacketed worked best on coyote, especially at distance. I most often had the suppressor on 22" barrels so velocities of 2800 - 2900 fps were feasible. Using a laser range finder and dependable adjustable scope made 500 - 600 yards shots doable.

The suppressor only suppresses the muzzle blast of such sonic loads. The coyote will still hear the ballistic crack after the bullet goes by if you miss or there are multiple coyote. However, that sound can be confusing as it may echo off bushes, trees, fence posts etc. Coyote that have been shot at before will usually duck then begin trotting away from where they perceived the sound to have come from. With no muzzle blast to hear they can be confused as I've had numerous of them run/trot towards me. Usually in a short distance they will stop and look at back at where they were. I've had some try to sneak up on where the bullet hit the ground......

There are many very good suppressors these days. The next one I'll get will be a "Banish" from Silencer Central. It is adaptable on rifles from 17 thru 300 WinMag. It also is a "self service" suppressor which means it can be taken apart to clean. That can be done as they do carbon up rather quickly with the larger cartridges. A 308W ill be burning 45 +/- gr of powder with each shot. That produces a lot of carbon which will be 95% contained within the suppressor.

[Ural Driver]

I think he meant to say sub-sonic ammo........
As to the legality. Call your Fish & Game folks, they will tell you.

[cwtebay]

Not sure where you're located, nor what the particular legalities are in your state / municipality. Guess this would be a question for your law enforcement officials before you begin. I personally enjoy using a suppressor for coyotes, while not in 308 Winchester - my 30 caliber suppressors have been amazing.

[PositiveCaster]

I think he meant to say sub-sonic ammo.......

If you are referring to this sentence, then no he meant sonic loads (above the speed of sound). A sub-sonic round would have no “ballistic crack” to it and all the coyote would hear would be the impact of the bullet.

…The suppressor only suppresses the muzzle blast of such sonic loads…



.

[smoked turkey]

a few years ago, i had the opportunity to hunt plains game in Africa. my PH's choice of caliber was a suppressed 30-06. He used this rifle for most of his African hunting. Mostly 200-400 yards. so yes it will work for you on coy dogs.

[Larry Gibson]

I think he meant to say sub-sonic ammo........
.........

If that refers to me then I did indeed mean to say sonic ammunition. The OP said at 400 - 500 yards. On a coyote with, at most, a 6" vital area that's a stretch under field conditions with sonic ammunition. With subsonic given variables of the trajectory, wind conditions, range estimations, etc. along with very, very poor terminal effect at those ranges........having shot a lot of sub-sonic rounds through a suppressed .308W and even into coyote's at less than 50 yards all I can say is the terminal effect left a lot to be desired.....hitting a coyote at 400 - 500 yards with sub-sonic would be a challenge indeed.....

And besides, if the OP hits the coyote in a vital area with sonic ammo whether or not the coyote may or may not have heard the sonic crack is a rather moot point.

[starnbar]

I got a Yankee Hill phantom LT30 you can shoot 223 without ears on and I shoot 7.62x51 but it does make some noise it is not what you see in the movies but you can shoot without ears if that is any help to you.

[warren5421]

My background is using firearms for Uncle Sam late 60's to mid 70's, sometimes using a suppresser. Had my first .22 in the first gread. Hunted tree rats and rabbits most of my life. Live in Indianapolis, IN area. I know about the old suppressers but not the modern ones of today. I use a .308 out to 400 yards 2-3 times a week. I am not trying to make my AR-10 into a TV gun with no sound. I just want to shoot coyotes, with them not sure where I am. I wear ear protection even shooting my sons suppressed .22. I know there is brands to stay away from using lead bullets. What better place to ask about lead and suppressers? No I am not shooting sub-sonic. Looking at dropping the db level some only!

[Larry Gibson]

Okay

Shooting sonic with your AR10 understand that in a 120 degree arc out front there will be no muzzle blast sound (given an efficient suppressor) or rifle function sound beyond 75 - 100 yards. The action functioning is louder than you think and there will be some detection of muzzle exit. Beyond that 75-100 yard range it will be only the ballistic crack that is heard. With a .308 bullet that can be loud but what is heard is on the crack when the bullet passes. As I said any direction of its source is masked by the echo off nearby objects. I have conducted tests and found it is very confusing down range if you are not hit. The military used to conduct what was called "crack/thump training" where a shot was shot by you and you counted 1-5 real fast stopping when the "thump" (muzzle balst) was heard. That gave you an approximate range and direction to the "sniper". Hearing the "thump" also told you which side of cover to get on. One wants to get behind cover but then, not hearing the "thump" you've no idea where the shot came from and whether you're behind or in front of the cover.......very disconcerting. Of course the one who is shot probably hears nothing.

It is the same with animals. The one shot hears nothing and it's a moot point anyway. Others near are confused because they've no idea where the shot came from [yes there are other ways to tell but I doubt any coyote have been trained on them] and many times mill around not knowing what to do. A couple examples with coyote......

One time a friend, Jack, and I were in his jeep in SW Oregon hunting coyote. We were traveling in his jeep about 25 mph along a road running next to and embankment following a river. On the other side of the river hay fields and pastures ran for a mile plus. There were lots of coyote but they were all very gun shy as ranchers and yahoos would stop on the highway and shoot at them. Thus if you slowed down the coyote was immediately watching and if you stopped the coyote took off. We spotted a coyote mousing several hundred yards out. There was a point up ahead on the right with a high point about 20-25 yards high with a rock jack on top. I told Jack to slow down slowly as we went around the point and if I could get up there out of sight I would get out of the Jeep. All was good so Jack slowed down to about 4-5 mph and I stepped out of the Jeep. Jack immediately picked up speed and continued down the rod until out of sight. The coyote hadn't seen me and I watched him watch the Jeep until it was out of sight. The coyote went back to mousing. I got up behind the rock jack and had an excellent supported prone position. The air was still with no wind.

The rifle I had was a SA Ultimate M!A match with a Sionics suppressor. It was loaded with Sierra 165 HPs running right at 2625 fps and would hold moa. The scope was on a modified base mounted as low as it could be over center. The scope was a Redfield 3x9 AccuTrac. I ranged the coyote using the AccuTrac and he was right at 600 yards. I set the elevation at 600 yards and got off an excellent heart lung area shot. The bullet went just over the coyote's back, maybe even cut fur, and impacted maybe 10-15 yards the other side. The coyote dropped down about half way (presumably from the crack over his back) looked and the bullet impact and began a predatory sneak toward it. When he stopped I held just at the bottom of the heart lung area and fired. The bullet cut fur just under. The coyote leapt maybe 3-5 feet straight up and came down looking up and down the road wondering where the heck that rancher's PU was.....
Somewhat bewildered the coyote started trotting straight towards me. I set the Redfield's elevation and bracket at 300 yards and when the coyote was bracketed dumped him in his tracks.....

Another shorter story I was right gunner on a call when, after about 5 minutes into the call a pair appeared on my right at about 200 yards and stopped. They didn't want to come in any further and just sat listening about 25-30 yards apart. I had the same rifle and shot the right one. It managed a yelp and was down. The other jumped at the crack but did not run. Instead with loped over to the other to see what was wrong with it and stopped looking at it's dead partner. I then dumped it. As I was shooting away from the caller (about 50 yards to my left) and the left gunner (about another 50 yards left) neither of them had heard either shot and were totally amazed at the two dead coyote.

The point is the use of a suppressed rifle can be very effective on coyote. You just have to understand what is happening down range to fully appreciate them. What is heard one the suppressed rifle or standing behind it almost always give a false impression of it's true capabilities.

If you're going to use cast bullets, especially lubed ones, then definitely get a suppressor you can readily take apart for cleaning.

[Buck Shot]

All the suppressors I've heard made the muzzle blast a little less, but not a lot. (Like maybe 20% less.) Definitely not anything like what we see in movies/TV.

Maybe they weren't quality suppressors, I dunno. But I couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

[kerplode]

If you're shooting supers out of rifles, the difference doesn't seem dramatic to the ear. It's still loud even suppressed, and many times it's not quite ear safe either.

But subs are a different story. Try a suppressed 300BO shooting subs sometime and you'll see what the fuss is about.

I did an experiment once with a G19 and a Silencerco Osprey9. I alternated supers and subs in the magazine and fired them all through the can. BANG, poof, BANG, poof, BANG, poof. The back-to-back difference was dramatic. And even the supers were pretty comfortable to shoot without earpro. I wouldn't even attempt that without the can.

[kerplode]

And I think someone mentioned this already, but it's not recommended to shoot bare lead bullets through a sealed suppressor. Eventually the baffles will fill up with lead fouling and the can won't be nearly as efficient. This effect is very apparent with rimfire suppressors. They get significant lead fouling in less than 1000 rounds and must be disassembled and cleaned.

I haven't heard the latest on whether coated lead bullets are OK. I stick to jacketed only with my sealed units.

[kerplode]

Oh, to the OPs question, I use an older Silencero Saker7.62 on my 308 and 5.56 rifles. It's a good quality, durable and effective suppressor, that is rated for use on my SBR.

If I was starting over today, I think the Omega36 is a better, more versatile, choice. It's not able to be fully disassembled, but that's not uncommon with rifle-rated suppressors due to the pressures they need to contain. You probably also won't get the same level of sound suppression with a 30 cal going through a 9mm suppressor bore, but it won't be a huge deal and the fact that you can run it on so many platforms from handguns to 338 Lapua more than makes up for the drop in absolute effectiveness, IMO.

And since it sounds like OP is new to the suppressor game, please be aware that they are NFA items that require more paperwork and time to obtain (i.e. better part of a year to get everything done and approved). You probably already know that, but just stating it explicitly for clarity.

[Larry Gibson]

If you're shooting supers out of rifles, the difference doesn't seem dramatic to the ear. It's still loud even suppressed, and many times it's not quite ear safe either...........

All depends on the surroundings where you are shooting. If under cover such a roofed range then a suppressed .308 with sonic can indeed give a sharp "crack" because that is the ballistic crack of echoing off the roof you are hearing. With an efficient suppressor that in a hunting situation in the open there is a lot of difference as the ballistic crack is moving away from you following the bullet. It is beyond 75 yards +/- out in front in about a 120 degree arc that the gun will not be heard as any muzzle blast or weapon noise is masked but the ballistic crack going by. Stand to the side outside that 120 degree arc you can locate the gun only because you can hear where the crack begins. Interesting to "hear" the bullet go down range from such a position. At the OPs distance of 400 - 500 yards the coyote will not hear anything if he misses but the crack of the bullet going by at his location. If the OP hits the coyote it's a moot point whether the coyote heard the crack or not......

As i said earlier, judging the sound you hear at the gun most often gives an erroneous opinion as to the suppressors real effectiveness in a hunting situation. Only way to really understand is to be down range and have someone you trust shoot by you. Most won't do that and that's ok but, again, don't judge by what you hear at the gun.

[kerplode]

All depends on the surroundings where you are shooting. If under cover such a roofed range then a suppressed .308 with sonic can indeed give a sharp "crack" because that is the ballistic crack of echoing off the roof you are hearing. With an efficient suppressor that in a hunting situation in the open there is a lot of difference as the ballistic crack is moving away from you following the bullet. It is beyond 75 yards +/- out in front in about a 120 degree arc that the gun will not be heard as any muzzle blast or weapon noise is masked but the ballistic crack going by. Stand to the side outside that 120 degree arc you can locate the gun only because you can hear where the crack begins. Interesting to "hear" the bullet go down range from such a position. At the OPs distance of 400 - 500 yards the coyote will not hear anything if he misses but the crack of the bullet going by at his location. If the OP hits the coyote it's a moot point whether the coyote heard the crack or not......

As i said earlier, judging the sound you hear at the gun most often gives an erroneous opinion as to the suppressors real effectiveness in a hunting situation. Only way to really understand is to be down range and have someone you trust shoot by you. Most won't do that and that's ok but, again, don't judge by what you hear at the gun.

Yeah, for sure...I can't really disagree with any of what you said.

Most of the shooting I've done with the suppressed supers has been under a covered firing line with high berm walls on either side.

[9.3X62AL]

Having spent many hours in the range pits at Camp Pendleton during our rifle marksman courses, that CRACK going overhead about 10 feet over you is LOUD AS %$^# when the 308 is being fired. You'll need ear protection. As the target ranges increase to 200 and 300 meters, the CRACK is still present but it gets less intense.

[popper]

I shot at a hog, ~50yds, unsuppressed super 300 bo Pistol! Hog stopped under a tree. Buddy laughed when hog ducked as the bullet passed. Silencer hides where the shot comes from.

[BobT]

I really enjoy shooting with my Banish 30 suppressor, it makes shooting the .308 a couple of times without hearing protection tolerable. I got my can primarily for hearing protection with super sonic loads and it works well for that. After owning my suppressor for a year or so I got the itch to shoot some subsonic ammo through it to see what all the fuss was about. I assembled a .300BO for the subsonic experience and loaded up some 200 grain Accubonds I had laying around to around 1000 fps, what fun! I chose the Banish 30 for it's 100% titanium construction and because it is user serviceable, I would make the same choice again.

[Buck Shot]

I've spent some time in the pits shooting High Power competition. Never thought the bullets passing overhead were particularly loud, they just make a "snapping" sound like those little paper-wrapped, sand-filled snapper things that kids play with. It's surprising how "harmless" they sound. The "thump" of the bullets passing through the cardboard target backers was almost louder. And I never noticed any difference between the .30s and the .223s ... it's just the sonic boom that makes the snap. At 300 and above, you can't even hear the muzzle blast, at least at the ranges where I've worked the pits.