Sub-sonic for hunting...why?

[Larry Gibson]

Just as bow hunting, handgun hunting and muzzleloader hunting are most often used under their individual limitations so is hunting with a sub-sonic suppressed rifle, or at least it should be. Were it legal to spot and stalk or still hunt deer or antelope in open country I certainly wouldn't take my 45 ACP M98. However, if i was sitting in a blind next to a waterhole where shots wouldn't be over 100 yards? Also, if sitting in a blind down Texas way to shoot pigs coming into a feeder not more than 100 yards away. I won't hesitate to use the M98 45 ACP suppressed.

"Hunting" is done in many different ways not only throughout the world but in this country too. Because it's not the way we might hunt doesn't make it wrong.

[popper]

Nobody objects to quiet shooting. As is pointed out, shot placement is what is successful. That is the quandary, rainbow trajectory, estimating range/actual range and moving target during the 'time of flight'. If you can do it, fine. I've seen a hog duck a supersonic projectile.

[versa-06]

I shoot a lot of high velocity longer range stuff also. But when at all possible I prefer the heavy & slower loads.

[versa-06]

Only saying, The O.P. asks why? I ask why not? Not a grumble here, just a discussion.

[BK7saum]

Nobody objects to quiet shooting. As is pointed out, shot placement is what is successful. That is the quandary, rainbow trajectory, estimating range/actual range and moving target during the 'time of flight'. If you can do it, fine. I've seen a hog duck a supersonic projectile.

How does a hog duck a supersonic projectile? Was the hog reacting to another source of noise or just nervous in general and decided to bolt just as the shot was taken.

I just don't understand how a hog could duck a supersonic projectile by reacting to the shot.

To me, that would have just been a miss due to shooting at a nervous animal.

[jmorris]

I haven’t ever hunted any deer using subsonic but have shot a lot of pigs with sub sonic rounds from my 458 socom. That said, even subsonic, with the bullet weights I use, that’s over 1000ft/lbs of energy.

Around the house I almost always use subsonic for killing things but Mrs. Morris isn’t a fan of loud noises in the middle of the night. A 147gn 9mm does the job on coyotes and is already subsonic. Quiet enough that when I get back in bed, she asks what I’ve been doing…

The 300 blk is pretty unimpressive subsonic (the 9mm seems to work just as well and is cheaper to make) for it I use supers and a suppressor, not as quiet as subs, sounds more like a regular .22lr. However, with the barns TAC Tx bullet, ~2000 fps it’s proven effective for me. The only pigs I have shot with it, that didn’t drop where they stood, were already running when they rolled up.

[Bluerock2000]

The reason I joined this forum almost five years ago was to understand if I could build a subsonic gun and round that would reliably take deer. The industry has come quite a ways since then, but I spent a lot of time hounding the knowledgeable people on here about how to do it. I ended up joining the casting world and having a mold built that throws a big chunk of hollow pointed lead (all you can do when velocity is limited is increase weight) at 1050 fps that I can say is absolutely devastating on animals. Out of consideration for my relatively close neighbors, my criteria for my project were low noise and a short sprint from a hit animal.

[nanuk]

.... I have no need for subs. Many have lost game to subs also.

many have lost game to full power loads also

I think your comment is a bit ignorant

a few days ago, I read an article about the 30-30 and the author wrote that the 30-30 is not a good deer gun, as it wounds more deer than it kills

I think his comment is ignorant as well

I've watched many hunting shows, and I find by far, on those shows, the most wounding hunting tool is a compound bow!

[versa-06]

I've never seen personally where the 30-30 has been lacking for deer & black bear. But I have heard some stories. I believe a bad hit is a bad hit even with the bigger calibers & velocities. Then there are some that might blame the gun & not the placement of the shot.

[Shurshot2]

We have taken both deer and bear with supersonic bullets, does anyone have either in the cast boolit form?

[BadgerShooter]

I hit a coyote right through the boiler room at about 40 yards with a flat nose 495 grain hard cast 45-70 bullet at full Marlin pressure. He ran 50 yards before he figured out he was dead. I swage a soft 350 grain paper patch bullet that I push at max. It opens up to around 3/4" with little to no weight loss and is just a smasher. Everything ive shot with it is piled up on the spot.

A couple of comments back, the 9mm was mentioned. I figure I have shot about 400K 45 Auto rounds in my life and have killed everything from field mice to deer with it. I have never been impressed with it as a killer. I have killed more critters including deer faster and more effectively with my 3" pocket 9mm. Heresy, I know, but I think I have enough personal experience with the cartridges to have a pretty valid opinion.

I have to believe that whitetails have been killed with virtually any cartridge you can imagine. A person I know killed one with a .14 cal wildcat. 22 rimfires account for lots of deer in this area. Do you need a cannon to kill a deer? Obviously not. After hunting for almost 50 years, its become super important to me personally, to provide an instant kill to whatever I'm hunting if at all possible. I practice extensively and want my equipment and ammunition to give me the best chance of dropping that animal in its tracks quickly and humanely. YMMV