Looking at getting a suppressor for a bolt action .308 that will be as quiet as possible. I would also like to use the same suppressor on my .223 rifles. Which suppressors are the best bang for the buck? Also looking at a .22 long rifle suppressor for fun.
Pat
What is your intended purpose?
I know the Surefire suppressors are good hard use suppressors that can be used cross platform. The Silencer Co Specwar 7.62 is also a good option at a medium price range.
If looking for precision out of your .308 take a hard look at Thunder Beast suppressors. I am currently running a TBAC 30BA on my precision rifle and printed a 2" group at 638 this morning. I run the Specwar 5.56 on my ARs and it is a solid product.
The SWR Specwar 762 sounds like a good candidate if you’re chasing minimal decibels. Thunderbeast has an awesome lineup of suppressors but their all titanium construction keeps me from recommending them for high volume of fire work. Surefire may or may not be hearing safe and will have the least amount of advertised POI shift (results may vary.) AAC’s lineup is lacking, and my experience with their latest the SR7 is that it is NOT hearing safe on a 16" 223 rifle. The Saker 762 from Silencerco can’t be beat in most regards – very quiet on 223, interchangeable mounting options, direct thread capability, interchangeable 30 cal and 22 cal end caps.
- Buy from an established company with a good reputation.
- Buy something that is in stock (or ‘in stock and ready to ship’ from a place like Silencershop)
- Brand really doesn’t matter much, as long as it meets the first criteria
- Give some thought to method of attachment, and what you think will work best for you.
- Give some thought to performance, and what is most important to you.
- Lighter is good-er.
- The bigger it is, the better it will probably work
- Making a big can quiet is easy, making a small can quiet (and light) costs money.
- If it’s possible, try before you buy.
Unfortunately, performance and other factors (weight) are hard to truly evaluate until you own one, and are stuck dealing with what you may see in hindsight as shortcomings. Many folks have had good experiences with whatever suppressor they bought, but a lot of people don’t have experience owning multiple suppressors from different manufacturers in the same niche… so objective comparisons are fewer and farther between. Also, like any other item (cars, guns), there is sometimes a lack of objectivity due to emotional investment, or perhaps a need to validate a purchase.
Opinion: I like cans that attach to NATO spec flash hiders without special muzzle devices. I like lighter suppressors, and I like thread on suppressors much more than I thought I would, but I tend to want to leave them on a particular rifle. I have one suppressor that takes special muzzle attachments, and I got tired of buying muzzle attachments at about the $200 mark. I have found that a crap can on a long barrel sounds a lot better than a crap can on a short barrel, so if you’re going to shoot it on an 18 inch bolt gun (or longer), a cheap can may sound remarkably good… I’ve found that on an AR, if I regulate the gas, it’s much quieter at the ejection port, and much more pleasant all around, even with a crap can.
My experience is from two .22 suppressors, three 9mm suppressors, a .45 suppressor, two 5.56 suppressors, a .308 suppressor and a .50 suppressor from three major brands and two minor brands.
My girlfriend is becoming interested in suppressors, especially for her 5.56 M4. She asked me if there was one that just attaches to the standard M16A2 flash hider, and I honestly don’t know. Is there? The dealer was showing us a brand with a “pronged” flash hider that comes with the suppressor and replaces the standard military flash hider. What’s the best option(s) for a FH/suppressor combo? I guess there must be cans that attach to the A2 flash hider, but are they as good as the ones that have their own dedicated FH?
Give some thought to performance, and what is most important to you.
She wants to go “hearing protection free.” Possible? What suppressor/ammo combo work best?
Lighter is good-er.
Amen. Suggestions?
Making a big can quiet is easy, making a small can quiet (and light) costs money.
I’m worried my girlfriend is going to want the best of all worlds: lightweight, quiet enough to not need hearing protection, small can, and my own preference would be for something that fits over the A2 flash hider.
Unfortunately, performance and other factors (weight) are hard to truly evaluate until you own one, and are stuck dealing with what you may see in hindsight as shortcomings. Many folks have had good experiences with whatever suppressor they bought, but a lot of people don’t have experience owning multiple suppressors from different manufacturers in the same niche… so objective comparisons are fewer and farther between. Also, like any other item (cars, guns), there is sometimes a lack of objectivity due to emotional investment, or perhaps a need to validate a purchase.
And on that subject…how hard is it to get rid of a suppressor you don’t like?
Check out the silencerco omega if you’re running it on a .308 and .556
http://www.gem-tech.com/store/pc/HALO-p86.htm
Can’t tell you anything about manufacturer’s reputation, fit/finish/function or end user opinions other than the Halo’s claim to fit over standard Nato flash hiders.
The Griffin Armament M4SD cans attach to an A2 and don’t have the two-piece mount the HALOs do.
Anything above 85 decibels can cause hearing damage and some of the best suppressors average 120 decibels, so I would still recommend using hearing protection for those shooting unsuppressed around you (Unless you have your own private range).
That would fit into the category of “Unicorn” and you’re not very likely to find one that meets all your requirements, it will always be a compromise of some sort or another.
My quietest suppressor is the Silencerco Specwar7.62 but it is also the longest and heaviest.
My shortest is my Surefire SOCOM556-RC but it is not the quietest nor is it really light.
It’s only as easy as your asking price that you want for a USED suppressor, all the rest is handled through your FFL just like when you purchased it new.
The one thing I know about safe hearing ranges for sound is this: 85 dB is the maximum continous exposure considered safe for the ear. Exceding the threshold reduces the ‘stay time’ at higher dB levels. The gist is this- once you exceed 85 dB, there are maximum time limits in a 24 hr day that OSHA has established for high noise levels. So, if you are running at 120dB, you might not suffer immediate & permanent damage, but prolonged exposure at that level will degrade hearing. If your stay time at 120 dB is not exceeded in that 24 hr period, permanent damage probably will not occur, and if you never exceed that stay time in a 24 hr period, you might not have any degradation to your hearing from that particular activity. The thing is, max stay time at these higher times is measured in seconds; shooting suppressed all day at a weekend course, or even just shooting a mag or two at your private range, will degrade your hearing eventually. Hearing damage is cumulative, so years of working in noisy environments, even 90 dB, will degrade your hearing. Damage done early in life will not be undone by years of never going above 85 dB. I will try to post a hearing chart once I get off the iPad.
ETA: if some one sees an error in my post, please fact check & correct me. I am not a hrpearing or safety expert; this is my interpretation of the OSHA limits, based upon years of service in a noisy engine room, and working around data centers. One co-worker is getting deaf quick, and he says it has been worsening since he has been working in data centers. He is the first one to pop in plugs, and often times he is the only one. The noise level is nowhere near that of a live fire range, but given that we spend longs hours in the data centerday after day, and seeing the long term effects on my coworker, I now use ear pro all the time. This includes flying, and I notice the ear plugs make a huge differnece in the air, and do not hinder my ability to hear normal conversations.
Noise thresholds from OSHA:
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9735
85db is for exposure over time, not applicable to impact/impulse noises like a gunshot (unless you are running a belt-fed machine gun for hours at a time???).
Impact noise standard is 140db. Some other countries use 120db. This is just a regulatory “line in the sand”, there is no way for sure to say “139dB is perfectly safe and 141dB is starting to cause damage”.
To the OP:
( edit: Sorry wrong thread)
To DocGlockster:
This video has a lot of dB measurement of various rifle / suppressor combinations. It’s focused on 7.62 but there is one segment where they fire a 5.56 so you can get an idea of dB levels.
7.62mm QD Suppressor Shootout
SilencerShop
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XWo0JGqWw7w
Re: “how hard is it to get rid of a suppressor you don’t like?”
Your local SOT can destroy the suppressor with proper paperwork. Or You can try to resell it via the SOT but you will lose alot of $$$ on the deal plus the tax-stamp transfer will eat up any monetary return you would get.
Buying a suppressor is like getting a tattoo: chose wisely, get it done right, do not cheap-out on it, it’s hard to correct later.
Edit for post below: I like my .300 blackout suppressed. Had to change spring in the buffer tube to get rid of the “sprooooingggg” noise.
Here’s my video from this past weekend showing the difference between unsuppressed and suppressed shooting using a 300 Blackout.
Decibels on this setup have registered as low as 121 db.
In order to achieve this I also had to change out the trigger and the buffer spring to help make it as quiet as possible.
Sent from my iPhone 6 plus and posted via Tapatalk.
I will add that the SpecWar 762 is really quiet, and awesome on a bolt gun. It is heavy though.
It’s funny how something so minor can become so majorly annoying once you’ve got a suppressor on it.
I put a JP silent buffer spring on mine and love that so much it’s now on all of my ARs.
Sent from my iPhone 6 plus and posted via Tapatalk.