Suppressed AR hunting-Is anyone less than impressed or just me?

C

cmatera

Active member
I have two AR 15's I bought for hunting. Quality guns. Good barrels, free float tubes, adjustable gas blocks, and aftermarket trigger. Been fooling with them unsuppressed, and then suppressed, first getting the gas blocks adjusted to function when suppressed and today to the range.

Here's what I learned:

The AR (bolt guns may be different), suppressed is a lot louder than I thought it would be.

With the gas blocks adjusted to operate the semi auto, there is more, not less recoil, and keeping your nose on the charging handle is a particularly nasty experience.

The brass is nasty black, and my guns were considerably less accurate.

In the end, I don't know why I bothered. The two guns are a 6x45 and a .264 LBC (6.5 Grendel clone). By the time you get the gas block adjusted suppressed and unsuppressed, and get the gun sighted in suppressed and unsuppressed, it does not seem worth it to me. For the one shot I'm going to fire at a coyote, what's the point of all the time a $$?
 
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I am not sure what you expected the noise level to be, but my ARs, while not as quiet as bolt guns, are noticeably quieter.
With a SDN-6 my 300bo 16" barrel is quiet enough for no hearing protection. (I.e. It doesn't bother me - although just a supersonic round probably warrants hearing protection.) For night hunting it really helps by not disturbing the neighbors. (In the country, not neighborhood...)
300bo 8.5" is pretty loud for no hearing protection. (Sdn6)
204R with a Thunderbeast ultra 7 is pretty quiet. Again, way quieter than unsupressed.

Accuracy is noticeably worse with the quick disconnect SDN6. (1" group to 2.5" or so.)

the direct thread ultra 7 is a different story! I see NO negative impact on accuracy.
For me well worth the time and expense. I wish they were required...
 
Don't know what to tell you, except, that I wouldn't fire my AR-308 without ears. Unless I have my suppressor on it. Then it sounds about like an suppressed 22 cal pistol. I will take that over having to wear hearing protection while I am hunting any day of the week.

As for the carbon, well, you are creating more backpressure so you can expect more soot to come back with the increased gas incursion.

It's a suppressor after all, not a silencer.

As far as accuracy, I see no difference between my suppressed and unsuppressed group size. My POI does shift, probably due to adding 1.5lbs to the end of my barrel. But my groups are just as tight with or without my suppressor.

At the end of the day i will take my suppressor over unsuppressed.
 
Soot and blow back do suck but I do not notice additional recoil running my 6.8...

The noise is action noise and is very noticeable since you face is right there but with another shooter there will really notice the difference and will just sound like the crack of the bullet..

There is a adjustment period to the extra gas in the face, hated it in the beginning now it's barely an annoyance.
 
I am shooting a DPMS Recon in 308 and my Rifle was the perfect Rifle Unsuppressed. I added the Suppressor and all [beeep] broke loose. My good Handloads are showing High Pressure. My Gun Jams quite often or wont go off. I know everyone says get a Heavy Buffer. I am now ordering my third Heavy Buffer for it. Just ordered a Heavy Buffer Extra Heavy with a Tuned Spring. This is in addition to the Adjustable Gas Block I put on. No one told me my Rifle is hard to find a Buffer for because the Buffer must be 2.5" or you must change the Whole Stock. The Suppressor connector or brake that came on the Rifle did not fit my Suppressor (Silencerco Omega) so that had to be replaced as well. Mine was as quiet as I expected, in fact more quiet on the 308 than most 223 but the additional Back Pressure is causing problems I did not expect. The one good thing was my accuracy actually improved. So I hear you!!!
 
I never shot a suppressed AR before. Suppressors were illegal where I lived. I moved two years ago. You know how long the wait times have been.
Both guns have 18" barrels
Both guns have factory threaded BHW barrels
Both guns being shot with an SAS Barricade using the TOMB mount
Both guns have SLR handguards and adjustable gas blocks, both were shot with the same lower wearing a 3# Timney skeleton trigger
I was shooting off a bench-not the best way to shoot an AR, and a face full of toxic gas is not conducive to accuracy
Both adjustable gas blocks are open 6-7 clicks. If I close it more, the guns did not cycle
Maybe I should have checked out the 300 Blackout more. My use is coyote/deer hunting out to 175 yards
The above components are only supplied to show the quality of the build, not to criticize the mfgrs. I don't think any of them are a problem, it's just the nature of the beast.
 
I have mine turned down and don't notice much gas in the face. It was bad at first. Recently my eye has beed on a thermal eye cup so I haven't noticed at all
 
Accuracy, weight, length, price, durability, backpressure, attachment method, and POI shift are all variables to be optimized when building suppressors. You don't get to have the best in every category for one given can. I have an old AAC SPR/M4 with the MITER mount system that is not all that accurate (coyote accurate, but not precision accurate). But it is quiet, has a reliable QD, and is built like a tank. It blasts gas back at your face like the day after taco Tuesday.

I also have an SRT Hurricane Ti that is quiet, light weight, and super accurate. It wasn't cheap, and I wouldn't use it on anything full auto.

The least POI shift with the can on/off I have found has been a Surefire. Pricey though. Except for some competition rifles, I only shoot suppressed anyway, so the POI shift isn't an issue for me.

Similar to buying a boat, purchasing a suppressor is an exercise in trade offs...except for the stupid wait time.

As far as gas in the face, there are many things you can do. If you haven't done the RTV trick you should. It really makes a difference and it's a semi-permanent mod you can do this weekend.

More here:

http://www.arshunt.com/Accessorize2015#&pageSet=27&page=0&contentItem=0

Sendit
 
My exp. is the exact opposite of yours. After a 9mo 3wk wait I got my first suppressor and I love it. Its a "Elite Iron Delta" direct thread. I have 2 AR's and 2 bolt guns that are threaded so I switch it to whichever I am using. The first time I shot with it my buddy looked at me with a big grin on his face ( he has one on order now ). I have been shooting groundhogs and many times after I shoot another will sit up and look around rather than run. I am shooting 223 and a 20vt and am very happy. I will agree that things soot up but I just clean more often. The AR's have gas turned down and run fine, just some minor puff in the face but hardly notice. I think accuracy is better when suppressed. I hope you get things worked out.
 
I have an omega and it works great and I shoot my S&W MP 15 left handed and have not had any trouble with blow back in my eyes.I only shoot reloads but the action seems to make more noise than the shot so I have no complaints.
 
Originally Posted By: cmateraI have two AR 15's I bought for hunting. Quality guns. Good barrels, free float tubes, adjustable gas blocks, and aftermarket trigger. Been fooling with them unsuppressed, and then suppressed, first getting the gas blocks adjusted to function when suppressed and today to the range.

Here's what I learned:

The AR (bolt guns may be different), suppressed is a lot louder than I thought it would be.

With the gas blocks adjusted to operate the semi auto, there is more, not less recoil, and keeping your nose on the charging handle is a particularly nasty experience.

The brass is nasty black, and my guns were considerably less accurate.

In the end, I don't know why I bothered. The two guns are a 6x45 and a .264 LBC (6.5 Grendel clone). By the time you get the gas block adjusted suppressed and unsuppressed, and get the gun sighted in suppressed and unsuppressed, it does not seem worth it to me. For the one shot I'm going to fire at a coyote, what's the point of all the time a $$? I completely agree, you wasted your time and money. If all you ever shoot is one shot at a coyote, you definately wasted your money. PM me and ill send u my info to put me on your trust. Mail me the suppressor and ill refund you your money. As far as the time goes, I cant refund you that.
 
Originally Posted By: cmateraI never shot a suppressed AR before. Suppressors were illegal where I lived. I moved two years ago. You know how long the wait times have been.
Both guns have 18" barrels
Both guns have factory threaded BHW barrels
Both guns being shot with an SAS Barricade using the TOMB mount
Both guns have SLR handguards and adjustable gas blocks, both were shot with the same lower wearing a 3# Timney skeleton trigger
I was shooting off a bench-not the best way to shoot an AR, and a face full of toxic gas is not conducive to accuracy
Both adjustable gas blocks are open 6-7 clicks. If I close it more, the guns did not cycle
Maybe I should have checked out the 300 Blackout more. My use is coyote/deer hunting out to 175 yards
The above components are only supplied to show the quality of the build, not to criticize the mfgrs. I don't think any of them are a problem, it's just the nature of the beast.

AR's are noisy but 18 inch barrels and the short Barricade is going to be loud for sure, my TBAC ultra 7 is more quiet and then my 9 is even more quiet on the same short barrels. However the Barricade is not as bad with a long barrel. Sometimes short and short is not good.
smile.gif
 
I can't relate either, sorry. Do the RTV mod as was mentioned. It seals up your charging handle to some degree and helps with the gas face. I don't even notice it. The dirty brass is annoying but the worst of it tumbles off and no one examines my brass anyway, just the dead critters out yonder.

I have a Harvester which works great to quiet my ARs and bolt guns and is way quieter for me and everyone around me than unsupressed. I got my first triple last year with the coyotes spaced several minutes apart, then 2 more on later stands in an area of about a square mile. Even the rancher 1/4 mile away from the triple stand didn't even know a shot had been fired.

I still use ear pro when range shooting or pdogs, but not while hunting. No more ringing ears. Accuracy is as good or better with the cans on. While pdog shooting the dogs stay dumb way longer than they would otherwise. Big difference.
 
I can see where a longer suppressor would make a big difference. I saw a vid of a guy who had a full barrel shroud on a .22 LR bolt action rifle shooting subs; all you could hear was the hammer fall. I did not expect that out of a supersonic centerfire. I appreciate all the tips. There's a lot of good stuff for me to try.
 
I can see where a longer suppressor would make a big difference. I saw a vid of a guy who had a full barrel shroud on a .22 LR bolt action rifle shooting subs; all you could hear was the hammer fall. I did not expect that out of a supersonic centerfire. I appreciate all the tips. There's a lot of good stuff for me to try.

Ignore-double post
 
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My piston SIGs and HKs .308s are louder than my direct impingement KAC-25

My piston SIGs and HKs 5.56s full length and 10" SBRs are louder than my direct impingement KAC-15s full length and 10" SBRs.

My 12" 300BLK SBR direct impingement is louder than my 16" 300BLK

My 12" AA 6.5 Grendel SBR direct impingement is louder than my AA 6.5 Grendel 18".

They all as accurate as all get out, shoot much better than I am capable of.


The piston port adds a little to the noise over the direct impingement gas guns, also zero chance of any gas blowback into face and BCG and shells in magazines remain clean w/o soot all over them.

The SBRs are all unusable without the silencers.

My T/C carbine is much more quieter in all calibers than any of the above.

Suppressed Ruger 10-22 can on hear bolt click, very accurate too.
 
Originally Posted By: sendit223Accuracy, weight, length, price, durability, backpressure, attachment method, and POI shift are all variables to be optimized when building suppressors. You don't get to have the best in every category for one given can. I have an old AAC SPR/M4 with the MITER mount system that is not all that accurate (coyote accurate, but not precision accurate). But it is quiet, has a reliable QD, and is built like a tank. It blasts gas back at your face like the day after taco Tuesday.

I also have an SRT Hurricane Ti that is quiet, light weight, and super accurate. It wasn't cheap, and I wouldn't use it on anything full auto.

The least POI shift with the can on/off I have found has been a Surefire. Pricey though. Except for some competition rifles, I only shoot suppressed anyway, so the POI shift isn't an issue for me.

Similar to buying a boat, purchasing a suppressor is an exercise in trade offs...except for the stupid wait time.

As far as gas in the face, there are many things you can do. If you haven't done the RTV trick you should. It really makes a difference and it's a semi-permanent mod you can do this weekend.

More here:

http://www.arshunt.com/Accessorize2015#&pageSet=27&page=0&contentItem=0

Sendit

The Surefire POI shift is minimal. I have shot the Surefire, the Omega, The Optimus, the YHM stainless and Titanium 30 cal QD, and I have seen the POI difference. The Surefire, Omega and Optimus are all minimal. The biggest shift I saw personally was with the YHM's, but the groups stayed tight, but they do shift.
 
I have numerous charging handles including the one made by griffin that vents the gas out the right side, as well as the BCM gunfighter. When using the gunfighter I do not get any gas in my face. I have not had to seal with RTV and I get no gas in my face. for reference, I shoot 6.8 spc, 6x6.8, 300 blk, and 6x45.Try one, it may fix the gas in the face. RJH
 
I just went out and worked with the SLR adjustable gas blocks. I had the 6s45 open 6 clicks. I set it to 4 clicks, loaded 2 rounds. Fired 1. The next round was in the chamber. I loaded another round and decided to close it 1 click to 3. It chambered the second round.

On to the 6.5 Grendel clone. I originally had the gas block open 7 clicks. I set it to 4 clicks. It fired but the next round did not feed. I opened the gas block up to 5 clicks after loading another round. The second round loaded.

I believe, I may have been following the recommended settings for an un-suppressed firearm. The brass was only a little dirty, no noticeable gas to the face, ejected at 3 o'clock minimal noise and recoil, especially the 6x45. It was more like shooting a popgun. I only have the Grendel for the occasional larger critter, of course it was a little louder and a little more recoil.

Even with the short SAS Barricade the suppression is now good and definitely worthwhile. I highly recommend anyone going to suppress an AR to put in an adjustable gas block or if you don't want to tear an existing gun down, an adjustable bolt carrier. What a difference those few clicks made.
 
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Nice diagnosis, way to stick with it. It goes that way sometimes. Takes a bit of tinkering but when you get the recipe dialed in, it goes smoothly.

Typically I close the block all the way down then fire and open it up one or two clicks until it locks back then I check for operation on multiple shots. The 16in 6.5 Grendel that we built we had dialed in with 6 shots. I played with my .308 a bit to check the recoil impulse, cycling and to see if I could get it to run with and without the suppressor on one setting. I could get it to run but my bolt catch sheared off indicating that I had a bit of BCG bounce occurring and that it was too overgassed. So I had to compromise and set it up to run with the suppressor and just remember to open up the block two clicks when I run unsuppressed.
 
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