Please educate me on centerfire suppressors

[Spats McGee]

I already own one suppressor, a Dead Air Mask. I've had it for about 5 years, and have been debating a second can for about 4.7 years. I had a recent thread on what to buy when I sell my Shield 45, and it looks like I've settled on a .223 bolt gun. The obvious question now is "which one?" So it's time to start formulating The Long List. Purchase wouldn't happen probably for a year or more. Y'all know me. I have to have plenty of time to overthin. With that said, I've done plenty of dumb things in my life, but I generally consider myself smart enough to know when I don't know something. And I know next to nothing about centerfire suppressors.

So what do I really need to be looking at in .223 suppressors? Primary use will likely be target shooting out to 100 yards, occasionally out to 250. Some farm plinking and maybe dealing with the occasional coyote. And yes, I'm almost 100% certain that a suppressor is legal for all of those purposes in Arkansas.

Thank you in advance.

 

[tomtomgt356]

Have you shot a suppressed rifle? A suppressed 223 is going to be a lot louder than a suppressed 22lr. From my research (I am not an expert and fairly new to suppressors) most 223 suppressors hover right around the hearing safe threshold and it is recommended to have hearing protection if taking more than a couple of shots. A bolt gun will be a little better since you don't have the port noise you get from an AR, but you still have the crack of the supersonic shot.

Do you think you will get other rifles in the future that you want to suppress, or will 223 be the only center fire caliber? A 308/7.62 caliber suppressor will work on a 223 gun and will allow you to use it on other caliber rifles in the future.

I have a Rugged Razor 7.62 sitting in NFA jail that I got when they were doing one of their sales. It's mainly going the be used for 223, but I also have a 300 blackout upper and I'm planning on getting a threaded 308 bolt gun, so the flexibility was a driving factor over a dedicated 223 suppressor. It's not the quietest can out there, but nothing is going to be quiet on an AR.

 

[Spats McGee]

Have you shot a suppressed rifle?

Yes, but it was a Remington 700 chambered in .300 Whisper, so I'm not sure that really counts.

A suppressed 223 is going to be a lot louder than a suppressed 22lr. From my research (I am not an expert and fairly new to suppressors) most 223 suppressors hover right around the hearing safe threshold and it is recommended to have hearing protection if taking more than a couple of shots. A bolt gun will be a little better since you don't have the port noise you get from an AR, but you still have the crack of the supersonic shot.

This is pretty much what I expect. I know not to expect "Hollywood quiet" out of a .223.

Do you think you will get other rifles in the future that you want to suppress, or will 223 be the only center fire caliber? A 308/7.62 caliber suppressor will work on a 223 gun and will allow you to use it on other caliber rifles in the future.

I have a Rugged Razor 7.62 sitting in NFA jail that I got when they were doing one of their sales. It's mainly going the be used for 223, but I also have a 300 blackout upper and I'm planning on getting a threaded 308 bolt gun, so the flexibility was a driving factor over a dedicated 223 suppressor. It's not the quietest can out there, but nothing is going to be quiet on an AR.

That's one of the $64K questions. I'm not much of a hunter and, being in my 50s, I don't really expect to become one. That said, I'm certainly not opposed to getting one that would handle something like .308.

 

[horsemen61]

Me I like THUNDERBEAST I have their Ultra 7 now full disclosure I got mine .264 because I’m crazy about the .264 diameter but my recommendation for you would be an Ultra 9 .30 cal edition man the best thing I ever did with my Biden bucks!

 

[horsemen61]

@MachIVshooter I believe this is your area of expertise

 

[dogtown tom]

Have you shot a suppressed rifle? A suppressed 223 is going to be a lot louder than a suppressed 22lr. From my research (I am not an expert and fairly new to suppressors) most 223 suppressors hover right around the hearing safe threshold and it is recommended to have hearing protection if taking more than a couple of shots..

No silencer is "hearing safe" , arguably they are hearing safer. We can blame OSHA for that "hearing safe threshold" nonsense.

A good, short writeup:https://americansuppressorassociation.com/education/hearing-protection/

 

[Buzznrose]

I recently bought my first suppressor from Silencer Central. After much research, I went with the Banish 30. I did buy my suppressor for a .308, but after the conversation, I probably would have bought a .30 cal can even for a .223. Just made more sense to me. I can use it for anything up to 300 Ultra Mag.

YMMV

 

[mavracer]

@MachIVshooter I believe this is your area of expertise

+1
Don't get too hung up on DB ratings, since you have a rimfire can I'd definitely look at one of the tubeless designs.
A 30 cal can sounds pretty good on a 5.56 so if there's even a hint of possibility for use on a 30 that's a good way to go.

 

[MachIVshooter]

@MachIVshooter I believe this is your area of expertise

Thanks for the tag!

So, yeah, with high velocity rifle rounds, there's no getting around the sonic crack, which is loud. How loud depends on bullet diameter, profile and velocity. The smaller and more aerodynamic the projectile, and the faster its moving, the lower the shockwave amplitude and further apart the shockwaves propagate. It's gonna be there, but it's out in front of you a bit, so there's attenuation. Blunt pistol bullets that are barely supersonic will snap your ears pretty good, but the crack of a streamlined .224 pill doing 3k+ FPS really isn't bad, doesn't bother my sensitive ears.

As a baseline, the absolute floor of suppression for .308 ball ammo in is about 122-124 dBA. That's what gets back to you from the Shockwave, no matter how effective the suppressor. That's around the level of subsonic 9mm through a really good suppressor, though the tone of the crack will tend to be a bit sharper.

Can suppressed rifles be "hearing safe"? Yes and no. It just depends on the can, the physical environment and the duration of exposure. Firing a couple dozen rounds out in the field is wholly different from a couple hundred rounds under a roof with reflective surfaces all along the range. However, even if you still need some ear pro, with a decent can, you won't need to double up, and the conduction through bone and tissue at 125-135 dBA is really not an issue, where it most definitely is at the 160-170+ unsuppressed levels.

Semi autos are another animal, as you're dealing with port and piston pop, as well as action noise. But that's not the subject here, so we'll cover that in another thread.

As for suppressor recommendations, unless size and weight are primary criteria, a good "full size" .30 can will suppress .223 really well, with added flexibility and often better performance on 5.56 automatics due to being lower backpressure with the overbore. So now I will toot my own horn and recommend a look at our 8" Accipiter 30, which meters 128 dBA on a 20" .308 bolt gun (B&K Pulse system, Hansohn Brothers tested). 5% off all cans for THR members, too.

https://www.eccomachine.net/product/accipiter/

We make a titanium version as well:

https://www.eccomachine.net/product/accipiter-ti-rifle/

 

[Spats McGee]

Thank you, one and all. Y'all have me off to a good start. @MachIVshooter, I'd already looked at your site and put you on the list.