The Pros & Cons of Hunting with a Suppressor
Recently, I was catching up on a podcast on GunTalk Radio from Tom Gresham. In this particular episode, Tom mentioned that while he has a suppressor, he doesn’t use it when he hunts. Knowing that he lives in Idaho and mostly does spot and stalk type hunting, I could understand why.
The Cons of Hunting with a Suppressor
Depending on the manufacture and model, a suppressor will add about 8″ inches and an extra pound on to the end of your barrel. If you are only a bench rest shooter, this is not a big deal. However if you are carrying your rifle up and down mountains, through the woods, or trying to maneuver in and around the confines of a box stand it becomes problematic. The first time I took my suppressed rifle into the woods for a hunt it snagged on every tree limb from the truck to the blind and I bounced it off every wall trying to get situated. The standard barrel length on this particular bolt action rifle was 22″, but with the suppressor it was now 30″ long and was so front heavy that it made shouldering awkward. Rifles with shorter barrels from 16″-18″ made it easier, but I still didn’t like the extra weight. I had just about given up on hunting with a suppressor until I started setting up a rifle for my oldest son.
The Pros of Hunting with a Suppressor
The pros of hunting with a suppressor are reduced muzzle blast and reduced recoil. I knew this would be important for a new shooter so I wanted to implement it on my son’s rifle. I also wanted a left handed friendly platform with a short length of pull, relatively light weight, and low recoil. My choice was an original Thompson Center Contender chambered in 6.8 SPC Remington. I had the barrel cut and threaded to 16″ and added a Choate adjustable stock. Since this is a single shot break open, the chamber is integral to the barrel and there is no need for the additional length of bolt action receiver, which makes the rifle extremely short. In fact, the overall length of this setup with the suppressor is about the same length as a youth bolt action with a standard 20″ barrel. The combination had less recoil than a .223, muzzle blast comparable to a 22 rimfire and better ballistics than a 30/30.
While my oldest son never really took to hunting, I liked the package so much that I started hunting with it more and more. Recently, my younger son has been shooting this gun, so I built a similar package using a Thompson Center Encore in .308 Winchester for myself.
There is simply no substitute for the benefits of a suppressor when it comes to reduced recoil and noise. As with anything you have to weigh the pros and cons, but I was simply not happy hunting with a suppressed bolt action rifle, no matter how short the barrel was. The single shot platform was the key to mitigating the cons, while taking advantage of the pros. Unfortunately, Thompson Center rifles are no longer in production, and used TC rifles command a pretty penny. However, new options like the CVA Scout offer short threaded barrel options, in multiple calibers, and at reasonable prices. They would make a great option for those wanting to hunt with a suppressor.
