Suppressors 101: Should I Put A Suppressor On A Long Range Precision Rifle?

Overview:

Our viewers have frequently requested this topic, so we're dedicating a whole video on whether or not you should put a suppressor on a long range precision rifle. Rob explores the the various benefits of placing a suppressor on a precision rifle, particularly a bolt action rifle. We address the differences between gas guns vs bolt guns, effects on barrel harmonics & point of impact (POI) shift, velocity, signature reduction and recoil reduction.

Skip To Video Topic:

00:00 - Intro
00:21 - Gas Guns vs Bolt Guns
02:13 - Barrel Harmonics & POI Shift
03:30 - Increased Velocity
03:52 - Signature Reduction
05:04 - Recoil Reduction
05:52 - Final Thoughts

Transcript:

Hey everybody, Rob Orgel. A question came up a couple of times and I wanted to get a good answer out there about running a suppressed long distance weapon. So the question is if I've got a precision gun that I like shooting distance whether it's for hunting or competition, the question is should I run that system suppressed or should I leave it unsuppressed? Well, in my opinion, a muzzle brake can do a lot of recoil management, but a suppressor can do even better. So the problem is when we put a suppressor on the end of a gas gun like an AR-15 or an AR-10 or whatever precision or carbine we might run, it increases the bolt speed. So it might feel like we have higher recoil because of the suppressor. But the truth is it's the bolt speed. If we can choke that bolt speed down with an adjustable gas system or something like that, then we can have a very soft shooting weapon and more reliable all kinds of good benefits that I'm going to talk about in a moment. The other thing is often for long-range shooters, they're running bolt-action rifles like this one. Of course mine's left-handed because I'm weird, but this is a MDT chassis inside a Christensen arms rifle and it's crazy light. Well, it's so light it doesn't shoot well. Not the case. The last time I fired this rifle, I got to shoot seven rounds. Instructors don't get to shoot a lot. I know people think instructors shoot all the time, but the truth is we watch people shoot. But the last time I did get to shoot it was on the thousand-yard range. I fired one round at 100 to verify I still had zero. I fired three rounds at 500, which made a 1.25 inch group. I'll attach a picture of it for those people who thought it's not possible. And then I did a five inch group at 1,000 yards. So because it's so light, it doesn't make it inaccurate. Now the suppressor tames the recoil quite a bit. In case you're interested, the caliber is a 6.5 PRC. So the suppressor tames recoil quite a bit and it's not a gas gun. So I don't have to worry about the additional gas back pressure. So I always find it funny when I see a precision bolt-action rifle with a Huxwork suppressor on there. That makes me scratch my head a lot. I don't know why you would do that. It's a heavy suppressor that reduces back pressure and isn't good at sound suppression. So why? Anyways, for me I don't put Huxwork suppressor stunt bolt-action guns. So this is the Nomad Ti Titanium L long. And it is crazy quiet crazy light and high back pressure, but for a bolt gun, you don't care. So what's the benefits? Okay, so barrel harmonics. I've talked about this before in some other videos, but when I fire there's barrel whip, barrel harmonics, blah blah blah. If you add weight to the end of that, sometimes you'll see a shift to the south just a little bit. Now sometimes you look at like accuracy international guns. I don't have POI shifts on those guns. But that barrel is so thick that it's reducing the likelihood of a POI shift. When you look at some of the carbon fiber or some of the hunting profile barrels, you might notice more POI shift to the south. Now there are some cases when you say, well the suppressor has little POI shift. Again, it's more the barrel contour. In my experiences, tell me if you found different. But if you get a really heavy suppressor, then the likelihood of a POI shift is greater. If you've got a really light suppressor, then it's less likely you're gonna see a POI shift. So weight of the suppressor and contour of the barrel, in my opinion, has been the greatest dictators of that. Now once you establish your POI shift and you write down your data or you re-zero yourself for suppressor, just remember if you take the suppressor off, you might get a higher impact because of the shift of the lack of weight at the end of the barrel. POI shift again, point of impact shift. Okay, so once you re-zero everything for your suppressor, then you're going to notice an increased velocity in my experience. Now I've done a pretty good amount of testing on, I've got an elaborate or where I test velocity out of my weapon. And I'll test suppressed and unsurpressed. And you'll find deviations, but generally speaking, I'll see 10, 15, sometimes 25 foot per second more out of the suppressor. So you're gaining a little bit more reach because of that velocity. Not a lot, but a little bit. You're not reducing your accuracy and you're certainly not feeling back pressure if you're on a bolt gun. So it's nothing but pros. So I'm gaining a little bit of speed, I'm reducing recoil, and the signature. Let's talk about signature. So when I say signature, a lot of people think to like the sound. How many people around me hear that? That's a piece short or the muzzle flash. That's a piece short if you're shooting at night or low light situations, yes. But if you're hunting or on a range and you're shooting a prone, you'll kick up a lot of dust around you depending upon the muzzle device you might have. A suppressor takes that away. So I'm a big fan of having a suppressor because that dust, not only does it get in my eyes, it gets in my weapon and it gunks it up. Wherever you put lube, it's going to find it and stick to it. And that gives away my position during the day. So signature reduction, all things considered. I've got the sound of my gun, I've got the sound after it reaches the target. We've got a video on that about not so common known tactical advantages. I think we tabled that. What do we label that video? The not so obvious tactical advantage is to using a suppressor. It's signature and the sound. What that person hears when they're being shot at or what that animal hears when they're being shot at, a suppressor tones that down a lot. So there's the signature that we think of and there's the signature of the dust in my area that even during the day will sabotage me, my ability to shoot and will increase that recoil. So now let's talk more about recoil. Whenever I fire my precision rifle, the most difficult thing about becoming good with a rifle is recoil anticipation. Because everybody kind of gives a little bit of a dip with the muzzle right before the gun goes off. That's called recoil anticipation. That doesn't have me. I've been shooting for, OK, sure. I have recoil anticipation. I'm trained at these kind of things. I've actually attended Six Hour Sniper Academy and I graduated. I attended Advanced Sniper Certification from Attack Flow. So I do have experience in long range shooting. I am professionally trained. But I'll tell you that even I will think about how it's going to go off to try to let the gun surprise you kind of stuff. That's OK. That's normal. But if you have a suppressor, the sound of that gun going off is just one more thing removed. You reduce recoil, you reduce sound, it makes people less likely to anticipate recoil. So there's a lot of good pros in the psyche and on the weapon to include the rapport, the increased velocity, etc. So the easy answer at the end of the day is I absolutely recommend running a suppressor on a long distance setup, especially if it's a bolt action gun. And in the end, when you go hunting, you don't have to wear your hair protection. That's probably the best part. So I hope you like this video. I hope this makes sense. I hope that in the comments section below, you tell me your favorite attribute about running a suppressor on a precision rifle. Or argue with me. It's totally OK if you disagree with me. These are just my opinions. And if you don't use a suppressor on your long range rig, tell me in the comments section why you don't. As always, like, comment, subscribe, and stay safe on the range. We'll see you on the next one.