Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Suppressor Ready Rifles

I’m thinking of a new rifle for a retirement gift to myself. I shot a .308 one time that was suppressed and was amazed at how different the shot felt (and sounded, obviously). I realize you have to apply for a suppressor.

What production rifles are available that come suppressor ready. I will probably go with a short suppressor, and hopefully not more than a 20-22 inch barrel.

If I buy a rifle that is not suppressor ready, how hard is it to do that? Does the end of the barrel have to be a certain size to accept an adapter?

Thanks for your advice.

Dan

Any competent gunsmith can thread the barrel for a silencer. If it is a thin barrel, you may need a thread adaptor to fit your silencer. Quite a few brands of rifles come factory threaded these days but I would select the rifle I wanted first without regard to whether is is threaded or not. You may also want to chop down the barrel a bit if you are going to primarily going to be using it with a can on the end.

I’m looking at a Bergara Ridge with an 18” threaded barrel in .308. They go for about $750, and I’ve had very good luck with Bergara accuracy and reliability.

Old70

It usually costs around $100 to thread an existing rifle for a suppressor, plus adapter prices if you need one. You want around .750-.800" diameter barrel to thread for 5/8X24 threads which is the most common for centerfires 6mm-.30 caliber, .600" muzzle diameter for 1/2X28 threads the most common for .22 caliber centerfire and all calibers of rimfires. Don't worry if you don't have enough muzzle diameter, most can be adapted up to the correct threads for a direct thread suppressor, or a muzzle device like the ASR muzzle brake for quick attachment of your suppressor.

As far as suppressor ready rifles out there just look for the ones already threaded or that have removable muzzlebrakes as they are the ones you want. I would look for 16 inch barrels on rimfire and .223/5.56 sized cartridges and around 18" for larger cased short action rounds like the Creedmoor and .308 for hunting purposes. Most suppressors will add around 6" of length to your barrel.

Most all the Ruger Americans are threaded... I've had two 5.56mm/.223 that shot lights out with a 16" barrel and a can. In fact, it is my preferred deer/hog rifle for less than 250 yards...
It is SOOOOOOOOOOO NICE to be able to shoot quietly. Makes you never want to pick up a regular rifle again.

I bought a Savage Hog Hunter for my suppressor. I was amazed how accurate it was.

I picked up one of the new Sig Cross rifles recently to use as a suppressed hunting rifle. It's a 6.5lb 16" .308 with all kinds of adjustment for fit and looks like it's going to be a good shooter.



A decent smith can also cut and thread the barrels on standard hunting rifles like this 20" Kimber Montana and 18.5" Browning X-Bolt.





If the barrels are too thin to have a decent shoulder for the suppressor to mate up against after threading, a decent smith can either have the can index off the muzzle (can/mount dependent) or they can install a threaded collar and turn it square to act as the shoulder:


If you're looking for something cheaper or more traditional, Ruger is now selling the Hawkeye Hunter.

https://ruger.com/products/HawkeyeHunter/specSheets/57107.html

The Hunter looks like a suppressed hunting rifle done pretty well, it has a thinner barrel that flares to give you a good shoulder at the threads. Some manufacturers will thread existing lighter barrel profiles and not leave much shoulder. Having a decent shoulder to torque the can down on will help keep it from loosening in shooting sessions or while hiking.

The only place I think Ruger missed the mark is in barrel length, lightweight shortish cans and short barrels are the way to go for suppressed hunting rifles. At realistic ranges, the lost velocity from shorter barrels is just not going to matter, but you'll definitely appreciate the better handling of a rifle with a short barrel and light can. If I had to do it over again, I'd buy a lighter can the first time around, and would have cut my 6.5 Montana to 18" instead of 20".

I have a RAR 18” in 308. It shoots better than any rifle I own. With an Omega can, it’s longer than I like. I have my eye on the 16” Sig Cross.

Who did the threaded collar for you?

Nick from Ecco Machine out of Elizabeth, Co.

https://m.facebook.com/ECCOmachine/

He also did my Ruger 77/44 which was a good bit more involved, but came out excellent.





He's a good guy and a gifted smith, I believe he has a profile on here. He's kind of become big in aftermarket suppressor modification/re-core and I heard he may have temporarily stopped taking new work in order to catch up.

Stainless Tikka CTR. I've got a 308 and a 6.5 CM. Both are sub MOA shooters with my loads and suppressors.

I had my Whittaker Special 8-twist .22/250 cut to 18-in. & threaded last summer and the Harvester spends most of its time on there near the back door in case of Antifa or other vermin.