Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Suppressors on rifles

On a TV safari show, they used a suppressed rifle for a plains game hunt. Is this common in Africa, or even legal in most African countries?

suppressor like in sound reducer? or recoil suppressor?

they go by different names over here but they both are legal without any paper work or premision.

they are very popular amongst hunters who hunt for a living, such as hunters that are contracted to do varmint hunting, or the guys that harvest 100+ springbok a night for venison export purposes.

Yep, my PH in Namibia and I used his .223, suppressed, on jackals frequently..
Didn't spook 'em so bad and the odds of getting more than one per calling set-up were better..

Ingwe

LT Dan is right. In fact my PH carried an 30-06 with a sound reducer. We talked a lot about the comercial hunter efficiency, and it does makesense to not spook the herd.
Randy

Yes, it was a sound suppressor that I was refering to. I know that you can't completely silence a bullet that isn't subsonic; how much of a difference does the suppressor make on a rifle? It's hard to tell on a TV show. Can you comfortably shoot without ear protection?

On my suppressd AR-15's in 5.56 caliber, they can be fired comfortably with out ear protection and I'm a weeny when it comes to noise. A good supppressor will eat up most of the muzzle blast of a bolt rifle, more so than a gas impinged semi auto. With super sonic ammo of course you will always have the sonic boom from the bullet, but that is going away from the shooter and not as discomforting.

I recently had to use my PH's .308 "culling rifle" with a suppressor, as my ammo was in my lost baggage (it got to us a day later). It shot like a .223, less kick (or so it seemed) and about as loud as a regular .22.

I believe they also help cut down on muzzle flash, really a plus when springbok hunting at night.

Sounds like suppressors make alot of sense. Now if only the politicians that make the rules here had alot of sense.

What do you mean "alot of sense"? They have no sense! If they had any sence it would be good.

I've shot quite a few springbok with a suppressed .22-250 that belonged to my PH on one RSA trip. It worked great! He figured he'd killed over 10,000 springbok with that rifle. (My partber also killed a young kudy bull for meat with the same rifle, heart shot.)

Suppressed rifles are not only practical for such purposes but in some places, such as New Zealand, are considered "polite," since they are often used for culling animals near towns.

We are not allowed them (supressors) here because someone might use them for evil. The same rationale for all gun control laws and restrictions. "Prior Restraint" allowed for some things but not for others? If that were a valid way to deal with problems, we'd ban all pointed knives and all firearms and---we'd be England! Maybe we should ban booze, cause drunks MIGHT drive and kill innocents...oh, we tried that...

In the end, the evil will gain access to weapons and tools they want in spite of well intentioned laws. The very act that is committed, that they wish to stop, is already illegal and that's no deterrent. And heroin, cocaine and other drugs have been illegal for decades but they still proliferate on our streets, so making them illegal was a success?

Those who do not learn the lessons of history...

Sound suppressors are legal even in England.

But I have a question.

The sonic boom (or crack) of a passing supersonic rifle bullet is quite loud, even 200 yards down range. Why doesn't that scare the game? In fact, when I am in the pits pulling targets during High Power matches, the "crack" of the bullet going by is louder than the sound of the rifle going off 200 yards away.

I've been mulling selling some stuff to get a suppressor for my LTR. Suppressors are legal for hunting here, as long as you have your NFA stamp, and six months to wait for it to get approved!

My thinking is get a .308 suppressor and then it can be used to pretty good effect on any smaller caliber.

Watched a co-worker shooting his suppressed 11.5-in. AR at the range yesterday. After the first shot, the remainder stayed at about the level of a CCI Stinger round.

Problem with ARs is the suppressor pushes a lot of the gas back in your face. Best to take a deep breath and hold it until after you break your shots.

If you're going to present something as factual information, you might do well to actually learn the facts before doing so.

Suppressors are legal in the US. Some states limit ownership to the same crowd that can get post-86 machine guns, but federally there is no ban on suppressors. There's a $200 tax and (if transferring to an individual) fingerprints, photographs, police chief sign-off, and a long wait required. But they ain't banned, so stop running your yap that they are.

In Washington state you must forfeit your right to search and seizure laws. Any police agency with jurisdiction can enter your property with "just cause" and no warrant to determine if what you're doing with this suppressed gun is legal. That is a significant turn off for most people who want a full auto gun or suppressor. Little known fact is that when you buy a taxidermy license you also forfeit this search and seizure right for the place of business it's in. If it's on the property with your family home, then the family home is lumped into this as well.

Can't speak to the rest of the country, but Wa. state has some tough regulations on this stuff

indyca35.i have often thought of what you write. my experience, on the other hand with silencers, (seems you guys call them suppressors) is that it seems to confuse the animals. i have seen that a couple of springbok would tend to look at the animal that was shot since that shot generates it's own sound, instead of looking at the place the original sound came from (the rifle). they then tend to run away from this impact shot and often they will run slightly towards the hunter due to their confusion. if you miss a shot and the impact is behind them they tend to look at the place of impact, see the dust and again sometimes run towards you.

so what you see and hear on the firing range is true and can help the hunter if the sound of impact is more distracting than the sound of the shot. this can be done with a silencer.

JJ, do you have some reference to this law, In Washington state you must forfeit your right to search and seizure laws.
Also, as far as I know, no full auto's are allowed other than LEO's

I don't have that here at my finger tips, I went through an FFL training seminar a year or maybe 2 now I guess. This was the way the answer to the question was presented to the group.

I'm not sure it would be difficult to locate if you search the rules on line?

There is no such regulation in Washington but it is a persistent rumor.