I wanted to post this in case someone else is surfing the web wondering if they can mount a suppressor on a Barrett Fieldcraft with a 21” barrel. Allow me to make a short story longer...
This past fall I got the buck tag that had eluded me for 5 years. I filled that tag and was very happy with both the buck and my rifle. It was the first time I’d ever hunted with a suppressor and it was life changing. Never in my life have I heard the “thwack” so clearly and with such certainty that I’d reached my target. AND MY EARS WEREN'T RINGING!! But there was a problem: weight.
I hunted relatively mild pasture and it’s a good thing I did. The rifle I used was a Remington 700 Milspec 5R, .308, 24” bbl, Leupold VX-6 3-18x44, with a Silencerco Omega. Total loaded weight with sling was just over 12 lbs. The weight wasn’t so terrible, but the balance was atrocious for an over-the-shoulder rifle. Imagine hiking with a 12 lb top-heavy flagpole. So my goal became clear: I need a shorter, lighter suppressed hunting rifle.
This winter, I stumbled across a dream rifle at a price I couldn’t pass up: a Barrett Fieldcraft 6.5 Creedmoor with 21” barrel. I snatched it up and began researching mounting a silencer on a lightweight barrel. I inquired here at the campfire and elsewhere. Early on I concluded that it was a bad idea to put a silencer on such a lightweight barrel unless it were shorter and had a wide shoulder. So, the best approach would be to simply trade a 21” fieldcraft for an 18”. I had no luck trading, so I finally bit the bullet and had the barrel threaded.
Long story short, I had the 21” barrel threaded to 1/2”x28 and mounted a suppressor on it and now my Barrett Fieldcraft rifle is an absolute dream to shoot.
Full disclosure: I don’t hunt much. I am a poor shooter. Lightweight rifles are my kryptonite. I shoot them with the finesse of a dog dragging his ass across a rug. Before adding a silencer, I went through a box of Hornady 140gr ELD Match barely able to keep a group under 3” with this rifle. After threading the barrel and adding a silencer, I picked up another box of the same 140gr ELD -M. I put together one 5-shot group @ 100 yards and it was 1.16”. A friend who is a much more experienced shooter shot a single 5-shot group at 200 yds and it was 1.55”. (I edited the group sizes after taking to the targets with calipers.)
For guys looking to analyze details, here are some stats:
- 7 lb 12oz is the total loaded weight of rifle with silencer. The scope is a Leica ER 2.5-10x42 (~15oz) on Talley rings.
- The silencer is a Silencerco Omega 300 (14.5 oz) directly threaded to the barrel (as opposed to a quick detach mount). I don’t know if I’d mount a silencer on a 21” featherweight barrel with a heavier silencer.
- I believe the fact that the Barrett barrel is fully bedded to the end of the forend helps to reduce harmonic imbalance and barrel droop that may have been more pronounced with a free floated barrel.
- Recoil was cut by 30-40% with the silencer. Muzzle flip was all but eliminated. No joke.
- My silencer has a brake (of sorts) on the end of it. I believe this brake combined with the 14oz weight on the end of the barrel are the reason for the incredible reduction in recoil. A silencer without this brake would likely still help quite a bit, but not as much.
I’d post pics but the website and my phone don’t seem to speak the same language.
Last edited by SlimBlundt; 03/17/18.
