Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Predators and Suppressors

I have my first suppressor on the way (Gemtech G5 / .223). Here in Tx we can use them when shooting non-game animals, yotes, cats, hogs etc. Do any of ya'll have any experience using them on critters? I know it still sounds a little less loud than a .22, but I was wondering if it makes much of a difference on the other animals around that don't take the hit. Same question with sub-sonic ammo, which is crazy quiet in a .223

Lt.

i have never used one,but think they would be great for pigs,after the first shot on a big group of they scatter and run like hell and its tough to get more than one or two, out of a group of 20 pigs.should work on coyotes to.ive been thinking about getting one but havent got around to it.

You're lucky you are in Texas. Here in Canada, there is no way a civilian can legally own and hunt with a suppressor. According to some, they are pure evil, and if you have one, you are likely to go on a rampage, and shoot a couple of dozen people.

I think it would be great on predators. Greater chance at a non runner on second and third yotes when multiples come in. Only downside is greater length and weight to the firearm. Cost also.

HoustonPd Lt. - how does Texas law trump the federal NFA regs concerning suppressors? Don't you still need to buy the $200 NFA stamps, registration paperwork etc. for them? I agree with you about being useful for preds and such. Lucky we don't live in Australia...one nut case goes bonkers with a "sword" next thing the Australian government does is ban edged weapons. Wonder how they cut their meat down under...plastic knives??? Regards, Homesteader

Ive used a suppressed .223 with regular ( Not sub-sonic) ammo in Africa to call and shoot jackals. Sounded like a .22 lr going off and made it easier to call in more than one per stand...FWIW..

Ingwe

Getting ready to order an accurate innovations 1 in 9 twist 10/22 barrel. Aguilla 60gr 900fps ammo is pretty danged silent and deadly but won't usually shoot well in a 1 in 16 or 1 in 14 twist barrel. This will be my temp solution, Wa state does not allow suppressors at all, ever.

With subsonic ammo in a .22 lr..its not illegal to put a baby bottle nipple over the muzzle....

I'm just sayin.....



Ingwe

Not illegal to have a short piece of foam pipe insulation in your pocket, either.

All of that still has to be done, but each state can be MORE restrictive if they want. Here, as long as the NFA sais its ok, then it is ok to have them. You just can't hunt game animals with the, meaning, here, deer, turkeys, javalina,, squirrels. Hogs, yotes etc. are ok tho.

Lt.

HoustonPdLt - OK, got'cha on the regs. The fact that hogs and coyotes are acceptable fare for suppressor use tells me the Texas game management folks have their heads screwed on straight i.e. less noise = less hogs/yotes = more fun for Texans. Regards, Homesteader.

So Aoudad, blackbuck, and nilgai are all on the OK too list???

YEP! Not native, so not game. It's good to live here. Here it is from TPW.

Means and Methods
Firearms
Game animals and game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, EXCEPT:

�white-tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope may NOT be hunted with rimfire ammunition of any caliber.
�shotguns are the only legal firearm that may be used to hunt Eastern turkey during the spring Eastern turkey season (see County Listing). Rifles and handguns may not be used to hunt Eastern turkey.
�pellet guns and other air guns are NOT LEGAL.
�fully automatic firearms are NOT LEGAL.
�firearms equipped with silencers or sound-suppressing devices are NOT LEGAL.
�a shotgun is the only legal firearm for hunting migratory game birds (see Definitions - Legal Shotgun).

Nongame Animals (Non-Protected): Any lawful firearm, pellet gun, or other air gun is legal.

I've used suppressor equipped firearms for hogs, prairie dogs and an occasional coyote with great success. The hogs still scatter when they hear the sonic crack or hear the thwaaaaaaccccck when their buddy takes a hit.
Gotta love Texas! Wish I could hunt there whenever I wanted (I mean afford it)

I use a suppressed .223 to hunt varmints at night here in Va. and they are legal for game species also. I have one for my .308 but have not used it on deer as of yet. With standard velocity .223 ammo, the sonic crack is very close to a .22 rimfire but the sound is around 50 yds. downstream from the rifle. It will spook the second varmint if there are two of them coming in but they cannot tell where it is coming from. A lot of time they will run directly at you.

safariman, how long is the barrel you're buying? If you can stand the length, I'd say a 26-in. bbl would take a lot of the noise off that load.

CB Longs do little more than a pop out of my 24-in. Springfield bolt.

You can own suppressors in Wa state, you cannot "shoot" through them in WA state, it is a gross misdemeanor to do so.
Of course you still have to jump through the fed hoops to get one.

I would love to have one. In CO you apparently can but what put me off so far is the $1k price tag and 12 ounces of weight and 9" of added length on the end of the barrel. I am guessing, like many things, I may finally come around and get one after it is too late and I have lost a good part of my hearing and will kick myself, saying "should have had it for years already".

I wonder how well these Econo-Can (second item from the bottom) work? It's an interesting idea.

Sean

Looks cool, I would imagine hard to see around the oil filter though.