Sara Ahrens got up close and personal with Remington Arms’ guns with suppressors at a recent media event. She tells you why you might want a suppressor on your gun.
Suppressors are an area that I have little to no knowledge of, given that I am a resident of Illinois and they are illegal. But, at a recent Remington Arms media event, I was intrigued by information presented by the Director of Parts and Accessories, Jeff Still. His presentation focused on Remington Arms’ line of suppressors and the misinformation that exists amongst civilians about the laws surrounding ownership of suppressors.
Still advised that many people think their states have outlawed the ownership of suppressors, when in reality they are legal. Due to the considerable amount of misinformation on state laws, Remington has decided to undertake a program to educate citizens on each state’s law with regard to ownership of suppressors and to explain the necessary process to legally secure them.
Still advised that the most effective tool Remington has used to educate the general public about suppressors is a map of the United States, which illustrates the states that legally allow citizens to own suppressors.
He said that they have used this map at various events and that they’ve had an overwhelming response of shock by those people who believed that suppressors were illegal in their states, but really aren’t. This might be a good time for civilians to research their state laws because there are several benefits to using a suppressor for hunting. Remington provided a copy of the map they use to educate the public. Unfortunately, for those of us in Illinois, we are one of the 11 states where the ownership of suppressors is still illegal. Even without knowing anything more about suppressors than their basic construction, it’s not hard to understand the benefits they provide to hunters.
One obvious benefit of using a suppressor for hunting is decreased noise. Decreased noise actually provides multiple benefits for hunters.
The decreased noise not only helps the hunter preserve whatever hearing he or she still possesses, but it also decreases noise for surrounding hunters. Nothing is more unnerving or stressful than to hear every other surrounding hunter shooting … except you. Personally, I have come to spend most of my field time bow hunting just to avoid the added psychological pressure of hunting in conditions where surrounding hunters are perpetually shooting. Not only would the reduced noise be beneficial to other hunters, but also to the surrounding community.
Writer Katie Ainsworth sights in an M-24 with an AAC TITAN QD Silencer (Sara Ahrens photo)
Face it, whether a hunter is sighting in his gun at his local gun range, or in the field bordering residential areas, decreased noise reduces noise complaints.
Another benefit of reduced noise is the ability to continue to hunt when others are shooting. Most certainly suppressed fire would not have as big of an impact of surrounding wildlife as unsuppressed fire does. Besides the benefits that accompany a reduction in noise, suppressors benefit hunters through improved accuracy.
The basic design and construction of a suppressor is such that the canisters contain a series of baffles and chambers meant to disperse the gases in a variety of directions, instead of straight out the front of the muzzle. This design not only reduces the noise – it also reduces the felt recoil. The diversion of gasses means that the gasses do not all exit the muzzle simultaneously, ergo controlling muzzle flip and rise. The reduction in felt recoil and muzzle flip/rise should result in greater accuracy in initial, and follow up, shots. The decrease in felt recoil should also aid those shooters who suffer from flinching in anticipation of the noise and recoil. The reduction of recoil, muzzle rise and flip also means that a hunter should be able to acquire a second sight picture quicker, thus allowing for faster follow up shots when needed. In addition to the design of the suppressor, the weight of the suppressor should also help further reduce barrel rise.
Katie Ainsworth shoots a 9mm with a TiRant suppressor. (Sara Ahrens photo)
With all the benefits of suppressors, hunters authorized to purchase and possess one may find it worthwhile to do so. Remington offers several suppressors and these are the recommended models based on rifle caliber.
Rimfire hunting: Element 2, which is rated for 22 mag and 17 HMR
For AR hunting in .223: SR-5
For 308/6.8/.223: SR-7
For 300 win/308: 300 TM
For 338 LM/300 Win: TiTan –Ti
(Sara Ahrens photo)
For additional information regarding these suppressors, go to the Remington Defense website.
Thanks, Chris. That was big news for your state! Hooray!
Just an FYI update. Florida as of this year allows suppressors to be used for certain hunting applications.
While I am 100% in favor of using sound suppressors any time you use a fire arm, the point about increased accuracy is blatantly incorrect.
Attaching a suppressor to a rifle, in pretty much every case, changes the point of impact of the rifle. While some of the attachment methods make this change in point of impact relatively consistent, the hunter would need to re-sight in their rifle every time it was attached. Many suppressors also reduce the overall consistency in bullet impact by small amounts.
The “accuracy” in which you are referring to is actually an increase in shooter comfort. Increased comfort reduces flinch, saves your ears, and allows you to get back on target more quickly (though this is resolved by proper positioning when shooting more than it is by a suppressor).
Where I lived in New Zealand, you could walk into any gun store and buy a suppressor over the counter for around $400-600. No wait time, nothing. Their reasoning is reduction in sound pollution in the woods.
I think they hit the nail on the head.
I’m pretty sure it’s legal to hunt with in VA also. The map doesn’t show this.
Florida is a forward thinking state when it comes to firearms freedoms. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the use of suppressors for regular season hunting is now permitted in our state if only recently approved unanimously by the FWC committee for hunting regulations. The map graphic used in this well written piece indicates it is not. Readers I’m sure would like to know.