To Suppress or Not to Suppress? That is the question!

I am looking for thoughts on getting barrels threaded for suppressors. Both rifles are Bergara B14 hunters. One is 6.5CM and one is 30-06. I am throwing around the idea of using the same suppressor for both guns. I would ideally like to shorten both barrels to compensate for the added length of the suppressor as I don't care for extremely long guns. I get mixed opinions on this. Some telling me the lose in velocity and losing some twist is important, and some telling me the ranges I plan to shoot I will never tell the difference. My intended range for both guns would be 300 yards max. I have thought of cutting off between 2 and 4 inches on each gun. The 6.5 has a 22in barrel and the 30-06 has a 24in. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Or…. You use a Reflex or Back Over the Barrel suppressor.
AB and Savage both make one.
Getting the barrels thread if it is a shorter profile often requires or needs a shoulder added to the process to avoid baffle strikes. The barrel is threaded the. A separate collar is created and permanently attached to the barrel. Depending on who does this depends on the finish. I prefer a tapped look that blends into the barrel.
A 30 cal can will suppress everything up to the 30 cal.
As will a can that is a 375 cal.
I do not think that out to 300 yards a 20” barrel will matter.
If it is a concern work up some hand loads for it, or have somebody work them up.
Buffalo Bore loads hot 30-06 rounds.

I say go for it but I'm a fan of suppressed everything. The velocity loss is majorly blown out of proportion. It really won't matter at 300yds and in.

I'd go 18" on the 6.5 and 20" on the '06.

Suppress everything. Well worth the costs involved. Cans on the market today have never been better, a reflex can, can help with overall length, and most rifles I would agree to the 18"-20" is fine. Look at Airlock Industries and Unknown Munitions. Two small companies doing really cool stuff with 3D titanium printed cans. I'd recommend a .30 cal can just so you can shoot your 6.5 as well. You won't notice a difference in sound.

Over the last couple of years Ive become a devotee to the house of suppressors.. other than big bores, I see value in suppressing pretty much everything..

granted, you wouldnt catch me threading the barrel of a pre-war Rigby, or any other fine rifle..

but I pretty much want a can on everything else these days..

I still am very much a fan of having "compact" rifles.. I prefer light weight and short OAL's most of the time.. whether Im having to hump the rifle all over hells half acre, or having to manuever around in a blind that already got a ton of other junk in it (2 chairs, a pack or two, heater, and all of my kit laid out everywhere).. Ive found that my longer and heavier rifles almost always get left at home..

As such, I tend to shy away from "full length" suppressors.. and I gravitate toward K-cans and OTB type suppressors..

I dont need "hollywood" quiet.. I can accept that a little 4.8" YHM Resonator K isnt going to get my 308 nearly as quiet as something like a PTR Vent 1 (almost 9").. but.. it will knock off enough noise to make my rifle hearing safe from within the blind, and knock off enough recoil that shooting my "lightweight" 308 feels like Im shooting a typical 243...

jb1069 said:

I am looking for thoughts on getting barrels threaded for suppressors. Both rifles are Bergara B14 hunters. One is 6.5CM and one is 30-06. I am throwing around the idea of using the same suppressor for both guns. I would ideally like to shorten both barrels to compensate for the added length of the suppressor as I don't care for extremely long guns. I get mixed opinions on this. Some telling me the lose in velocity and losing some twist is important, and some telling me the ranges I plan to shoot I will never tell the difference. My intended range for both guns would be 300 yards max. I have thought of cutting off between 2 and 4 inches on each gun. The 6.5 has a 22in barrel and the 30-06 has a 24in. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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my rifles get the barrels cut to 18-19 inches, even my 458 is 19 inches but it is not getting suppressed due to weight, on the 30.06 I use IMR8202 xbr and 150 Power hammer bullets at 2965 works great.

jb1069 said:

I am looking for thoughts on getting barrels threaded for suppressors. Both rifles are Bergara B14 hunters. One is 6.5CM and one is 30-06. I am throwing around the idea of using the same suppressor for both guns. I would ideally like to shorten both barrels to compensate for the added length of the suppressor as I don't care for extremely long guns. I get mixed opinions on this. Some telling me the lose in velocity and losing some twist is important, and some telling me the ranges I plan to shoot I will never tell the difference. My intended range for both guns would be 300 yards max. I have thought of cutting off between 2 and 4 inches on each gun. The 6.5 has a 22in barrel and the 30-06 has a 24in. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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Jb 1069,
the suppressor is great for sound and recoil reduction. We talked on this forum a few days ago about shortening the pipe. I am not a proponent of shortening the barrel on longer range rifles. 300yds is not a short distance. If you cuting the pipe to 6.5 cm, you will reduce its speed. If it is shortened by 2 inches, the speed drops rapidly, and it means a lot for that caliber. For example if you use 143gr grains (you probably will) that 2 inches will significantly reduce energy at 300yds. On the other hand, those same 2 inches will not affect the dexterity of the rifle in the bus or on the high seats. I think it's better to get a suppressor how slips on the pipe than one how screws on top of the pipe. As for the speed, there is also a problem if you load the ammunition yourself and use one of the slow-burning powders. 2 inches will mean a lot that the gunpowder burns to the end and provides maximum speed.

Cut'em both to 20", get an AB Raptor 8 stack with a reflux, and never look back.

Just order a new Bergara that is factory threaded and 18-20inch!

I have the Bergara wildness SP which is the 18inch 308. Got that because my only can is 9 inches haha.

I wouldn’t cut your 30-06. And even if you do there might not be sufficient meat to make a 5/8 thread. Speak to a good gunsmith. You don’t want to thread something that is too thin.

Many gunsmiths will do what ever you say and not know about problems that could arise. Mine would not thread my b-14 30-06.

Go to site sponsor @EuroOptic and look at all the suppressor ready options!
That’s just what I would do!

Cheers

I say suppress if you want. I'm about to post my own suppressor post.

I say suppress and shorten. The velocity per inch you will loose is just about meaningless. I cut my 300wsm to 18”. Still getting 2800-2900fps with 180’s, and I am below max on load. 18” 308 win my son hunts with 150’s, nothing he has shot at out to 250 yards has managed to live long. My oldest some uses a 18” 6.5cm after seeing how easy my youngest sons rifle handled. I lost about 100 FPS max after cutting 6” of barrel off. It’s well worth the handling ease, etc. you don’t drop as many FPS as some claim you do

People blow it way out of proportion about speed loss by barrel length. When I was researching it a long time ago (trying to decide how short to go on barrels) there used to be videos on YouTube of people cutting their barrels one inch at a time and checking for speed and accuracy. I just tried to look for them and couldn't find any, I imagine because of YTs new-ish rules.

What I saw was that the difference between 22 inch barrels and 18 inch barrels was way smaller than I thought it would be. You can still find graphs that show how much you will lose per inch cut off of a specific caliber.

The easiest moderate sized caliber to find in an 18" barrel seems to be 308. I have some rifles in 18"barrel and I love them. Two of them were incredibly cheap, with short barrels, and still shoot better than many long barreled, much more expensive guns I own.

I also really like that when not suppressed the 18" barrel is about the perfect length for a thick brush gun. It is also light and easy to carry around for long times.

If it were me, I would probably just go get a new rifle that came threaded at 18" for the suppressor.

I have a suppressor and yes, it's cool to use, but realistically-at least for me, I need recoil reduction more than suppressed sound.....but that's just me and my piss poor rotator cuff.

coreydb said:

I have a suppressor and yes, it's cool to use, but realistically-at least for me, I need recoil reduction more than suppressed sound.....but that's just me and my piss poor rotator cuff.

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For actual hunting, specifically in Africa with a PH, I don’t think you’d be allowed to use a brake only. Way too loud on the PH’s ears. But I think they would love for a client to have a suppressor/brake combo.

jb1069 said:

I am looking for thoughts on getting barrels threaded for suppressors. Both rifles are Bergara B14 hunters. One is 6.5CM and one is 30-06. I am throwing around the idea of using the same suppressor for both guns. I would ideally like to shorten both barrels to compensate for the added length of the suppressor as I don't care for extremely long guns. I get mixed opinions on this. Some telling me the lose in velocity and losing some twist is important, and some telling me the ranges I plan to shoot I will never tell the difference. My intended range for both guns would be 300 yards max. I have thought of cutting off between 2 and 4 inches on each gun. The 6.5 has a 22in barrel and the 30-06 has a 24in. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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I would not go shorter than 20 inches for either.
As for supressor its not that big a issue.

Ive used them on all sorts of guns professionally its not as big a deal as youd think

I don’t know of any PH that would prohibit using a brake… they adapt to a clients wants and needs pretty much any way they legally and safely can..

But they certainly hate brakes.. for all the obvious reasons…

That said, if they know in advance, they will prepare for it (ear pro, etc).. be cordial about it… and just hate you silently lol..

mdwest said:

I don’t know of any PH that would prohibit using a brake… they adapt to a clients wants and needs pretty much any way they legally and safely can..

But they certainly hate brakes.. for all the obvious reasons…

That said, if they know in advance, they will prepare for it (ear pro, etc).. be cordial about it… and just hate you silently lol..

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They probably should have a rule prohibiting them, for their own well being. I know people do it, but I can't imagine keeping a loud ass brake on my rifle and making someone stand next to me while I shoot. Our shoulders will feel better long before the permanent damage done to their ears.

Suppressors should come on rifles from the factory. I won't hunt in the US without one anymore. A 20" 6.5cm is not uncommon, it doesn't kill velocity near as much as people think, same goes for 30-06. Both of those cartridges will likely loose 25-50fps off box velocity which is based on a 24" barrel, 100-150 fps isn't much.

I shortened the barrel on one of my 6.5 Creedmoor's from 24" to 18", average velocity loss was ±140fps. I cannot see any difference on game out to 400m.

Thank you to everyone who replied. The information and opinions are 2nd to none on this site!!