A suppressor for my 243? Is it mission impossible?

[Good Keen Man]

Hi

Long time no write.

Here in NZ, suppressors are legal and I am keen to put one on my 243 Handi to save my ears. I am worried that it will make it unbalanced as it is a Stainless Syn and the heavier barrel that they come with means it close to being unbalanced now.

What I thought I might do was get the gun smith to turn the barrel down prior to threading - meaning that the suppressor will cover the fore-end part of the barrel and it's new slim profile.

Obviously I am worried about the accuracy going out the window.

Can it be done or is it mission impossible??

[cwlongshot]

Sure you can....
But, you do realize it will not be silent don't ya? 

The 243 is not sub sonic and a suppressor does nothing for the sonic boom when the bullet breaks the sound barrier.

It will quiet it down somewhat, but nothing like you hear in the movies...

 You could hand load some bullets to make it subsonic.. This is usually best accomplished with some very heavy for caliber projectiles. But as the 243 only has a couple 243dia stable mates. There really is not anything readily available over 106grs.

 CW

[quickdtoo]

Turning the barrel down will likely cause the bore to open up slightly, every H&R barrel that I've slugged at the muzzle and near the throat is already .0005" bigger at the muzzle, removing more material is likely to open it up a little more I would think. It may not be enough to change how it shoots tho.

Pascalp has a bunch of suppressed Handis..

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,115530.msg1098369407.html#msg1098369407

"Hear" are some alternatives, for the most part suppressors are illegal here just about everywhere, so hearing protection is the best way to deal with the noise...

Tim

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/noduelgunmu.html

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/digaeari.html

[Good Keen Man]

wow - those Walker in the ear protectors are great.

I have run into one or two guys in the bush here in NZ with suppressors who swear by them, even if you miss a deer it is not particularly startled by the noise which may allow you that brief moment needed to be able to get another shot away.

That's how the story goes anyway.

Is that likely?

[trotterlg]

If you have ever been shot at you will know that a supersonic bullet going by your head makes quite a lot of noise.  I doubt a supressor would make any difference to anything but you.   Larry

[Mac11700]

There is 1 bullet showing in the Lyman 48th edition that might be of interest to you in this endeavor # 245496...It is an 84 grain gas checked bullet with some starting velocities 1605 fps to 2191 fps...and I found someone who is selling it and also a 100 grain one as well...http://www.customcastbullets.com/ they have a very nice selection of cast bullets available...

Mac

[Good Keen Man]

Thanks Mac - but am a little bit unsure of how it would help me! I don't know what gas checked means...

[pascalp]

Suppressor are effective with all ammo.
Obviously the airgun "pop" is achieve with subsonic ammo only. With supersonic you will get the classical "crack" of a supersonic 22lr, that mean a flat/sharp supersonic bang without any blast (at mach 3, 243w deliver a lot of blast), when shooting from a hard, semi-closed firing line, that make a whole difference.

For rifle balance, BR suppressor are fine. They cover barrel, thread at the muzzle and  bushing at rear.
This is my 45-70 Handi with a Reflex BR T8 (T8 mean 8 internal baffles).
The 44-45 suppressor/caliber aren't the most effective even with subsonic ammo. Due to overall diameter of the bullet, hot gas are difficult to kept inside the suppressor,  .22 .30 really shine




BR Tuote. Mounting explanation
http://guns.connect.fi/rs/mounting.html

[Mac11700]

Thanks Mac - but am a little bit unsure of how it would help me! I don't know what gas checked means...

These are small pieces of copper that go on the bottom of a cast bullet to protect it from the gases and engage the rifling.You can usually drive a gas checked cast bullet faster than the plain based ones...Since your trying to stay sub-sonic..the 84 grain one has loading data available for it in the Lyman 48th edition reloading manual.

Mac

[Good Keen Man]

thanks again Mac. I asked the gun smith today about the idea of turning down the barrel but his concern was about whether the barrel was hammer forged or not. If they are then turning it down will destress it and the bore may widen.

Are the Handi barrels hammer forged?

He thought a much better way to put on a suppressor while maintaining balance would be to cut 2-3 inches off the end of it (cut it down to say 19 inches) - what do reckon about that?

[quickdtoo]

They aren't hammer forged, CF rifle barrels are 4140 chrome moly, button or broach rifled.

Tim

[Sourdough]

pascalp:  That is a nice looking Handi.  It's what I am wanting to do with my 30-06. 


As for turning down the barrel, the more you turn it down the more you change the harmonics of the barrel.  I feel one of the main reasons the Handi's are so accurate is the heavy barrels.  Removing any metal will have a drastic affect on accuracy.  Just my openion, Rog 

[Tennessee.Traveler]

Suppressors are not illegal, they require a class 3 stamp at $200.00, plus paper-work and background check.  I once heard it said, "Its not nice to fool Mother Nature!"  That goes double for BATF!!

T.T.

[quickdtoo]

Suppressors are not illegal, they require a class 3 stamp at $200.00, plus paper-work and background check. 

Suppressors are indeed illegal to be possessed by civilians by state laws in several states!!!

Tim

Silencers are legal under federal law but since 1934 you must pay a $200 tax to purchase and submit to an FBI background check. Fingerprints and photos must be provided and a long wait of several months occurs before the paperwork is approved. There is no 'license' needed to own a silencer.

State law is a different matter. The following states allow ownership of silencers: AL, AR, AK, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS, MT, NE, ND, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, and WY. Of the sixteen states which do not allow civilian ownership, CA, IA, KS, MA, MO, and MI allow Class-3 dealers and Class-2 manufacturers to own silencers.

 http://www.silencertests.com/legality.htm

Silencers (or suppressors, which is really a more correct term), fall under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. This means they are legal for ownership by civilians in most states, but you have to pay the Government a one time transfer tax of $200, and undergo a background check to exercise your Constitution Right, um, privilege.

1) Make sure the item you want is legal in your state.  Some states ban all NFA weapons, some ban just certain types. If you live in, CA, HI, KS, MO, IA, MN, IL, MI, NJ, NY, MA, or RI, you can’t own one. Don’t try to buy one “under the table” either, as we don’t do that, and you are soliciting a felony if you try.

http://www.srtarms.com/legalities.htm

[pascalp]

My 2cents opinion.
Turned barrel is a bad idea. A fluted one is slightly better !

One of my others suppressed rifle/barrel, not a Handi ! (but single-shot and multi barrel program)

[Good Keen Man]

What does everyone think of the idea of cutting the barrel down by two or three inches so as to maintain balance when I put the suppressor on?

Any effect on accuracy?

I only hunt the NZ bush were you can only see a max of 50 yards (maybe up to 100 yards across a river valley), so I don't need super distance accuracy.