Rugged Suppressor for Bolt Action Rifles

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  • calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    So I have have a Rugger Radiant that I run on my AR platform rifles (5.56, 300 Black, and 6.5 Grendel). Most of these are SBR's. The Radiant seems to do the job. It's light and I don't jump out of my skin when I shoot suppressed, esp. on those SBR's :) No really - I mean it is a pleasure to shoot these rifles suppressed.

    Now - I have three bolt action rifles; 6.5 Grendel, 7.62x39, and 7mm-08 that are threaded and I have Rugged mounts for. Would it be worth my while to get a Rugged Surge for these or do you think the Radiant is good enough? Am I going to get another 3dB of suppression or more with the Surge? Enough to notice the difference? IDK if it's worth $945 + $200 for the stamp. But IDK well maybe it is.
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    Not sure it’s really worth it unless you try it and find the suppression to be horrible. Kind of depends on if you’re planning on shooting without earpro regularly. If you’ll be using at least one layer of earpro, it’s almost definitely not worth the expense or weight. If you want to shoot outside without earpro as much as possible, even a $1500 can is a lot cheaper than hearing aids. My gut is that you’ll find the Radiant kind of loud on the 7mm-08 but not bad, maybe pitchy on the 6.5 grendel but pretty good, and really good on the 7.62x39 bolt gun.

    FWIW the Surge is very quiet on bolt actions. The downside is that you don’t really need a belt fed rated can on a bolt action, so you’re adding a lot of unnecessary weight. There are a lot of lighter weight cans that would probably do just as well as the Surge, if not better. Thunder Beast being a great example. I think their newest generation cans in the 7” range would be quieter than the Radiant, and comparable to the Surge. Then there is the CGS Hyperion, which is ridiculously quiet on bolt actions. Not sure if the sub caliber nature of 7mm-08 would effectiveness much or not.
     

    calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    FWIW the Surge is very quiet on bolt actions. The downside is that you don’t really need a belt fed rated can on a bolt action, so you’re adding a lot of unnecessary weight.

    Saw a YouTube of a Norwegian (I believe) that could shoot a bolt action rapid fire by keeping his strong hand on the bolt and using his ring finger on the same hand to pull the trigger. He might appreciate the Surge ;)

    As for me, I will consider the other options in your post.

    P.S. I'd like to see that guy get a belt-fed bolt gun and shoot that in a video! Bet it would go viral.
     

    calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    You know I was really joking about a belt-fed bolt action rifle, but it looks like one really exists.

    [EDIT] Or maybe this is a joke.
     

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    calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    Guy I hunt with uses the SiCo Harvester on his hunting bolt guns. Loves it. They are made for hunting rifles. Very light, not made for sustained fire, let alone full auto.

    https://silencerco.com/silencers/harvester/

    Can't beat the price either.

    I think the short answer is the Radiant may not be the optimal choice 7.62 bolt gun can, but certainly is good enough.
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    Yeah, I believe their relative ratings. The Hyperion kind of seems like a generation ahead of most of the rest of the crowd. Nomad-L Ti might be competitive, and the TBAC 9 is probably competitive, but otherwise they are pretty far ahead of the competition, as far as my ears are concerned. I don’t really need one and still want to buy one.
    Can't beat the price either.

    I think the short answer is the Radiant may not be the optimal choice 7.62 bolt gun can, but certainly is good enough.
    I think it depends on use. You’d almost certainly rather have the radiant on a hunting rifle or something you carry a lot and shoot a little. If weight doesn’t matter, sure, get what you want. But 2-3 new Rugged muzzle devices sure is a lot cheaper than a new suppressor and tax stamp.
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947

    calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    Yeah I’m pretty familiar with PEW science, but that rating is for the regular nomad Ti, not the L model exclusive available at SilencerShop. Which is confusingly named the Dead Air Nomad - LT

    Or I am upside down dyslexic :)

    So what do you think of the Pew data? It seems very academic for one thing. For another, the ratings seem to be for no ear pro. i.e. "minimal suppression" means "a mag or two" no ear pro for no permanent hearing damage. Well - heck, that's not bad in my book. I use ear pro anyways.

    That being said, I sure would like to borrow a Hyperion for just one range session, since it is rated for "full range day".
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    Or I am upside down dyslexic :)

    So what do you think of the Pew data? It seems very academic for one thing. For another, the ratings seem to be for no ear pro. i.e. "minimal suppression" means "a mag or two" no ear pro for no permanent hearing damage. Well - heck, that's not bad in my book. I use ear pro anyways.

    That being said, I sure would like to borrow a Hyperion for just one range session, since it is rated for "full range day".
    I am cautiously hopeful that it is an accurate representation/modeling capability to demonstrate as comprehensively as possible what suppressors do. CGS and Dead Air designers seem to be all about it, and I believe they pay a good bit for his services. Like anything else, I am hesitant to jump onto the fanboy bandwagon just because his techie setup/reporting is like crack for power nerds. Those people tend to get distracted by shiny objects. The developer seems like a good enough guy, though I wish I knew more about how the system worked and what his full background is. He’s made snippy comments about $40,000 B&K pulse systems in the past, and if his allegations are correct (that they still don’t measure fast enough to consistently catch peak sound pressure level), it would be crazy. That company has a really good reputation, though they are apparently a pain in the ass to work with.

    Overall I tend to agree more than disagree based on my own experience with suppressors he has measured, though I don’t know how much he gets into tuning firearms around suppressors to create an optimal outcome. Since I don’t pay for his member services and can’t see much of what he does with semi autos.
     

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