If one was to build a suppressed hunting rifle....

What set up would you use? Caliber, barrel length cut, action, etc. what type of suppressor ?

Uses would be for general hunting, so don’t want something too heavy. Also would have to be visually appealing

I have built several "hunting" rifles specifically for hunting suppressed. My current set up is a Rem 700 in 308 Win with a varmint barrel cut down to 16" with my old Tiger Shark 300 WM can. It pushes a 125 grain Ballistic Tip at 2902 fps in the 16" barrel. It also runs a 150 grain at 2760 fps. Either bullet option is more than adequate for my use in Texas for hunting.

My set up for the last 5 seasons was a 16" Rem 700 in 300 blk out running the 125 SST or 125 BT at 2360 fps. It killed A LOT of deer and pigs.

A 6.5 CM, 260 Rem, 7-08, or any good short action round suppressed is a great option for basic hunting. The most important thing in hunting is shot placement. All the adequate hunting rounds out there will kill deer and pigs well. But it boils down to what you shoot well and can get that round on target. Over the years, I have decreased and decreased my power factor of cartridge I shoot. I used to shoot 270 Win, then 300 WM, then back to 270, then combo of 260 Rem and 308. Then went 100% blk out for many years. The blk out was great for me because it is cheap to shoot, VERY quiet, with ample energy on target. A 125 grain bullet expands into a perfect mushroom shape and exits deer with about a quarter size exit wound. I knew the drop out to 300 yards with it no problem. That combo is perfect for me. This year I changed up to a 308, and now my son is claiming that rifle. He kills the most deer now, so I'll let him run it.

Morgan cut my Model 70 .308 to 20", even with a Harvester on the end it doesn't seem long to me and I love that rig. If I was building one for your specs, I'd likely use a Tikka action, carbon barrel @ 18" in 7-08, 7 WSM or 300 WSM, since you said 'general hunting' and not specifically Texas. Lighweight stock like a McMillan Game Scout or comparable Manners. Then get a short .30 suppressor like an Omega, Rugged Micro 30, Crux, etc.

Another thing to make sure of, is plan out how you mount your suppressor onto your barrel. Often times there is an issue mounting a suppressor on a typical hunting barrel contour (which is about a #2 contour). There is often not enough meat left on the muzzle for adequate suppressor mounting. And if the stock is not bedded, the added weight to the end of the barrel puts stress on the stock to action mating, which causes accuracy and consistency problems. A 5 lb rifle with a pencil thin barrel on a flexible synthetic stock that is not bedded is often times not the best rifle platform to shoot and hunt suppressed.

Caliber, barrel twist, action, etc. don't matter. The only thing that matters, IMO, is that the barrel is short, 20" or less, the shorter the better. My main hunting rifles are between 8.5" and 18". Other than that just shoot whatever you want.

Curtis Action, 16" Proof Research CF barrel in 6.5 CM or 7mm08, CMC trigger, Foundation Stock, VTAC sling, YHM Phantom titanium.

If im building a rifle to hunt suppressed with subs its going to be a large caliber. 45+ caliber. 450 marlin, 4570, perhaps 45 colt or one of the other 50 caliber offerings.

Large caliber so you don't even need expansion, and with it comes big weight for great penetration.

8.6 Creedmoor?

I have a 16.25" barrel on my 6.5 cm on the Rem 700 platform with the Harvester and it's become my favorite Texas gun. It could stand to be quite a bit lighter, but a barrel swap will be in order for it in the next couple of years.

As much as i love my 24" on my 7wsm, it's just a long broom handle in the stand with the harvester stuck on the end of it.

I may have missed the boat, if your looking to shoot supersonic but suppressed disregard.

20" Tikka CTR in 6.5CM with Surefire SOCOM suppressor. It isn't a light weight gun, but it will shoot great beyond 600 yards.

My most fun and cool hunting gun is a TC Encore that's been cut to 16.25". It's a 7-08AI, I did the AI to help gain some of the velocity I'd lost. It's as close to perfect as I've got thus far.

If I didn't have a Tikka CTR, I think I would get this Steyr threaded 16".

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/839156130

Action - Bighorn TL3 or Origin

Barrel - for a direct thread suppressor ( non ugly little Richard hanging of the end) you will need a barrel with .725 meat at the finished length of contour. This means if you went with a medium contour like a Bartein 3 it could be no longer than 18” ( which is good as I would make it 17”) If you choose Bartlein 3b contour can be any length
If you go 3b then I would suggest going to a sender contour to make finding a stock on the shelf easier

Fluting- I would send my barrel to kampfeld and have him flute as deep as safe or slow spiral to save as much weight as possible.

Stock - I would get a McMillan edge fill Game Hunter or Game Warden as first choice

Suppressors- If you don’t want it Ugly and you want to primary use on nice bolt action-
Thunder Beast 7 - probably the lightest and super popular on bolt guns but not the greatest choice for an AR platform
Dear Air Nomad- Direct thread or can be used with a muzzle device ( Have one in jail)
Silencerco Omega 30- ( Have one)



If I’m buying a suppressor I want it quiet and with good connection. You want a “S” length suppressor. L’s are the quietest but get to long especially in the stand. I wouldn’t buy a K length

This suggestion is for a Texas stand hunting set up and will finish out about 22” ish. If your barrel is longer don’t forget to add 6” plus for can, super easy to make cumbersome in a stand

short action, 243/6.5/7-08/308. 16.5" medium contour barrel. KRG Bravo stock. pick your poison on action, but I like Tikka for just about any use case.

With the velocity being the constant, might as well go shorter barrel, but I'd go with the biggest, heaviest bullet I can make work. The only way to get energy is more mass if the velocity is capped. Realistically, 250-300gr bullets are about all you can find in normal bore sizes like .338 to .375. I keep thinking about building one every couple years, but unless I step up to the .510 Whisper, it's going to be disappointing on game.

+1 on the 20" Tikka CTR 6.5 CM. Customs are hard pressed to beat it for accuracy.

But, keep your velocity up enough for reliable bullet expansion. There are certain bullets and types of bullets that need a certain velocity to reliably open up. For example, I wouldn't recommend a heavy 180 grain Barnes TSX in a short barrel 308. The velocity is not there, and that bullet would ice pick though whatever you were shooting.

^^^ Yes!!

Absolutely. That was my concern with building a subsonic .338 or .375 of some type; just because I can get the mass to make the energy I want, the bullets just aren't intended to expand at those velocities. Chad, have you done any testing using Nosler's ABLR bullets at subsonic velocities? I know they are supposed to be softer to allow for expansion at longer ranges, when velocity has dropped off, and can explode at really close ranges, but subsonic would seem to be in their wheelhouse at all ranges.

Morgan cut my Remmy 700 308 Varmint to 18”, installed HS Precision stock, DBM and topped with a Leupopd VX5. Shoots .5” groups with my 150 GR Interlock hand loads. Oh yeah, I shoot it suppressed.

No. Those bullets do allow easier expansion at lower velocities. But the design of the bullet is a low drag, high BC bullet. The bullets are fairly long for caliber and weight. When shooting subsonic, the ideal bullet would be a cylinder shape, or a Coke can shape. Bullet stability is based on the length of the bullet, not the weight. So you want a heavy short bullet that will be stable in common twist rates. If you were to use the LRAB, you would need more twist to stabilize that bullet. They could work, but it would require some testing and proper twist to make them work. The long heavy bullets in my testing have not worked as well as other flat base bullets.

I do not claim to have anywhere near the experience that you guys have, but it seems to me that some are making this way too complex or expensive.

If you are staying short action, it seems to me a 308/6.5 in a decent aftermarket stock (or upgraded factory stock) with an 18" barrel shooting proven hunting rounds will be sub 1 MOA, function flawlessly, and will DRT at anything below 300 yards, which is 98% of the hunting being done. If you look at long action, then 270/30-06 or equivalent is the same thing.

Remington, Savage, Tikka, or Ruger all get the job done and your out the door built for less than $1,000 not counting optic or suppressor.

Genuinely curious - am I missing something in this discussion?

Probably not. In simplest terms, you just need a rifle with the correct threads but everyone has their opinion.

Barrel contour and what thread pitch depending on caliber.

Sort of. As I posted earlier, with a velocity capped at around 1,000fps to be subsonic, you can only gain energy by more bullet mass. While the 6.5s and .308s are great supersonic, 6.5 bullets generally top out around 140gr. and pushed at subsonic velocity will give you about 300ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle...about 50-70ft-lbs less than a 115gr. 9mm. I don't think any of us are likely to recommend hunting with a 9mm, and certainly not out to 300 yards. .308 subsonic can give you a bit more energy, but you're still only at around 480ft-lbs, or about what a .45ACP pistol will give you.

If the original post-er is willing to remove the subsonic velocity cap and shoot supersonic through a suppressor, everything changes and you aren't missing a thing.

I had Chad build me a gun specifically for hunting and hitting some plates. It's a Tikka action, Krieger #5 barrel cut to 17", in a Manners EHTA stock. I also had him load up come ammo and went with Hornady 162 Eldm. I may change ammo for hunting as it didn't exactly do what I prefer in a hunting bullet tested on two Axis deer. But for shooting targets, the ammo is very accurate! Chad knows his stuff!

Unless I missed it, the original poster never mentioned subsonic, just suppressed.

Rectal memory on my part combining what I read here and Chad's .28 Nosler subsonic thread.

I have two shorter barreled bolt actions, 16" 308 and 17" 7mm08
Both in McMillan stocks
the 308 started as a Tikka CTR that Morgan chopped and threaded at 16, sttock trigger and Mountain Tactical DBM for AI mags
I have ran 150g to 178 ELDX which is what I have settled on. It is very deadly and since I dial for elevation past 200 I wanted the heavy bullet for out to 500 yards hunting, more energy and less wind drift.

The 7mm08 started as a Savage lightweight hunter that had the barrel swapped for a McGowen that was tapered like an AR barrel, I run 140 Accubonds out of, Nosler's factory ammo, it was more accurate than anything else. Timney trigger, CDI DBM for AI mags

Both run Crux cans

This is my son's buck from last year, nice cull buck


My 308

FRA - agree with you if we are only discussing subsonic....

Who gives a $hit about subsonic? I thought we were talking about hunting rifles. Subsonic and hunting shoudln't even be used in the same sentence for 99.99% of the practical use cases out there. You are really muddying up the waters here.

We've already hashed this out once that I was confusing two threads I was following about suppressed rifles. But, for your benefit as a fellow window-licker, here is the link to the other one on the Texas "Hunting" Forum about "subsonic."

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7630263/28-nosler-subsonic#Post7630263