In the design process for several years, and released just a few short months ago, Ruger’s new, rear-locking bolt gun is a carbine that the class II world has been waiting fifty years for. Very closely proportioned to Ruger’s popular 77/22, the rifle weigh only 6 pounds and is a compact 38 inches long. It has been said that the action is very similar to its little brother, chambered in .22 rimfire.

Background

Before we talk about the 77/44’s potential Class II role, it would be good to discuss the general characteristics of this finely proportioned carbine. In his middle years, Bill Ruger was a sportsman with fond and pleasant memories of time spent afield. As a designer he has an appreciation of small, trim, accurate carbines with enough pep to easily handle medium-sized game. His collective experience of hunting in Africa and America with the semi-auto, 44 Magnum carbine of the 1960s taught him that a 240 grain, .43 caliber slug moving along at a brisk 1,700 fps has penty of penetration and sectional density. It is a round with more lethality than its paper ballistics would seem to indicate.

As we shift forward in time to the 1970s, Ruger’s semi-auto .44 carbine became too costly to produce. It was dropped from production years ago. Shifting forward a little more, a number of atrocities (instigated by gun control zealots and perpetrated by weak-minded individuals who, curiously, seem to have had the same psychologist) have caused a number of countries to either restrict or totally ban semi-automatic (self-loading) firearms. Like it or not (and we really don’t) the day of the manually operated rifle is upon us. Seeing that trend, Sturm, Ruger & Co. is expanding its line of lever and bolt-action rifles with small magazine capacity.

Receiver

The 77/44RS is a traditional rifle with a number of innovative features. The receiver is an investment casting. It is cleverly shaped, machined, surface ground and heat-treated. The versatility of the casting process allows a number of components which have formerly been typically attachments (like the trigger group and scope mounting rail) to be integrally found. While some castings are often bulky, porous and brittle, Ruger’s investment castings tend to be carefully heat treated, strong and ductile. They sometimes allow for a modest amount of weight reduction.

Barrel

The 18-1/2 inch barrel is hammer forged, and it is later turned to finish profile and dimension on a lathe. On the specimens we have examined there is a moderate dovetail slice taken out for the rear sight, a traditional but less than ideal way to mount the sight. In addition to that (and to our great surprise) another rather large dovetail slice has been taken out of the barrel where it is hidden inside the stock. Why this breach of integrity exists remains a mystery to us. If anything is sacred in this world, it is a barrel without dovetail slices and screw penetrations, as these tend to mess up harmonics and spoil inherent accuracy. While on the subject, Ruger has traditionally favored an 18 -1/2 inch carbine barrel for many of their rifles. In this case we feel that a rifled tube, a touch over 16 inches would deliver plenty of velocity, yet will reduce the carbine’s overall length by 2-1/2 inches a worthy goal. The factory barrel has rifling with a full right-hand turn in 20 inches, which is adequate for most .44 Magnum bullets driven to factory velocity. For longer, heavier bullets driven to subsonic velocities, a twist as fast as a turn in 10 inches would provide more stability.

Magazine, Trigger & Safety

The standard 77/44 factory magazine is rotary, removable and holds 4 rounds. It is a very good magazine, feeds well, and I would expect that no trouble will come from it. The trigger is a bit stiff, but that is common and to be expected in this age of litigation. The trigger can be improved by careful stoning and buffing from a competent gunsmith. The lock time is fairly quick, at 3 milliseconds or less. Ruger’s standard bolt safety is proven, convenient and effective. Still, a rule that we lived by in Alaska is to never chamber a round until we were about to shoot. To this day, I will not hunt with a man who carries a round in his rifle’s chamber, and I don’t trust any safety.

Sights & Mounting System

The rifle comes equipped with iron sights which are adequate for young (but not old) eyes. It also comes with a set of low scope rings, which mount in two of three integral depressions molded into the top of the receiver. The factory rings are available for the standard 1-inch tube, and are so low that they only accommodate scopes of fairly low power with small objective lenses. Scopes with a 30mm barrel and/or larger objective lenses will require that another set of rings be ordered at increased cost from the factory. A tough, compact scope of about 4 power would be the appropriate choice for this weapon.

Stock

The standard stock is plain, checkered American black walnut, fitted with a rubber butt pad of medium density. The stock is traditional in appearance, well-formed, properly fitted and quite nice in proportion. It is neither too large nor too small for this trim, handy carbine. As an old stockmaker, I can find no area where material could either be added or removed.

Accuracy

The complete rifle functions quite well for its intended purpose. Most of the specimens we have examined will bench a 3-shot group of 2 to 2-1/2 inches at 100 yards. It must be remembered that this is a carbine, not a sniper rifle. Undoubtedly some rifles will shoot better than this, and some will shoot worse. This is a light rifle intended for carry in a canoe or in the woods.

The .44 Magnum is an adequate 100-yard cartridge. For the handloader, a cast lead, 300-grain, Keith-style bullet has a ballistic coefficient of .213. Starting at a comfortable 1,500 fps, it holds the record for penetration in ballistic gelatin. This bullet will retain a velocity of 1,240 fps at 100 yards, 1,100 fps at 200, 960 fps at 300, 890 fps at 400, and 826 fps at 500 yards. Once reaching subsonic velocity, the flat-nosed bullet loses very little additional velocity. Clearly, the .44 remains lethal at extreme range, but a rainbow-like trajectory makes a first round hit difficult much beyond 100 yards. The bullet will penetrate deeply and effectively at any reasonable range.

Suppressed Use

The first effective suppressed subsonic rifles produced in quantity were the famed British De Lisle carbines of World War II. These were made from reject Enfield rifles, reject .45 ACP submachine gun barrels, and 2-1/4” steel or aluminum tubing. Of varying quality, these rifles quietly drove 230 grain, .45 caliber bullets along at roughly 950 fps. Some were very accurate. Some were not. The most famous use of the De Lisle involved a small contingent of British commandos shooting into a convoy of Japanese soldiers. Shooting from a concealed position on a hillside, the commandos took turns, each shooting a single silenced round at a single soldier in the back of each truck as it drove by. This went on for hours, to the continued amazement of the Brits. For the period, the De Lisles were very effective suppressed carbines. They have been issued and used in many covert and overt engagements since World Ware II, and as recently as the war in the Falklands.

While silencer technology has improved greatly since World War II, the concept of driving a heavy, large caliber slug from a rifle at subsonic speed continues to intrigue. The most recent suitable host rifle has been the Remington 788. Occasionally chambered in .44 Magnum, these rifles were briefly available during the late 1960s, and were then dropped from production. While other repeating rifles have been available, most have tubular magazines that preclude the use of a suppressor. A bolt gun with a magazine beneath the action is the easiest to deal with. Conversions to .44 Magnum, .45 ACP and .45 Colt (the most desirable) have been made from time to time, but these tend to be costly and time consuming to build. They are also plagued with function problems, as they are typically cobbled from something else. Failures to feed, fire and extract are the rule, not the exception. Over the past 60 years a great variety of rifles has been tinkered with and suppressed, with very little success. Until now.

Ruger’s 77/44 finally brings a suppressable bolt-action rifle in a reasonable caliber to the table, where it can be used by police departments, animal control officers, drug interdiction groups, special operations people, and by qualified private citizens.

We recently received a sample of .308 subsonic match cartridges from Engel Ballistic Research Inc., Rt 2, Box 177C, Smithville, TX 78957; Phone 512-360-5327, Fax 2652.

This sample of ammunition is of special interest to us because it comes at a time when very little subsonic ammunition is available in the U.S., and where accusations of inaccuracy and instability are flying between domestic importers of foreign ammunition, and some suppressor manufacturers, each blaming the other for problems their customers may be experiencing.

I covered accuracy and instability in my three-part SAR article on silenced sniper rifles, but would like to mention a few key points again. In .308, one will have the greatest likelihood for dependability and accuracy if: 1) The suppressor is fastened to its barrel with a two-point mount. 2) If the first (and possibly the second) blast baffles is/are symmetrical and axially aligned with the bore. 3) If inherently stable bullets, with round-noses and flat-bases, are used. 4) If the barrel has an adequate twist rate and rifling style for the bullet length and, 5) If the silencers in question have adequate clearance within the cone of dispersion that the departing bullets will describe.

When EBR’s .308 cartridges came in we pulled two rifles from the rack for testing. The first was a standard Remington 700 Varmint rifle with a 1 in 12-inch twist barrel and a synthetic stock. The second rifle was a Savage Tactical with an aftermarket Choate, Ultimate Sniper stock, a 1 in 10-inch twist barrel and an aftermarket, Sharp Shooter trigger.

Velocity testing took place by loading five cartridges in each rifle in an air-conditioned room held at 70 degrees F. The rifles were taken out individually and fired rapidly over a chronograph in 85-degree ambient temperature. The velocities from the Remington were, in order : 991, 1019, 1023, 1032 and 1054 fps. As the weapon’s bore heats up from prior firing, less and less heat is withdrawn from the propellant gas by conduction to the metal in the barrel, thus we expect succeeding shots to be faster and faster as the barrel heats. We see this to a lesser extent in .22 LR firings. The heavier the caliber, the greater the effect, although it seems more accentuated in subsonic loadings than in full-powered loads because there is less gas to work with. The Savage rifle shot its subsonic rounds at 989, 1014, 1031 1056 and 1089 fps, respectively. We expect a little variation in velocity because it is very difficult to get uniform powder measurement and placement in a case that will easily hold 50 grains of powder. We find these velocities to be very consistent and uniform for the low-density, .308 loading.

EBR calls this ammo 7.62mm Thumper, because it uses a heavy, moly-coated, 220 grain round-nosed, flat-based bullet. Slow-fire accuracy testing was conducted under windless conditions the following morning. We had no trouble keeping three-shot groups inside a half-inch at 100-yares, with either rifle. It should be mentioned, however, that the point of impact was roughly 14-inches below, and a bit to one side of our center if aim, as both rifles were sighted in for high-velocity, 158 grain, match ammunition. The difference in pint of impact is due, in part, to different recoil characteristics between the high and low velocity cartridges, and occurs whenever ammunition with substantially different energy levels are used. Both rifles carried heavy, Sound Tech suppressors, which dampened muzzle rise. The sound level appeared to be less when compared with other subsonic ammunition we have tested.

Lighter weight, unsuppressed rifles will be likely to experience a greater degree of apparent drop than 14-inches. If one will be using this ammunition for serious work we recommend sighting the weapon in to accommodate subsonic trajectory and rotation, at a range at which firing is anticipated. It is very difficult to remember the zero for different rounds. Not impossible, but difficult. We also suggest using Thumper ammunition exclusively, rather than mixing ammo types. Round-nosed bullets with flat bases are dependably stable, inherently accurate, and usually penetrate in a straight line. Do not expect subsonic ammunition to be noiseless in an unsuppressed weapon. The report will be substantial unless a suppressor is involved.

The 220 grain, moly-coated bullet should deliver about 484 foot pounds of energy at 1000 fps. While the suppressed report was mild, we noticed both rifles recoiling about three inches, judging by the skid marks generated by the bipod on the shooting bench. It is apparent that 220 grains of lead and copper are traveling down range each time the trigger is pulled.

We pulled a bullet from one of the cartridges and got about 12.7 grains of a coarse, light, tubular powder, of a type that we are unfamiliar with. In all of the EBR testing we conducted, none of the subsonic bullets broke the sound barrier. This is significant, as other samples of subsonic rounds furnished us by other manufacturers frequently broke the sound barrier. This is supposed to be stealthy stuff, and it won’t be stealthy if it goes beyond the speed of sound.

Engel Ballistic Research is currently at work on a heavy, .30 caliber rifle round that purportedly will expand reliably and effectively at velocities below 1000 fps. To date, we have not seen a rifle bullet capable of doing this, and we look forward to testing this round in the future.

The Use of Sound Suppressors on High-Powered Rifles

This article will deal with choosing, loading and using accurate subsonic rifles. Unlike the more powerful supersonic rifles, whose bullets generate their own supersonic crack, subsonic rifles are capable of delivering very quiet, almost undetectable, accurate fire. The sound of a subsonic bullet whizzing through the air at 1,000 fps is very quiet indeed, certainly less than an arrow from a bow at 200 fps. We won’t get heavily into the science of it, but a velocity of 1,000 fps (or roughly 300 meters per second) has long been considered optimal, since well before World War II. Any slower, and we’re leaving precious velocity on the table. Any faster, and one runs the risk of breaking into the sound barrier (1,100 fps) in a hot environment, where gunpowder burns more effectively. A warm barrel or a hot cartridge can easily push velocity up another 150 fps, even though the cartridge contains a bullet of the same weight and powder charge.

With a properly designed system, the loudest sound will be that of the bullet strike. With effective suppressor technology we can all but eliminate the sound of a muzzle blast. By hovering around 1,000 fps we can virtually eliminate bullet flight noise. The only thing left is the plop of bullet impact, which can be quite loud on occasion.

Power Level

Subsonic bullets travel much slower than high-powered rifle bullets. Since the formula for energy squares velocity, it can be seen that the subsonic bullet must try to make up for the loss of power with mass, clever bullet design and accurate shot placement.

One standard formula divides velocity squared by a factor of 450,400. That, times the bullet weight in grains, will equal energy in foot pounds. Let’s take a 200 grain, .308 bullet and crunch some numbers. At 2,400 fps that bullet will deliver 2,558 foot pounds of energy. At 1,000 fps the same slug will only deliver 444 foot pounds of energy.

A 300 grain, .44 Magnum bullet driven at 1,000 fps will delivery 666 foot pounds of energy. A 55 grain, .223 bullet will develop 1,250 foot pounds of energy at 3,200 fps. While the energy of a .223 on paper may be twice that of the .44 Magnum, the 44’s greater mass and deeper penetration will prove far more deadly on large animals. In the 1960s the friends and family of the Ruger empire spent quite a bit of time in Africa with their .44 Magnum, semi-auto carbines. Most who used those .44 carbines were very impressed with their lethality. The .44 is a lot more effective than the paper ballistics would lead one to believe.

For those who enjoy playing with calculators, a factor of 2.22, times the proposed bullet weight in grains, will equal foot pounds of energy at a velocity of 1,000 fps.

Barrel Length and Porting

One doesn’t need much barrel length to develop a minimal 1,000 fps of velocity with a heavy, large caliber bullet. An 8 to 10 inch tube will provide plenty of acceleration. For the record, a good 10 inch barrel is fully as accurate as a much longer one. One more time, with feeling, a 10 inch barrel is fully as accurate as a 30 inch barrel. We often note a significant increase in accuracy when we cut a 24 inch barrel back to 10 inches. A proper chamber, adequate rifling twist rate and a perfect muzzle crown are all more important than barrel length.

If porting (holes drilled in the barrel to bleed propellant gas) is used as one of the devices to reduce the noise of a suppressed firearm, it is recommended that the barrel be from 10 to 12 inches in length. Porting, when properly executed, can reduce a suppressor’s overall report by as much as 40%. All ports should carry a substantial 45 degree bevel at the bore interface, or they will shave off copper or lead from the bullets, which will pack up the primary expansion chamber and the ports themselves. If a suppressor eventually weighs 8 pounds more than it used to, there is a good chance that sharp or burred ports are at fault. Many manufacturers bevel the outside of each port, but this does little or nothing to cure the problem. Beveling the inside of each port is not easy, but it must be done.

For private ownership in the U.S., a pistol barrel may be of any length. A rifle barrel must be over 16 inches long. Any shorter, and a $200 Federal tax stamp (and a Form 4) will be due on private ownership. Municipality, county or state ownership of a short barreled rifle or suppressor will of course require federal registration, but no tax stamp will be due.

Caliber Selection and Bullet Shape

Since velocity is rigidly fixed, the most important area of the selection process will be based on the assigned role of the firearm. Plinkers and target shooters are well served with the common .22 LR round. It’s cheap, quiet, available and accurate. The high-speed .22 LR round is transonic, which means that it starts out faster than 1,100 fps (supersonic) but then its velocity decays into the area where parts of the bullet are supersonic, and parts are not. When a bullet travels through the transonic range the frictional pull trying to slow it down is from four to five times greater than the pull that exists at subsonic velocity. Simply put, this differential pull causes instability. A stable, round-nosed, flat-based bullet (like the .22 LR) will be less accurate in the transonic range. Inherently unstable, hollow-point, boat-tailed bullets (with the preponderance of mass to the rear) will lose all stability in the transonic range, tumbling end-over-end and losing any semblance of accuracy at that speed. Thirty years ago, those who drove Chrysler vehicles on slippery roads in the northern states found that, in a situation where control was lost, the vehicle would spin and settle into a rear end-first attitude, because the rear end was heavier than the front end. Those who drove Ford products (which typically had less rear-wheel traction on ice) soon learned that the heavier front end caused the vehicle to be more stable in a spin. Its natural movement in a minimal traction situation was front-end first. Sharply pointed bullets have the heaviest end at the rear, and they take a much greater spin rate to keep them pointed in the right direction. Bullets with blunt points and hollow bases (Like hollow-based, wadcutters) are inherently stable in flight. They fly straight, even without spin.

In terms of effectiveness on live targets, it is very hard to beat a blunt-nosed or flat-tipped bullet. Put another way, a subsonic bullet that is a true cylinder will deliver more shock, hemorrhage and trauma than any other shape. Sharply pointed and round-nosed projectiles will slip right through, while causing minimal damage. It has been said that some .30 caliber projectiles are designed to expand at 1,000 fps, but this remains to be proven to my satisfaction. Sharply pointed bullets will penetrate deeply at subsonic velocities – pushing nerve tissue and blood vessels aside, rather than cutting them. Unless the bullet hits the base of the brain or a major nerve center, the animal will run away, usually to die a slow and agonizing death. Most pointed and round-nosed .30 caliber rifle bullets are totally lacking in knockdown power at subsonic velocities. We hear the same stories of subsonic .30 caliber bullet inadequacies over and over again, and are frankly quite tired of them. Subsonic .30 caliber bullets will not expand in large animals. The only effective .30 caliber subsonic bullet will have a totally flat front end.

For those entities involved with animal control, the subsonic .22 LR round is relatively humane (meaning it kills quickly) and effective on animals weighing up to roughly 20 pounds. On snakes and small vermin the Remington Subsonic, hollow-point round is fairly effective. It usually stays subsonic, even in long, unported barrels, and is fairly accurate. On very small rodents a round called the .22 CB Long offers reduced bullet weight and less penetration. It is not a very accurate round, but works OK for squirrels in attics and pigeons inside barns at close range. It will sometimes penetrate a sheet metal roof, so one must be careful regarding a backstop. On larger, tougher animals CCI’s SGB (small game bullet) offers extreme accuracy and deep, effective penetration. Unlike high-velocity hollowpoints, which often fragment and perform poorly, the SGB is one of the first modern attempts at scientific design in a rimfire cartridge. Its bullet is of hardened lead, with a solid, but slightly flattened tip. If I were going to pack a small .22 rifle into a wilderness survival kit, it would be accompanied by a large supply of SGBs. They work well on small animals, and work better than any other .22 LR round on larger animals. Until someone comes up with a .22 LR wadcutter (I hope CCI is listening) the SGB will remain the most effective .22 rimfire round available.

The next stop up the ladder of higher subsonic energy is the move to a .30 caliber weapon. The .308 is a logical place to start, and (with a light charge of fast powder) it can be effective in a weapon that is designed to be both subsonic and supersonic. A 1 in 10 inch twist will stabilize up to a 200 grain, round-nosed, flat-based bullet. However, the extra room in the .308 case provides a substantial cushion, which can cause problems with efficiency and consistency. The most ideal situation results when a cartridge case is just big enough to hold its charge of powder and a bullet, with no room to spare. In the 60s a fellow named Joe Apache necked a .223 case up to .30 caliber. The result was an interesting cartridge called the .30 Apache, which sat ignored for quite a number of years.

Eventually the use of suppressors burgeoned in the U.S. and Grendel Arms (now known as Keltec) began experimenting with a similar case in a suppressed M16. The concept eventually developed into what is now known as the .300 Whisper. That small .30 caliber cartridge will easily launch a bullet as heavy as 250 grains at a subsonic velocity. Not surprisingly, the longer, heavier bullets have to be spun at a full turn in 6 to 8 inches in order to stabilize at low velocity. Again, it has been said that some of these heavy bullets will expand at subsonic velocity, but I’ve seen absolutely no evidence of it. Indeed, they usually perform like a knitting needle, poking a small, straight hole, in one side and out the other, wasting 90 percent of their limited energy beyond the primary target. I’ve heard the word tumble used in conjunction with the .300 Whisper, but I’ve not seen that happen either. The heavy bullets are capable of extreme penetration, but I have seen absolutely no inclination towards tumbling. Many have had great expectations for the subsonic Whisper cartridge, but until they develop a flat point for a hard, .30 caliber bullet, I feel that they will continue to be disappointed.

Dr. Martin Fackler, founder of International Wound Ballistics Association, devoted a considerable amount of research, study and experimentation to the subject of subsonic bullets. Based on his own and other research going back 200 years, Dr. Fackler (in a nutshell) concluded that hollowpoints and expanding bullets are a waste of effort. One can do no better than to use a simple, hard-cast lead bullet with a totally flat nose, and with sharp edges at the transition between the flat face and the cylinder walls. Such a bullet does not move through the air with the extreme ease of a VLD (very low drag) bullet, but its terminal effect is considerable.

The next logical step up in caliber is to .338. In the early 70s, Max Atchisson of Georgia cut off the shoulder of a .223 case and trimmed it to an overall length of 1.412 inches. The result was a case mouth of the perfect size for a .338 bullet. Called the .338-223 Straight, the cartridge is of great interest. Like the .300 Whisper, it will launch a heavy bullet very quietly. I am told that either of these efficient bullets will arrive at a target 300 yards distant with a loss of less than 100 fps. Those who are used to supersonic bullets will find this astounding, but one must remember that it takes a lot of energy to break the sound barrier on a continuous basis. A subsonic bullet that isn’t wobbling in flight is the Honda Civic of the firearms world. It moves through the air with a velocity decay rate roughly one-fourth the rate of a supersonic bullet. Until we get a flat-nosed .338 bullet, this cartridge will also suffer from the same knitting needle-like effect.

We could stop to visit with the .38, but I’m going to bypass that and settle on the .44, which is really .43 (actually .429) caliber. Ruger now makes a lever-action and a bolt-action rifle, both of which are chambered in the powerful .44 Magnum cartridge. We’ve been waiting for twenty years for these rifles, and are immensely pleased that they are finally on the market. Wadcutters and flat-nosed, cast bullets are available in weights from 185 to 300 grains. For those who hand cast, the weights range from 80 to 362 grains. Since factory ammunition is usually too fast, the subsonic .44 Magnum rifle is a handloading proposition. Fortunately, Mike Dillon’s Square Deal press is affordable, and cranks satisfactory rounds out at a prodigious rate. The twist in Ruger’s .44 barrel is 1 turn in 20 inches, which seems to stabilize 300 grain bullets effectively. It should be mentioned that, while barrel leading can be a problem with lead bullets driven beyond 1,400 fps, it will not be a problem with lubricated, hard-cast bullets driven to 1,000 fps. We should also mention that we’ve been buying plain-based, hard-cast, lubricated lead bullets from Brownells, and that we shoot them backwards in order to get the maximum effect. Midway, Dillon and quite a number of other suppliers sell swaged or cast lead, lubricated bullets for both the .44 and the .45. We don’t care about ballistic coefficient nearly as much as we care about terminal performance, which has been rated as nothing short of excellent by contractors, animal control officers and park rangers. The flat-nosed .44 delivers a mighty whack. It has excellent knockdown power. It isn’t a good 300 yard weapon, but remember, we’re talking subsonic here. Any bullet that moves at a sedate 1,000 fps will have a rainbow-like trajectory much beyond 100 yards. Little velocity is lost, and the weapon is still very accurate at extreme range, but finding the proper elevation adjustment can be tricky.

The powders of choice have been the time-honored Unique and a powder made in Finland by Vihta Vuori Oy called N 310. The Germans developed a very fast powder for their suppressed rifles during World War II, and this may be a very close duplicate of that powder. It should be mentioned that the Finns turned some of their subsonic rifle bullets backwards for better accuracy and improved terminal performance. They also developed a system using a few drops of solvent to dissolve the upper layer of their fast powder. After this solvent evaporated, the powder was thus sealed into the rear of large-volume cartridge cases. A bullet was then seated and heavily crimped in place. This helped to achieve better combustion and improved uniformity. Prior to this a filler, such as nitrated cotton fiber or kapok, had been used on large-volume shells. The solvent was a stroke of genius because it rapidly evaporated, did the job very effectively, and left nothing extra inside their suppressors.

Interestingly, we were using N 310 powder in a Thompson Contender, which developed the disconcerting habit of opening up by itself each time it was fired. Curiously, no damage occurred, and the bullets hit the target as though nothing was amiss. The standard pistol primers did not indicate any sign of high pressure. The velocity was 1,000 fps, out of a 21 inch, unported barrel. After this happened several times in a row we switched to Unique (a slower powder) and the problem went away.

H & R and NEF also make a single-shot, break-open carbine, chambered in either .44 Magnum or .45-70. These rifles are more robust than the Thompson Contender, and remain closed when fired, regardless of the load. At a mere $150, these are the cheapest games in town. Don’t think that inexpensive means unreliable or inaccurate. These are very reliable, accurate weapons. More so than the expensive and finicky Contender.

Dating back to 1873, the .45 Colt is a close cousin to the .44. This rimmed cartridge offers 10% greater frontal area. The caliber and the cartridge were the end product of a lot of cut-and-try research. The .45 Colt may be old, but it certainly isn’t obsolete. Many who hunt deer with a revolver feel that the .45 Colt is as close to perfection as one can get. We really like the cartridge, but are having a hard time finding rifles we like with the .45 Colt chambering. Winchester and Marlin both make lever-action rifles, but the feed tube is tied to the barrel and gets in the way of the suppressor. We’ve been buying .45 Colt barrels with a 1 in 14 inch twist from Bullberry in Utah for the single shot, Thompson Contender. We look forward to the day when H & R, RUGER and NEF make their rifles in .45 Colt.

The .45-70 cartridge seems like an obvious step beyond the .45 Colt. We’ve suppressed this round but are not as happy with it as we are with the .45 Colt. The Colt has a slug with a .451 inch diameter and is available with bullet weights up to 425 grains. As a cartridge, the Colt is compact and easily loaded. Its case walls are heavy and durable. The current popularity of cowboy action shooting make the .45 Colt cartridges readily available, and inexpensive. The .45-70 has a bit more capacity than we really like, and its case walls are quite thin near the mouth. The mouth is easily bent or deformed. We’ve crumpled and ruined quite a number of .45-70 cases while attempting to resize or seat bullets. The diameter of the .45-70 is .458 inches. Cast bullets are available in weights up to 645 grains, which ought to be plenty for almost any situation we can envision in North America.

Some have attempted to suppress the mighty .458 Winchester Magnum. That is truly a waste of effort, as there is absolutely no difference between the subsonic .458 and the subsonic .45-70, other than that the .45-70 is more efficient because its case capacity is smaller. We’re not saying no to either the .45-70 or the .458, it’s just that we like the .45 Colt a lot more. The .44 Magnum and the .45 Colt suppressed rifles are perfectly suited to the task of quietly harvesting or removing animals weighing between 100 and 600 pounds. Both cartridges are supremely accurate and very efficient at subsonic velocities. The ideal weight of bullet will drive completely through the animal in questions, remaining just under the skin on the far side. This is a close to perfection as it gets. The .44 Magnum and the .45 Colt have excellent knockdown power when loaded with bullets having absolutely flat front ends.

The only possible improvement over the .44 and the .45 Colt would be a move to the legal maximum diameter in the U.S., which would be .50 caliber. Interestingly, the French were among the first to do this in the 1870s, when they fitted one of the first metallic silencers to a .50 caliber Remington Rolling Block pistol. The.50 Remington (M71 Army) used blackpowder to drive a 300 grain lead bullet along at a sedate 600 fps. The powder was corrosive, and the suppressor would have to be boiled out with soap and water, and then oiled after use, or it would eventually be destroyed by corrosion. Rimmed .50 caliber cartridges can be made from 50-70 brass, an expensive and laborious tasks. A wadcutter bullet would have to be designed in .50 as this is not an item which is readily available. The .50 caliber offers almost 20% greater frontal area over the .45. A bullet weighing between 400 and 1,000 grains would seem appropriate for this caliber. Again, we have been very happy with the .44 and the .45 Colt, and find a need for anything beyond these two cartridges unlikely.

Suppliers

Brownells, Inc., 200 S. Front St., Montezuma, Iowa 50171. Phone: 515-623-5401, Fax 515-623-3896

Bullberry, 2430 W. 230 N. 67-5 Hurrican, Utah 84737. Phone: 801-635-9866

Dillon Precision Products, 8009 E. Dillon’s Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-9865 Phone: 800-223-4570, Fax 602-998-2786

Midway, Box 718, Columbia, MO 65205. Phone: 800-243-3220, Fax 573-446-1018

NEI Handtools, a supplier of custom bullet molds, 51583 Columbia River Highway, Scappoose, OR 97056. Phone: 503-543-6776, Fax 7865

Barrel Length and Overall Rifle Length

Most sniper rifles have barrels ranging from 24 to 30 inches in length. An effective suppressor needs from 8 to 12 inches of length in front of the muzzle in order to function properly. A 4 foot long rifle can easily become a 5 foot long rifle with the addition of a muzzle can, and this may be awkward in some situations. Most suppressed rifles have fairly short barrels in order to reduce the overall length. Expect to lose about 140 fps when cutting a 26 inch, .308 barrel down to 20 inches. As a practical matter, most high-powered rifle barrels are cut to between 16 and 18 inches. We have been taught from grade school that long barrels are much more accurate than short barrels, but this has no basis in fact. We personally find that an 18 inch barrel is a bit more accurate than a 26 inch barrel. The chamber, throat, crown and rifling are more important than barrel length. Subsonic rifle barrels may range from 8 to 12 inches in length. One does not need very much linear acceleration in order to reach a velocity of 1,000 fps with a .308 bullet. Privately owned rifles in the U.S. must have barrels over 16 inches in length, or they will require a $200 Federal Tax Stamp and registration in order to remain legal. A steel suppressor tube can be welded to a short barrel to avoid the tax and the hassle, as long as the overall length of the unit is beyond 16 inches. Soft solder or glue is not an acceptable alternative to welding. The intent of the BATF ruling is that the assembly must be permanent, and not easily altered. To clear up confusion, shotgun barrels must be over 18 inches in length. Again, rifle barrels must be over 16 inches long. This is of no concern to police and military where the organization or unit (not the individual) actually owns the weapons, although LE agencies are still required to register these with ATF.

If you have a choice of bullet weight it is useful to know that heavier bullets operate more efficiently (than light bullets) out of a short barrel. A .223 barrel should have a 1 in 7 inch twist in order to stabilize the heavier 69 and 80 grain bullets. A .308 barrel (shooting 180 and 200 grain bullets) is best served with a 1 in 10 inch twist. The common 1 in 12 and 1 in 14 inch .308 twists won’t stabilize any .308 bullet much heavier than the industry standard 168 grain, boat-tailed, hollow point, match projectile. If stability is a problem, round-nosed, flat-based bullets may be the answer. They are inherently more stable than sharply pointed, boat-tailed projectiles.

Subsonic bullets are not normally shot in combination with high-powered bullets. Because of softer recoil characteristics and less muzzle rise, a subsonic .308 can be expected to strike roughly 14 inches lower than a full-powered load at 100 yards. Again, the issues of cold shot zero and liability raise their ugly heads. During WW II, subsonic rifle bullets were sometimes loaded and fired backwards in suppressed rifles. This resulted in an increase in both accuracy and terminal effectiveness.
Tactical users who must use factory ammunition will be best served with the 168 grain, Limited Penetration (LP) round from Black Hills, unless they are shooting through steel or glass. The LP round duplicates other match rounds in accuracy and zero, but is designed to virtually explode upon impact, leaving no large fragments to exit the primary target and cause secondary injury to other individuals. A standard .308, 168 grain, match round has proven itself capable of penetrating over 40 layers of 1/2 inch sheetrock after exiting a primary target, a serious legal liability in the law-enforcement arena.

Suppressor Length, Volume and Profile

Design excellence aside, bigger is usually more effective. Volume can be achieved more effectively with diameter rather than length, but both are important. High-powered rifles require an exterior diameter of at least 1-1/2 inches, and a length in front of the muzzle of at least 7 to 10 inches. Subsonic rifles often require maximum suppression. Without a sonic boom it is possible to totally mask an event such as a gunshot. Since high-powered projectiles will always generate their own noise, there is little point in trying for extreme suppression. A good suppressor exists to make shooting comfortable without hearing protection, and to mask the location of the shooter. Greatly reduced recoil and an increase in practical accuracy are side benefits.

Public Relations

The traditional visual profile of a muzzle can carries a public relations stigma that goes back to 1934, and is not easily overcome. It is possible to disguise the profile of a slender muzzle can by extending the tube all the way back to the receiver. On a high-powered rifle this adds weight and expensive stock work. To some, the penalty of money and weight is worth the effort. The diameter of a Remington or Savage action is 1-3/8 inch, which seems to be the inside limit for a rifle suppressor. We had such a suppressor built (1-3/8 in diameter by 24 inches long) on a Savage .223 varmint rifle with a laminated wood stock. The disguise was extremely effective. A public relations stigma did not follow this weapon. We took it to firing ranges and gun shows and brandished it in public. Unlike the typical rifle with a muzzle can, no one appeared alarmed by its presence. Experts refused to believe it was anything but a bull-barreled target rifle, even after being told that it was suppressed. Unfortunately, the slim tube (extending a mere 8 inches in front of the muzzle) did not have the suppression rate that a normal 1 1/2 by 12 inch tube would have provided. A larger diameter action would allow a larger diameter tube to be installed without looking unusual. These actions are available, but they are more expensive. It is possible to have the tube larger in diameter than the action, but this looks unusual, thus the disguise is not as effective.

Gunfire noise is the most objectionable sound to the public at large. The louder it is, the more of a problem it creates in an urban area. A quieter sound is perceived as less lethal, and is therefore less objectionable. Where rifle fire must be used in an urban setting by law-enforcement personnel, a suppressor will greatly reduce the PR fallout, as long as it remains shielded from public view.

Heat Buildup

Typically, the hotter the suppressor gets with a single shot, the more effective it is. Full-auto fire with a suppressor will dramatically increase cyclic rate. It will also raise barrel temperatures considerably, because the hot gasses are trapped inside for a longer period of time. Full-auto fire is best kept to two or three-shot bursts. As a general rule we don’t expect machine guns to be very effective in a tactical scenario. Most perps will be behind cover by the third round. We are much more in favor of a single, carefully directed shot. We believe that accurate, effective, long distance tactical fire is more likely to occur with a bolt action rifle than with a bullet hose. The commotion associated with most machine guns is much more likely to draw attention than a single rifle shot, whether the firearms are suppressed or not.

Suppressor Construction

The metals most commonly encountered in suppressors are chrome moly (usually 4130) steel, stainless steels, aluminum and titanium. Chrome moly steel is hard, tough and very durable. It takes non-reflective surfaces (Parkerizing) and holds paint very well. Paint is fast becoming the coating of choice, as it is corrosion-resistant, and can be changed (to camo) or easily renewed as situations warrant. Bake-on polymers can be cured in an oven at 350 degrees F. Some of these coatings are very tough indeed, and serve well in extended firings.

Aluminum is light in weight (about a third the weight of steel) but it is fragile and doesn’t take knocks, abuse and thread wear very well. Nor does it take heat well. It gets very soft and then fails and melts near 900 degrees F. By contrast, steel won’t melt until it reaches 2,700 degrees F.

Some aluminum cans are anodized, and then dyed black. The anodized coating looks good at first, but then gets beat-up and chipped. Aluminum does not take or hold paint very well, even after being sand blasted. Aluminum has a very high heat conductivity. This is a good property, because it will allow the material to rapidly absorb heat from the burned propellant gasses, reducing noise in the process. There is an old saying in the suppressor industry: “Put the fire out quickly, cool the gasses down.” Most aluminum is 6061-T6, which is much cheaper than steel, and moderately easy to machine, although it is sticky and tends to gall. End caps and baffles are usually machined out of 2024, which is soft and very easily cut. The alloy 7075 is sometimes used. It is hard, strong, more expensive, and abrasive to cut. Most aluminum will bend considerably before it finally breaks. The alloy 7075 cracks before it gives, and is not weldable. The alloys 6061 and 2024 are weldable, but most aluminum cans are threaded and glued together. When an aluminum can fails it usually does so at the root of a threaded joint, at the blast area.

The softness of aluminum makes it very prone to wear at contact points, such as the threaded joint where it is screwed or locked on to a barrel. Gas erosion can be severe in a high-powered rifle. Aluminum also has a high co-efficient of expansion, and this can cause problems with zero, or with a rapid loosening of parts. It is so soft that axial alignment may eventually become a problem as threads get beaten loose and sloppy. Cast aluminum is very porous and weak, and should not be used.

Stainless steel has nickel and chrome alloyed in with the steel. It is more corrosion resistant than steel or aluminum. Stainless holds paint poorly, and also has a high coefficient of expansion. Stainless comes in many grades and hardnesses. The harder grades can be brittle. The softer grades are subject to thread wear and deformation from battering. Stainless is expensive and hard to machine. It is not available in the variety of sizes that one finds with aluminum and steel. Stainless has a fair degree of conductivity. It is not as reliable as steel. When a stainless can fails it usually does so along a seam, or at the root of a threaded joint in the blast area.

The commonly used type 304L series of stainless is dead soft, very corrosion resistant, easy to machine and welds beautifully. Its downfall is that it is easily deformed. If a can made of 304L is dropped or impacted in shipping or deployment it may easily be deformed, and this may affect axial alignment. Other commonly used stainless alloys, such as 316 and 321 tend to be harder and more resilient, but they are also much more difficult to machine and weld. There are literally hundreds of stainless alloys available, and they may have very different characteristics. Those used for some rifle barrels have high percentages of sulfur and lead, which improves machinability while decreasing wearability. The ideal stainless alloy would posses the ductility, machinability, resilience and weldability of 4130, chrome moly steel, yet be susceptible to corrosion.

Titanium is about half the weight of steel, has a very poor conductivity, is very expensive, is highly resistant to corrosion, and is almost as strong as steel. It is very difficult to machine. It destroys cutting tools because its abrasive nature combines with its poor conductivity to produce high heat buildup in cutting tools, softening their edges. Titanium takes and holds paint fairly well. It is about as shiny as stainless, but is a little darker in color. Titanium’s light weight and strength are a plus. Extremely high cost and poor conductivity are a minus. There are several titanium alloys available, the most common of which is 3, 2.5 (pronounced three two five), containing 3 % aluminum, 2 1/2 % vanadium, and 94 1/2 % titanium, which is used in high-end bicycle frames. The alloy 6A4V90T is sometimes used in receivers and barrels. The bore life of a titanium barrel is not especially good.

Steel, stainless steel and titanium are very weldable using the TIG (tungsten, inert gas) process. Aluminum is also weldable, but it takes a high degree of skill and experience to do so effectively. Only steel and stainless steel are able to be welded to each other in a meaningful way.

Threading and Alignment

Suppressor manufacturers fall into two camps – Threaders and Welders. Neither likes the other, and both think that their own methods are vastly superior. Threading greatly weakens the tube. Welding is strong and permanent, but distorts the metal. Just as there is a constant and vigorous search for better and more complex baffles, so too does the controversy between welders and threaders rage.

There is usually a demand for a wide variety of suppressors, so individual manufacturers stock a variety of parts for different models, most of which have been turned out on CNC or automatic screw machines, in limited runs. The parts are kept in bins, and usually consist of a main tube or body (which is the registered, serially numbered part in the U.S.), a front end cap, a rear end cap, and a baffle stack – which may or may not be sequentially important. If the baffle stack is sequential the larger spaces are usually towards the rear, near the barrel’s muzzle, while the smaller spaces are probably in the front. So many cans have been taken apart by incompetents, and reassembled incorrectly, that the industry trend has been towards sealed units that can be cleaned by immersion in a solvent. Design rip-offs are common in the industry, thus welding and sealants are also used to mitigate intellectual thievery. Baffle design, optimal spacing and proportion are critical to performance. Patents abound, but they afford little protection in foreign countries. Often, patent drawings do nothing more than afford competitors baffle designs that they would otherwise have to purchase and destroy suppressors in order to obtain.

A can with a single-point mount relies on the rear end cap for all of its axial and angular alignment. The rear end cap was probably made on an automatic screw machine, and bored and threaded to take a barrel at the same time. It is critical to the alignment procedure that this was done with extreme accuracy, as a tiny amount of angular or axial misalignment can result in severe misalignment (and possible baffle contact) in a 10 inch long can. The best way to bore and thread a rear end cap is to screw and glue (or weld) it into its suppressor tube first, and then place the entire unit in a lathe for the remainder of the machining. Few bother to do this, however, because it is much easier to take finished parts out of bins and assemble them. Line boring and threading in a lathe might mean having to refinish already completed parts. We have seen a 7 inch long can from a prominent manufacturer that had 3 degrees of angular misalignment after it was mounted on its dedicated barrel. This may not sound like much, but try to remember the sometimes-close tolerances between bullet path and baffles.

If the rear end cap had been welded instead of threaded on, the chances are better that the unit had been bored and threaded on a lathe after assembly. Welding induces distortion as the liquid metal cools, solidifies and shrinks, so it is nearly impossible to successfully thread the bore of a rear end cap before welding. Almost all of the angular and axial alignment problems we see today are related to a single-point mount on a rear end cap that has been improperly machined prior to being assembled. Again, tubes that have threaded rear end caps are prone to fatigue and a possible massive failure at the root of the last inside thread, at the blast chamber. Pressure is low near the front of the can; thus we rarely see a failure at this point, unless there is baffle contact and bullet tumbling.

Most two-point mounts have the threaded portion (commonly called “the nut” or “the spider”) located in a more central portion of the suppressor tube. This threaded portion is very important, as it holds the entire can in place – usually by pulling it tightly against the rear end cap. There are many methods of holding the nut in place, and none of them are without their problems: A snap ring may be inserted in a groove in the center of the tube, but this groove weakens the tube near the blast chamber. The nut must also be pinned in place, or it will rotate. The nut can be plug-welded through holes drilled in the tube, but the welding process slightly distorts (bends) the tube, even if 4 or 6 welds are placed in direct opposition to each other. The welded or threaded rear end cap can push a thin section of tubing against the nut, but that nut must still be pinned or glued in place or it will rotate. Lastly, the nut can be silver soldered or brazed in place, but the area is tough to see through smoke and fume inside the tube, hence it is difficult to be sure that a proper bond has been achieved. The soldering process may distort the tube. One must be careful to boil out the tube in water afterwards, to remove corrosive salts left by the soldering flux.

The barrel which mates to a suppressor must be turned in a lathe. Threads are best turned with a cutting tool as the barrel rotates between centers, but I have also seen satisfactory results obtained with a die-holding fixture in a carriage or tailstock. Machine threading on a lathe with a single point cutting tool is often called single pointing, which is not to be confused with a single-point mount. It is felt in the industry that single point threads are the most accurate. Rolled threads are the strongest, as they are forged during the process of rolling between two dies.

Few barrels are either straight or symmetrical, and this is another possible source for angular or axial misalignment. A practiced eye can spot a barrel with a crooked bore. If the muzzle is clear and open, one can peer down the headstock as the barrel spins in a lathe to get a good idea about how true the bore is. Short, thick barrels are easier to deal with than long, thin ones. Barrels which are fluted are often bent during the fluting process if they are not properly supported and frequently rotated. Fluting has ruined many otherwise perfectly good barrels. Most fluting is purely decorative in nature, and normally performs no useful function; no matter what manufacturers claims are made to the contrary.

Many schemes have been devised to seal a rear end cap where it joins its barrel. A tight mechanical seal is usually effective, but sometimes rubber or silicone (high heat) O-rings (or sealants like pipe dope) are used as a backup, in the event that the suppressor loosens as it is being used. For the sake of reliability and cold shot accuracy, it is critical that a suppressor not loosen on its barrel.

If a bullet path is not perfectly straight the holes in suppressor baffles will have to be enlarged to accommodate. Due to angular dispersion, those baffles nearest the muzzle can have holes which are smaller. We live in a real world, not a theoretical one. Most barrels have bent bores. Most bores do not lie in the true center of a barrel. Most suppressors are not perfectly aligned. Threads wear. Welding distorts. That’s why we have tolerances, and sometimes situations require that those tolerances be increased. Tight baffle holes are more important near the rear, where high-pressure gas exists, than they are near the front. Asymmetrical baffles usually work best when they line up parallel to each other. Some manufacturers have a method of holding those baffles in proper alignment. Some just drop them into a tube and hope that they stay aligned.

Front end caps are either welded in place, or screwed in. If the manufacturer wants to be able to get back inside the can at a later date he will use a weak glue or ISPBA (intermediate-strength, proprietary bonding agent – also known as Blue Loctite). If he wants the end caps to stay, he will use a stronger glue, or HSPBA (higher-strength, proprietary bonding agent – IE Red Loctite). Aluminum does not glue well, even with 2-ton psi epoxy. If the can gets hot from rapid use most adhesives will loosen and eventually fail. Even secret, high-strength proprietary bonding agents will eventually give up and work loose at the rear end cap, where most of the heat and shock are concentrated.

Summary

It is difficult to summarize a complex topic in its entirety. Those who use high-powered sniper rifles have every right to expect those rifles to be dependably accurate. A properly suppressed rifle must be constructed with a serious commitment to both suppression and reliable accuracy from the outset. This usually means a steel or stainless steel silencer mounted to a short, heavy barrel with a robust, two-point mount. One can expect both barrel and silencer to exact a combined penalty of at least four or five pounds in weight, and an extra six inches in overall length.

Continued and diligent practice on a regular basis are vital to a mission. Practice should be held at night and during inclement weather, as well as on warm, sunny days. Only a few rounds need be expended, but they should all be accurately and carefully delivered. One should always look through the bore to ensure that it is clear before a callout or deployment. Wasps and other insects have a nasty habit of building mud nests in inconvenient places, and a plug of mud can be disastrous to bullet placement. Always store the weapon muzzle-down. The suppressed rifle must remain dedicated to suppressed fire only. To do otherwise compromises cold shot reliability. The benefits of a suppressed system include a low profile, relative obscurity, increased accuracy, decreased recoil, greater stability, and a lower likelihood of detection in the field.

The Use of Sound Suppressors on High-Powered Rifles: Semester 1

It should be stated at the outset that the phrase high-powered will cover those fairly efficient, non-magnum cartridges bracketed between the .223 and the .308 – the workhorses of the law-enforcement and military community. If one is going to suppress a sniper rifle, that rifle should be totally dedicated to suppressed fire. Using a rifle which is only occasionally silenced is an invitation to either a lawsuit or to poor field shooting, as any rifle will carry a different zero without a suppressor, as opposed to its zero with one.

A suppressed rifle should be stored and carried in its assembled, ready-to-go configuration. Many of us have seen movies in which a fitted case full of components (stock, action, barrel, forearm, scope, mount and silencer) was assembled in the field, and then used to complete an important assassination. Pure Hollywood. No enforcement officer in his right mind would ever assemble a rifle on the spot on a callout at a crime scene and expect the weapon to hold its zero. It might, but such an occurrence would be an abnormality. And what would be the moral and legal consequences of a botched shot in a hostage rescue attempt? By the same token, some suppressors cause shots to stray with various degrees of tightness or looseness on a rifle’s barrel.

The Single-Point Mount

The muzzle and a massive outpouring of high-pressure propellant gas are the last things a bullet feels before it leaves the control of the shooter. The joint between suppressor and barrel should be as rigid as that between barrel and action. Often, the suppressor/barrel interface is conceived as an afterthought. The muzzles of most military barrels are fitted with small, steel flash hiders, weighing but 2 or 3 ounces. Many manufacturers try to use the same kind of short, 1/2 inch diameter, threaded muzzle sections to mount suppressors that might weigh up to 4 pounds. It may be convenient to use flash hider threads, but such a tiny joint is very fragile, and lacks the strength and stability expected of a military or enforcement weapon. A small error in machined accuracy on a single-point mount can result in a disastrous misalignment problem near the muzzle of a suppressor.

A suppressor that is held at the rear by a single collet, or by a single section of threads, is said to be held by a single-point mount. If the threaded section is only 1/2-inch in diameter the strength factor is very low. If a heavy target barrel is used, the threads can be as large as 3/4 or 7/8 inch in diameter. In this case, the strength and stability factor is much improved. Unfortunately, many suppressed rifles with single-point mounts suffer from a wandering zero. There is, however, a better way.

The Two-Point Mount

The two-point mount usually attaches a barrel to its suppressor with threads at the muzzle, and with a collet, O-ring, or conical joint about 8 or 10 inches behind the muzzle. It is a vastly superior way to mount a muzzle can to a rifle barrel. The resulting joint is many times stronger than any single-point mount could ever be. Because of the geometry of a two-point mount, a small error in alignment will not progress into a much larger error at the suppressor’s muzzle.

The common configuration has threads at the barrel’s muzzle, and the step for the rear of the can near the middle of the barrel. Tightening puts the suppressor in compression, and the barrel in tension – which we feel is the most conducive to accuracy. Another configuration has a threaded section in the center of the barrel, while the unthreaded muzzle stubs or jams into a socket in the middle of the suppressor. We feel that this configuration (with the barrel in compression) is not as conducive to accuracy, although it may ease manufacture of the suppressor. However, to our great surprise, we have seen suppressed .308 systems (with compressed barrels) that appeared to be fairly accurate.

Yet another benefit exists with the two-point mount. Space behind the muzzle exists inside the rear chamber of the suppressor. That extra volume can be used for more effective suppression, without adding greatly to the overall length of the weapon in front of the muzzle.

Barrel Torque

Most rifles have barrels that impart a right-hand spin to their projectiles. Since most calibers accelerate their bullets to between 2,500 and 3,400 fps, and since most of this acceleration takes place within the first few inches, there is a sudden and violent twisting of the barrel in an opposite (left-hand) direction. This torque tends to cause a barrel held into its action with RH threads to screw itself ever more tightly into its action with each shot. One can screw a barrel lightly into an action by hand. After several shots are fired the barrel will have driven itself tightly into its action, and it will take quite a bit of force to remove that barrel with a wrench.

That same torque tends to cause a suppressor to loosen if the suppressor is held in place with RH threads, which seem to be the norm. One must be constantly vigilant to make sure that a rifle’s suppressor remains tightly screwed in place. Especially before a critical shot. All Russian and German flash hiders (and some suppressors) are attached with LH threads. Those made in the U.S. are usually held on with RH threads.

Our testing has indicated that a rifle with a suppressor held in place with a properly executed, two-point, conical, tensioned barrel mount will remain in zero. This zero remains even after the suppressor has been removed for cleaning and replaced. As long as the replacement torque is about the same, the zero will be unaffected. We are talking about no discernable, cold shot shift after a day, week or year, at 200 yards.

Suppressor manufacturer Don Wagenknecht, of Grandview, MO (DAW-Phone-816-765-2539) uses a threaded muzzle and an unusual rear collet to hold his high-powered rifle suppressors in place. Don is a skilled and extremely precise machinist. His work is so accurate that he allows a mere .007 (7/1,000ths) of an inch of clearance on each side of his bullets as they pass through a stack of symmetrical baffles. Clearances on baffle stacks of other manufacturers are often significantly greater.

Bullet contact with any one baffle in a suppressor usually results in tumbling, with severe consequences for those baffles that remain downrange of the event. Since the smallest possible passage hole results in the greatest level of suppression, the pressure is on to keep internal baffle clearances to a minimum. More than one suppressor (held with a single-point mount) has been ripped free of its threads, and then violently launched downrange when baffle contact has caused internal bullet tumbling. Damage to the suppressor in such an instance is usually substantial. If this happens in the field the rifle may be undamaged, but it will have to be rezeroed before it can be used effectively.

Moisture Accumulation and Weapon Storage

Water is a major byproduct of gunpowder combustion. A good suppressor will capture and retain a considerable amount of the liquid. Twenty shots from a .308 will cause about a teaspoonful of water to be captured. Whenever possible, the weapon should be carried and stored with the muzzle pointing straight down. The bolt or action should remain open to allow accumulated water to evaporate and vent. If the suppressor is removed as soon as the shooting stops, heat in the suppressor will rapidly dry most of the internal components.

Unfortunately, most rifles are traditionally stored muzzle-up. This causes water and trapped particulates to slowly release, where they will fall and lodge in the chamber area and bolt face. Burned gunpowder is quite dirty, and the inside of a suppressor is usually filthy. Cleaning is best accomplished by flushing the can in solvent, draining, and blowing the unit out with compressed air. One should get in the habit of storing a suppressed rifle by hanging it, muzzle-down. Even stainless steel components will rust if trapped water is not allowed to vent. This may result in a suppressor rusted tightly to its barrel. A bore with rust near its muzzle may lose its accuracy. Corrosion can occur quickly in a warm, moist environment. This is not an aspect to be ignored.

The Blast Baffle and Its Effect on Accuracy

The most critical moment in a bullet’s flight path is just after it exits the barrel, where the highly elastic and more rapidly moving gasses overtake it and press upon its base. The first baffle in a suppressor is called, appropriately, the blast baffle. This is the most critical component in the entire baffle stack. The blast baffle is subject to a great deal of heat, stress and impact. Many baffles have asymmetrical surfaces, and these can bounce the blast of high-pressure gas around in a way that disturbs the stability of an exiting bullet. When we first started experimenting with asymmetrical S, Z and K style baffles this phenomenon became painfully obvious. Keyholing, tumbling and baffle contact were common because the bottle-shaped blast of muzzle gas overtook the exiting bullets, deflected off the asymmetrical surfaces, and then deflected the bullets. Accuracy was not good. Some manufacturers haven’t learned this lesson yet, and their suppressors are plagued with inherent instability and resultant accuracy problems.

The blast baffle must have a perfectly symmetrical, coaxially aligned surface and bore. It must be made of fairly tough steel, stainless steel or inconel. If it is made of a soft material like copper, brass, titanium or aluminum, the high-velocity impact from unburned grains of powder will peen the surfaces – eventually reducing the size of the bore orifice to the point where destabilizing bullet contact results.

A properly designed blast baffle will strip and deflect much of the bottle-shaped blast of high-pressure gas that envelops and pursues the departing bullet. For this reason, one can logically expect an increase in practical accuracy when a properly designed suppressor has been installed. Also, the weight of a heavy steel unit tied to both the center and end of a rifle barrel does beneficial things for harmonic barrel vibration – dampening out much of it. These two factors greatly increase the practical accuracy potential of a suppressed rifle. The properly suppressed rifle becomes very stable and reliable. Larger internal clearances reduce the likelihood of baffle contact in the event that the suppressor or barrel get slightly damaged or bent.

The Supersonic Crack

Any projectile moving through the air at a velocity greater than the speed of sound (1,089 to 1,114 fps in dry, 65 degree F air, depending on who one listens to) will create a supersonic crack. Temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure variations play a role in raising or lowering the speed of sound by a small percentage. In a firearm which lacks a substantial muzzle report (being fired over an open field) the sound resembles the loud tearing of a bed sheet. Two sounds are actually created, one from the front of the bullet, and one from the rear. Near trees and buildings the sound waves come back as a distinct crack or pop each time the speeding bullet passes some object with a vertical, reflective surface. Once the muzzle report has been diminished the supersonic boom becomes dominant. Curiously, the sound will now appear to come from the target area, rather than the rifleman’s position. Sound moves through our atmosphere at a relatively fixed rate. A sound wave will typically strike one ear a bit before the other. The human brain is capable of detecting the difference in time between sound impacting one ear and then the other — in an increment of as little as one/six-millionth of a second. With time and practice we soon learn to use this ability to pinpoint the source of a sound very accurately. Because a suppressed muzzle report is relatively quiet, the uninitiated will automatically home in on the loudest sound, which in this case is a sonic boom reflecting from the target area. The sound of the bullet’s passage will seem much louder than the muzzle report to someone close to the flight path. Indeed, a rapidly moving .308 bullet will sound louder than a .22 LR pistol, to someone who is positioned a few feet from its flight path.

Smaller diameter bullets make less noise than larger diameter bullets. Supersonic is supersonic. A bullet traveling 1,200 fps will make about the same noise as one traveling 4,000 fps. Projectiles that are .308 inch in diameter will be somewhat louder than .223 bullets. There is no technology which can remove the sound of a supersonic projectile, no matter what claims are made to the contrary.

Sound Level and Recoil

Even though the supersonic crack remains, the overall sound level is greatly diminished. The report sounds like a rapid hiss of compressed air as the slowed gasses issue from the muzzle of the suppressor. The suppressed .223 and .308 rifles become quite comfortable to shoot without hearing protection. Since propellant gas is responsible for about half of a rifle’s recoil, and since that gas is captured and released slowly, the recoil level will be about half that of an unsuppressed rifle. A .308 has a propellant charge weighing about 50 grains. This is of course converted to 50 grains of gas, and this gas only moves forward about 2 feet before the suppressor baffles intercept it. The fact that the gas doesn’t leave the muzzle of the suppressor at high speed is responsible for much of the reduction in recoil. The interception of forward momentum (which results when that gas is captured in the can) is responsible for much of the remainder of the reduction in felt recoil. In addition, the weight of the heavy can on the rifle’s muzzle acts as a pendulum, limiting muzzle rise and swing as the rifle recoils, and then pivots around the shooter’s body mass. We have said all of this about recoil only because many people have a hard time understanding how 50 grains of gas can be responsible for as much felt recoil as 168 grains of rapidly departing bullet. The answer of course is that the bullet, being heavy and inelastic, issues forth at a relatively slow speed when compared to the lighter and (we are told) perfectly elastic gas. Since energy is a product of mass times the square of velocity, it can be seen that the gas doesn’t have to exit many times faster than the bullet to equal its energy. Empirically, we know that recoil from a suppressed rifle carrying a high powder charge is much gentler with a suppressor than without. All theoretical argument stops after that point. If a rifle hurts you to shoot it before suppression, it becomes quite comfortable to shoot after it’s been suppressed.

It should be mentioned that (if a rifle was first sighted in, and then suppressed) the point of impact will be much lower and a bit to the left for a right-handed shooter. We need to say that again. The point of impact will not be the same if the previously zeroed rifle is used with (or without) its suppressor. A rifle simply cannot be zeroed in one mode and then used in the other. This is a serious liability issue for law enforcement snipers. Litigation specialists (lawyers) will hammer this point to exhaustion in a courtroom if a hostage rescue situation ever goes bad as a direct result of a botched shot, or if innocent bystanders are wrongfully injured. The rifle, scope and suppressor must be regarded as a unit, and they must remain as a unit. If a number of suppressed rifles exist in an armory, they must be numbered, and the respective pieces must remain married, so that suppressors stay with their assigned rifles. Identical suppressors on identical rifles may be interchangeable without affecting cold shot zero, but an officer of the law should not take that chance.

The Art of the Rifle, by Jeff Cooper, ISBN 0-87364-931-1, 97 pages, 82 photos, Published by Paladin Press, Box 1307, Boulder, Co 80306, Phone 303-443-7520.

For those who came in late, the venerable Jeff Cooper has been teaching personal self-defense and the arts of rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting for a great many years. He has run thousands of students through his courses at Gunsite Ranch, near Paulden, Arizona.

This philosopher warrior has developed a unique approach in his teaching. In his characteristically Spartan style, Jeff has systematically stripped all of the useless and superfluous away – leaving only the necessary and essential elements. These he lays down in a logical and sequential way. In his personal teaching he is hard, fast, rigorous, regimental and ruthless, but his students achieve very high levels of proficiency in a remarkably short interval of time. Taking a class from Jeff Cooper is very hard work. All who make it through the purgatory, however, are pleased with the level of skill and confidence they’ve achieved. Many of the faithful have been waiting for this book on rifle shooting from Jeff for many years.

If I could only possess one weapon (a distinct possibility, considering the way things are going in this country) that one weapon would be a .308 bolt-action rifle. This book is not about rifles; it is about shooting rifles. It starts by saying that the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. It allows man to be the monarch of all he surveys. In capable hands a good rifle can easily and instantly reach out to defend against a threat out to 300 yards away. In highly skilled hands, that distance may be extended to 600 yards.

In 20 short chapters, The Art of the Rifle logically and sequentially explores and illustrates that which one needs to know in order to shoot a high-powered rifle well. In a nutshell, shooting well means placing first-round hits on appropriate targets rapidly and efficiently. As the veteran hunter or soldier knows, speed is almost as essential as accuracy. To quote Cooper from another source: “The second principal of personal defense is decisiveness. The hunting shot is one seldom fired in a purely defensive mode, but nonetheless it remains difficult for the novice to make the life-and-death decision when necessary. Once you have acquired your target in your sights, do not dally, dither nor delay. Do it right, and do it now. This does not mean that you should rush your shot or mash your trigger, but that once you are on, you go for score. I have seen this practice neglected in the field often enough to feel strongly about it. I do not know exactly how to teach the matter of decisiveness to a student on the range, but the demand remains-If you are going to do it, do it now. Do it right, but do it NOW.”

The Art of the Rifle is now into its second printing after only a couple of months. It is interesting, informative and well written. It is a good read. It’s only 97 pages, but you won’t get through it in 4 hours, and you won’t get it all on the first, second or third reading.

This summer we received a very interesting semiautomatic sniper rifle from Brolin Industries, 2755 Thompson Creek Rd. Pamona, CA 91767, Phone 909-392-2350, Fax 2354. We were told that this rifle was made in China, to American specifications. Quality looked every bit as good as the Russian model of the Dragunov.. Regardless of the source, whoever was responsible for making this series of rifles did a superb job. This is the most accurate semiautomatic rifle we have ever test fired.

The weapon comes in a padded hard case of American manufacture. Included in the case are three—10 round magazines, a 4 power scope (of apparent Chinese manufacture) in a separate, fitted steel case, an attached scope mount, spare batteries for the scope’s internally illuminated reticle, a brief manual for the scope, and one for the rifle.

STOCK

The rifle itself is very different from those which we are used to seeing in these United States. The stock is composed of three pieces of laminated hardwood, heavily varnished. The butt stock is skeletonized, and fitted with a butt plate of blackened steel. A bakelite or Micarta-like, grip cap is held in place with a single screw. When this screw and cap are removed one then has access to a larger machine screw which holds the butt stock into the metal socket on the rifle’s action. One might think that this arrangement would be too flexible to allow accurate shooting, but it is in fact exceptionally rigid and very stable. Those with large hands might want to fabricate a slightly larger grip cap, with a shelf below to help stabilize the strong hand. This may be easily accomplished by anyone with modest woodworking skills. Those with a large frame may find the stock a bit short. Neither I nor George Lainhart, our resident sniper, found the stock uncomfortable. A soft rubber butt pad could be fitted without a great deal of effort.

The forend is in fact two pieces of laminated wood, vertically split into two halves. It surrounds both the barrel and upper gas tube, allowing plenty of breathing room inside. A number of elongated holes allow air movement around the barrel and gas tube, and these promote cooling as the area of the barrel just ahead of the chamber heats up during firing. The forend does not appear to be a structural element of the rifle; it is simply a way of insulating one’s weak hand from the potentially hot barrel. The fact that rifles of this design do not appear to vary from point of impact as their barrels heat up speaks very well of the way they are machined and assembled. The exterior finish is a bit rough, as befits a military weapon, but there is little doubt that the parts that matter are properly heat treated and finely fitted. Any weapon which will be used in police or military action should be rough on the outside. A finely polished weapon will reflect light too easily, and the user may be reluctant to properly deploy it in the field. Usually, one does not expect a sniper rifle to be fired more than once in a given period of time. However, there are instances when a second followup shot is required. This is especially so in law-enforcement scenarios. There are also rare instances when quite a number of shots are needed, and it is comforting to know that the Dragunov will deliver all of them with precision.

LOCK

The action is almost pure Kalashnikov. One notable exception is that the bolt carries three locking lugs instead of two. It field strips without the benefit of tools, in a manner similar to the typical AK47. The action on our test rifle worked flawlessly from the first round. It did not require a break-in period. It should be mentioned that this action was originally designed to be used with the 7.62x54mm R (rimmed) Russian Nagant cartridge of 1891, which is fairly similar in power to our 30-06. This action will have no problem handling the .308. The Dragunov is a battle-proven action which gave a good account of itself when used by the opposing side in various conflicts.

BARREL

The barrel, heart of any accurate rifle, is about 24 inches long and unusually thin. It has a twist rate of one turn in 9.7 inches, which is in part responsible for its high level of accuracy. Some British and American.308 rifle barrels carry a twist rate as slow as 1 in 12, or even 1 in 14 inches. The reason is ostensibly to encourage instability, and tumbling upon contact, and the slow twist does this very well. However, bullet instability is not the sort of thing one encourages on a sniper rifle which must be dependably, reliably and repeatably accurate. The barrel is topped with a long flash hider of a design very similar to that used on our M14. While we did not fire at night, we have little doubt that the flash hider is effective. For those wanting to “improve” the weapon by removing the flash hider – Don’t! The barrel is carefully tuned to deliver optimal accuracy with that flash hider. Removing it will screw up the barrel’s harmonics, seriously affecting accuracy. Some machine marks remain on the exterior of the barrel, which is finished with a tough, bake-on black polymer. The machined surfaces help to key the finish in place. The surface treatment is very durable, and very resistant to rust and wear. The bore is chrome plated and finely polished. Despite the fact that the butt stock is quite short, the long action combine with barrel and flash hider to make a rifle that is every bit of 48 inches long. The rifle weighs an even 10 pounds, complete with scope, mount, cheekpiece, and empty magazine. While a bit long, the piece is not unhandy. Most of the weight is centered around the action. For a sniper rifle, this is a very light weapon. It has the capacity for as many as nine rapid followup shots.

SIGHTS

The metallic sights are standard issue, with a front post adjustable for windage, and a rear notch adjustable for elevation. Both open sights and the scope can be used at the same time, although the cheekpiece should be removed when the iron sights are being used. The cheekpiece appears to be some sort of soft, light, leather-covered rubber. It is held to the stock with a snap clip. Simple, but functional. The sights are a bit rough, but will serve as a dependable backup in an emergency.

Few sniper rifles come with metallic sights, and this in my view is a mistake. If one is deployed in the field and something happens to the scope the rifle is all but useless. I will choose to use a scope in most situations, but if something happens to that fragile optic it is nice to have a set of metallic sights to use as a backup.

SCOPE

The scope is only 4 power, but it is very well made, with quite a number of features. Instead of the usual crosshair reticle, there is a rangefinder and a series of chevrons for different ranges. These are etched into the glass, and may be illuminated internally during low light situations. The rangefinder consists of a horizontal line on the left side of the reticle, with a curved line above it. It is regulated by the height of a standing or walking man. Fit the height of the man between the upper and lower line, and then look to the immediate right to pick the chevron or inverted V closest to the point. Since the .308 is effective out to 600 yards, the aiming points are also effective to about the same distance. The limited power of the scope, however, restricts the effective range to about 400 yards. The rifle would be better served with a more powerful scope beyond that distance.

A small battery powers the illuminating function of the reticle. While these are of Chinese manufacture, replacements are usually available at Wal-Marts. Just take care to ensure that the size, shape and voltage are about the same. A small toggle switch under the body of the scope turns the power off and on. The switch is covered with a fine rubber membrane to protect against moisture. The power source provides fixed illumination. There is no rheostat to regulate the level. It is either on or off. Those who have looked through the scope at dusk feel that the power level is just about right. If you can see your target well in fading light, the reticle will be properly lit. The light source is not overwhelming in any but very dark conditions. If a small reduction is called for, it is possible to insert a slightly used battery.

There is also an infrared filter on the scope, and this may be activated by turning a knob on the left side of the housing, to flip it in or out of the field of view. I am told that another facet of this filter exists, and that allows one to see, body heat vehicles, etc. as blobs of color in the scope in total darkness, since they emit infrared light rays. In order for this to happen, a light source inside the scope must be removed and exposed to light during the day. This activates it, and allows use at night. During the day it may happen that sunlight falls directly on the objective lens of the scope. A small sunshade is fitted over the forward objective. It may be rotated and locked in either the extended or retracted position. The shade is quite thin and appears fragile, yet will do the job if it is needed.

TO THE RANGE

We took the rifle to our private range in central Alabama for the initial testing. We did not know if the weapon had been sighted in, so set up a target at 50 yards and clipped the scope mount onto the side of the action. The scope does not lie directly over the center of the bore. The mount and scope are made in a single forging. The optical system was designed to be removed for transport, and installed when the sniper was ready to set up. This is in contrast to American systems, which are typically mounted permanently, and are ready for use at all times. The actual mount is a variation of an early German system. It is fast, rugged, and highly repeatable. A light coating of oil in the bore required a few shots to clear. When it was determined that the bullets would stay on the paper we set up another series of targets at 100 yards. The trigger is two-stage, with a long light take up, and a fairly crisp 2-1/4 pound second stage. For a semiautomatic, this rifle has an excellent trigger. A trigger as crisp as might be found on a bolt gun would be unsafe in a semiauto. The trigger guard is exceptionally large, and will accommodate any gloved hand. Once the bore was cleared we determined that the scope had been adjusted and zeroed before it left the factory. George’s first three shots at 100 yards went into a cluster less than 5/16 of an inch, center-to-center, with Black Hills, molycoated, 168 grain .308 Match ammunition, right in the middle of the target. This is remarkable considering the nature of the 4 power scope and a 10 to 12 mph gusting wind. George then shot another group on another target face using Federal 168 grain BTHP Gold Medal Premium Match .308 ammunition, with virtually identical results. Later shooting sessions revealed that this .308 Dragunov is unusually accurate in other conditions, and that it does not tend to drift as its barrel heats up. This kind of accuracy can only be achieved with a barrel which is truly straight and concentric inside and out. Comments from others who have purchased these rifles indicate that they are all about as good. It is unusual to come across a semiautomatic rifle that is as accurate as a bolt gun. We were quite surprised with the accuracy we got from this one. Suggested retail is $2,200, with quantity discounts available.