Hunting is perhaps one of the most popular American outdoor activities, and with the increasing popularity of suppressors, it’s only natural that people will ask if they can hunt with suppressors. The answer is by and large a resounding yes! In fact, 41 of 50 US states allow hunting for deer, elk, bears, sheep, goats, pronghorn, moose, predators, varmints, squirrels, and hogs with suppressors, meaning that most anyone who wants to hunt can do so with a suppressor.
Yes, You Can Hunt with a Suppressor
You can totally hunt deer and other game with a suppressor, and there are a lot of good reasons to do so. We’ll show you the states that allow hunting with suppressors in a minute, but the good news is that it is quite likely that you can hunt with a suppressor in your state.
If you have a hunting rifle with a suppressor or want to put a suppressor on your hunting rifle, you’ll find a lot of benefits, and precious few, if any, drawbacks. Well, other than the bother of getting an NFA registered device, but that’s not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Anyway, since most places are states that allow hunting with a suppressor, let’s look at the advantages that come with suppressed hunting.
There are presently 42 states that allow ownership of suppressors, and 40 of them permit hunting with suppressors. As you can see, that includes some of the best deer hunting country in the nation. Sadly, some highly populated states like California and New York don’t allow hunting with suppressors, but most Americans are in luck!
If your state isn’t on this list, consider connecting with local gun rights advocacy groups and pressing your elected officials to embrace firearms and hunting safety by allowing the use of suppressors when hunting.
Check out the map below to see which states it is legal to own and hunt with a suppressor. There is only one state where it is legal to own a silencer, but not hunt with it, and that is Connecticut.
From the very beginning in 1909, suppressors have been actively marketed to hunters and for good reason – they make hunting safer and quieter, eliminate the need for bulky hearing protection, and improve accuracy when shooting.
Here are just a few of the reasons why suppressed hunting is better hunting:
Protect your hearing
Shooting a gun without a suppressor is loud - very loud. The sound from just one shot can have a lasting effect upon your hearing. Lowering the decibel output of any activity to down below the threshold for permanent damage to your hearing is a good thing. For short, impactful hearing damage, such as you would encounter hunting, we try to get the level down below 140 decibels. The average gunshot comes in around 140-160.
Every decibel level multiplies the amount of decibels, so a 10 decibel level increase raises that amount by a factor of ten. The same goes in reverse. Reduce the decibel level by ten and you decrease the force of that sound wave by a factor of ten.
We've used this analogy before, but it works. Think of sound as a wave of water and your ear drum as a house on the shore. If you have a 3 foot wave coming and you increase that power by a factor of ten, and that wave is now 30 feet tall and packing a lot of power! A three-foot wave won't likely damage your house, but a 30-footer means serious damage that you may never be able to repair. A suppressor is like a solid break wall that protecting your house (inner ear) from that wave. A suppressor mutes the sound wave, making it safer and more enjoyable to shoot. Want to learn more about how a suppressor protects your hearing? Go to our blog post on how a suppressor protects your sense of hearing.
Make the outdoors quiet again
The thundering roar of a gunshot spooks game, trains animals to expect hunters and disturbs private landowners and other people sharing the same hunting space. Suppressors, when paired with the right ammo, reduce the sound of a gunshot to hearing safe levels, and “dull the edge” of the sound of a gunshot.
Hunting with a suppressor is safer
While in recent years electronic ear muffs that allow you to hear ambient noise while blocking the sound of gunfire have hit the market, the simple fact is most hunters still choose between no ear protection or wearing something that makes it hard to hear what is going on around them.
You also have more of what we call situational awareness. When you shoot, the loud sound is proven to have a disorienting effect on the human brain. It is caused by the rising in your ears and the pain that a loud sound causes in your inner ear. Shooting suppressed relieves that and allows you to focus more on what is going on around you. That makes for a better hunt, and a more enjoyable time in the outdoors.
improved Accuracy is proven
Your rifle is more accurate with a suppressor. The bullet has been stabilized. This benefit has also been touted since the early 20th century. This is because the physics of a silencer reduce felt recoil and muzzle climb. With both of these factors greatly reduced, shooters find their rifles easier to shoot.
The sound reduction also makes it easier for YOU to shoot your gun more accurately.
There are a lot of other little things that make hunting with a suppressor nice, too. Your shots are less likely to spook other game in case you miss, you are fully aware of your surroundings, you have less gear to carry on your person, you never have to worry about quickly getting hearing protection in before taking a shot, and of course, reducing noise pollution is simply the responsible, polite thing to do.
What can I hunt with a suppressed rifle?
Aside from the one state you can't hunt with a suppressor, or the eight states that don't seem to care about hearing protection, the sky is virtually the limit for hunting in other states where suppressed hunting is legal.
Be sure to check your local game laws every season, just to be sure you're still in the clear. We will try to keep you updated, too.
Deer, Elk, Caribou, Moose, and pronghorn
Deer, elk, moose, caribou, or pronghorn hunting is greatly enhanced when using your suppressor. This is because most rifle suppressors offer a reduction in recoil. You may not need a 300 Winchester Magnum for a White Tail deer on the East Coast at 50 yards but in the western states, the mule deer are larger and often taken at greater distances.
This holds true for bigger game animals such as Elk, Pronghorn Antelope, Bighorn Sheep, and Caribou. These animals have incredible hearing and the sound of a gunshot will keep them out of an area for weeks at a time.
Varmint Hunting
Prairie dog and ground squirrel hunters often benefit the most from the use of a silenced hunting rifle while varmint hunting. Animals such as these are well aware of what gunfire means and a large group will retreat to their burrows until they no longer hear gunfire.
A suppressed hunting rifle will allow you to maximize your efforts when you need to take them out in a small amount of time. It will allow you to take shots at them for hours on end, if that’s your intent.
Coyotes
Whether you consider them to be varmints or predators, coyotes are some of the most intelligent and cagey animals to hunt. They recognize gunshots for what they are and even the youngest or most naïve of these creatures will keep a smart distance in spite of your best predator calls once they hear one. To sum it up, like their cartoon namesake, they are wily.
Another animal with excellent hearing and one that knows the sound of gunshots for what they are is the feral hog. These animals have bred to out of control numbers in the wild and are a pestilence when it comes to agricultural, property, and other forms of damage. Suppressed hunting rifles are a necessity when taking out packs of them.
Yes, you can. Hunting with a suppressor is legal in 41 states.
Hunting with a suppressor protects your hearing, makes your rifle more accurate and reduces recoil. Plus it helps subdue your noise, making getting a second shot easier if you miss with the first.
You're in the right place! Silencer Central is the home of the experts. We have a team of people ready to help you find the perfect suppressor for your hunting needs. Click one of the links to get started.
YES! Shotgun suppressors are great for protecting your hearing and the hearing of those close to you. Plus they can help with recoil, something important for duck and turkey hunting.
Yes, we have expert gunsmiths on staff who can take care of threading your rifle's barrel. Look below for more information.
Getting Your Hunting Rifle Barrel Threaded
Many common hunting rifles do not have barrels threaded for a suppressor. There are many reasons for this, most of which boil down to cost. This means there is little reason to thread every barrel that comes out of a factory.
When you consider the best-suppressed hunting rifle is often the one you own and are comfortable with, barrel threading becomes very important. You could trust your rifle to a gunsmith using hand tools or inexpensive machine tools and hope that they’ll do the job right, or you could have your barrel threaded on a state of the art CNC machine that cuts more perfect threads than are possible by any other means.
That’s why we offer an easy mail-in barrel threading program! Our state of the art machines will do a more perfect job than even most factories are capable of, and the best part is that it’s incredibly easy and affordable!
Get Equipped Before You Hunt
Are you ready to own a hunting rifle suppressor? That’s what Silencer Central is here for. Plus, we are the only silencer dealer who can perform the entire transaction from purchase to submitting ATF paperwork, to delivering your suppressor to your front door.
While many suppressors can be used on several different caliber firearms, we have some specific models that can make your shooting more enjoyable. Pick the caliber that you have in mind. If you don’t see your caliber, pick one close to it to see our recommendations.
