Zeroing Your Rifle With a Suppressor: Answering your Questions
November 5, 2025
Let’s talk about zeroing your rifle with a suppressor. Adding a suppressor to your rifle can affect the point of impact when zeroing. If you've zeroed a rifle without a suppressor and add a suppressor to that rifle, you will have to rezero. Your point of impact will change. It might be minimal. It might be up to five inches, but it should be roughly the same area depending on where you're sighting in as far as ranges, altitudes, all of that.
Barrel harmonics
When you add any weight onto the end of your barrel, the harmonics are going to completely change. Whether it's the weight of the suppressor, the length of the suppressor, it even comes down to your barrel type. If you'rerunning those skinny sporter barrels, it's going to be more effective than like a bull barrel for target shooting.
These changes affect bullet trajectory and point of impact, making it essential to re-zero the rifle. Even if the shift is small, it can be critical for precision shooting or hunting. Understanding this physical impact helps shooters anticipate and adjust for accuracy differences.
Set your zero
You can zero your rifle at any preferred distance. Many hunters use 100 to 200 yards as a standard. It also allows you to use custom scope turrets to be able to dial out to those longer distances. If you don’t have a long range to use for checking your zero, shorter ranges can work just as well. If you know about your bullet trajectory and where it should be as it exits the barrel, you can keep things pretty tight at full distance.
Zeroing with a set distance balances accuracy and practicality, allowing shooters to dial adjustments for longer ranges if their scopes have custom turrets. The choice of zeroing distance can affect bullet trajectory and effective range, making this a useful guideline for hunters and precision shooters alike.
For example, if your rifle should be shooting two inches high at 50 yards for a 100 yard zero, you can easily measure that distance out if you can’t get to a 100-yard range. While a suppressor might shift your zero from what it was without the suppressor; with the suppressor, the bullet is going to fly the same. If it should be two inches high at 50 yards, and zeroed at 100, it will be right where you want it.
Check your rifle's zero
When traveling, it is always a good idea to recheck your zero before going out on the hunt.
After cleaning your suppressor or removing your suppressor for travel, it's always good to check zero. Even after removing and reinstalling the suppressor, such as for travel or cleaning, it is important to verify zero. This practice ensures that any slight changes in suppressor alignment or installation tightness do not compromise accuracy. Regular zero checks help maintain confidence in one’s setup and avoid surprises in the field.
Velocity
After you zero your rifle with your suppressor, some of the questions we often get are, “does it affect muzzle velocity? Does it affect trajectory, or even your holdover at distances? We have not seen any major differences in bullet drop at distance. However, adding a suppressor may speed up your muzzle velocity between 15 to 20 feet per second.
Once you start getting at those very long distances like 1,500 yards plus, you may see a variability in bullet drop.
We shoot 100% suppressed and leave our suppressors on our rifles all the time. If we plan on shooting at longer distances, we don't want any variables as far as you know a little bit of carbon in a thread suppressor not getting locked down tight things like that so I would recommend leaving the suppressor on the rifle.
Tighten up
For precision shooting, it is critical to ensure that the suppressor is properly assembled and tightened after cleaning or maintenance. Misalignment or loose components can cause shifts in zero, negatively affecting accuracy. Some suppressors have serviceable parts or indicators to verify correct reassembly, which can be valuable tools for maintaining consistency.
Be sure to tighten down your suppressor before you start shooting and check to make sure it is staying tight. If it is a non-serviceable, one-piece suppressor, make sure it is staying tight on the mount and on the threads of your barrel. The same goes for serviceable suppressors, but also make sure the end caps are staying tight, too.
Brakes, cans and more
Shooters who use both muzzle brakes and suppressors should establish separate zeroes for each setup, as the point of impact may differ slightly between the two due to the influence of each device on barrel harmonics and recoil dynamics. This approach prevents confusion and enhances accuracy by accounting for the small but important variations introduced by different muzzle devices.
Ready to shoot suppressed?Adding a suppressor to your firearm is one of those things that, once you try it, you will wonder why you took solong to do it. It makes your rifle more accurate and saves your hearing from damage. Silencer Central has the best selection and the simplest, most pain-free process of any suppressor retailer, and we have the biggest inventory, free trust set up, fast approvals and to-your-door delivery.
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.
