Should I cut down my barrel for a suppressor?

[Pnwrider]

Depends where you hunt. 26” barrel plus a can gets old quick in the woods. If you hunt open areas you’re probably fine. I like 16-20” barrels if I’m gonna run a suppressor in the woods.

[supagoose]

Depending on what barrel length you decide you're gonna want to see if it meet the required barrel length for the caliber for that suppressor. Ex 10.5/.223 rem, 16/.308 win, 20/300win. My favorite gun to hunt with is a suppressed 16.5 Ruger GSR. My 26 inch 300 win mag plus my suppressor feels like the 120mm main gun on a M1 Abrams. Once you start shooting suppressed you'll  never want to shoot a rifle unsuppressed. And its cool hearing your bullet strike your target.

[yorketransport]

One thing I think about also is if I will ever have an occasion to use same rifle unsuppressed . A 20" 300 win mag unsuppressed would be " tits on a boar" ..IMHOP...flame thrower maybe

Hence what Karl Blanchard said .

 Far from a guru just my

You might be surprised. The muzzle flash is more a function of powder choice than barrel length. Some powders are just better than others in that regard. Here are a few examples that are a bit on the extreme end of the spectrum, but will give a pretty good representation.

20" VS 30" barrels on a 338 SnipeTac (150gr H50bmg powder). The shooting starts at 2:00.

338/375 Ruger in an 18" barrel (76.5gr H4350)

18" 300 RUM in an 18" barrel (101.2gr Retumbo)

I have more videos but they're all either shot in bright sunlight or in smaller chamberings (6mm BR, 260, 284)

I'll gladly take a shorter barrel over a little velocity. The extra length is the number one reason I don't mess around with suppressors.

[Yondering]

Perfect. Thanks. I've just been reading how some guy's cut theirs down to 16-18". I didn't know if it was a big deal or what.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

There is no right or wrong answer here. In rifles threaded for suppressor use, I've got some as short as 9", and some as long as 24". All have their place, it just depends what you want to do with it.

Obviously a shorter barrel makes the gun more handy and maneuverable, but it gives up velocity. What you may not know is that shorter barrels are louder with the suppressor attached as well. A suppressed 24" barrel is significantly quieter than the same barrel cut to 16" and suppressed (assuming same cartridge/load shooting full power rifle ammo). The noise difference is a separate consideration from the flash discussed above.