Need beer bet answer

[oddjob]

Obviously only in those states that say OK. Suppressors legal for open rifle?

[lynn jones]

oddjob,

it it's not in the rule book iit's legal.

lynn

[ErikW]

Well, it looks like oddjob is going to have the fast times on the rifle stages when the timer doesn't pick up his suppressed shots.

[kimel]

As long as the rounds remain supersonic I suspect there will still be a "crack" as the bullet breaks the sound barrier. Whether or not the timer will pick that up???

Also, suppressors tend to do nasty things to velocity so making PF might be more of a challenge.

But after being blasted by comps all day I am sure the RO will thank you for the peace and quiet.

[kurtm]

The only time a suppressor will do nasty things to velocity is if the barrel itsself has ports drilled into it to make super sonic ammunition sub sonic, a la MP5SD family of subguns. A regular suppresor that just goes on the end of a barrel wont effect velocity. It mearly cools the escaping gas. KURTM

[EvilPJ]

I have shot couple of IPSC level 3 rifle matches with suppressed rifles (7.62x39 & .308). So I would guess that it was legal.

Most semiauto rifle actions itself will make enough noise so timers will usually work. Supersonic crack will help though. I've seen AR shooters who didn't always get all the shots registered if the RO was too slow to keep up with shooter. AR's also tend to get really dirty when suppressed (you'll get lots of gas to your eyes too).

Pistol caliber carbines (9mm/.45ACP etc.) are usually too quiet with subsonic ammo for regular timers.

[Garrett]

I imagine suppressors would fall under the same category as any other type of compensator. Most silencers make very effective comps. I imagine most silencers would put you in Open division because they don't make the 3"x1" size envelope. I have a .223 silencer which is 6" x 1" diameter. That is about as small as you will get for a centerfire rifle can.

A silenced AR15 will still sound like an unsuppressed .22 LR. This is from the bullet breaking the sound barrier. Most semi-auto pistol-caliber carbines will still make enough action noise for a timer to pick them up. The RO may have to stay close though.

As Kurtm said, a silencer will not slow the bullet down at all. Sometimes you will actually get a slight increase in velocity. Some intergral cans have ported barrels. The ports will slow the bullet, but just screwing a can on the muzzle will not.