Question for you guys. Are you allowed to hunt with suppressors in NZ and Australia? Just saw talk of TrackersNZ putting one on his gun, but do you guys have to go through paperwork or is it just an over the counter thing? There is a ton of BS getting one in the states so I was wondering what you guys had to go through? Whats laws on hunting with one?

Thanks

I think their illegal in Australia.

No problem here in New Zealand for rifles,no paperwork,just buy them over the counter.

We have no hunting laws for big game,so yes you can use them.

Illegal in Oz .

Wow, I was just going to post a question about hunting with suppressors in N.Z.! My question is for those that have hunted with suppressed rifles. What calibers are you using, are you using subsonic or supersonic loads, how do the animals react and how are the terminal results. It is legal to hunt with suppressors here in Virginia but I would like to get some real world experience to help pick a caliber as my only suppressor right now is .223. I am thinking about .300 Whisper, .308, and .458 SOCOM right now.
Thanks!

I don't own any suppressored rifles,but mates do in 204,223,243 now rebarreled to 260,loads used full power/supersonic loads.

Some say suppressored rifles are good for culling,i think their overated

Animals hit die the same as animals hit by an unsuppressored rifle.

Thanks TOP_PREDATOR, I figured the best advantage is the hearing protection.

Gidday Guys,

The advantages of a suppressed rifle lie in the following:

1. The lack of muzzle blast is less damaging to you ears.

2. In a culling situation the animals around the corner are less disturbed and upset.

3. At longer range the animals have less idea of where you are. Using the old crack and thump method of range and direction estimation the thump rends to be the bullet hitting the ground rather than muzzle blast. This can result in the animals running to you rather than away.

4. The rifles are often more accurate as the bullet on leaving the barrel does not have to negotiate the disturbed air thus being more stable in flight.

5. A lot easier to hear the bullets hitting the target.

Happy Hunting

Hamish

I use a suppressed .22rf with standard velocity ammo for bunnies and possums. You can shoot a bunch of them before they figure out whats happening. You can also snipe the neighbours cat on your front lawn without anyone other than the cat knowing.....

In a goat culling situation the noise factor is more for the benefit of the shooter than the shoot-ed. Health and safety issues make gunfire noise a hazardous thing these days , plus you get the aforementioned benefits of the animals not knowing where the shots come from.

Using subsonic ,44 Magnum loads with a full length over-barrel suppressor you get a very muted "poof" as the gun fires and a "whop" as the projectile hits. friends with suppressed .223 rifles shoot full-power loads and the sound signature is like a .22 Magnum.

Suppressing rifles is the latest growth industry here in NZ.

I had one of Robbie Tiffen’s Lightweight suppressors fitted to my 223 ‘walkabout rabbit rifle’ recently, and so far, I am very pleased with it. Each time I have taken it to the range, the weather has been awful, so I haven’t been able to do anything like a thorough accuracy test, but my feeling is that it has probably improved. Certainly not deteriorated, anyway.

Some months ago, a chap turned up at our range with a 300 Whisper built on a Remington 700 action, with a standard Tiffen (Canterbury Gunworks) suppressor on it. He was shooting 200-and-something grain Sierra MK bullets at sub-sonic velocity, and it was very quiet indeed – not a lot noisier than a suppressed 22 rimfire shooting sub-sonic ammo, as I recall. His groups were less than impressive, but I doubt that the blame for this could be put solely on the suppressor.

I hate wearing ear plugs or muffs when I am walking around in the hills, in fact I just won’t, most of the time, but this is certainly not good for the ears when using an un-suppressed centrefire. Even with the suppressor on the 223, the noise is probably still well above recommended safety levels, but it’s sure a lot easier to take than it was before! The other thing I really like about the suppressor is that it has reduced the muzzle jump of my 223 to practically nothing, and I can see the bullet-strikes through my scope. I can now be much more certain whether I have hit or missed a bunny – in fact it is very much like shooting a 22 rimfire, but with a GREATLY extended reach.

If suppressors are in fact a ‘growth industry’ these days, I can understand why. I have used suppressed 22 rimfires for many years, and now I have tried a suppressed 223 for long-range rabbit busting, I wish I had done so long ago. The owners of some of the farms I shoot on seem to appreciate the reduction in noise, too, and anything that makes them happier must be a good thing.