Thread: 308 subsonic

Originally Posted by Ginga;[URL="tel:1489118"

1489118[/URL]]I’ve never really understood the subsonic centrefire idea on big game. Subsonic works on rabbits with a 22 but a deer is a big animal and a supersonic 308 hunting bullet will kill it pretty much anywhere in the shoulder area.

I guess people have to try stuff out.

It’s a common response and fair enough really. Here’s some thoughts.

Firstly, fallow and goats aren’t big game. They’re on the small end of medium game. That’s a nitpick but relevant. We’re not talking wapiti or scrub bulls.

Fallow are - where I mostly hunt - a resource that is kinda managed in the sense that numbers are kept at a level that makes it easy to go get some when needed. Fallow is regarded as a “special occasion” meat. Because they have a far smaller home range than reds, and aren’t transient in the way reds are, you pretty much always know where to find them. (Right in the middle of the farm usually.)

Now by all means you can go shoot them with a normal full power rifle. But when you do, you’ll get one and the rest will scatter like confetti in a blizzard, and they won’t settle down for a good while, usually a couple of days. Keep doing that and they get very unhappy and soon enough, they’re gone somewhere else. That’s not an acceptable outcome.

Carcass quality is critical - these are small deer and shooting them through the shoulder with a full power hunting bullet isn’t allowed, too much waste. Most are headshot with .223 Rem or .22-250, occasionally .22WMR or Hornet.

Also, shooting them from a distance in the preferred manner also poses risks - head shooting is for good shots who know their shit. It’s a different game than normal hunting. That’s just the way it’s done on the farms and not looking to start another head shooting debate…

So, subs are used periodically, because (a) the noise doesn’t upset the herd and several deer can be shot over an afternoon in the same small area if you’re smart, (b) meat loss on torso shot animals is practically nil, (c) the lethal target area is much bigger for close range subsonics than a distant head shot, (d) it’s much more fun to hunt them if you have to stalk real close, (e) if you are hunting with a dog, your dog will love you and his hunting way more if you routinely use subs.

The last part is all about the sport. Shooting fallow on the farm with a .223 sometimes feels like controlled slaughter, oftentimes you don’t even get off the quad. Shooting them with subs is more akin to bowhunting, you’ve gotta get real close, and that’s fun, no question about it, and having a good dog alongside that isn’t copping horror levels of ear damage and getting gun shy is very rewarding. I have yet to see a good hunting dog wearing noise cancelling headphones.

It’s not for everyone, and just like bowhunting you’ve got to be spot on with your shot placement. Knowing anatomy inside out is vital. A CNS shot might not kill it outright, and you’ll need to be prepared to dispatch it quickly with the knife or a headshot at the scene.

Regarding goats, this is where subs really come into their own. In the scrub in the lower country where it isn’t as steep, it’s very hard to get a decent field of view. You’ll catch a glimpse of a goat here and there and you can hear them but you can’t see them. But you can stalk right up to them by following the bleating of the kids. Goats are stupid and it will be thousands of years before they develop the same wild self-preservation instincts as deer. They don’t rely on scent or noise to anything like the same extent, and pick the right goat first (the oldest nanny), and several of her family won’t leg it at the first shot. I can usually get three or four right there, with another couple who will almost certainly run, then come back for a look. There will be more family groups within a couple of hundred metres that haven’t been frightened off, so after a short cooldown period, you can go hunt them too.

Because I am relying on my hearing to home in on the goats, I don’t want to be concerned about repeatedly blasting my eardrums with a full power cartridge. With subsonics I can take multiple shots with zero concern about hearing protection. Even the unsuppressed BLR doesn’t worry the ears. In tight scrub or timber I really hate using full power cartridges without hearing protection, even fully suppressed, because I’ve had tinnitus in the past (looking at you, Motorhead) and I want to avoid it like the plague.

.308 calibre subs with a good suppressor are genuinely dead quiet. Increase the size of calibre and the noise increases significantly (bigger hole in the end of the suppressor). I also use .44 Rem Mag subs and its noticeably louder. Whilst the .44 has the advantage of extra weight and frontal area, the noise diminishes the stealth factor significantly, and I also don’t much like the blunt instrument that is the typical rough & ready .44 rifle (e.g. the Ruger 77/44 is like Freddie Flintstone’s club compared to the Browning BLR.)

If I could justify it, I’d love to get into the real big boys like .458 SOCOM and the like, but that’s just an expensive folly really, for the use I’d get out of it.

The end. Hope that makes sense! Subs are useful with care and a niche just like other forms of hunting.

Yip all makes sense.