The ATF recently approved my F4 for my first precision rifle suppressor, a TBAC Ultra 9CB. I'm pretty new to precision rifle shooting in general, so this suppressor may have been a little overkill for the Bergara B14 in 6.5cm I was planning to mount it on, but I felt a good suppressor should probably stick with me longer than my beginner rifle and I might as well "go big or go home". I bought the can through Mile High since they had one on the shelf at the time I was looking, though because they don't have an attached range, I couldn't actually use it until the ATF approved it. Normally I buy things through the range I'm a member at so I can at least get conjugal visits which help the wait time considerably. The wait was extended by the fact that I had signed up to shoot an F Class match about a week after my can was approved and I wasn't about to red loctite that CB brake on only to have to rip it off for the match and remount it, so for the past week or so the suppressor has been sitting in my safe begging to be used.
With the match out of the way I finally got a chance to mount it, check for concentricity and sneak over to a local 100yard indoor range to try it out yesterday. I shot a couple rounds with just the CB brake to get an idea of how well it worked - big mistake. I think my ears are still ringing, but other than the blast it was very pleasant.
Next I threaded the brake on and took a few shots. I only had enough ammo to shoot a single group as I'd burned through 60+ rounds at the match and didn't want to load a large batch not knowing how my previous load would shoot with the can. This was when I was really blown away. My rifle sounded and felt about like the 22lr the guy one lane over was shooting. Way better than expected. My first shot had about .75 MOA up and .25 MOA right POI shift, so I loaded and sent another and was a little worried when I couldn't see any change in the target. I'd heard similar stories where people had baffle or endcap strikes and completely missed paper, but I didn't see any visible damage to the end of the suppressor so I sent another. Still no change in the target, no I was getting real worried, so I pulled the target carrier back to the line to take a look and here's what I found:
I expected I might have to redevelop my load for the suppressor or at least tweak it a little but I don't plan to touch it at all now. I was a little surprised that it shifted the POI up, but perhaps this is just because of my inexperience with rifle suppressors. At any rate, I can't wait to try it at 600-900 yards this weekend.
Here's a pic of my rifle with the suppressor. The only thing I'd change is that I wish the peel washer was black to match the brake/barrel. If it still bothers me in a few weeks I might get one of the finish touch up pens and black it out, but that's pretty minor. Overall I'm super happy with it. I knew I would be based on how happy I was with the TBAC 22 Takedown I've owned for a while, but I really was blown away by the performance of this even with my very high expectations from the pre-purchase research I did on it.
With the match out of the way I finally got a chance to mount it, check for concentricity and sneak over to a local 100yard indoor range to try it out yesterday. I shot a couple rounds with just the CB brake to get an idea of how well it worked - big mistake. I think my ears are still ringing, but other than the blast it was very pleasant.
Next I threaded the brake on and took a few shots. I only had enough ammo to shoot a single group as I'd burned through 60+ rounds at the match and didn't want to load a large batch not knowing how my previous load would shoot with the can. This was when I was really blown away. My rifle sounded and felt about like the 22lr the guy one lane over was shooting. Way better than expected. My first shot had about .75 MOA up and .25 MOA right POI shift, so I loaded and sent another and was a little worried when I couldn't see any change in the target. I'd heard similar stories where people had baffle or endcap strikes and completely missed paper, but I didn't see any visible damage to the end of the suppressor so I sent another. Still no change in the target, no I was getting real worried, so I pulled the target carrier back to the line to take a look and here's what I found:
I expected I might have to redevelop my load for the suppressor or at least tweak it a little but I don't plan to touch it at all now. I was a little surprised that it shifted the POI up, but perhaps this is just because of my inexperience with rifle suppressors. At any rate, I can't wait to try it at 600-900 yards this weekend.
Here's a pic of my rifle with the suppressor. The only thing I'd change is that I wish the peel washer was black to match the brake/barrel. If it still bothers me in a few weeks I might get one of the finish touch up pens and black it out, but that's pretty minor. Overall I'm super happy with it. I knew I would be based on how happy I was with the TBAC 22 Takedown I've owned for a while, but I really was blown away by the performance of this even with my very high expectations from the pre-purchase research I did on it.
Thanks for the inspiration. Great to hear. I also made the go big or go home style decision on my 1st suppressor, put a TBAC Ultra 7cb in jail a couple weeks ago. Hoping it’s not the longest wait I’ve done for something gun related, waited 9 months for my ARC Mausingfield but seems like that was easier haha.
