Suppressors


Subsonic Ammo Round-Up

(Photo courtesy of "Shooting Times")
(Photo courtesy of "Shooting Times")

Keep quiet by feeding your suppressor the right ammo

You finally break your new hush tube out of jail. After picking it up from solitary, you get it prepped and strapped to your weapon of choice. You just can’t wait to not hear it. You slap in the mag, charge your weapon and pull the trigger. It’s not exactly a “boom,” but you find that your ears are ringing a bit. Well, that wasn’t very quiet, you think. What happened?

More than likely you brought the wrong ammunition. Most suppressors will bring a firearm’s report under the hearing safe 140 dB with standard ammo, but you’ll still be dealing with the supersonic crack as the bullet breaks the sound barrier. Subsonic ammunition uses heavier bullet weights and keeps the projectile’s velocity under the 1,100 fps supersonic threshold, eliminating the crack and thus maximizing the suppressor’s capabilities.

Subsonic ammunition is available in many calibers, but not all will allow a semiautomatic firearm to properly function. For instance, subsonic .308 ammo should only to be used in a manually operated gun. With the reduced velocity, of course, comes reduced effective ranges. Going into suppressed shooting with the proper expectations will ensure your enjoyment.

Several manufacturers provided Suppressor magazine with subsonic ammo for review, and they’re listed here. Keep in mind that this is a small sampling. There are many other manufacturers and calibers on the market.


.308 Win.

subsonic ammo round up swiss p

RUAG SWISS P

.308 Win., 200-gr. HPBT

$69/20 rd.

ruagswissp.com


9mm Luger

subsonic ammo round up emcon 9mm

HPR EMCON

9mm Luger, 147-gr. FMJ/ JHP

$24 – $40/50 rd.

hprammo.com


22LR

subsonic ammo round up gemtech 22 lr

GEMTECH

.22LR, 42-gr. LRN

$60/500 rd.; $550/5,000 rd.

gem-tech.com


300 BLK

subsonic ammo round up gorilla

GORILLA AMMUNITION

.300 BLK, 220-gr. Sierra MatchKing

$29/20 rds.

gorillaammo.com

subsonic ammo round up remington

REMINGTON

.300 BLK, 220-gr. OTM

$25/20 rd.

remington.com

subsonic ammo round up elite

SIG SAUER ELITE PERFORMANCE AMMUNITION

.300 BLK, 220-gr. Sierra MatchKing

$21/20 rd.

sigsauer.com

subsonic ammo round up harvester

SILENCERCO

.300 BLK, 220-gr. Sierra MatchKing

$24/20 rd.

silencerco.com

subsonic ammo round up hornady

HORNADY

.300 Whisper, 208-gr. A-MAX

$35/20 rd.

hornady.com

subsonic ammo round up black hills

BLACK HILLS

.300 Whisper, 220 gr. OTM

$30/20 rd.

black-hills.com

subsonic ammo round up nosler

NOSLER MATCH GRADE

.300 BLK, 220-gr. Custom Competition

$44/20 rd.

nosler.com

subsonic ammo round up gemtech 300

GEMTECH

.300 BLK, 187- and 220-gr. HPBT

$22 – $25/20 rd; $3/5-rd. sample pack

gem-tech.com

subsonic ammo round up emcon 300

HPR EMCON

.300 BLK, 220-gr. HPBT

$28/20 rd.

hprammo.com

subsonic ammo round up 300 whisper

RUAG SWISS P

.300 Whisper, 220-gr. HPBT

$38/20 rd.

ruagswissp.com


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