Way Cheaper Than Hearing Aids

The Scythe Ti from SilencerCo is a hard-use hunting suppressor. Constructed entirely of titanium alloy and coming in at around six inches in overall length, the Scythe Ti weighs less than half a pound and takes all of the nasty out of high-powered gunshots. Threading one of these bad boys onto your favorite field rifle will transform your hunting experience.

Welding titanium is an unnatural act. Nature just doesn’t want us to do it. However, SilencerCo has broken the code on this onerous chore. The Scythe Ti is an all-welded, maintenance-free design that doesn’t care how short your barrel is.

The Scythe Ti is a .30-caliber can that will run on anything from .300 RUM on down. It is also equally comfortable on a 5.56mm platform. Avoid full auto fire, and you’re golden. SilencerCo’s Bravo mounts let you use this one can on a wide variety of guns. The Scythe Ti also includes a cool brake on the nasty end that helps mitigate recoil.

My Dad, the Suppressor Salesman

I have the best Dad in the world. He lived the example of Christian manliness. As a result of that example, my two bothers and I have all grown to become productive responsible men ourselves. He has no idea I’m writing this.

I came of age in the hinterlands of the Mississippi Delta. My father taught us to hunt and fish as soon as we were weaned. I was stalking turkeys with that man behind an antique single-barrel .410 shotgun by age six. With a Dad who was an absolute paragon of studliness and a gorgeous Mom who was endlessly loving and supportive, I really could not have asked for a better upbringing.

Truth be known, a tragic dearth of such role models is the biggest reason our country is currently in its sordid state, but that’s a topic for another day. However, such a childhood executed in the 1970’s came at a cost. Now into his eighties, my Dad is almost totally deaf today. That all spawned from chainsaws and gunfire.

We just didn’t know any different back then. We’d hit the dove field or roll out to the rifle range to zero our deer rifles without giving a thought to hearing protection. I don’t think we owned any. Nobody I knew did, either.

Hearing aids cost a holy fortune and don’t much work. We did get my Dad a speech-to-text app on his phone that has been revolutionary. I’d powerfully suggest it to anyone who might have difficulty hearing conversations. (LiveTranscribe seems to work well, if you need a recommendation). However, things would be so much better if we just hang onto the hearing God gave us in the first place. A sound suppressor like the SilencerCo Scythe Ti is designed for exactly that.

Details

There’s really no downside to using a sound suppressor while hunting. Forty-two states allow private ownership of sound suppressors. The recalcitrant eight are the usual suspects– California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Curiously, Connecticut allows ownership but prohibits their use while hunting. No idea what that’s all about. Regardless, if you live in one of those forty-one truly free states, you really need a can on your favorite hunting rifle.

The beauty of the Scythe Ti is that it weighs about nothing. At 7.3 ounces, that’s about the same as ten standard .308 rounds. Unless you’re recreating the Bataan Death March, that will get lost on your rifle. It’s also only 6.16 inches long. That doesn’t much increase the risk that your rifle will hang on brush or vines.

The basic Scythe Ti ships with a 5/8×24 direct thread mount, the nifty single-port anchor muzzle brake, and all the tools you need to keep the can tight and maintained. SilencerCo will gladly sell you whatever other mounts you might require to service the rest of your collection. It takes literally no talent to run this can. Just cinch it down tightly and hit the field. A monkey could do it.

Practical Tactical

I am 59 years old. I recall even today sitting in a deer stand with my Dad as a kid as he touched off that massive Herter’s 7mm Magnum rifle right next to my head. The overall effect was both traumatic and disconcerting. Adding a sound suppressor not only preserves your hearing, but also makes hunting and shooting much more enjoyable, particularly with children. If you haven’t had the pleasure, adding a Scythe Ti to your favorite working gun will legit change the way you approach the sport.

Standard supersonic rifle loads will always be loud. Any projectile traveling faster than about 1,125 feet per second is going to create an unpleasant sonic crack. However, the Scythe Ti will excise almost all of the rifle noise. There is an easy way to put that to the test.

I load my own subsonic rifle rounds. Such stuff is commercially available, but it costs a holy fortune. A simple single-stage rifle reloader will pay for itself in no time. The very act of reloading is also innately recreational. When my kids were young, they helped me manage my components. We whiled away many a delightful hour behind the reloader just solving the problems of the world.

I use Trail Boss powder and standard weight bullets. 1,000 surplus pulled GI bullets will last me well past my own use-by date. Trail Boss powder is designed for cowboy action shooting. It is a bulky, high-volume powder. That does away with the problem of excess air space in the cases. The details are readily available online.

I have loaded subsonic 5.56mm rounds, but that just creates a really expensive .22 rifle. The same exercise in .308 or 6.5 CR will legit change your life. I have fired hundreds of sound-suppressed weapons over the decades. The only thing that really does approximate movie-grade quiet is my Remington 700 .308 bolt gun with the Scythe Ti suppressor and subsonic handloads. You could shoot that thing in the next room and not know it had gone off. Subsonic .30-caliber rounds also retain enough downrange thump to make them useful against whitetail-size game.

I use Trail Boss powder and standard weight bullets. 1,000 surplus pulled GI bullets will last me well past my own use-by date. Trail Boss powder is designed for cowboy action shooting. It is a bulky, high-volume powder. That does away with the problem of excess air space in the cases. The details are readily available online.

I have loaded subsonic 5.56mm rounds, but that just creates a really expensive .22 rifle. The same exercise in .308 or 6.5 CR will legit change your life. I have fired hundreds of sound-suppressed weapons over the decades. The only thing that really does approximate movie-grade quiet is my Remington 700 .308 bolt gun with the Scythe Ti suppressor and subsonic handloads. You could shoot that thing in the next room and not know it had gone off. Subsonic .30-caliber rounds also retain enough downrange thump to make them useful against whitetail-size game.

Ruminations

I really do wish my dad had access to sound suppressors back when we were young. I think it would have made a tremendous difference today. The registration process is undeniably onerous. You can snap the required photograph on your phone, but it is a hassle obtaining a digital copy of your fingerprints. Some UPS stores can provide that service. Thankfully, you only have to do that once. Let’s face it, if you drive a car then Uncle Sam already knows everything there is to know about you already.

We Americans are quick to blur the lines between needs and wants. However, I don’t think I’m perjuring myself when I say that anyone who hunts with a high-powered rifle really does need a sound suppressor. That is exactly the mission for which the Scythe Ti was contrived. The Scythe Ti adds a trivial weight and bulk burden while remaining just incredibly effective. It will absolutely revolutionize your hunting experience. It’s also way cheaper than hearing aids.

For more information visit silencerco.com