On the 25th of August, the hunt for grouse starts in Sweden. It’s an exciting hunting form where the hunter is offered an indescribable nature experience. Besides, it’s one of the most appreciated hunting forms in the country thanks to its enormous freedom. Most grouses are hunted with shotguns, but several birds are hunted with rifles. In Sweden, weapons are divided into four classes (1, 2, 3, and 4). The first three are mainly used for giant birds as capercaillie and goose, while class 4 is used for smaller birds as ptarmigan and pigeons. Below, we'll guide you through the most commonly used calibers and the silencers we recommend on bird hunt.
As always, when choosing silencer, you need to consider its purpose. What kind of bird will du hunt? Bird hunting is a moving hunting form, which means that the silencer needs to be light and smooth, easy to carry, and perform excellently when having a position. The precision needs to be good, and you need to feel confident as a shooter.
You use different calibers for different types of birds. When hunting capercaillie and black grouse, calibers such as 6,5x55, .308, and .222 are recommended. The first one is likely the most frequently used and works superbly with this hunting form. For this caliber, we recommend Stalon XS108, which definitely will be the best alternative where the silencer will deliver the absolute most. Stalon X108 and Stalon VICTOR are also a good match with 6,5x55. Stalon XS108 will reduce noise by about 29 dBc.
For a .308 used for bird hunting, we recommend Stalon X108. But Stalon XS108, Stalon XE108, and Stalon VICTOR will also work well with this caliber. X108 for .308 is allround, and makes a perfect balance between flexibility, noise and recoil reduction. An X108 reduces noise by 30 dBc.
For caliber .222, we recommend Stalon VICTOR. It will give the very best result. If you don’t want to use a VICTOR, you can attach a Stalon XS108. However, VICTOR is the most smooth silencer we have, and perform incredibly well in relation to its minimal weight and narrow design. It weighs under 300 grams and is only 41 mm in diameter, reduces recoil significantly as all Stalon silencers, and reduces noise by about 31 dBc.
In some cases, 22HORNET is used for hunting smaller birds. Stalon VICTOR will certainly perform the best.
For the smaller birds such as ptarmigan and pigeons, you need a smaller caliber to prevent the birds from being destroyed in the boom. Great calibers for these birds are .22LR, .17HMR, and .22WMR. For these, we have one model available that matches all rimfire cartridges. No matter which one of these calibers you have, you should use a Stalon RF. It’s our only rimfire silencer and has replaced the previous models, Stalon RM and Stalon RC. It is - without overstatement - the best silencer we developed for rimfire cartridges. Regardless if used with a slow caliber with less powder, or a fast and hot cartridge, it will recede noise nearly as much between the two calibers. Stalon RF has a front-mounted design, is petite (weights only 96 grams), and reduces noise by as much as 29,9 dBc. The core is removable and makes it easy to clean and maintain. Stalon RF is an obvious choice for ptarmigan hunting.
If you want to read more about our silencers, you’ll find all Stalon models here >
