hybrid technologies and stealth .... for those occasions when you really don't want to bring a lot of attention to yourself ....

1.)  stealth bullets/cartridges.  from all places, the june 2013 issue of "the american rifleman," the official organ/voice of the american n.r.a.  (vol. 161, no. 6).   in an article by aaron carter, managing editor, we find the following helpful advice towards achieving a "... quiet, low recoil and low-cost ..." load in the ubiquitous .308 winchester rifle, with common readily available components, one a familiar bullet in this chambering, the other a powder commonly used to load shot guns but almost never seen in the loading of rifles.

writes mr. carter:

"another approach.  given the current component shortage, it pays to 'think outside the box.'  with a mere 8 grains of hodgdon clays propellant, a 168-gr. hornady a-max reaches 908 f.p.s..  this quiet, low-recoil and low-cost load is perfect for practice, recreation and, with careful shot placement, will suffice for small predators and deer-size game."  american rifleman, vol. 161, no. 6, june 2013, page 46.

i would remind you that the speed of sound at sea level and 70 degrees fahrenheit (if i remember correctly) is 1,088 feet per second, via the atmosphere.  this means mr. carter's load will not bring attention to its firing by breaking the sound barrier and helping a hearer locate the origin of the rifle shot.  the "... dear-size game ..." is described elsewhere in the article as including "... whitetail deer, feral hogs ... " and the like, and "... small predators."

i would add that it would work quite well for large predators, such as your tyrant and associated minions.

this is, of course, a home-cooked stealth load.  from the pages of the staid "american rifleman," the official journal of the national rifle association.

 

2.)  the broadhead arrow from a .410 shotgun.  i do not know if you've ever seen a "broadhead"-tipped arrow, but, it is a diabolical killing device. (sort of a combination between a cold chisel and four straight razors, if you will.)  if your only exposure to "archery" was a college p.e. class shooting blunts and/or target tipped arrows from anemic bows with a 20 pound draw weight you just don't have much conception of what a hunting arrow can be, and what it can do.

the "broadhead" arrow head is basically four razor sharp edges in a swept back wedge, designed to cut flesh and blood vessels to promote sudden & massive blood loss from the animal it strikes.  an arrow does not travel at sufficient velocity to kill as a bullet does, so it must penetrate and cut as it does, to promote massive blood loss.  that is how it kills.

to shoot a bow capable of propelling an arrow to its fullest velocity requires strength, acuity in aiming, and lots of practice.  in my best days, i simply could not pick up a compound bow with an 80 pound draw and pull the string and arrow back to the aim point, let alone hold it steady enough to properly aim.

enter the lowly .410 "gauge" shotgun, of the cheap & inexpensive single barrel break open type.  the kind that you can buy, even yet, in the form of a south american import for less than $250, retail.

i cannot vouch for the accuracy of the below, having never done it, and never having seen it done, and having never fired such a contrivance.--

but, i have heard it said that if one takes a .410 gauge shell, and using a tubing cutter cuts off the end and drains the shot from the same, then one has pretty much performed all the "technology" needed to make a .410 chambered shotgun into a shooter of the broadhead arrow.

the shaft of the arrow is inserted into the shotgun.  the fletching is mounted a little forward of the end of the shot shell w/ the arrow in place, and the fletching should be feather so that it will readily twist flat when placed in the shotgun barrel.   the arrow is held in place in the shell by candle wax melted into the end of the shell.

the gun is "broken."   the arrow is inserted into the barrel, (the broad head being "sized" to fit, of course), the action closed, and the whole contraption is fired.

i am told that this entire concoction is reasonably accurate, and that it produces very little report, something along the line described to me as "fawhomp."   no one that i know of has fired such a weapon at man or beast, and i have not heard any attestation from a reliable source that one will survive the experience of touching off such a round, or that the shotgun will survive what has to been a bit of a strain of its normal working pressures.

but, the concept is not unhead of.

ruger marketed, and perhaps still markets, a .22 magnum powered rifle barrel for its 77/.22 line of rifle, which consists of a tube over which an arrow shaft is fit (from the front of the barrel), and from which the arrow is propelled by the firing of a "blank" cartridge.   given the length of the tube, and the arrow shaft just before it leaves the rifle barrel, this is a very quite "suppressed" weapon.

it was designed to allow game cropping in suburban areas in the early morning hours, so that the inhabitants would not be disturbed by the thought and actuality of deer being killed in their neighborhoods, even while they sleep.

so, there you have it.

two weapons, combined of rifle and arrow technology, which will kill silently, and with great stealth, and such as will not attract immediate attention to anyone using them.  you, perhaps?  one is almost certainly reliable as described, the other may require a bit of cautious testing to verify its utility, before being used w/ complete trust.

the low velocity rifle cartridge is legal.  the use of the arrow in the shotgun may not be, and, probably isn't.  but, these are days in which the concepts of legality are constantly being stretch, even to the point of "transcendence," are they not?  there is an old latin saying about legality being absent in times of war and unrest, ... , i'll leave you to look it up.

john jay @ 05.27.2013

p.s.  the game croppers have "sweepers" who come in and remove the harvested animals, and who clean up the blood and other evidence of the dead animals.  the sleeping suburbanites never know the deer have been killed in their flower & vegetable gardens.

this is "optional" for a stealth usage, i would suppose, though it seems a good idea to remove the evidence of such activity if you are carrying it on, and to tidy up after yourself.

 

Comments

[Jay Dee]

We had good experience with animal control firing a .32 ACP in a .308 adapter cartridge. The report was about the same as a .22 & quite effective on feral dogs at close range.

[Rod]

JJ -

Published in a recent American Rifleman Magazine was the load data for a sub-sonic .308. 8 grains of Hogden Clay Propellent powder coupled with 168 grain Hornady A-MAX bullet results in a sub-sonic 908 fps round. If you're into stealth, screw a fuel / oil filter to the end of the barrel, but don't get caught - once you shoot through it, get rid of it. Just thought I'd add my two cents.