Ever play the “What If” game of firearms? Try this: What if you could get a precision rifle that was affordable and integrally suppressed? That’s been a unicorn proposition, but now it’s a reality. Witt Machine & Tool has partnered with Colorado’s Machine Gun Tours to offer the rest of us an integrally suppressed Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR).
The Ruger Precision Rifle was an out of the box winner the moment Ruger introduced it. Then came the Gen 2 and it got a touch sweeter. It can shoot, and shoot really well. It’s on this platform that Witt Machine & Tool built the first Integrally Suppressed Ruger Precision Rifle and – like a bunch of curious puppies – a lot of people cocked their head and raised their eyebrows with that announcement. Not only does it shoot well, it now does so quietly.
Witt Machine has been building Integrally Suppressed AR Uppers for some time. The transition to the Ruger Precision Rifle project was a natural since Ruger designed the rifle to accept AR handguards, some of which allow for a suppressor inside. Witt reasoned that if they could make a gas gun very quiet they could make a bolt gun REALLY quiet. Great concept, right?
The truth is, you just never know how concept ideas are going to work out. Ask Witt Machine & Tool how they come up with this stuff and they will tell you they just “try stuff.” They don’t have a million dollar research and development lab or engineers on staff. They have a Former Marine running things.
Ideas are brought to life quickly. “Stand back, we’re going to try this!” is not an unusual order. Staff is never quite sure whether to cringe, close one eye and turn their head a little, or cheer with pom poms. The Mosin Nagant Cannon was a cool – and bad – idea; the Muzzle Brake Cannon was a fun idea the neighbors couldn’t appreciate. The list just goes on and on.
Relatively speaking, Witt Machine & Tool has prospered well under most people’s radar. Early successes include their Clamp on Muzzle Brakes, followed by the Muzzle Rise Eliminator (MRE) Muzzle Devices. Then they launched true integrally suppressed AR-15 uppers, paving they way for the integrally suppressed RPR.
Witt Machine & Tool had the idea for the integrally suppressed Ruger Precision Rifle, but needed the sometimes-hard-to-find rifle, the sooner the better. So Alan Samuel at Machine Gun Tours got a phone call and asking for a new, off the shelf, Ruger Precision Rifle. There was a catch, if he gave it to them FREE he would get it back some day as an integrally suppressed design (not knowing how long the R & D would take).
Prototyping commenced as soon as they unboxed it in Witt Machine’s shop. The rifle was chambered in .308 with a 20” factory barrel. Finished, the overall barrel length became 28” with a 24” x 1 5/8” Titanium oversleeve that is part of the suppression system. Production models get fit with an upgraded aftermarket AR formatted handguard – either the custom 15” HexGuard or the Suppressor Compatible MidWest Industries 18” MLok Handguard.
A lot had to happen between prototype and finished product. Having received the rifle, Witt staff inspected the factory barrel profile and modified it to accommodate the requirements of the Witt Machine suppression system. After reassembly it was time for the first test, a velocity check. They needed to compare the resulting projectile velocities against charted velocities of premium quality factory ammunition.
Velocities
From the 20” factory barrel there should have been approximately 100+ fps velocity loss (some say as high as 200fps even). Conversely, suppressors generally boost projectile speed. The NET result was only 13 feet per second difference in what the velocity data on the factory chart said versus the now integrally suppressed numbers using a suppressed 20” barrel. The thirteen feet per second difference could result from any number of things (weather – heavy overcast and snowing, barometric pressures, altitude – in Colorado, etc.).
Accuracy
When it came time for long range accuracy testing, there was just one place to go: the world renown NRA Whittington Center, Raton, NM. Right Out of the box a 25 yard zero was done, followed by a straight to a 200 yard confirmation, and then straight to the 1,123 yard White Steel Buffalo the Center is known for. Using HSM 168 grain HPBT Factory Ammunition Witt Machine got 4 out of 5 hits on a 10” circle on the White Buffalo at 1,123 yards without any special barrel prep and using the high quality factory ammo. Check the accuracy box.
Sound Suppression
Witt Machine attempted an outside open environment Db test. Environmental conditions weren’t great with a howling wind making it feel a lot colder than it should have felt. The initial three shot average using a Digital Firearms Decimal Reader was 132.1db, but more testing is scheduled as weather permits. If you want something insanely quiet, you’d pair subsonic ammo with this gun. Some say you can hear the firing pin drop that way!
Reaction to the integrally suppressed RPR has been solid. The Founder and Editor of Soldier of Fortune Magazine LTC Robert K. Brown and his Associate Editor Jerry Kraus (SGT ABN) got to see and review the demo rifle. Then Machine Gun Tours did a shoot with Frank G. Founder & Long Range Authority from Sniper’s Hide LLC. Everyone walked away impressed.
If you’d like to get some trigger time on one of these Integrally Suppressed Ruger Precision Rifles (ISRPR), Machine Gun Tours will have their demo rifle at all of their Summer Machine Gun & Shooting Events.
Like the RPR itself, the Witt Machine Integrally Suppressed version exclusively sold through Machine Gun Tours retails for $2,895. Both complete rifles and barrel upgrade kits with the Integrally Suppressed barrel are available to individuals and dealers. The nearest package of its kind would be the AIC Covert Package that used to run around $12,000 as a complete kit. With that kind of savings, you probably want to swap in a two stage Timney Trigger as done and tested by Pro Staffer David Bahde.
Imagine… Hog hunting with this rig and subsonic ammo! Before you say, “Bad idea, won’t take pigs down,” we’ve already proven that with Maker subsonic .308 bullets it is quite doable. But that’s a story for another day. In the mean time, check out the videos below.
Sniper’s Hide Test
Machine Gun Tours Test
JJ Sutton contributed heavily to this story.
Jonathan, I was very impressed with the look and performance of the rifle you featured by Whit Machine. My question today is, aren’t we still bound by the long waiting times from ATF for the tax permit for a Integrally Suppressed Barrels? You guys are on the cutting edge. With the change in Administration, does it look, sound, or feel like some of the wait associated with administrative hurdles will get worse, improve, or stay the same in upcoming months? What is afoot?
NFA remains NFA, slow. We’d all like to see the HPA (Hear Protection Act) pass and be done with the silliness of silencer wait times. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like it will happen soon. Progress is much more incremental than was advertised eight or nine months ago. In the end, if you want NFA items, you might as well get started. Delaying is just that, delaying, with no concrete timeframe for an alternate reality.
Who made that heat shield would love one on my suppressed rifle
If you mean the handguard, I believe it’s Unique-ARs.com