New guy-needs help TC carbine questions

[lbarcher34]

I am going to buy a Thompson Contender Carbine in 300 whisper and want to know if an 18inch barrell is a good choice or should I go shorter for hunting only? I live in Alabama and cannot legally hunt with a suppressed weapon so what can I expect the noise level to be for an unsuppressed weapon with supersonic loads? Performance on deer and primarily coyote? The hunting I will be in timbered areas which are pretty thick. Will this caliber buck brush? The main reason I want it is a 22 cal bullet will be easily deflected where as a 30 cal wont for 100yd or under coyote dispatch am I correct in this assumption? One last thing will the custom shop TC barrell for this caliber do as well as the SSK? Please any help would be appreciated.

[Quarterbore]

Bucking brush is something of a misnomer and the best advise is obviously not to shoot into it. Just the same, yes a high velocity light bullet will explode on contact with brush to a higher degree then a heavier bullet. This is a topic that gets argued time and time again and if anybody wants to agrue the points go at it but not me.

As for the barrel, the 300 Whisper has such a small powder charge that you likely don't need a barrel longer then 16-inches to get as much velocity as possible out of the cartridge. Yea, you might gain a little but I would make my decision on which barrel felt most comfortable when you shoot.

The T/C barrels are not available in the faster 1:8 twist as is really needed for subsonic loads. For hunting with no plans on using a silencer it is fine to use the slower 1:10 or are they 1:12 barrels. These will work well with a wide range of bullet weights and they should shoot well as well.

As for blast, there will be some blast and the supersonic crack. I am guessing the blast would be less then something like a 30-30 but how much less is hard to describe in a meaningful way... I think your plan is sound and the cartridge would do the job quite well... keep us informed how you make out.

[lbarcher34]

Thanks for the quick response. I will update when I do have it in hand which will be soon. I am disappointed though that unsuppressed it is as loud as a 30-30 but still that should be quieter than a 223 crack. For hunting though you never remember the noise at the shot on live game or at least I dont. One note though when I said shooting through brush I did not say this would be intentional but you cant see all the little twigs in between you and the intended quarry in wooded lots as there are very few wide open plots where I hunt. Thanks again.