The Banish 338 Delivers on my African Safari
Ben Ryder 04.25.23
In this review, we’re going to take a look at the Silencer Central Banish 338 and how it performed on my 7 day African Safari.
When I started my journey to become a hunter, an African safari was not something I had ever dreamed of doing. Like many, I grew up watching movies like “The Ghost and the Darkness” and hearing stories about Teddy Roosevelt and his adventures across the dark continent. As I became more confident as a hunter and found myself in far off destinations like the Brooks Range of Alaska, I began to wonder what it would be like to make the journey to the continent known as the cradle of humankind to hunt as many other adventurers have done in the past.
I was very fortunate to find myself booked and planning what turned out to be the trip of a lifetime to the Limpopo province of South Africa. We had booked a 7 day Safari with Ranchero Safari’s to hunt plains game in late March. When we arrived in South Africa, we were greeted with incredibly lush and green vegetation, which our host Magnus attributed to an exceptional rainy season. While it provided a beautiful landscape to observe, it made the hunting conditions much more challenging. One of the things I was most surprised by is how much this part of Africa resembled some of the areas in Texas we have hunted over the past few years. The trees and brush are thick and unforgiving, with most sporting incredibly sharp barbs that love to tear your clothes and your skin.
My rifle of choice on my journey was the Savage Arms 110 Long Range Hunter chambered in .338 Lapua and I was extremely excited to use it. I’ve never hunted with a caliber larger than 300WM and so, I’ve never had the opportunity to use my Silencer Central Banish 338 Suppressor in a field application. I was incredibly impressed with the caliber, but even more impressed with how well the platform performed paired with the Silencer Central Banish 338.
I had a wide range of animals on my wish list when this trip began that quickly changed after we started hunting. A near death encounter with a cape buffalo took this plains game hunt and quickly turned it to a dangerous game hunt but, that is a story for another day. My first animal down was a Zebra, which I harvested at just under 250 yards off of shooting sticks. The initial impression after I took my shot was that it was a clean shot, however, after our initial track we lost the trail. Down but not out, we decided to give the animal some time to prevent bumping it. Our tracker retraced the trail and found the Zebra just 100 yards from where the initial shot impact occurred! Our initial impressions of my shot were verified and I had my very first African animal down.
Throughout the rest of the week, my Silencer Central Banish 338 Suppressor was my wingman helping me harvest a 53″ Kudu, a Sable, Impala, and Blesbuck. I have to say, I was incredibly impressed with the Silencer Central Banish 338 Suppressor and it’s performance. While the .338 Lapua caliber can seem daunting to those who haven’t hunted with it, I really appreciated having the round’s stopping power as a bit of an insurance policy while hunting. These African animals are so tough that you want to give yourself the absolute best chance to take a clean shot the first time around. The caliber and suppressor combination proved to be extremely accurate and effective when it mattered most.
When it comes time to invest in a suppressor, the first thing to consider is what you will be using it for. In this setting, the Silencer Central Banish 338 Suppressor is an incredibly versatile suppressor that was a dream to hunt with. The second thing to ask is, how easy do you want the process to be? If you’re like me and you want the complexities of the world made as simple as possible, then you owe it to yourself to buy your suppressor through Silencer Central. The process that Silencer Central has developed is in my opinion, the best there is. You can buy online and have your new Banish shipped directly to your door, a feat that is unique to Silencer Central.
For more information on the Banish 338, you can find the specs listed below or you can head to www.silencercentral.com where you’ll find everything you need to know on this suppressor and the rest of the Banish line.
Silencer Central Banish 338 Suppressor Specs
- LENGTH: 9.1″
- DIAMETER: 1.54″
- NUMBER OF BAFFLES: 8
- WEIGHT: 17.5 OZ
- MATERIAL: TITANIUM
- THREAD PITCH: 5/8×24
- SELF-SERVICE:YES
- CALIBER:.338
- CALIBER RANGE:.223 – .338 RUM
- SOUND REDUCTION:33 DB
- MOUNT STYLE:DIRECT THREAD
- FULL-AUTO RATED:LIMITED FULL-AUTO RATED
- LIFETIME WARRANTY:YES
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