What do you guys think about hunting suppressed? I decided to get a few of them mainly to tame the recoil a bit and of course the noise while shooting guns with the youngsters. It works great for that. My kids have more confidence and better groups. I think the quieter shots make all the difference with the younger or newer shooters.
So I decided to use one for youth weekend. When my son shot a doe that was in the pasture with a group of 6 others, it seemed to really confuse the deer. The rifle makes more of a whispery crack instead of the loud bang. It was clear that they had no idea what the sound was or where it came from. So the deer sorta scattered in different directions but didn't go far at all and then were at ease a short time later. This allowed my nephew to get one as well. So we had a happy camp that evening while cleaning each of their deer.

I was concerned about threading the pencil barrels that come on these off the shelf rifles. Hanging a can on the end of it of course changes the harmonics, but i was pleased that on some rifles it didn't change my zero one bit. On the youth 243 it groups about 1.5 MOA at 100 yrds different from shooting without it.
Anyone else have any experiences?

I've seen deer act that way from a non suppressed rifle. Imo it makes no difference and see no issues with the use of one.

I always have a can on... Easier on the ears and a lot of times offers multiple engagements when necessary. MLD tags etc.

I use one and had a group of pigs in the other morning... I shot 4 out of the group before they realized their sounder was deminishing... Unless youre shooting sub-sonic ammo, you'll get the super-sonic crack from the bullet..

Now for impact shift. The lighter the barrel the more shift you'll have.. If you're running a thread on suppressor, I'll screw it on and make a witness mark on the bbl and the suppressor, so I know I have it torqued the same.. I rarely shoot the rifle without the suppressor, so I don't worry about impact shift, as long as I haave it screwed on the same way all the time..

I won't hunt anymore without one if I don't have to, helps with recoil and not having to wear ears is a huge plus.
I sight in with a can so hunting is the same POI.
Absolutely only way to go....

About to pull the trigger and get the paperwork in the pipeline as an early Christmas present for myself.

I almost always use them. Not today because my browning isn't threaded, but pretty every other hunting rifle I have is. The point earlier about the witness mark is good advice especially if you share the suppressor between rifles.

I read a while back that you had to get some special permit to hunt with a suppressor, is this not true? If it's not I'm going to get one

You don't need a special permit to hunt with a suppressor.. It became a legal means to us to take game animals by the TPWD.. You do however have to have a BATF Tax Stamp, which does require paperwork..

I admit to being hide-bound, but the suppressors seem to me like a triumphant achievement of clever and aggressive marketing. Unless you're shooting sub-sonic loads, they don't hold up to careful scrutiny in passing the "bang for the buck" test, especially when you consider having to stand naked before Big Brother in order to secure permission to own one.

Strange, but in South Africa a can costs less than $200 and you don't have to bare your soul to the government. But there you can't own a semi-auto of any sort, and you have to justify the purchase of every firearm you get a craving for. An odd world we live in.....

Im with Dee. I shot a hog standing less than 10 foot from a group of deer under a feeder less than 100 yards away with a non suppressed 300 wby and the deer never even ran away. They looked around in several directions watched the hog flop and went back to eating.

Did the same thing a couple years ago shot a big cull 7pt behind the shoulders, he took off the other deer kinda jumped and looked around then went back to eating as their buddy crashed less than 20 yards away. To me the biggest difference on how they react to shots is hunting pressure and early vrs. late season.

I've come to appreciate my .30 cal can on my .308. I'm already half deaf so having a suppressor truly helps keep what hearing I have left. For me at least, my hearing was worth the $200 tax stamp.

Yeah, it's never as quiet as you think it will be... I love subs out of a 22LR though, that actually is quiet! I even hand load 147gr 9mm subs and it's not super quiet.

I love mine, only shot one hog with it so far and it was on the run, but they literally had no clue where the sound came from, different than the normal auditory bang that gives away your location. Not to mention the help to your ears

Almost everybody I ask that as shot groups of hogs say the pigs react and run little different if any than with a normal rifle.

with the sound signature reduction, a lot of the time it difficult to tell where the shot came from. I've had pigs turn and run toward me after the first shot.

Well.. It's my first season using the cans. I love using them. I guess it's all personal preference in the end anyway, such as the caliber you prefer. But I think they're cool as can be and worth the $$. Especially regarding the youth hunters I'll be blessed to hunt with for the next 10 yrs or so.
I hunted a blind once where there were 3 adults and we all tagged out in the same 3 minutes on big deer herd on an invite to cull some does. None of us had cans on back then. So I agree that sometimes the deer don't spook much regardless. But from now on I think I'm sold on the suppressor. I got a gemtech sandstorm 30 cal screw on. It's titanium and not heavy at all. I use it to tame 5 different rifles in 5 different calibers. I just screw it on once I'm seated in my hunting location. If y'all have any pics of your suppressed hunting rifle it'd be cool to see em! I'm still trying to figure out how to post pics..

Since getting my suppressor in January of 2013 I don't recall any animals that have been shot without the suppressor. Even shooting prairie dogs it gives me an advantage.