Hopefully I don't piss off the wrong crowd here but I just one question.

Most of the videos I've seen of you guys using suppressors in the field show that once you hit your target, the rest of the herd go scattering all over the place. By the time you get back to your scope, they are gone and there is no difference on using a non-suppressed rifle for your hunt.

I can see having a night vision scope with a suppressor combo being the best tool for the job. But by then we're talking thousands of dollars and most of us can't or won't afford it.

So, if you are not going to be using night vision with your suppressed weapon, is it really worth it?

Just asking here.

I keep going back and forth on if it's worth it. From your post, I think it depends on if you like wearing hearing protection or not. Pigs run after a bow shot so they will still run after a suppressed shot even running subs.

Simple answer, yes. Less recoil, no need for ear protection and the all around cool factor. Shooting subsonic is also a mind trip when all you hear is the firing pin hit and then the round hitting your target. .22 suppressors are by far the most fun, but the bigger calibers are awesome as well.

all i have is YES

mostly the cool factor, but plinking with a 22 now is a whole new kind of fun

If you hunt consistently at night it is worth it for a number of reasons. If hunting a large field the noise will be there, but will not spook the wildlife comming in or close by. It is respectful of folks that live in farms nearby not to be blasting away at 2 in the morning. Less likely that folks will call game warden as the shots are muffled ( and I can tell you this from experience that a game warden investigating at night will blow your hunt for that field.) Hearing protection. Alot times the pigs will hear the shots but will not know where they are comming from. Without a supressor there is no doubt. Is it worth it, that is for you to determing depending on how much you use it. I would say if you are just going out there ocassionally and you do not have the money to throw around no.

Once I went suppressed for hunting, it's hard to go back unsuppressed. I hunt with everything suppressed now. It keeps everything very quiet. I've had animals run off and I've had animals stay and wonder why their buddy just dropped. It depends on the animals.

When hunting, you don't have to scramble to put hearing protection on. I run supersonic ammo (full power) on everything. My son loves shooting his little Tikka T3 in 223 with a small 223 suppressor on the end. It keeps the noise down and reduces the recoil to nothing. I run a Rem 700 in 300 blk out along side and it's suppressed also. The hunters around me never hear me shoot. They just hear the bullet hitting something with that loud, deep thump. They send me a text saying I didn't hear you shoot, but I heard it hit!

Subs are another fun factor. With a bolt gun, they are Hollywood quiet. Like stated, you hear the firing pin and the bullet hitting the target. It does have a fun and cool factor.

Now, hunting at night with a FLIR thermal scope mounted on top of a suppressed AR-15 in 300 blk out, that's just plain fun. I'd rather hunt at night now for pigs, yotes, and other critters.

Find someone near you to go shoot with that has a suppressor, and see what you think. If you are near Dallas, come shoot with us sometime.

I have limited knowledge on this as well. But from what I can tell and have been told, the hogs do run but don't know which way to run. The sound at the gun isn't the same sound the animals hear. They hear more of the impact of the bullet hitting the game. Not the gun shot itself. So there is a higher chance they run towards you not directly away from you. And a good chance they run a few steps and stop to see whats going on.

for me, not worth it

use that money for more thermal / guns etc

I hear this a lot from suppressed guys, but I get hogs that run towards me a lot and I don't shoot suppressed. You can find a lot of Youtube videos where this happens as well. Hogs have far superior hearing to ours. If report direction was the impetus for them running, then they would consistently run away from the unsuppressed report, not lateral to it and not toward it, but they run all those direction.

It has been my experience that lone hogs tend to run in the direction they are facing or they will turn and run in the direction of their point of origin. Some run willy nilly. In sounders, youngsters will tend to follow sows, even if the sows are running in various directions.

I don't think it is a matter of hogs not knowing which way to run because they can't pinpoint the direction of the sound as I think there are a lot of other factors involved in determining which way that they run.

I have been hog hunting with them for a number of years and my vote is they are worth it.
1. Hearing safe for you and anyone else in the group.
2. Reduces recoil
3. In most cases it adds about 20+ FPS to your velocity.

I have shot pigs on one side of the field and the pigs 600-800 yards away never even look up.

OK might as well just close this post and not ask the question ever again

Extremely valid points and my eyes just got opened up to all the benefits of being suppressed

Now, I have to look into the process and see if I can afford it.

Thanks guys and happy

It's a great question. I've killed tons of hogs at night AR-10 308 no suppressor. Many times in one 22ac field I've killed 5 hogs within 20 minutes. They just kept coming out regardless of me killing their buddies. I must say I'd love to get one if for nothing else the cool factor and less stress on my old ears!! I wonder where the best place is to get a good can???

I think at night a suppressor helps hide the muzzle flash when looking through night vision correct? My photon xt whites out for long time from the flash. If it cuts that in half or better its worth it right there. I dont have one so I cant say for sure. Hard to get on the next hog when you cant see anything but white...

Look into setting up a trust, it can avoid you the hassle of finger prints, photos, and LEO signature.

after your trust, look at silencer shop and capitol armory. Best prices and capitol armory layaway while mailing the stamp instantly is awesome

I went back and fourth for a while about getting a suppressor. I mainly hunt hogs at night and from all the videos I saw on youtube, the hogs still ran after the first shot even from a suppressed rifle. There were some that didn't react but it also depends on the hunting pressure.

I thought about then priced it out, 700 - 1k for the suppressor, taxes (if buying in TX), nfa tax, gun trust cost (if you don't have one already). Got expensive quick!

Finally got one last year and wish I would of gotten one earlier! Here has been my experience:
- Hogs still run but sometimes they will stop and try to figure out what is going on. Or they run in circles, pretty funny to watch. Other hogs close by may or may not run, it depends on the hunting pressure.
- Less recoil and faster follow up shots
- I hunt from sundown till 3 - 4 AM and it's good to keep the noise down for neighbors

If you are thinking about it, I definitely recommend shooting suppressed.

Not to be a bandwagon jumper, but the answer to your question is an unequivocal "yes".

The jury is still out for me. I don't believe I had unrealistic expectations of the noise reduction, but with the suppressor it's still much louder than I expected. I purchased a Gemtech HVT, so I think it's a decent brand. I believe the suppressor reduces to safe hearing levels, but just barely.

I have posted this picture before , but here it is again.
I shot a pig at first light with my 300blk. The others scattered, but they did not get too rattled, some returned and I got pig number two. To top it off I got a doe with my bow only five minutes later. (Glad TPWD dropped that stupid law about no guns during bow season) This would have never happened without my suppressor.

Dont do it run,,,,it's a trap,,,,,,,,,,,cause if you get one ,you are going ,,,to want another


And the only thing better than one suppressor,,, is two supressor's,,,,,,,,,



Run

Lance nailed it. I've been using a suppressor for a year now and love it. Wish I had two or three more.

We sit and shoot coons with the suppressed 22 while waiting for hogs. All you hear is the firing pin then a thwack when the coon gets hit. Pull out the suppressed 300 BLK when the pigs arrive. Ears don't ring, land owner never hears us shoot and the pigs keep coming. Bang one of those coons with an unsuppressed 22 or shoot a pig with an unsuppressed rifle, no more action for the rest of the night.

I'd say it's helpful to have a suppressor. These pigs were shot within 30 yards of each other in about 15 seconds with standard velocity ammo. They scatter but don't haul butt.

Good info, thanks.

I just got my gun trust completed so this answered a lot of questions for me.

Absolutely. Even though they may hear the shot they can't tell where it is coming from. I have had the hogs run towards me after shooting rather than away.

Like others have said...muzzle flash, recoil reduction, and comfort are also reasons to use them.

I can't even remember the last time I shot any rifle without a suppressor, it's probably been 3+ years.