Suppressed, why?

[swanny]

I'm not a huge gun buff so can anyone tell me why suppressor so seem to be the rage? Just curious. Is it clearly just for a quieter shot?

[Buzz2401]

Well after shooting for close to 30 years and hunting for most of that time.  I now wear double ear protection, foam and muffs, a noise suppressor saves your hearing.

[jay.sharkbait]

Quiet, less recoil and slightly better speeds.

[JJB11B]

always look cool! On top of what was already said, I want a couple

[DoubleJ]

To have the ability to assassinate enemy combatants with just a "thwip" coming from the gun so as to not alert other enemy combatants to your presence.

[bullfisher]

Because a quieter shot is awesome.
They are all the "rage" because laws for having and shooting them continue to loosen up in our favor.

[jay.sharkbait]

To have the ability to assassinate enemy combatants with just a "thwip" coming from the gun so as to not alert other enemy combatants to your presence.

Don't forget confined spaces.

[fly-by]

The ability to hunt without ear pro is really nice.  I was in TX for a combo hog/deer hunt last month and took one of each. Hog was not suppressed, deer was.  Having to stop and put in ears with a hog running around thick brush was not a good option, but I value my hearing so did it.  Simply shooting the deer without worrying about hearing loss was a huge benefit.  For predator calling suppressed is the only way to go since you are generally not packing a rifle very far.  For still hunting the weight can wear on you.  If you take the plunge I would suggest a direct thread model to avoid the extra weight and expense of a muzzle device, and go as light as you can.  Don't worry about a full auto rated can for a hunting rifle.  I went with a Silencerco Specwar and though the suppression level is great, a Harvester or other lightweight model would have been better for hunting.

As mentioned, recoil reduction is another benefit.  The Specwar turns a 8.5 pound 300 WM into a 7.5 pound .308.  I think the lack of blast and concussion is even better than the recoil reduction.

[Bob33]

What? DId you say something?

[Okanagan]

The only thing I don't like about shooting is the NOISE.  I've hated that part since I was a kid.  Anything that will reduce the loud noise is desirable, to me and I'd guess to most people.  I would bet that reducing noise would increase the number of gun owners and shooters signficantly.

[2labs]

Quiet, less recoil and slightly better speeds.

Just thought I would ask as I respect your opinion, once you break the sound barrier even suppressed, are you not loud?

[JJB11B]

Because we should be able to do whatever the .... we want to do to our firearms. The govt should keep their laws off my guns and off my body

[JimmyHoffa]

Quiet, less recoil and slightly better speeds.

Just thought I would ask as I respect your opinion, once you break the sound barrier even suppressed, are you not loud?

loud but still a lot quieter than not suppressed.  The biggest factor of noise is the muzzle blast, the more pressure at the muzzle, the louder it is.

[jay.sharkbait]

Quiet, less recoil and slightly better speeds.

Just thought I would ask as I respect your opinion, once you break the sound barrier even suppressed, are you not loud?

Definitely, but it's not bad and there is almost no muzzle blast.

[h20hunter]

Easy. Why not?