My only concern is that these suppressors reduce the energy delivered to the prey, as well as decrease accuracy - thus leading to more wounded animals.
I hunt, but I’m all about a clean, humane kill. One shot, and the animals drop dead. Clean, near instantaneous death. All it takes is some serious target practice, and planning your shot before you take it.
Suppressors do not reduce the energy of a load. People may use reduced loads to make suppressors more effective, but users report that even full power .308 and .338 loads may be fired with good suppressors without hearing protection.
This is because a good suppressor design nearly eliminates muzzle blast, the major component of the noise of a shot that damages hearing. There is still noise from the sonic crack of a supersonic bullet as it goes down range, but it is much smaller and traveling away from the shooter.
I am seriously considering purchasing a suppressor for a hunting rifle because I have already lost way too much hearing. The regulatory hurdles and wait time involved are still very burdensome.
Many suppressor users claim a slight increase in accuracy, but the point of impact is often different with a suppressor mounted.
Practical accuracy is usually increased because felt recoil and blast are much reduced, tending to reduce flinching.