Here in NZ suppressors are common, very common, every man and his dog seems to think that he needs a suppressor and we have no legislation to the contrary. Personally, I dont like them, dont use them except for a small can on my 22 for possum control work with subs - and that is very quiet. Shot over 50 possums one night in 3 hours and the fur paid for a new 10/22.
However I am required to use a suppressor on some of the properties I guide on and not having a suppressed rifle of my own, I use the one provided by the outfitter. Cans come in all shapes, sizes and weight, there is a thriving industry here that has done a bucketload of research, and they need not necessarily be ugly or long. You can shorten your barrel to approx 16", screw on an overbarrel can and still have an overall length of approx 18" with no appreciable loss in velocity and often an increase in accuracy. And if a few fps of velocity is critical to your rig, then changing to a faster powder for a shorter barrel soon sorts that out. Weight wise, these are mostly very light and dont affect the balance of your rifle. The biggest thing is looks and people perceive that because it is big looking, and looks like it hangs way out front, that it is ungainly and a pain in the butt in the bush. To the contrary, a well made, overbarrel can, mounted correctly is hardly noticeable.
I may be required to actually have my own suppressed rifle for guiding soon and I too dont like the look of a can, be it overbarrel or muzzle forward. I am looking at a Weatherby 270 that has a full overbarrel suppressor that goes right back to the action and looks very much like a Christensen rifle with the wrapped barrel - looks like a "traditional rifle" should look like.
There is no doubt suppressors work, I have often witnessed other animals standing close by as their mate is shot, only to move off when we the hunters make ourselves visible as we walk in to check out our trophy.
