The bullet will get to you before the sound does, so a suppressor is not a safety issue. Plus, hunters fire one, maybe two, shots, then they are field dressing, so that location is probably safer.
I have been downrange of “suppressed” shots and believe me, the *crack* of a supersonic round eight feet away is as loud as a .22 up close, maybe louder, but the sound comes from the right angle of the bullet path, not from the rifle location.
I’m sure you are right-I know I was lucky-but I’m still not hunting with them...