I own quite a few of them. They have their up sides and their downsides. The downsides are added weight and length, cost, and the government red tape. That said, the red tape isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be. The first time takes a little longer, but once the FFL has your information on file it isn't too bad. Filling out the paperwork at my usual FFL takes less time than buying a gun at Cabela's now.
Length and weight can be mitigated with a shorter, lighter rifle and suppressors come in various sizes, weights, and materials. They're also removable if needed, unless you buy an intergal. As far as cost, yes, they cost money. In the US, this is somewhat a side effect of regulation. Due to the NFA, suppressors are considered lifetime purchases and are designed and built accordingly. In countries where they're unregulated, they can be considered somewhat disposable and built more lightly since it's easier to just buy a new one if it wears out.
Now for the upsides: With my largest suppressor, my 16.5" .308 bolt action sounds about like an unsuppressed .22 and is about the same length and weight as a typical unsuppressed sporter. I give up some velocity, but I was willing to make that trade for my use. Recoil is reduced, though not as much as with a brake. Not a big deal on the .308, but nice on the bigger rifles. On a suppressed .22, the hammer fall and the bullet hitting the target are both louder than the report, which is grin-inducing.
For my use, I have three suppressors in various sizes that all mount on the same type of taper mount, so I can swap them between all of my .30 caliber and under bolt-action rifles as desired. The entire setup was designed with versatility in mind. If this sounds like a total rabbit hole, you're right, it is, and they're not for everyone. If they are for you, you'll want to suppress everything all the time, hence the draw of having one in Africa, which finally brings us back to the topic at hand.
I'll be traveling to SA this year. I was originally planning to take a rifle, but have since decided to rent. I kicked around the idea of taking one of my suppressors along with the rifle, but there are just too many risks and inconveniences. They're illegal in some states, and unfortunately some of the major airport hubs such as O'Hare, Newark, etc. are in those states. Not sure about the various European and Middle East hubs, so that's just more research. In the end, we booked ATL-JNB on Delta which would have been fine, but what if something comes up and we had to change flights? Now I'm potentially sitting there with a very illegal chunk of metal in my luggage in a place where it's very likely to be found. In the end I had decided that, if I took a rifle, I'd have had the outfitter pick up an appropriate suppressor prior to my arrival and left it as a gift for him. The few hundred dollars that they cost in SA made that a more appealing option than the risk of taking my own. FWIW, all the rental rifles that my outfitter has are suppressed.
