"My question is this; can you hear a more pronounced bullet strike in a suppressed firearm?"
Yes quite distinctly most of the time. With a 22 or the 300AAC, there's plenty of lag time even @ 100 yards to hear the whack at the backstop. With full power .223, that would be about 200. I shot a deer @ 175 with my 6.8 using full power ammo and a Harvester last fall. The sound of a broadside chest hit was unmistakable and all the other deer turned toward where the stricken deer had been standing. Hitting a coyote with a suppressed .223 is less distinct as those fast little bullets don't seem to have the "thump factor".
Yes quite distinctly most of the time. With a 22 or the 300AAC, there's plenty of lag time even @ 100 yards to hear the whack at the backstop. With full power .223, that would be about 200. I shot a deer @ 175 with my 6.8 using full power ammo and a Harvester last fall. The sound of a broadside chest hit was unmistakable and all the other deer turned toward where the stricken deer had been standing. Hitting a coyote with a suppressed .223 is less distinct as those fast little bullets don't seem to have the "thump factor".