Firearms with higher decibel levels

[Sammy1]

I was at the range yesterday and was near a guy shooting an extremely loud short barreled AR15 pistol. I got a ringing that eventually went away and today my right ear hurts. The incident impressed me enough that I'm considering going through my own collection and getting rid of the higher db level defensive firearms (357 sig, short barreled 357 mag, no more +P 9mm ammo...) I know all firearms create dangerous noise levels but yesterday I was wearing ear muffs with foam plugs underneath. In an emergency what happens will happen but I practice as much as I can with my defensive firearms and I don't want to risk my hearing.

[exuberant]

Just about every firearm in existence is going to be loud enough to cause cumulative hearing damage without proper ear protection. I think it's kind of silly to get rid of some firearms just because they tend to be a bit louder than others at the range. Just keep on doubling up on your hearing protection, especially in indoor ranges.

[JCS]

A recent thread on the ar for home defense made me look at the decibel ratings for various firearms. The difference wasn't much. I'll get the numbers for you later but defensive calibers are all over the 140 db required to cause immediate damage.


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[RJ]

I agree with expanded ear pro, especially on indoor ranges. With my beer-can Howard Leight Impact Pros at 30 dB, and my Surefire plugs at 24 dB, I have 31 dB of attenuation.

Of coure, it is not going to help much when the guy next stall lights off his S&W 500. This is why I like going to the range on ladies day.

[ReverendMeat]

I primarily shoot indoors and have used these exclusively for years: http://shop.rothco.com/p/smith-wesso...foam-ear-plugs

No measurable hearing loss in the past decade.

[Nephrology]

Just about every firearm in existence is going to be loud enough to cause cumulative hearing damage without proper ear protection.

Agreed... I've never bought anything that had deliberately stout recoil or a particularly loud muzzle report but most everything I own will hurt like hell to shoot w/o proper ear protection. I double up even when I shoot outdoors.

[JCS]

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[Sammy1]

I understand they are all excessive without hearing protection but my point was the higher ones could be damaging even with hearing protection. For instance a set of ear muffs that are rated at 25 decibels (they reduce the noise by 25 decibels) are only bringing a 357 magnum down to about the 140 decibel range which is still very high (permanent damage can occur at 85-120 decibels depending on the amount of exposure.)

Don't look at the raw numbers when looking at decibel ratings, a 357 magnum is reported to be approx four times louder than a 45 acp but in decibel readings a 357 Magnum 164.3 dB and a 45 ACP 157.0 dB. I have been shooting for a long time and I'm sure the affects are cumulative but I want to continue to enjoy shooting and not lose my hearing.

[Hauptmann]

There are 5 factors that contribute to blast rating:

1) Velocity of the projectile(supersonic, hypersonic).
2) Charge volume. The larger the charge, the greater the boom.
3) Barrel length. More of the explosion is dissipated in a longer barrel. I have an old Winchester .22lr with 27" barrel and with subsonic ammo it is quieter than a suppressed MKIII.
4) Muzzle distance from shooter. A 16" AR-15 is easier on the ears than a 16" bullpup Tavor in which the muzzle is closer to the shooter.
5) Speed of the explosion in relation to cartridge operating pressure. Lower pressure cartridges are easier on the ears than higher pressure cartridges.

in many close range and/or brief engagements, yeah auditory exclusion will "mostly" negate the effects of firearms report. Remember though, this is how the shooting incident is "remembered" afterward, not how it went down. What an officer remembers from such a stressful event is often a small percentage of what actually happened, and details such as how many rounds they fired, if they were standing up/kneeling/prone....etc are often forgotten. There are a number of LEO videos where officers would flinch as they discharged their weapon, or when another officer near them discharged theirs.......but those effects were not remembered under stress. You take every advantage you can get, and such distraction and flinching will certainly effect your shooting performance. An officer I used to work with went to CF&G and was involved in the Christopher Dorner incident. He and his partner exchanged rifle fire with Dorner and his partner was using a 16" SOCOM .308 with full muzzle break. Even though he was on the other side of the truck, the blast was so loud that he threw several shots when flinching from it. He purposely changed his position to get away from the blast.

[Sammy1]

There are 5 factors that contribute to blast rating:

1) Velocity of the projectile(supersonic, hypersonic).
2) Charge volume. The larger the charge, the greater the boom.
3) Barrel length. More of the explosion is dissipated in a longer barrel. I have an old Winchester .22lr with 27" barrel and with subsonic ammo it is quieter than a suppressed MKIII.
4) Muzzle distance from shooter. A 16" AR-15 is easier on the ears than a 16" bullpup Tavor in which the muzzle is closer to the shooter.
5) Speed of the explosion in relation to cartridge operating pressure. Lower pressure cartridges are easier on the ears than higher pressure cartridges.

in many close range and/or brief engagements, yeah auditory exclusion will "mostly" negate the effects of firearms report. Remember though, this is how the shooting incident is "remembered" afterward, not how it went down. What an officer remembers from such a stressful event is often a small percentage of what actually happened, and details such as how many rounds they fired, if they were standing up/kneeling/prone....etc are often forgotten. There are a number of LEO videos where officers would flinch as they discharged their weapon, or when another officer near them discharged theirs.......but those effects were not remembered under stress. You take every advantage you can get, and such distraction and flinching will certainly effect your shooting performance. An officer I used to work with went to CF&G and was involved in the Christopher Dorner incident. He and his partner exchanged rifle fire with Dorner and his partner was using a 16" SOCOM .308 with full muzzle break. Even though he was on the other side of the truck, the blast was so loud that he threw several shots when flinching from it. He purposely changed his position to get away from the blast.

Good info!