Quietest caliber?

[Alpha Sierra]

I know that some guns are still loud enough to hurt you even if you are taking all the precautions you can.

Outside of possibly a USPSA open gun shooting 38 SuperComp indoors, I'm pretty sure you're mistaken.

[Clusterfrack]

Double ear pro: good to go for pretty much any small arms.

But get good muffs, and make sure your plugs are properly inserted.

[Chance]

yes at least that's what i thought was possible. I thought that even wearing plugs and over ear protection there were some that could still do damage.

Quality, properly fitted ear plugs beneath quality, properly fitted ear muffs would be fine for pretty much any range you'd be shooting at or firearm you'd be shooting, especially pistols. Someone more knowledgeable than I would have to comment on decibel ratings and so forth, but unless you're firing a howitzer or something, you're good.

[JAD]

Thanks everyone for the advice I knew barrel length did affect it but I really was looking forward to a subcompact to carry. Do you guys think that even if I did go with the G42 and as long as I used subsonic ammo with doubling up and trying to be the only one at the range that it would be safe? And BTW, is subsonic ok for defense situations?

.380 is not really a good choice for defense. Some folks carry it as a backup to a service pistol, but 9mm (9x19, parabellum, Luger) is the baseline. Many of us here carry a compact service pistol (Glock 19, Colt Commander, that size) on a daily basis — because they’re effective, but more so because we can be most effective with them.

[BillSWPA]

Re: ear protection: I am quite happy with a good set of earmuffs outdoors or if everyone is only shooting handguns indoors. I double up with muffs and plugs indoors when people are shooting anything particularly loud. My daughter, who is especially sensitive to sound, doubles up all the time.

I have sometimes kept electronic hearing protection in the bedroom for both my wife and myself, knowing that after gunfire indoors, without hearing protection, ears might be ringing and communication with others in the house might otherwise be impeded.


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[RevolverRob]

FYI: When folks say “properly fitted” hearing protection there are a few things to know.

1) Muffs that cover the ear, should have cups that seal around the arms of your shooting/vision glasses. Most foam cups will not do this and will gap. Gaps allow noise in and reduce the efficacy of the device.

2) Earplugs - soft, pliable, foam that is compressed down and inserted into the ear canal. The foam should “reinflate” and when you put the plugs in it should sound like someone has turned down the volume.

I mostly use plugs when outdoors and plugs + muffs indoors. Muffs tend to not seal well around the frames of my eye glasses resulting in a need to have two types of hearing protection. The reason plugs alone are often insufficient indoors is due to echo.

[Totem Polar]

yes at least that's what i thought was possible. I thought that even wearing plugs and over ear protection there were some that could still do damage.

If you want to read something mildly disturbing, check out this article, and the formula for determining the actual reduction of sound from the printed NRR:

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2019/...ction-ratings/

Put simply, the higher the NRR number, the more effective it will be at reducing noise. But, the NRR does not measure the amount of decibels being reduced. To figure that out, subtract 7 from the NRR and divide by 2. For example, if your hearing protection has a 33 NRR, the actual amount of noise reduction you will experience is 13 decibels (33-7=26, 26/2=13). So, if you are at a place where 100-decibel noise is the norm, with 33 NRR hearing protection on, your noise level will be attenuated to 87 decibels.

.25 ACP – 155.0 dB
.32 LONG – 152.4 dB
.32 ACP – 153.5 dB
.380 – 157.7 dB
9mm – 159.8 dB
.38 S&W – 153.5 dB
.38 Spl – 156.3 dB
.357 Magnum – 164.3 dB
.40 S&W – 156.5 dB
.41 Magnum – 163.2 dB
.44 S&W Magnum – 164.5 dB
.44 Spl – 155.9 dB
.45 ACP – 157.0 dB
.45 COLT – 154.7 dB
12 Gauge Shotgun – 155 dB
.22 Pistol or Rifle – 140 dB
M-16 – 160 dB


So, if you have those howard leight pros, you’re getting a true 13 db; add some foam plugs, and it’s another 12-13db. Call it 26db. Now look at, say, the .357 magnum. The only saving grace is that the duration is so short.

Bottom line, if you are not doubling up, especially indoors, you are fucking up.

[gringop]

For indoor ranges where I don't have to hear a timer or competition SO range commands, Big Honking Peltor muffs like this and disposable in ear foam plugs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These use to be called Ultimate 10, I had a few pair but over 15 years they got old and deteriorated. I bought 2 new pair of these back in Nov and they are my goto's for running gas yard tools and If I ever go to an indoor range again in my life, I will use these and foamies.

For practicing pistol at my outdoor club that still has an overhead and an eyebrow to reflect sound back at you, some Howard Light Impact Pros, plus a set of Noisefighters and foamies that have one ear loosened a little. This allows me to hear timer beeps and not too much blast from the pistol.

For practicing centerfire rifle at my outdoor club, shotgun low profile muffs like this and foamies. I can't get a good cheek weld with normal sized muffs.
https://www.amazon.com/Peltor-Shotgu.../dp/B01BGHVQ1M

For practicing rimfire at my outdoor club or shooting pistol competition out in the open, just the Howard Light Impact Pros. For shooting centerfire rifle competition out in the open, I will go with the the shotgun low profile muffs while I am shooting and Howard Light Impact Pros when i am not.

Like most things in life, it's tradeoff. Wear the highest ear protection possible while managing your environment and firearms.

[farscott]

There is no one quietest caliber as the actual loading determines the sound pressure level. There are six main factors: temperature (the speed of sound changes with temperature and humidity), the pressure of the gas leaving the firearm, action type (bolt actions are typically quieter than autoloading actions), the direction of the gas leaving the firearm (comped guns can be really loud), the size of the bore, and the speed of the projectile. For example, there are .22 LR rounds that are hearing safe without a suppressor (namely CCI's .22 Quiet) and ones that will damage hearing.

It is also important to remember that the dB scale means one level that is 3dB louder has twice as much pressure while it takes roughly 10dB more for a person too say the volume has doubled. dB is a logarithmic ratio, not a unit of measure (so the unit at the end is key). For example, I use dBm in my work, where the "m means "milliwatt".

0dBm is 1mW
3dBm is 2mW
6dBm is 4mW
10dBm is 10mW
20dBm is 100mW
30dBm is 1000mW (1W)

So a small difference in SPL in dB can be a very large difference in hearing damage.

[Nephrology]

I know they're all loud enough to damage hearing permanently and mine isn't the greatest at the moment and would like to preserve what I have left. I plan on "doubling up" but I know that some guns are still loud enough to hurt you even if you are taking all the precautions you can. I'm in the market for a handgun and was looking at the Glock 42 but now that this realization has come into play I'm starting completely over. Thank you in advance

If you double up with good ear protection you won't have an issue. I don't think skewing your caliber selection will help you unless you are OK sticking to rimfire. Otherwise all centerfire duty cartridges will be pretty close, ditto for all intermediate rifle cartirdges etc.

Might be worth looking into buying suppressors. That is my plan once finances open up.