gun shot sound levels

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.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
.41 Magnum 163.2 dB
.44 Spl 155.9 dB
.45 ACP 157.0 dB
.45 COLT 154.7 dB

The above averages are for all types of ammunition used in these firearms, and should be considered fairly representative. No wonder we hear numerous reports about hearing loss as a result of firearms including acoustic traumas that take hearing completely as a result of one shot. Imagine what the noise levels must be when we incorporate muzzle brakes or porting into firearms, or have a gun explode near the ear due to malfunction.

someone from my other gun forum posted this.i never really knew how loud a handgun shot could be.
also here's a free hearing this


http://www.freehearingtest.com/test.shtml
http://www.freehearingtest.com/hia_gunfirenoise.shtml
 
I notice that that table is missing figures for .22LR and .44 Magnum. I'd be interested inknowing those two.

And as many on this forum already know, to their sorrow, once the damage is done, there's NOTHING you can do about it. Except say "What?" a lot. :(

Ross
 
Chris said:
I just want everyone to know that in posing for that shot to the left, I double checked that it was unloaded. Can't imagine a .500 Magnum at that range. (^_^)

I would say the image of blood trickling out of ears comes to mind!
 
Chris said:
I just want everyone to know that in posing for that shot to the left, I double checked that it was unloaded. Can't imagine a .500 Magnum at that range. (^_^)

You know Chris when I was first just lurking here your Avatar was one of the first things I noticed. I took a lot alway from it.

#1: it's funny, and shows that we like to enjoy ourselves here. (Ain't that the truth)
#2: I noticed that you are exercising good muzzle and trigger ediquette, wich shows safe gun handling, above all.

Dunno if you intended such an impresion, but it's a big one for me.

-Weer'd
 
This is the one reason why I think silencers would be a good idea.


To my mind, a good argument against silencers is that having a big bang is a good safety device for warning others that there is live fire.

But surely there could be a happy medium, where the laws would allow for, and maybe even require, some reasonable amount of silencing, say down the to roar of a leaf blower or something, so that we could both protect people's hearing and also not have stealth shooting going on.
 
LenS said:
dwarven1 said:
And as many on this forum already know, to their sorrow, once the damage is done, there's NOTHING you can do about it. Except say "What?" a lot. :(

Ross

Huh?

Would you guys stop mumbling over there; if you've got something to say just speak up.

Ken
 
WHAT? DID SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING?

I've got a lot of hearing loss, from tracked combat vehicles, trucks and shooting BIG guns, like the 155mm and 8 inch. All the hearing protection in the world doesn't help with the big guns.
 
Actually, even with a noise suppressor, the sonic boom of a bullet traveling above the speed of sound is not exactly 'quiet'. Plenty of noise to 'warn' others.

And lets not forget that you really need a nice tight closed chamber to really be effective. The HK SOCOM pistol has a slide lock feature to keep the slide from cycling so that suppressed operations can be maximised.

the 'pift pift pift' movie guns are pretty much a myth.
 
beretta92d said:
.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
.41 Magnum 163.2 dB
.44 Spl 155.9 dB
.45 ACP 157.0 dB
.45 COLT 154.7 dB

The above averages are for all types of ammunition used in these firearms, and should be considered fairly representative. No wonder we hear numerous reports about hearing loss as a result of firearms including acoustic traumas that take hearing completely as a result of one shot. Imagine what the noise levels must be when we incorporate muzzle brakes or porting into firearms, or have a gun explode near the ear due to malfunction.

someone from my other gun forum posted this.i never really knew how loud a handgun shot could be.
also here's a free hearing this


http://www.freehearingtest.com/test.shtml
http://www.freehearingtest.com/hia_gunfirenoise.shtml

Just goes to show you: .357 Magnum RULES!

I agree with Ross, though, I'd like to see .22LR and .44 Magnum on the list just for curiosity's sake...

As for the .500 Magnum, I've shot one before, and IMHO it's no worse than my Ruger Super BlackHawk .44 Magnum (and that's comparing the 4" barreled .500 to a 6½" barreled SBH). S&W has done an impressive job of building the gun to handle that beast. And if the .500 Magnum is too much for you, they've introduced a .500 Special... ;)
 
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