How loud are they?

[Skyman]

Can anyone tell me how loud these calibers are to fire? I don't really mean decibel values as much as how they feel comparatively.Both with and without hearing protection.

.22 LR
.32 ACP
.357 mag
7.62 Tokarev
30.06
12 ga No 9 shot

Thanks.Any other calibers also welcome.

[winnie_the_pooh]

Depends upon how far the muzzle is from your ear.A .22 lr going off right next to your ear will stun you.A 155mm howitzer going off a mile away will not.

[Skyman]

When you are shooting them, sir.Or standing next to some one who is.

[winnie_the_pooh]

When shooting, the loudness factor never registers somehow.

[Skyman]

This is contrary to all logic.Can you explain?

[Mark]

A substantial amount of the noise also depends on barrel length, but everything else being equal I'd line them up like this:

.22 LR
.32 ACP
7.62 Tokarev
.357 mag
12 ga No 9 shot
30.06

The issue is that you should really wear hearing protection no matter what you shoot. During the day, the 22 and 32 may not be that noticeable as the others but all can be easily heard a kilometer away in the country.

Having said that, if it were a self defense situation my ears are the the last thing I will be worrying about.

[Skyman]

Thanks.Is the .357 mag too loud to consistently practice with/

[Mark]

No because you are going to get some ear muffs and wear them no matter what you practice with!

[Vikram]

Apart from what Winnie and Mark said, it also depends on where you are shooting. In an open,flat country where there are no features, say hills, if you are reasonably distant, the sound of shotguns or centrefire rifles is not too loud. If it is windy, again you cannot really notice from a distance. For some reason, like Winnie said, the bystander experiences more the loudness of the shot than the person shooting.

.22lr, which is almost next to nothing in terms of noise, almost deafened me when I nonchalantly walked into an indoor range where a .22lr pistol rapidfire competition was going on. The moment I entered, the shots rang out and I thought I went deaf.

I really don't know if someone can tell whether a #9 12 bore cartridge is going off or a #1. They all sound the same to me. If the gun is ported, the sound is going to be LOUD. Recently been subjected to closer to 2000 of them going off and my ears are still ringing. Didn't have hearing protection .

.30/06 is loud but not unpleasant. Muzzle brake on a rifle really enhances the bark.

But, nastiest surprise I got was with Shooter's .243 Savage. When it went off, I thought I ruptured my eardrum and my ears were bleeding.

If you are shooting in the filed or in a stressed situation, you would not really notice the sound. However,if you are target shooting, you are much more likely to notice it. Not using hearing protection will not only damage your hearing, even the .22lr, you may develop a bad flinch.

Best-
Vikram

[Baljit]

I agree with Vikram, if you are shooting 12 bore there is no difference between # 1 , # 9 or buck shots but if you shoot 3006 in or surrounded by the hills you will notice the noise, forsure your eardrum will rings for a few sec.if you are not wear any hearing protection.


Baljit

[xl_target]

Can anyone tell me how loud these calibers are to fire? I don't really mean decibel values as much as how they feel comparatively.Both with and without hearing protection.

.22 LR
.32 ACP
.357 mag
7.62 Tokarev
30.06
12 ga No 9 shot

Thanks.Any other calibers also welcome.

Gunshots heard indoors (shooting range) will definitely appear louder as the sound is reflected off the walls and ceiling.

I would wear hearing protection with any of the above.
You cannot "get used to" gunshots
Hearing damage is cumulative. Each gunshot will make it worse by building upon the previous one till you eventually go deaf.

[winnie_the_pooh]

Another factor would be the length of the barrel.

[Skyman]

Now as most of you gentlemen have shot a few hundred rounds ( or thousand ) , how have your ears fared?

Vikram's point of nearly being deafened by a .22 is very interesting.If you know a gun is going to go off, do you " Brace " for it in some way?

[xl_target]

Now as most of you gentlemen have shot a few hundred rounds ( or thousand ) , how have your ears fared?

Vikram's point of nearly being deafened by a .22 is very interesting.If you know a gun is going to go off, do you " Brace " for it in some way?

I always wear hearing protection when shooting. The only exception is when hunting, as you are outdoors and only tend to fire one or two shots. Being outside does tend to mitigate the sound a bit. My gun club's range is outdoors but I still wear hearing and eye protection when shooting there. My ears are fine as of now. I have a friend who has Tinnitis and hears a constant ringing in his ear; the good one. The other one is useless.

Vikram's comment has to do with shooting indoors. Even a .22 LR is loud indoors. When shooting outdoors, I just wear ear plugs. When shooting at an indoor range, I wear earplugs and Muffs.

Bracing myself when a gun goes off consists of putting my fingers in my ears (if I don't have hearing protection). If you do anything else, you cannot avoid hearing damage. Regular shooters will not think that it is "not macho". The ones who thought so are already deaf. Only the uninitiated or idiots don't wear hearing protection at the range. In fact, my gun club will not let you shoot or take part in events if you don't have hearing and eye protection. So the question, of how loud a particular gun is, doesn't really arise.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I'm trying to impress on you how important eye and hearing protection is. Even the cheap foam earplugs work when outdoors.

[Skyman]

Oh sure, i was reading an article about people who load their bedside revolvers with light loads ( .38 spl ) the first 2-3 chambers and then full power loads ( .357 mag ) and they said the noise and flash can impair your survival prospects when you get out of bed having heard an intruder about.

What about wearing a helmet? That should serve as ear and eye protection in a pinch no?