Hearing protection with mufflers?

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brian10x

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Joined
May 15, 2018
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543
Location
Tucson
First, I'll admit to not being the shiniest marble in the drawer.

But I have to ask the experts here.

On YouTube, seems almost everyone shooting using a silencer/supressor/muffler is also using ear protection of some kind.

I own several silencers/supressors/mufflers, and to me, one of the greatest feelings is shooting "naked" as in not having anything over or inside my ears.

So, I have to ask, why is it that 73.8 % of YouTube shooters use ear protection when shooting quietly?

I gotta know!
 
Suppressors make guns quieter, but not quiet. Also, sometimes there are other people on the range who are shooting unsuppressed guns.

Supposedly, the threshhold for hearing damage is 140 decibels. Supposedly, centerfire rifle suppressors reduce the noise significantly, but still not below 140 decibels.

Here's some sciency stuff: https://hearingreview.com/inside-hearing/research/sound-level-suppressors-firearm-noise-reduction-implications-hearing-conservation

My non-sciency take is that when I first got my rifle suppressors, I tried them without plugs or muffs, and the sound hurt my ears, so I put on the muffs.
 
Here is an article that shows an AR15 without suppressor at 167-171 decibles, and with suppressor at 135-140. If 140 is the level that hurts your ears, then it's still loud enough to make wearing ear protection a good idea.

https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/silencer-guide-with-decibel-level-testing/#testing
 
there are different suppressors that suppress and some that lessen the noise.
a really good suppressor one imo can go without protection, but hey thats me and i'm already almost deaf.
good luc
rj
 
It also makes a big difference if you are indoors or outdoors or under cover like a carport.

Separate from the decibel reduction is the matter of "sound pressure wave". The SPW is reduced by a suppressor, but as others have said, the noise is not eliminated and is still quite loud. When in open terrain, that SPW can dissipate easily and rapidly, making a suppressed handgun barely able to be heard beyond 75-100 yards and able to be safely done without ear pro. But fire that same suppressed handgun on an indoor range without hearing protection and you will regret it. It will seem MUCH louder than it did outside. Same is true outside but under an overhead awning, just not quite as pronounced. Shoot from inside a car with the windows up, and you'll think there's no suppressor on your pistol at all.

While you might be aware of the grammatical war among some folks as to whether the proper term is silencer or suppressor,...I remember reading back in the 80s, one of the premier suppressor designers at the time (Johnathan Arthur Ceiner) argued that such devices really ought to be called "moderators", since it could be effectively argued that they "moderated" the sound, rather than silence or suppress it. All of this is merely to accentuate how such devices are not noiseless.
 
My criteria for shooting "naked":
- open desert with no roof that loudly echoes sound
- subsonic pistol/rifle or some supersonic pistol (if I'm shooting all supersonic, I may just keep the ear pro on to be safe - trying to keep what remaining hearing I have)
- nobody else is shooting near me
- shooting a gun that doesn't have a particularly loud action (turns out metal smacking metal can be loud)
- steel rifle targets are further down range (e.g., if shooting the close steel, I still want ear pro)

The reality for me is that I enjoy shooting suppressed but usually just take off ear pro for limited times
 
Whenever I'm shooing suppressed I'm also shooting stuff that isn't, or around people who aren't. So, I'll already have plugs in.
 
However, when shooting a suppressed .22, with subsonic ammunition (and no other shooters shooting at the same time), it is a total hoot to listen to the Hollywood quietness, when you can hear the sound of the firing pin hitting the rim.
 
smithers599 said:
However, when shooting a suppressed .22, with subsonic ammunition (and no other shooters shooting at the same time), it is a total hoot to listen to the Hollywood quietness, when you can hear the sound of the firing pin hitting the rim.
Click to expand...

Yep, the one caliber that you can shoot indoors without hearing protection.

I've fired a suppressed MP5 indoors and also a suppressed MPX and you don't even want to fire one shot without hearing protection indoors as an RO at C2 discovered the hard way.
 
smithers599 said:
However, when shooting a suppressed .22, with subsonic ammunition (and no other shooters shooting at the same time), it is a total hoot to listen to the Hollywood quietness, when you can hear the sound of the firing pin hitting the rim.
Click to expand...

Brass hitting the table makes more noise. :lol:
 
Suppressors have a cool guy following. Unless your running subs it’s not giving you any real advantage and imo actually worse then a brake for draw backs
 
I just don't see spending all that scratch, and still having to wear hearing protection. THE VERY REASON I bought my sound moderators is to enjoy nature without having all that crap in/around my ears. I mean, why spend all that dough when you have to endure blowback AND still have to wear that shit on my head?
 
brian10x said:
I just don't see spending all that scratch, and still having to wear hearing protection. THE VERY REASON I bought my sound moderators is to enjoy nature without having all that crap in/around my ears. I mean, why spend all that dough when you have to endure blowback AND still have to wear that s*** on my head?
Click to expand...

I've convinced quite a few guys to forget about buying a suppressor unless it's for a .22 with subsonic rounds.

It's easy to convince them. I just tell them to rent a suppressed 9MM and then shoot it in the indoor range where they rented it.

Every last one changed his mind after doing that.
 
Yeah, I use them only for my 22s. Its how I relax in the desert, after blasting away with my other guns. One of my 22 cans is actually rated for 223, but I don't bother.
 
Most electronic ear pro barely gets a rifle to hearing safe. 20-24db reduction isn't enough if you shoot a lot IMO. I double up when shooting rifles but still get some ringing with some of my noisier rifles. Picked up a 30 cal suppressor a while ago and can shoot my rifles with just the electronic ear pro with no ringing. The blast and recoil reduction also make spotting your shots a bit easier. Pistols seem fine with just electronic ear pro although I will double up if I shoot some of the larger calibers.
 
Hearing damage is accumulative, and I'd rather not accumulate too much of it because it's not reversible.

The only guns I will shoot suppressed without hearing protection are my 22's using subsonic ammo.

I wear custom molded ear pro, and they are better than over the ear muffs I've ever used. Plus, they don't get in the way of a rifle stock.

I only use my electronic muffs when shooting with other people or at matches, and even then I've also got Surefire Sonic Defenders in as well. I don't f*** around with hearing loss.
 
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