.357 noise :How loud are 110grain .357's?

L

Lo-khem

New member
Just read a couple of polls about how .357's are the loudest handguns. What if you load a .357 with 110 grain hollows, will that cut down the noise considerably. In certain situations, I would like to just pick up my gun and shoot without having to worry too much about losing my hearing. Might just have to load a .357 with .38's if noise is going to cause a bad reaction in case of an emergency. I'ts kind of hard shooting a bad guy when the noise knocks you out of your senses. Comments?
 
Last time I shot Remington 110gr. out of my M19, a friend capped off a few rounds while I had my hearing protection around my neck. I was practically deaf for the rest of the day. Those things feel like someone stabbing you in the ear with a needle.
 
lendringser is right. I don't think you're going to save any decibels by loading a lighter bullet with a full charge of powder. The same is true in .44 Magnum. I have found that 180 gr. bullets seem to be much louder than 240 gr. when both are loaded to the max level. Probably the higher velocity contributes to the louder sound generated. Higher velocity allows more hypersonic gas to escape from the muzzle. That is the biggest contributer to what we hear as a loud gun, not the bullet itself.

You want "quiet" without a silencer, use a light load and a heavy bullet.
 
What ?? could you speak up a bit? No these loads are not too gentle on the ears. I have not personally encountered a quieter .357 loading. They are however very controllable although possessing a very impressive fireball.
 
Agree with mal h.
Haven't actuallly used a sound meter to say for sure, but I believe the lighter/faster rounds are actuallly noisier than the heavier/slower rounds. Also less fire out of the barrell with heavier/slower rounds.
 
I don't even fire .22 LR's without hearing protection;
much less .357's and or .44/.45's!:cool: :D :)

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
Loud!

I was just popping off some 110 gr Winchester .357s from my snubby S & W model 60 yesterday. I was also shooting .38 spl from another gun. The difference in volume was pretty harsh. Enough so that I stepped out to put ear plugs on, underneath my earmuff protectors.
 
noise

I see threads like this on just about every gun board.....if you are involved in a shooting you will not hear your shot........period. It is called auditory exclusion. I have been in a couple of shootings and never heard my shots. Friends who have also been in shootings have never heard theirs either. You will hear your shots when it is not life threatening.....practice, a/d etc. It doesnt make a difference if it is a 38 or a 12g it will be silent. Your ears will not ring afterwards either. You will be able to talk and hear immediately after. If someone tells you they were in a shooting and the loudness of the shot threw them off.......then either the shooting was not life and death or they are making up the story.
 
Sound Effects.

As barrel length goes down, volume goes up. As velocity increases, so does the noise level. To drop to a 110 grain slug and push it faster, you are going the wrong direction. Also keep in mind that due to the cylinder gap, revolvers will be louder, on average, than autos.
Never ever EVER fire a .357 with out ear protection unless your life depends on it.
Once upon a time, I did. Probably a whole box. Of all the stupid things I've done in my life this is near the top. My hearing loss is moderate to sever in both ears. I'm only 43. My audiologist says that I have the ears of a field artillery cannon crewman.
 
.357 is VERY loud. I was shooting .38's today out of my new used 27 and they felt and sounded like a .22 coming out of that gun. I was wearing hearing protection - I always do when shooting handguns even .22's. Occasionally I will shoot a bolt action .22 rifle without any hearing protection - they are actually pretty quiet especially with standard velocity rounds.

Considering the chances of ever having to discharge a firearm for defensive purposes (for civilians not LEO's) is fairly minimal, I would not consider the loudness of a particular firearm to be the deciding factor.
 
Please be advised that auditory exclusion does not protect your hearing at all. It means that your brain will prioritize the sound to a different level of importance than survival.
Please be advised also that you cannot depend on auditory exclusion to occur in any given firefight. It may occur and it may not. I fired a .45 acp in a tunnel in 1968. I was in fear for my life and was crawling backwards out of the tunnel. The shot felt like someone shoved chopsticks in my ears. People often say they didn't notice the shots in post trauma debriefing, but they are still going to be hearing handicapped.
Whaddyasay?
Mike
 
They are so loud, that if you don't wear hearing protection, you will wish you did. I made that mistake 20 years ago, that's why I have ringing in my ears 24/7 today. hpg
 
At the range today, I fired two cylinders full of 110-grain JHP .357 thru my 2" SP101.

I had my ear muffs on, but it hurt anyway. I should have doubled up.

I don't know how loud they are, but they're plenty loud enough.

Bob
 
gumshoe4 is correct, sometimes on magnums you are better off to wear earplugs with a headset on top of them. I do that quite often on magnum handguns and medium bore rifles. hpg
 
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On a related side-note to the noise question, perhaps someone could clarify for me why the lightweight 110 grain loads are lumped together with the 125 grain full power loads in being hard on forcing cones, etc. since most factory loadings of the 110 grain bullets are, in fact, reduced power loadings, nominally 110 grains at 1295 fps from a 4 inch barrel, versus 125 grains at 1450 fps from a 4 inch barrel? I could understand if the 110s were loaded to 1500 plus fps but fail to see how the lesser loading could be exceptionally hard on lighter-framed revolvers. I must be missing something. They are certainly easier to shoot from the small framed revolvers. :)
 
All .357 loads are LOUD!

So, no matter what you shoot wear good ear protection and protect your hearing. As far as concealed carry and actually discharging your round under serious and adverse conditions I doubt that one or two rounds will injure your earing on a long term basis. That is, if you have kept care to protect your hearing when you are on the range. Good shooting:)
 
loud

try the same guns with porting on them and you will see how loud they can be. as far as muzzle blast, stand in the shooting lane next to the one being used by the shooter and catch the whole blast effect. when i want several lanes between myself
and other shooters, the ported .44. moves people away all of the time.
 
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