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.357 SIG Muzzle Flash & Blast
- Thread starter shamster
- Start date
Mike Spight
New member
I've fired my SIG P226 357 in low light during indoor IDPA matches...no problem with the muzzle flash. Most modern defense loads feature low flash powders anyway, unlike those of several years ago that would provide anyone downrange with 3d degree burns.
As for the noise, your ears would ring, especially if firing indoors. Permanent damage comes after doing it time and again over a lengthy period.
Noise from weapons fired in a combat situation sounds more like pops than anything else...your body is so focused on the fight that tunnel vision, tachyphasia and sound attenuation are normal.
Mike
[This message has been edited by Mike Spight (edited January 12, 2000).]
As for the noise, your ears would ring, especially if firing indoors. Permanent damage comes after doing it time and again over a lengthy period.
Noise from weapons fired in a combat situation sounds more like pops than anything else...your body is so focused on the fight that tunnel vision, tachyphasia and sound attenuation are normal.
Mike
[This message has been edited by Mike Spight (edited January 12, 2000).]
shamster: Ed Sanow did an in depth article on muzzle blast and its effect on hearing in the May 1994 issue of Handguns magazine.
In a nutshell, cartridges that produce 130dB and greater produce very heavy immediate damage to your hearing. (read PERMANENT)
A 125gr. Winchester JHP fired from a 4 inch
barreled .357 magnum produces 132db when fired outdoors. Add another 50dB to that if fired indoors.
That is well over the 130dB threshold.
.357 SIG is equivilent to the .357 Magnum in blast.
So the answer to your question is YES.
Tunnel vision and auditory exclusion is not going to prevent damage to your hearing.
Expect permanent damage.... or go to a quieter cartridge. 115gr. 9mm is 118dB.
In a nutshell, cartridges that produce 130dB and greater produce very heavy immediate damage to your hearing. (read PERMANENT)
A 125gr. Winchester JHP fired from a 4 inch
barreled .357 magnum produces 132db when fired outdoors. Add another 50dB to that if fired indoors.
That is well over the 130dB threshold.
.357 SIG is equivilent to the .357 Magnum in blast.
So the answer to your question is YES.
Tunnel vision and auditory exclusion is not going to prevent damage to your hearing.
Expect permanent damage.... or go to a quieter cartridge. 115gr. 9mm is 118dB.
I think we might be getting a little exaggerative here. I mean, magnum rounds have been around quite a while. Is a .357 Magnum from a short barrel any quieter than a .357 Sig? Have people gone deaf from shooting it the last several decades?
Also, many troopers have shot people so far with the .357 Sig, all with outstanding results, and none of them have complained of going deaf.
Is it possible we are getting worked up about nothing?
I won't be shooting my .357 Sig with no hearing protection unless I am defending myself. But, somehow I think that one case of defending myself with the .357 Sig is not going to produce permenant damage. I probably will hardly notice it. Most people in shootings say they never heard their gun go off.
So far, I have never heard of anyone, from people firing full auto M16's in combat to cops shooting the .357 Magnum or Sig in defense, going deaf from ONE shootout.
Also, many troopers have shot people so far with the .357 Sig, all with outstanding results, and none of them have complained of going deaf.
Is it possible we are getting worked up about nothing?
I won't be shooting my .357 Sig with no hearing protection unless I am defending myself. But, somehow I think that one case of defending myself with the .357 Sig is not going to produce permenant damage. I probably will hardly notice it. Most people in shootings say they never heard their gun go off.
So far, I have never heard of anyone, from people firing full auto M16's in combat to cops shooting the .357 Magnum or Sig in defense, going deaf from ONE shootout.