.357mag too much noise?

Yep, any decently powered handgun is TOO LOUD indoors. But that doesn't mean they are all the same. A .357 is among the loudest handguns. And will either cause more hearing damage or be more likley to cause hearing damage. And yes, even if your mental focus lets you not notice the noise at the time, the physical damage to your hearing occurs anyway. And please don't get one with a muzzle brake.

Now getting a longer barrel helps a lot on the noise. A 9 3/4 inch .357 is much less loud. Also will have lots more velocity. I don't know that a 9 3/4 inch .357 will be as quiet as a 9mm though. Just that it is much quieter than a short barrel. It will also have much less muzzle flash. One other comment, quality ammo is blended to have reduced flash versus cheaper ammo in handguns.

If you want to use a .357 indoors, get a Marlin lever action rifle.
 
Although a .357 Mag is certainly more powerful than .38 Special, as a defensive round the effectiveness of .38 Spc +P is probably about the same as .357 Mag with less flash and noise. The .38 Spl +P will penetrate just about all the way through a human torso, and good defensive ammo will offer reliable expansion. That is why I believe .38 Special +P is a better choice than .357 Mag for defensive purposes.

As for dealing with the noise inside the house, there are also ear plugs available that allow you to hear noise at normal volume while protecting against sudden loud noises such as gun shots. Go here for more info:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/aosinranplug.html

I recommend a higher protection rating for indoor range use, but these might be a good idea for "bump in the night" or outdoor shooting situations if you don't want to spend a lot more for electronic muffs.
 
I own a Ruger GP100 w/ 6" heavy bbl, and it is fairly loud, but I think any large caliber hand gun is going to be loud. I would strongly recomend some sort of hearing protection, unless you are useing it for hunting.
 
After talking to friends at work, they recomended the .357 for a home defense/personal defense gun. After purchasing it, I went to the range to try it out ( taurus 605 2in bbl). A lot of difference when shooting with .357 and 38spl loads. When you shoot it, it's like a small cannon. Now after reading more on these forums, I've learned more about the importance of ammo and shot placement etc, and I also bought a 9mm. I never considered hearing loss in the equation. I could make myself, and someone in my family deaf at the same time. These are the people I'm trying to protect! I think I will restrict my snub to 38+p and just use up my .357 stuff on the range. Thanks for all the input.
Jkwas
 
I keep a 6" .357 magnum with 14 rounds of 140 gr Hyra-Shok and another 56 rounds of "target ammo"-.38 spl at about 900 fps. I also keep electronic earmuffs. The muff rating is too low for my comfort with prolonged shooting, but quick to put on and has ability to amplify and track BG doings.

May need to think that through some more.

Any disadvantage to the longer barrel in a home situation other than speed of movement?
 
I spoke to my brother in law (Navy Seal) about this and he mentioned that they fire so many rounds, his ears bleed. He definately recommends the electronic ear protectors. Not only do they work, but you can communicate with your SO and/or family members during the firefight.

That being said, worse case scenario, better to be deaf than dead.

JJ
 
Some of you might laugh, but I used to consider my .357 blackhawk my negative reinforcment for gang bangers, specifically because of the noise.

Follow me on this. I usually shot 38spcl loads, and occasionally .357 mag loads when I went to the indoor range, but I kept a few boxes of Cor-Bon 110gr .357 mags in the range bag. Anyone who has ever shot these can vouch that they are loud, especially for the people in the lanes next to you. Because of that, I rarely shot with them, unless their were gang bangers in the lane next to me.

In that case, I would wait until one of them was mid way through a string of fire, and I would let one loose, and that usually would send their next shot way ofcourse. After that I would try to time my shots so they would be fired just before the gangbanger pulled the trigger. Inevitably this caused the banger to develop a nice flinch. I would do this until the banger could barely hit the backstop. It sometimes took a whole box, even 2 occasionally, but it always worked like a charm.

I figure anything that I could do to help make bangers have worse marksmanship is worthwhile. :D

Because of that noise though, I wouldn't want to let one loose in an enclosed space without hearing protection.

I.G.B.
 
ears

Jungle Work, Dasmi, and Osirus

I think you guys are all correct. I would want to be able to hear everything happening if something were to be happening in my house. I would also choose deaf over dead in a heartbeat...

I have been involved in Search and Rescue work in the recent past and can tell you that when its dark and I can only see part of what I usually do my ears kick in big time. I know I know, auditory exclusion... I'd be willing to bet that will kick in when I get my site picture. What I want to hear though is, Daddy I cant sleep or Daddy I just puked or any other reason my kids were walking around the house in the middle of the night. If I have my range ears on I wont hear that...

I think maybe I will invest in some of the electric ears that cancel out high decibel sound, but increase low decibel sounds.
 
shooting in the house

I recently had a conversation with a friend who told me he was shooting his 9mm in the house. He was remodeling the bathroom, and being the walls were concrete, he saw no harm in it. I don't condone this by the way. He said after 4 shots, the only problem he had was the room filling up with smoke, and his neighbors came over to investigate. He's lucky it wasn't the cops. I asked him if the noise was a problem. He said it was no problem, and didn't experience any hearing loss or ringing in his ears.
Don't try this at home.
:eek:
 
I hope he's using lead free ammunition...

Or has the money to do lead abatement on his "shooting range" when he moves.
 
I must have super sensitive ears. I have always had ear problems when I was litle, possibly scarred from ear infections and such. I ALWAYS shoot with ear protection, but once I shot my .380 at the range without out of curiosity. When I fired, it felt like my ears popped and they hurt sooooo bad. It took me a second to recoop from it. I was only using regular Winclean .380 rounds though it too.

I can't imagine ever having to fire my .357 mag, or, when I finally get my .45, shooting that. I imagine the .45 will be a little better than the .357 mag though.
 
I have no hearning in my left ear, and my right ear is at 80%. A life time of shooting in civilian and militrary life is an obvious contributor to the problem. The thought of a loud .357 Mag. indoors or out, messes with my head, even though they say that one doesn't think of those things in a life and death encounter---I just don't want the added psychological baggage, if you know what I mean. :cool:

It has been pointed out that audio exclusion is common in self defense shootings, but my ear specialist assures me that the sound can damage the nerves of the ear, even if we don't consciously hear it. A .357 Mag. is one caliber than can damage the ears noticeably--even with few rounds being fired.
 
Quote:
"Although a .357 Mag is certainly more powerful than .38 Special, as a defensive round the effectiveness of .38 Spc +P is probably about the same as .357 Mag with less flash and noise. The .38 Spl +P will penetrate just about all the way through a human torso, and good defensive ammo will offer reliable expansion. That is why I believe .38 Special +P is a better choice than .357 Mag for defensive purposes."

Actually I have seen the ballistic reports on both from a short (2 to 3) inch barrel and the differences are very small in favor of the 357 of course but not enough to put up with all the noise, flames and recoil of the 357. Now when you get up to the 5 and 6 inch barrels the 357 shines. I have a S&W Performance Center 627 and love it but can think of others in my collection to use around the house better suited for home protection.
 
The first pistol i ever really shot was a s&w 686 with a 2.5 in barrel. For a while it was my carry weapon, as i have never had a problem handling it. one time at the range, which has excellent noise deadening ceiling tiles, i pulled my ear protection off for just one shot. I couldnt hear very much for quite a while, and promptly decided to select a different ccw as the noise from the 357 was deafening. i can only imagine what it would sound like in an enclosed area with hot rounds instead of the range rounds I was using.
 
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