Have you personally fired a gun in a car or room without ear protection?

In the army I was around all kinds of loud bangs, all without ear protection. I don't recommend it. BUT, in a life or death situation it ain't near as loud as it is at the range. It's also usually 1 or 2 shots in civilian life.

I don't understand why but it's a totally different situation.
 
I've heard accounts of cops who couldn't hear their guns discharging, but distinctly remember the sound of the spent brass hitting the ground.
 
I fired an M-16 in a concrete room during an impromptu training exercise and I forgot to insert earplugs. The sound shock was momentarily debilitating.
 
I have fired 5.56 in a room without hearing protection or substandard hearing protection probably one too many times. The left ear now has permanent tinnitus.
 
i wouldnt say i did it without ear protecting but with the first handgun i ever bought, i had some of the squishy foam ear plugs .... and i found out really quickly they dont work worth a damn..... i did maybe 1 mag and went back out and one of the girls working at the gun store was like these 13$ ear muff's are some of the best ones we have for the $$ and no lie they are awesome!!! i use them for mowing the lawn, shooting, using a chainsaw, and any other time i am going to be near something very loud for any amount of time....
 
Have you personally fired a gun in a car or room without ear protection?
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In a car, yes, but not on purpose. Had an ND with a rifle inside a pickup truck once. Really, really loud. And BRIGHT!

Inside a building, also yes, but on purpose. Also very, very loud, but since it was a 1911 in 45, not so bright. It will definitely open up your sinuses!
 
I shot a raccoon with a 12 gauge down a silo chute once. That stung a bit.

But the one I remember most was when I fired a .44 mag in high school outdoors but no ear plugs. My ears ran for a couple days................ just like they did after an AC/DC concert.
 
Loudest noise i ever heard happened when my wife shot a home invader with a stout handload from my N frame .357. i was in another room. Wife's ears hurt for weeks afterwards.
 
I put a muzzle break on my AR and fired it outside. I almost went deaf. Inside, in a car? I don't even want to think about it.
 
I was demonstrating how to use a SA stage revolver that only shot 209 primers in the lighting booth of a theatre. Well, I had everyone else plug their ears but some how forgot about myself. My "normal" tinnitus took a volume increase for a few days. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
Yep, once in my clubs indoor range. Was by myself and shooting full load 44 mags out of my 629. I changed targets and had removed my hearing protection and forgot to put it back on before I fired my next round. The range is reinforced concrete with a very solid roof. The pain was instant and I really thought I had blown out one of my ear drums. Not a fun experience and something I'll never forget.
 
Going against he grain with this. Ask anybody that has been in close combat indoors if the gunfire hurt their ears.

I think you might be surprised. I was within 2 feet of a ND discharge and was so scared that my ears didn't hurt, or ring, nor did I experience any pain, only embarrassment when I peed myself.

Think about the SEALS that killed OBL. They were indoors firing multiple rounds and not one has complained about hearing loss. Adrenalin is sometimes a wonderful thing.

Just my $.02.
 
Most folks experience auditory exclusion when they are puckered up tight enough to turn coal to diamonds. Just because your brain doesn’t have time to deal with the noise doesn’t mean your ears don’t get damaged just the same.

I have come off a car at around 20-25 mph and spoiler, it’s not like the movies. The fear and adrenaline and ...... alcohol made the event not all that painful at that moment. My body was nice enough to give me about 6 hours before let me know of my transgressions by hurting head to toe like a sonofabitch. Adrenalin is great but it doesn’t mitigate damage. Just allows you to ignore it.

As to the SEALs or most high speed low drag folks, I believe most are wearing abbreviated helmets that allow for commo “ears” that probably have some noise cancellation capability as well as likely running largely suppressed.
 
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Going against he grain with this. Ask anybody that has been in close combat indoors if the gunfire hurt their ears.
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I know an officer who was in a shooting. 3 pistol shots were fired. The officer reported no discomfort or ringing but did suffer temporary deafness and permanent hearing damage as a result of the incident. Adrenalin has its limits.
As to the SEALs or most high speed low drag folks, I believe most are wearing abbreviated helmets that allow for commo “ears” that probably have some noise cancellation capability as well as likely running largely suppressed.
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Yup.
 
I drove an APC for a while, try sitting within 3 feet of the muzzle of a 50 cal machine gun for a while. I don't worry about a shot or 2 in a closed room. B Troop 1/1 Cav 67/68.
 
Full power .357 mag in a pickup. very bad idea, actually painful and my ears rang for 2 days. I still have some degree of constant tinnitus, luckily fairly mild most of the time (it was probably 20 years ago or so). I'd still do it to defend myself if necessary but under no other circumstances.
 
Yes, more than I wanted to. My 590 was a frggin boom stick inside. I have hearing damage from my Marine Corps time and my suggestion to anyone is wear hearing protection at all times.

Our high speed low drag was using cigarette butts for hearing protection:D
 
I was in an interior room when a 9mm handgun was fired. It was awful.

Since that experience, I wear hearing protection EVERY time I shoot, including hunting. I bought some electronic plugs and wear them when hunting. I will never allow anyone to shoot around me without plugs again in my life... if I can help it.
 
I was in an interior room when a 9mm handgun was fired. It was awful.
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Remember that when you see a tv show or movie and there are 2,3, or more
people shooting pistols and RIFLES (AKs AR, etc) inside a building.

And especially remember what it was like when you see and hear the actors speaking in normal tones of voice with normal hearing immediately after the shooting stops.

If there's one thing the entertainment media gets wrong, and never seems to get called on it, it is the effect on hearing of gunfire, and especially gunfire in enclosed spaces.

The guns are firing blanks, and the "sound" of the gunfire is created after the fact, using various sounds to simulate (not reproduce) the sound of the shot. No recording media can accurately capture the effect of a gunshot, nor can any speaker faithfully reproduce the effect, either.

Video someone shooting, watch the tape, the gunfire is all a bunch of "pops". Bigger guns make louder pops, but that's all. Compare that to what you heard and felt when you were videoing the shooting. Quite different.
 
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