Is .357 Magnum too Loud?

Auditory exclusion also involves the connective tissue holding the three bones together in the middle ear. The system can relax a little and not transmit as much of the pressure wave from the eardrum to the inner ear where the damage occurs.

But yes, loud noises are bad for you and as you age the muscles don't react as quickly and maybe not at all depending on the amount of previous damage.

So if you're shooting .357 Magnums in the bedroom leave the windows open. :)
 
Or could just use this stuff when it comes to market. Then you can shoot any caliber you wish.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-research-...rticle/3637318

Oklahoma research may lead to deafness prevention

Oklahoma researchers are finding that tests suggest a combination drugs may become available as ear drops to prevent hearing loss.
...
The researchers estimate the combination drug will take about five years to get through the trials and secure FDA approval.
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Floyd and Kopke's research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Naval Research.​

Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-research-...#ixzz1ieEoBZTk
 
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As a revolver fan, perhaps a .45 ACP revolver would be the ideal? ... and "Some people seem to be missing the point. It does not matter if your adrenaline is going and you don't even register/hear the shots you fired. You will still suffer damage to your ears."
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I too arrived at this conclusion a long time ago... Big and slow is the way to go. Simple as that. Still loud, but not the ear splitting sound of a .357.... I prefer either .44Spec, .45 Colt, or .45ACP as my SD cartridges.... My CC is .44Spec. Woods it is .45 Colt.
 
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To my way of thinking heavy for caliber slugs at about 900 - 1000 fps are quite effective so that is what I would be looking for in a SD round. If I had to fire a full house .357 indoors without hearing protection I think I would want a 14" single shot hunting pistol to do away with the cylinder/barrel gap and get the muzzle a few inches farther from the ear. :)

mike
 
It does not matter if your adrenaline is going and you don't even register/hear the shots you fired. You will still suffer damage to your ears.
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I am one who believes that you would not hear the gun blast in a SD situation but I totally agree with the above statement.
 
Let's completely disregard the damaged hearing that becomes evident after the shooting, let's talk about DURING the self defense situation. Do yall think that the noise of the first (or more) shots from the Magnum could be so intense that it could cause either a delay in follow up shots or otherwise hinder your abilities to defend yourself?

Someone said as soon as they fired the first shot without ear protection they instinctually put their hands to their ears.

But what about the people that have to fire AR15s and 12 gauges indoors without hearing protection? Isn't that much louder?
 
IMO the 357 is plenty loud,to make you flinch but not loud enough to not use in sd mod. Someone posted earlier that you never hear of the big bores being that loud,LOL,Just touch off a 454 in a 7.5 barrel.You'll go running back to the .357mag.:D
 
A lot depends on the gun. In a 39oz 4" barrel GP100 with decent grips the full-house-extreme 357s are controllable with reasonable fire rates shooting two handed and still workable in a pinch one-handed, for most people with a modicum of practice. Ditto a New Vaquero (42oz), if you soften the harsh factory grip checkering. We're now talking about loads pushing close to 800ft/lbs of energy, up into 10mm territory.

If on the other hand we're talking about the new 4" barrel SP101 at 29oz, then yeah, full-house edgy ammo will be a major handful two-handed and bordering on crazy one-handed. You can however throttle it back to "normal full-house 357" at around 550ft/lbs energy (similar to a very hot 40S&W) and get very effective defense and a decent fire rate.

At 26oz (2" barrel SP101) you can still throw down the "normal full-house" loads. Energy will drop a bit, to about 450ish. Still not bad. I prefer a 3" barrel over the 2" myself, there's a decent little energy boost at that point...3" energy is closer to 4" than it is 2".

Below 26oz (again, shorter SP101 or some of the S&W K-Frame 357s) you're no longer talking about a "real 357 gun". There's some decent ammo for it but a lot of people aren't going to be able to push it to the "normal 357" level and very few will shoot more than one of the real edgy monster-loads.
 
I wonder if .357 is any significantly quieter out of my big 6" bbl colt python than a 2" snub? Would that make the noise worth it in a self defense situation?
 
I have a Model 19 K frame snub, and I would not be afraid of using it with 357 mag ammo for SD. In fact, it is currently loaded with Doubletap's 357 load.
Any serious SD handgun will ring your chimes.
When I was young, I fired exactly six rounds from a medium sized 380 pistol without hearing pro. Later that night, I went on a date, my ears were ringing so bad, I had to tell the girl...she was a shooter herself, so she understood.
My dad served in WWII...he endured artillery, both incoming and outgoing, small arms fire of all types, and long periods of machine gun operation ranging from Browning 30's and 50's as well as instructing on MG42 and MG34 captured weapons. Plus the 37mm on his armored car.
Back then, hearing pro was a cig butt in the ear, if you were lucky.
His hearing seemed fine into his 80's.
Compared to what he went through, a cylinder or two of 357 mag is nothing.
 
Yes, .357 is too freakin' loud. It's great fun as a recreational round, but the full house .357s put you at a distinct disadvantage in a fire fight (no hearing protection) by simulating you getting smacked on the side of the head with cast iron skillets every time you shoot!

I shot a Model 27 with no hearing protection once as a foolish teenager.......ONCE.

The .357 is special among handguns for being monstrously loud, even moreso than hot .44 Mags. The particular frequency range from those high vel .357 rounds is like an ice pick to the human ear.
 
I wonder if .357 is any significantly quieter out of my big 6" bbl colt python than a 2" snub? Would that make the noise worth it in a self defense situation?
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Yes it would make a difference, but your ears would be in big trouble quickly either way!! :eek:

Firing a much faster, much more powerful rifle round isn't so bad because it exits a longer barrel and it considerably further from your ears when it does so.

Get a stout .38 +P for SD.
 
risking your hearing on a .357 for indoor SD is nuts, IMHO ... I keep a 1911 in my nightstand, the .45ACP round is slower and far less damaging if you have to shoot without protection ...
 
A 6" barrel anything is "quieter" than a 2" barrel, because the muzzle is a little further away from your ears.

Its not a lot "quieter", but there is a noticable difference. The .357 Mag is LOUD. Combining supersonic speed and the small bore size, it has a bark unlike anything else.

Now, remember that the .357 Mag was not designed as a self defense round. And for many years was not even available is mid size or pocket size guns. The fact that is has proven to be a very effective selfdefense round is a bonus, but it was never intended as such originally.

It is a well documented fact that most people experience what is called "auditory exclusion" during a self defense shooting situation. What happens is your mind is so focused on the other gun, his gun, etc, that while your ears hear the shot, your mind doesn't notice it. This does NOT prevent hearing damage, it just means you don't notice it until later, when the main stressor is removed.

Fire a .357 under any other conditions in a enclosed space (room, automobile, etc) and you WILL notice the blast, most likely to a stunning degree.

If there is one thing movies and TV drama teach us, (besides poor/dangerous gun handling) is that you can shoot guns indoors without any hearing protection, and be able to hear normally afterwards. This is simply NOT TRUE. IT doesn't matte what you shoot, even a .22 will cause ringing in the ears, and larger rounds (even low pressure, low speed ones) will give you hearing problems, and high intensity rounds like the .357 can leave you temporarily deaf, ears ringing for day (or even longer) after your hearing returns. And your hearing will not return fully. There is damage, and it can be measured. Do it once, and you won't notice the damage, after your ears recover, but it will be there.

Do it several times, and you will soon reach the point where you will be able to tell that there has been damage. With our current medical technology, the damage is permanent.
 
Is the 357 to load????

My S&W 686 .357 Mag. is only load when I pull the trigger, otherwise is just hangs in the safe quite as a church mouse. It's the only hand gun I use double hearing protection when I shoot.
 
The .357 Mag is definitely an ear-ringer.
I tried it once in my teens...the ringing lasted a whole day. Tried it once again at 43 (a few years ago), they were still ringing in the morning, although not as much as the day before.:D By day two, I was fine...a week later, while watching a video, it came back for a while.:( Yeah, lesson learned.

I've heard that if you find yourself in a "fight or flight" moment, the adrenaline (or whatever) keep your hearing intact...or greatly diminishes the effect of such a sharp decibel occurrence in the heat of things. Some people recall feeling fine & hearing no noise at all, others recall hearing a bang, but are fine. I can't concur with that theory, because I haven't been there myself (knock,knock)...but I wouldn't discount it either. Maybe it's depends on the individual in the moment, who knows, it could be a myriad of things.
Regardless, for anyone not hearing impaired...firing a .357 Mag at arm's length with bare ears, will surely leave an impression.:eek:

All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.
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True dat!:D
 
We all make our own decisions regarding what we're comfortable with.

Me, I like the 45acp, 9mm+P+ or a 38 +P, 158 gn,LSWCHP, in the last 30 years I've seen this round have no problem at all putting a lot of bad guys and far too many good guys in the ground and have total confidence in its self defense abilities.

The 357 mag is an excellent round and I occasionally will carry one out in the swamp usually with 158gn soft points, But I don't see a need for it in my house. Sure I'd rather lose my hearing than my life, but I don't see the need to lose either when defending yourself.
 
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