What the heck could this have been?

J

justplainpossum

New member
I was at an indoor range with a bunch of guys firing off handguns, and all of a sudden someone a few stands over shot something that made me nearly jump out of my skin! Then a lot of regular gun shots, and then, again, boom!!! I went out to get a better pair of ear protectors, but it was almost like you could feel it in your whole body, not just your ears.

I think someone may have been shooting an AR-15. Are those guns really, really loud?? If not, does anyone know what that could have been? :confused:
 
A muzzle brake can make any gun have considerably larger perceived muzzle blast and sound. My guess is if it was a pistol only range a ported revolver .44 Mag or bigger, if it was pistol and rifle then who knows.

Just a question, you wouldn't happen to have been at Gunny's in Maryville TN would you have?

Edit... Now I see you're from Texas, my bad. I'm pretty sure I scared some folks when I brought my M1A to an indoor rifle range, the brake on the Scout model makes it considerably louder than a M240B machine gun.

And no AR15s with a standard muzzle brake are not loud compared to other center fire rifles and handguns. I shoot them without earplugs with little discomfort.... Then again my ears are pretty blasted.
 
Tucker 1371 said:
And no AR15s with a standard muzzle brake are not loud compared to other center fire rifles and handguns. I shoot them without earplugs with little discomfort.... Then again my ears are pretty blasted.
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Then why in the world do you continue to not use ear protection? I am assuming you do not mind further damage to you ears, but why do you want to make it worse ?
 
Then why in the world do you continue to not use ear protection? I am assuming you do not mind further damage to you ears, but why do you want to make it worse ?
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Afghanistan did a number on my ears and I have a pretty severe case of tinnitus, if I'm shooting an AR outside I can do without ear pro because I simply don't notice it. My M1A Scout is a different story, I shot it once without ear pro and will never do that again. I always use it when shooting near walls or indoors, the reverberations magnify even .223s to semi painful levels.
 
3 1/2 in 12 gauge slugs can make for an uncomfortable indoor range; loud and feel it in your insides. One of the reasons that I rarely visit an indoor range; all of that sound trapped in a relatively small space, give me the great outdoors everytime!

if I'm shooting an AR outside I can do without ear pro because I simply don't notice it. My M1A Scout is a different story
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Keep up the former long enough and soon the later wouldn't be a "different story"; you wouldn't hear that one either! Hearing damage is cumulative.
 
I've never heard and AR-15 that loud before, are you sure someone didn't have a magnum? This is exactly what you get when someone whips out a .44 and starts running magnum rounds through it. It will get your attention quick!

I know, because sometimes I'm the one shooting the magnums! :D

BOOM! (everyone in the range jumps),
BOOM! (everyone in the range jumps),
BOOM! (everyone in the range jumps),

:D
 
Tucker 1371 said:
Afghanistan did a number on my ears and I have a pretty severe case of tinnitus, if I'm shooting an AR outside I can do without ear pro because I simply don't notice it. My M1A Scout is a different story, I shot it once without ear pro and will never do that again. I always use it when shooting near walls or indoors, the reverberations magnify even .223s to semi painful levels.
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Evan, I'm glad you came back from Afghanistan with nothing worse than some hearing damage.

That said -- please, please, use hearing protection every time you're shooting, even an AR, a .22... whatever. Even if you don't "notice" the sound, it's still damaging your hearing. You're pretty young, and you're only issued one set of hair cells. If you don't protect them, your hearing will continue to deteriorate, to the point where you have a hard time understanding speech -- and beyond, to where even hearing aids don't help all that much. Seriously, you owe it to yourself and to your family to look after your hearing. It can and will get worse if you don't protect it.
 
I went out to get a better pair of ear protectors, but it was almost like you could feel it in your whole body, not just your ears.
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Sounds like the concussion from ported hand cannon such as a .460 or .500 S&W X-Frame. Many folks that shoot mine, or are within 20 feet of one when it's shot, claim the concussion could jump start a dead heart.
 
Please listen to Vanya. You do not want to be deaf. What you "notice" is irrelevant. Every shot is doing damage that you will live with for the rest of your life.

As to what that gun might have been, it could be anything. I used to shoot at an indoor, 10-lane range. I shot a Glock 33 in 357sig with a 3.46" barrel. The reactions were just as you describe and that thing is certainly no mega handcannon.

The first time I was there was for a "competition" of sorts. All 10 lanes were full and I was on the end. I shot through the first mag, set the gun down and stepped back. All 9 other shooters had their heads poked out behind the dividers and the guy two lanes down yelled "What the HELL are you shooting down there!?"

It was pretty funny.
 
Evan, I'm glad you came back from Afghanistan with nothing worse than some hearing damage.
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Not quite, perforated left ear drum was the least of my concerns
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Peetza

I do usually make an effort to remember to bring ear pro, if I get to the range/backyard and realize i dont have any I usually at least try to shove some cigarette buts in my ears. Won't buy muffs cause they jack up my cheek weld and none of them seem to stay put.

Don't want to thread jack here so, respectfully, if you are concerned about my ears please PM me.
 
Protect your ears!!!!!

Evan, I am 56 years old and have a 40 decibel hearing loss in the 2 KiloHertz range. This makes it nearly impossible for me to talk to children and makes it difficult to talk to women as that is the frequency range of their voices.

I am very diligent to protect my remaining hearing even with constant tinnitus. My ears are so bad I cannot hear smoke alarms (but I can FEEL them beating against my eardrums). :eek:

When outdoors I use 28 DB ear plugs. When indoors I add 30 DB ear muffs. The muffs cause no problem with my cheek weld and if they did I would adjust my shooting style to accomodate them.

If you wore glasses would you say "My eyesight is so bad I don't need eye protection" when shooting? I thought not. :cool:

Protect your ears and eyes as they will get worse if you abuse them!
 
Roger,

Still not buying or using muffs, hate the dang things. I'll make sure I at least have a pack of Marlboros on me when I go shoot so Ill have something to stuff in my ears.

I never completely disregard ear pro, it's just when I forget and I'm not shooting anything particularly loud I have in the past elected not to waste daylight hunting down some plugs.
 
Whatever made the "BOOM" had some kind of muzzle brake and was a large caliber. It could have been a revolver or a rifle but it had a brake for sure. It was not an AR15.

Tucker, thanks for your service and you wear whatever kind of ear protection you want.
 
Ever been around someone shooting a .50AE Desert Eagle? Damn shock wave will slap your face a little at twenty feet or more. But like any short revolver, a .44 Mag snubby is very loud compared to a four- or six-inch model. If it's ported too, it'll untie your shoes.
 
Could of been anything. Shooting the .50 Beo in at the indoor range we used to have, my buddy (the gun shop/range owner) said it would rattle pistols in the glass case closest to the range walls:D But my 96 Brigadier G elite II also made more than a few people shooting 9mm and down, nearly soil themselves at that same range. I can't explain why, but that Beretta was the LOUDEST dang .40 I've ever shot. If you stood to the side of someone shooting it it felt like getting slugged in the chest with a dead blow mallet. And it through shell casings all the way across the range line. You could hear them ping off the block wall 10-15 feet away if you were too far back in the stall.
 
Won't buy muffs cause they jack up my cheek weld and none of them seem to stay put.
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There are very good earplugs, even custom ones you can get. Hearing damage is progressive, and you don't want to make it any worse.

You bled for us, and I thank you for it. I hope you made a full recovery.
 
You bled for us, and I thank you for it. I hope you made a full recovery.
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Thank you sir! I'm absolutely fine now, physically and mentally. Only spent 15 days in the hospital from blast to discharge. Got back to my unit and felt good enough to go back out but they already had my replacement in the process of going over. Hoping to go again and help with the pull out.

And I will be sure to look into those plugs you mentioned.
 
At the indoor pistol range at our private club no full power magnum ammunition can be shot. The reason for this is to prevent bullets from destroying the bullet stops and ceiling. Yes, unfortunately people do shoot the ceiling, and the walls, and the concrete floor.

Now if someone is shooting something that is not a magnum but so loud as to bother the other shooters, the RSO has the discretion to stop its use.
 
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