Why is a .22 mag round so loud from a pistol?

There is still powder being burned so the "bang" is louder than in a rifle, where the bullet 'unplugs' the barrel after more of the powder is finished burning.

At least, I think this is the reason.

Bart Noir
 
Oh, yeah, your question may be a comparision between .22 Mag and .22 Long Rifle.

I took it as a comparison between handgun and longgun, firing the same ammo.

The Magnum is a magnum, more powder and more bang. That's why "we loves our magnums, our precious magnums".

Bart Noir
 
And I always have unburned gun powder all over the place after shooting it out of the revolver. Like Bart said, it's really a rifle round :D.
 
If you thinks it's loud from a snubbi pistol you need to experience it out of a over/under derringer.
The round is longer than the barrel.
You don't even have to hit the BG with the bullet, the noise scares them to death.:D
 
Like Bart said, it's really a rifle round.
Click to expand...

WIN.

.22 mag was originally designed as a rifle round. It needs a long barrel for complete powder burn. Shooting it out of a handgun is somewhat of a waste, unless you like a loud crack and lots of flash when you light one off. A very large part of the magnum's energy goes into that, and contributes little to the downrange energy of the bullet.
 
Fire the .22 WMR from a 1-1/8" barrel North American Arms "mini"-
its as loud as a .357 magnum fired from a short barreled revolver~! :eek:
 
It's pretty obvious why it's louder than a 22 LR. There's more powder. And it's louder out of a pistol for the same reason a 22 LR is louder out of a pistol compared to a rifle. I think it's a pretty cool sound actually. I shoot 22 mags out of a 7.5" revolver. It's not a loud BOOM like a 38, and certainly not a roar like a 44 mag. But it has a nice throaty sound of power that makes a 22 LR sound kind of puny and tinny in comparison. I honestly don't know how much more real power I get from my 22 mag cylinder compared to the 22 LR cylinder in the same revolver. But it SOUNDS better, so that's important.
 
I was just shooting mine in the backyard a few minutes ago. It's a heck of a lot louder than my 22 mag rifle, but it's not as loud as a 357. If I don't wear ear protection, one shot will have my ears ringing from the 357. I shot 5 rounds, and it wasn't that bad
 
I have only had the displeasure of shooting a .22 mag revolver ONCE. It was so loud and painful that I didn't finish the cylinder. The main thing was not really the intensity of the sound, but the pitch. The best I can describe it was like: .44 magnum-loud, but whistle-pitched thunder clapping ping.

Painful. Never again!
 
Wow. I've never heard that before. Of course, I am a bit hearing challenged. What type of handgun and barrel length did you hear the high-pitched sound in?
 
There are two reasons a .22 magnum sounds so much louder from a handgun than a .22 LR. First, as others have mentioned, it has more powder. Second, the magnum rounds probably exceed the speed of sound which means there's a mini-sonic boom when you shoot it. GunBlast reported getting 1450 fps out of a five inch Taurus. http://www.gunblast.com/Taurus941.htm. IIRC, the speed of sound is 1100 fps at sea level.

Standard .22 LR rounds probably exit a handgun at subsonic speeds. For example, from a 22-inch barrel the muzzle velocity is only about 1138 fps. http://www.chuckhawks.com/22_rimfire_cartridges.htm. That means it is subsonic in a handgun.
 
I grew up with a Single-Six Convertible. This was back when kids had handguns, but seldom had ear plugs. I didn't shoot many magnums in it to begin with because of the cost, which was probably three bucks a box.:eek:

When I did shoot them the noise was annoying, but not unbearable, and they shot great in that pistol. The noise is much worse for anyone off to the side than it is for the shooter. One time I got a deal on twenty boxes for $2.50 per box, and made them last for a few years. I'm sure that many more of those shells were shot without hearing protection than with.

I had a life changing event however when I purchased my next handgun; a Blackhawk in .30 Carbine. For those of you have never heard one the sound goes---CRRRAAAAACKRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG. The ring may last for a few days. I never again thought that the 22 Mag was very loud, and I started wearing ear plugs. Believe it or not, I still have some hearing left to protect.

I've never put any 22 Mags through a chronograph, but even if they spit out some unburned powder and energy, they still shoot very far and flat out of my 6.5 inch Single Six. jd
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top