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Smart *** gunshop clerk

I have a 7" can I've shot on my 204 Ruger and .223. The 204 has a 24" barrel and its really quiet even on an AR platform. I don't have a sound meter but its quite enough to shoot without hearing protection for extend periods of time without discomfort. The .223 is a 14.5" barrel and I prefer to wear ear protection when shooting it with the suppressor. It's moderately quiet with that short barrel but I still prefer to wear hearing protection. I have a YHM Turbo sitting on the shelf that states some very impressive numbers for being short and cost effective. Haven't shot it yet. The folks at Capital City Armory told me length is more valuable than diameter for reducing sound. I don't care to use suppressors longer than 7" for hunting and I also prefer lighter weight ones. On my magnums and 338 NM, I still wear hearing protection when using a suppressor. 140 db is pretty loud.
 
jpfrog said:
You should get spares. I used to "forget" every now and then…then one time I had a 300wm without ear pro ring my ears for a few minutes. Since then, I keep a spare box of plugs AND electronic muffs in my truck. I keep custom molded plugs in my hunting pack. Extra foam plugs AND electronic muffs in my range bag. And I use a can on about half of my rifles now. If I forget hearing protection these days, it's because I didn't get out of bed, haha.
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I'm afraid I'll never own a suppressor here in Canada but even those foam plugs are sure better than nothing. Will stash a pair in my wallet haha.

I've had some right proper ear ringings. Loudest one that actually had me dizzy was from an old shotgun I used to have, a side by side with only TWELVE INCH BARRELS!

Wanting to really feel some recoil and exhilaration I touched off both barrels at the same time with 3 inch goose loads in each chamber. I could take the kick just fine (kind of heavyset and a masochist, I like a little pain haha) but good grief my head after!!!! Ringing and also that wierd tuning fork/wine glass sound for like 10 minutes, couldn't hear a dang thing. Didnt help that I was standing between two grain bins when I did these, so the sound/pressure wave just bounced right back onto me. Flipping loud!!!!!! No plugs

I was 22 🤣. I hope I'm a tad smarter now. Who knows ?
 
I have found they are very helpful in supersonic situations. They are more pleasant to those with you and have been, on average, more accurate than un-suppressed rifles.
I very rarely use ear protection when hunting. I think most hunters don't. Being suppressed is huge in this case.
 
Calvin45 said:
This thread got me thinking…about how i really do need to start remembering earplugs. The last 3 or four times I've shot I've spent quite a few rounds with my braked .300 winny, my .257 wby, my .358 Norma, and my 14 inch barreled 12 guage. I always forget my dang plugs so I'm "all ears". Im 31 but have actually started to notice my hearing isn't what it was when I was 18. Maybe time to smarten up here. Too many guns with no plugs and too much death metal/other "extreme" metal as loud as it can go haha
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That is what happened with me. When I hit 30 I started noticing. 17 years later my wife tells me everyday I can't hear. I tell her it's just her "wife frequency" and the garbled info she's trying to spit out! 😂

I picked up my first suppressor about 8 years ago and now have 6. Love them and I do not use any hearing protection when using them all the way up to my 20" 30 Nosler (TBAC Ultra 7) and 338LM improved (TBAC 338). One day I removed the can off of my 338 to check POI shift and put the break back on, forgot I wasn't wearing protection. :oops: Won't do that again.
 
squawberryman said:
For those of you wanting to know your own truth, a decibel meter is about $40 on Amazon
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The truth costs more than $40, man.

At least in this case.

Amazon spl meters are good to maybe 120dB.

Even without a muzzle device of any kind, hi power rifle report is in excess of 160dB.

Here's some further reading should anyone like to educate themselves;.

precisionrifleblog.com

Muzzle Brakes: Sound Test

I thought about these muzzle brake tests for over a year before I started this field test. We all kn...
precisionrifleblog.com precisionrifleblog.com


This reminds me of the thread where guys are discussing pressure testing. Yes, you can buy gauges and stuff, but the hard part is actually calibrating your equipment at 100,000psi...

Ah well, hopefully suppressors are legalized in Canada one day. That probably would make me less grouchy on the topic anyways , 😂
 
Hand Skills said:
The truth costs more than $40, man.

At least in this case.

Amazon spl meters are good to maybe 120dB.

Even without a muzzle device of any kind, hi power rifle report is in excess of 160dB.

Here's some further reading should anyone like to educate themselves;.

precisionrifleblog.com

Muzzle Brakes: Sound Test

I thought about these muzzle brake tests for over a year before I started this field test. We all kn...
precisionrifleblog.com precisionrifleblog.com


This reminds me of the thread where guys are discussing pressure testing. Yes, you can buy gauges and stuff, but the hard part is actually calibrating your equipment at 100,000psi...

Ah well, hopefully suppressors are legalized in Canada one day. That probably would make me less grouchy on the topic anyways , 😂
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Keep dreaming mr skills (about having a suppressor). History shows that, at least in Canada, the only direction things move is towards greater restrictions surrounding firearms, never more freedoms or choices.

Sadly, it also seems like that's starting to be the case, or has been for a while, south of the border as well.
 
Coldfinger said:
Pardon my ignorance but if you still need hearing protection then a suppressor isn't really worth the cost or horse$&it to obtain for supersonic loads?
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion, here is mine.

I use suppressors for supersonic rifle loads. I still need hearing protection, just not nearly as much of it.

I also wear hearing protection when shooting .45acp out of a 5.5" barrel, once again, it's not "Hollywood quiet" with a suppressor but it's WORTH IT to me (and definitely keeps my non shooting neighbors happier with me).

Not having muzzle blast to locate your position MAY be beneficial for getting a 2nd shot on game, the supersonic crack is all along the flight path, doesn't do as much to identify your position as the "point source" of a muzzle blast.

I don't shoot at things which shoot back, those who DO seem to favor suppressors these days with both sub and supersonics if they're not just making noise to keep others heads down.

Subsonics are fun and occasionally even useful to me for close in varmint removal, however at the ranges they're good for (100 yards tops for 300BO 220gr subs due to rainbow trajectory + flight time, on an animal that is moving 50 yards is more realistic IMHO). An "educated" coyote will hear you working a rifle bolt or your brass hitting the ground and know you're "over there" just fine.

(Hell, they can probably hear you breathing and possibly even your heart beat on a calm day at 50 yards, ever watch coyotes catching mice by ear under a foot of snow?)

Obviously, I don't enjoy the regulatory BS or paying several times what the materials/machining + profit margin might be for a similar size/weight/complexity item "made in China".
 
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ATH said:
You will never make a supersonic load hearing safe with a suppressor. But particularly with larger rounds, short barrels, or things with brakes, it eliminates concussion.
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This ^. A supersonic round will still be loud as hell.
 

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