Smart *** gunshop clerk

[Dentite]

I think you will find that the majority of shooters that shoot suppressed tend to have multiple suppressors. I am certainly in that group. Given their relative high cost (including tax stamp) and the hassel of setting up trusts and having to wait forever for BATFE to get their act together, you need to ask yourself if suppressors do so little - then why are there so many repeat customers? New manufacturers are sprining up every year. Form 4 submissions are at an all-time high. And all this is happening in light of the fact that suppressors 'aren't worth it'? Perhap's the emporer has no clothes after all.

Great point. Don't know anyone who got a suppressor and regretted it. They might be out there, but definitely in the minority.

 

[MtPockets]

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.

Like jpfrog said- put spares in the glovebox of any rig you might take shooting.
Cheap insurance!

 

[RB II]

x

 

[azsugarbear]

I have found that many times (although not always) hanging a suppressor off the end of a barrel changes the harmonics of the barrel and makes the groups smaller. In several of my rifles, it has made my loads and my rifle more accurate.

 

[Bob Wright]

I made the mistake of shooting my braked 7RM with my hearing pro laying laying on the table. It's like someone stabbed me in the ear canal with an icepick..
I am looking to get my first suppressor this year. In the meantime, I now have electronic hunting type ear plugs which were very good this last hunt on the same rifle.
35 years in noisy machine shops plus hunting ruined my hearing.

 

[Rflshootr]

35 years in noisy machine shops plus hunting ruined my hearing.

Huh?

 

[JTH]

Huh?

Don't want to end up needing one of these? Get a suppressor.

 

[Im4u2nvrc]

I bought my 1st suppresor to help manage the recoil on a 300Wby that is Ackley improved. It made a big difference in managing recoil. I use one for my 300PRC. Same results. Both rifles gain around 100fps with the same can. I have seen it slow a round down in a long barrel 22. The added barrel length, with the can, and the small amount of gas from a rimfire cartridge, loses pressure before the projectile leaves the barrel.

 

[JAYgs8163]

Bought 1, bought 2, bought 3, one in jail!

 

[Allen Kitts]

For what its worth I was at the range this weekend and the guy next to us was shooting a Barrett MRAD in 300 PRC, suppressed, and I did not need my muffs on while he was shooting. I do not know what type of brake he was using but it worked pretty darn good. I know myself and the (2) guys I was shooting with were amazed at how much it quieted down the 300PRC.

 

[cohunt]

So many times people misunderstand OSHA rules. Hearing pro is based on industrial noise in a sustained environment primarily. One time noise levels and sound impact on the ear drum are another issue, separate from industrial work. There is a pile of information out there to help a person understand it all if they want to look into instead of just spewing some OSHA rule that is not designed around shooting. In the end, a rifle is still loud, it can still damage your hearing, but so can a ****ed off wife.

Hearing Protection - American Suppressor Association

HEARING PROTECTION Protect Your Hearing Noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus are two of the most common afflictions for recreational shooters and hunters. Everyone knows that gunfire is loud, but very few people understand the repercussions that shooting can have on their hearing until it’s...

americansuppressorassociation.com

There we go- that's more like it.

We can't just say " my suppressor is hearing safe"-- there are a multitude of conditions that can change or quantify that satement.

A suppressor on a specific rifle that measures 140dB at your ear really isn't " hearing safe"-- as impulse noise can cause hearing loss at 140db-- at 138 or 139 -- it might be safe now-- but for how long? How many shots

If we use the chart you provided--- impulse noises at 130 dB are " safe" for .879 seconds-- so if we consider the average time of a gun shot being about .002 seconds long--- a suppressor that reduced the sound at your ear to 130 dB would be "hearing safe" for about 440 shots-- so how do we figure out the non-lineral equation for "safe" in between? (especially since sound levels are abstract in that for every 10dB rise you actually double the amount of noise.) You have to use recording devices that measure using "time weighted, and peak dB units"

So at 139dB you might get a few shots before damage but at 130 you might get 400 shots

1 shot from a 357 mag pistol emits the equivalent "noise" of more that 40 hours in a noisy work place. That's a weeks worth of noise in .002 seconds ( close to that of a nagging wife )

BUT you can't use a $40 amazon sound meter or a phone app to measure impulse noise you'll need a special meter that costs several thousand (or you can actually rent them for a couple hundred per day) --

BUT if you measure the sound of your 308 win rifle with a 24" barrel , with specific ammo then change any variable -- the sound level will change--
20" barrel? More noise- different ammo ? More or less noise-- 300wm with same suppressor? More noise-- you get my point-- a 300 bo won't emit the same dB as a 300wm

I have dealt with osha and msha noise regulations for over 35 years--- the only real way to know when hearing damage may start is by using sampling equipment that measures in "time weighted units" --- and the only real 100% way of preventing hearing loss with loud impulse noises is hearing protection ( plugs or muffs or both).

So to say that suppressors with super sonic ammo are "hearing safe" isn't really correct-- you would need to explain what you mean-- safe for 1 shot with my handloads in my rifle at a specific altitude in specific weather conditions --- or safe for a range officer for 8 hours of continuous work shift--- huge differences in between

If we really get down to it--- anything that has an impulse can also physically "jolt" your body if you are close to it or holding it.....that physical " impulse/jolt" to your body can actually cause damage to your hearing too even if you wear appropriate hearing protection....examples would be jack hammers,holding a small arms fire arms like rifles, and go 1 step bigger, think the impulse concussion of a howitzer at close proximity --- the physical vibration to your body can actually cause hearing loss even when appropriate hearing protection is used---- but that's a whole 'nother subject in and of itself

So generally speaking " hearing safe" suppressors don't really exist for supersonic ammo unless you are hunting and only fire 1 or 2 shots

And for reference-- yes I own suppressors, and love them but they have their uses and limitations

I feel that " hearing safe suppressors" are a marketing term used buy suppressor manufacturers to help sell product.

 

[Grey Goast]

Remember a deaf man can feel the percussion of air from a break and less push on his shouder but he wont never hear whats around him or the truth because he's deaf.

 

[kdstitt]

I can't imagine anyone getting a suppressor and not absolutely loving it. Everyone that I know that has gotten one say's, "I can't believe I waited this long." Including myself. I don't think I would even buy a rifle that wasn't threaded. Well, for full price anyway!

 

[DUCKMAN11]

I own 2 suppressors. One is a cgs hyperion which was and might still be the quietest 30cal can on the market and with my cva scout in 300blk with subs it's literally movie quiet. With supers it's still really quiet. But at 100yds or less the hogs still run when their buddy gets smacked.....they just don't know which way to run lol.

That same suppressor on my 300prc is still loud. After 3-5 shots I can tell that it's too loud and grab some ear plugs.

When shooting fast cartridges of 2,500fps or faster.....its still loud. Hearing safe.....probably but its still loud. Our rifle range is about 200yds from camp thru the mesquite's and I can still hear guys shooting a 6.5cm suppressed so take that for what it's worth.

What a suppressor does do for the hunter is make our sound signature much less noticeable for the neighbors.

My cousin lives on a 1 acre lot just outside of the city limits surrounded on 3 sides by about 1,400 acres of agricultural fields. These fields were being absolutely destroyed by feral hogs. My cousin asked the land owner if he could shoot the hogs and the farmer said he didn't want to hear WW3 kicking off 400yds from his house. My cousin asked the farmer to get in his pickup and roll up his windows. Luckily this was in June and that AC in that old dodge was cranked on high. My cousin went inside and got his suppressed 5.56....fired 3 shots into the ditch 40yds away from the pickup. Farmer said he couldn't hear a thing. My cousin has shot over 400 hogs off that place in the last 5 years plus a few coyotes. He's now got rites/access to hunt close to 3,000 acres....for free....right out his back door.

Long story short..... being quiet and effective can open some doors especially to varmint/predator hunters.