357 Noise and Flash vs. 9mm Auto

[8shot357]

At the range I go to, a lot of people shoot 9mm. I'll be shooting my 9mm, and when I switch over to my .357 a sometimes they come over to see what I'm shooting. Sometimes I'll put my .357 down and show them my little .38 snub. Just this little thing. I can't wait to show them my mini NAA 22 next time.

[Discern]

The shorter the barrel, the more muzzle blast (noise) and muzzle flash (light). Some ammo is made to have a green/blue muzzle flash. This generally does not cause the temporary loss of vision that regular muzzle flash can cause when shooting in low light conditions.

[GP100man]

snakyjake

Come to Myrtle Beach SC for your next vacation ,then call me & come shoot all ya want in the dark !!

Only a hand full of people will hear ya & there used to it so they don`t pay it any mind but try not to test anything after 12am.

Mid level performance from a 357 with less "crack" & flame is obtainable from the rite powders.

My hearing is already damaged from firearms (hunting) , my advise is wear it if ya can !!
Shoot without it if you must!

"My Friend The 357 Magnum"

[Webleymkv]

All handgun cartridges, even .22 Long Rifle, are loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage if fired without ear protection. As far as the noise and flash of a .357 Magnum, it depends. Generally, revolvers with shorter barrels will be louder and flashier than revolvers with longer barrels assuming the same ammo is used. Also, ammunition using heavier bullets will generally have less flash and blast than ammo using lighter ones.

About the loudest and flashiest .357 Magnum ammo commonly available (boutique makers like Double Tap and Buffalo Bore excluded) is the full-power 125gr loadings from Winchester, Remington, and Federal. These loadings deliver a very impressive fireball even in broad daylight and the noise from them is not only quite loud, but also very "sharp". My preference in a .357 Magnum are the heavier 140-158gr loadings partly because they have much less flash and much, much less offensive report.

[ScotchMan]

So heavier bullets are more effective, and less damaging to hearing. So why use light bullets?

[Webleymkv]

So heavier bullets are more effective, and less damaging to hearing. So why use light bullets?

Whether or not heavy bullets are more effective is a topic of debate, some feel that they are and others feel that they aren't. Lighter bullets do, however, generally have less felt recoil. I can say from first hand experience that 158gr .357 Magnums do recoil noticeably more than 125gr ones do, but the difference is not significant enough to me to disuade me from loading 158's.

[Daryl]

The .357 is, IMO, the absolute worst for your hearing if you shoot it without hearing protection. I know, because I used to shoot a lot of .357 mag ammo as a teen-ager. The noise made me feel like someone had slapped me in the face with a fly-swatter. It's bad without hearing protection, and that's the reason I no longer own a .357 mag revolver.

There was a time when that's all I owned, btw.

A 9mm isn't nearly as loud.

I use hearing protection when shooting targets, even with a .22 LR, but when I'm hunting, well...

The same would hold true of a self-defense situation. A BG isn't going to stand around while you stick ear plugs in. I carry a .38 special much of the time, and it's far less punishing than a .357 mag.

Daryl

[Jeremiah/Az]

I have almost every handgun caliber from .22 thru .44 mag & to me, the blast of the .357 mag is the most piercing sound. I always wear hearing & eye protection. I cannot imagine firing a .357 mag inside without hearing protection! That is why it is not my SD round.

[Colorado Redneck]

http://www.keepandbeararms.com/infor...em.asp?id=2052

From the "Keep and Bear Arms" website:

CENTERFIRE PISTOL DATA

.25 ACP 155.0 dB
.32 LONG 152.4 dB
.32 ACP 153.5 dB
.380 157.7 dB
9mm 159.8 dB
.38 S&W 153.5 dB
.38 Spl 156.3 dB
.357 Magnum 164.3 dB
.41 Magnum 163.2 dB
.44 Spl 155.9 dB
.45 ACP 157.0 dB
.45 COLT 154.7 dB

An increase of ten decibels is a 10 fold increase in sound pressure. Thus, the 357 mag at 164.3 decibels is 10 times "louder" than a 45 colt, at 154.7 decibels.

[rdmallory]

WEAR YOU HEARING PROTECTION!

It don't grow back..


Doug

[FairWarning]

1. Oh yes.
2. Oh yes.

I shot a .357 Mag ONCE as a youth without hearing protection. ONCE. I used to routinely shoot 9mm without protection (yeah I know) around the same time and it was no big deal, but .357? No freakin' way! I love full house .357 for the thrill of shooting, but use much lighter loads if I carry, but I always favor the 9mm for carry anyway. 9mm is really quite gentle for a premier level SD caliber (when using excellent ammo).

[Dragline45]

Posted this before, but about 5 and a half months ago I fired off a single .357 round at an indoor range with my left ear plug out and it left me with an unbearable ringing in my ear 24/7 for 4 months. As I said its about 5 and a half months in and it still rings faintly to this day but I dont notice it unless it is absolutely dead quiet or for some reason when I drink heavily. Those 4 months were the worst 4 months of my life and I am extremely thankful the ringing let up as much as it did and I can only hope it lets up completely. The condition is called Tinnitus and results from exposure to loud noise. Tiny hairs in your ear that pick up high frequency noise get damaged and it results in your ear/ears ringing, which usually will let up in anywhere from a few hours to a few days. But on extreme cases the ringing can last anywhere from a few months to a year, and if it does not go away in that time frame you are stuck with the ringing for life. All it takes is a single exposure, it does not matter your previous history with exposure to loud noises, and the worst part is there is no cure yet. Almost everyone when put into a silent room will hear some degree of faint ringing but when you suffer from tinnitus it is far more intense. Trust me when I say you absolutely do not want to risk getting tinnitus, if you carry a .357 for SD I would choose an alternate gun for home defense because believe me when I say you do not want to tap off a .357 indoors without ear protection.

By the way for those doubting that this can happen to them and think it is not very common, talk to a military vet who saw action or even some during drills that fired their rifles alot without hearing protection. Chances are their ears are ringing as well. Its no joke.

[orionengnr]

I own and carry handguns from .45 acp to .45LC to (less frequently) 9mm, 10mm, .357 Mag and .41 Mag.

Whichever gun I carry in the daytime sleeps beside me at night. If it becomes an SD gun at some point during the night, so be it.

I'd rather be deaf than dead.

[Dragline45]

I'd rather be deaf than dead.

Deaf is one thing, that I could deal with but thankfully I did not suffer any hearing loss my hearing is still at 100%. But untill your ear rings like a broken TV day in and day out you might think differently. As I said before that 4 months was the worst 4 months of my life, legit torture.

[Andy Taylor]

I carry a .357 on the street. My bedside guns are .38, .44 Special, or .45 Colt. I do not load .357 for inside the house. Way to loud.

[hermannr]

Many years ago I had a dumb person discharge a .44 mag before I could put my hearing protection on...I felt sound afterwords, I did not hear properly for over a week and I was a teen at the time. The .357 is not quite that loud, but it will give you an idea.

Now that my ears are shot from years in the military, hunting and other dumb things without hearing protection, I normally will not shoot anything (Not even a .22 short) without some hearing protection.

A good while back (months) I shot (one shot) a 7.62X25 out of a CZ52, without protection (my stupidity, I know better, but the bear was closer to my muffs than I was), I still do not hear as well as I did before...I can "feel" the sounds, kind of like with the 44 mag incident, but it hasn't gone away this time. The background noises are not something you want live with for the rest of your life.

Please, do not intentially fire anything, (not even a .22) without protection, unless it is to save your life. Your ears will thank you.

[old bear]

YES!! Don't Do It. Hearing loss is no fun, believe me, please.

[Deja vu]

I love the 357 magnum but in my experience it is loud! I would say my 357 magnum J-frame is louder than my 45/70 BFR.

[fdreano]

"The 38 is very loud, and will make your ears ring for a few seconds. Your ears will go numb, and it will be like having ear protection while you continue to shoot....."

Afraid not pal....it will be much more like, "...permanently destroying your hearing"

[Don P]

Am I going to ruin my hearing firing 9mm +p? I don't want to learn by trial and error

Do you wear hearing protection?

Is it possible to have long term hearing damage if I try the 357 mag without hearing protection?

Should I assume you are not wearing hearing protection?

If you choose to shoot without hearing protection you will at some point in your life continually saying what, what , what, repeat, repeat, repeat.

[WESHOOT2]

1) No.

2) No.

[Lost Sheep]

snakyjake
Is it possible to have long term hearing damage if I try the 357 mag without hearing protection?

Guaranteed.

Better a permanent ringing in your ears than a permanent hole in your head.

When I bought my first gun 6" (.357 magnum) I went out into the desert and shot 50 38 Specials and 6 .357 rounds. The 38s were not too bad. The .357s made my ears ring. They didn't stop for weeks.

Never again.

Check with a hearing doctor or just Google "Hearing Loss". All hearing damage is cumulative. It does not heal. Once degraded, it stays degraded.

Lost Sheep

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by fdreano

Afraid not pal....it will be much more like, "...permanently destroying your hearing"

Wrong. Afraid so, pal. Yes it will very much be like having ear protection while you continue to shoot. Ear protection while you listen to music. Ear protection while you try to have conversations with your loved ones. Ear protection while you try to get directions from your boss. Ear protection that you can never take off for the rest of your life.

Lost Sheep

[ShaulWolf]

Ok... you asked about noise and flash specifically relating to a CCW setting, I'm going to be guessing home defense as well.

My dad and I found out the hard way how loud a .357 magnum is. It's loud. Make your ears ring and everything muted for a day loud. Then after a few more days the ringing starts to fade away. This was done outdoors where the sound could dissipate easier. If I had done that indoors it would have been much more painful and disorienting.

I've shot my S&W 586 at dusk to see what low light shooting was like. The muzzleflash is pretty bright and harsh. It completely wrecked whatever night vision I had started developing to that point.

Now the recoil you feel depends on the weapon. My 586 has a 6" barrel and is fairly heavy. I didn't feel it all too much, but I was awake and alert. If I had just woken up and was responding to someone breaking into my home in the middle of the night I'd probably be wishing I had loaded .38 spl +p rounds instead. That's just me though.

As for a 9mm... My experience is limited to shooting the Beretta M9. My ear protection popped out on the firing line while we were getting ready to qualify with our pistols and I was greeted to the sound of 50 pistols firing off at once. My shooting coach saw the earplug on the ground and handed me another before the targets reappeared for the next burst. It hurt, but it wasn't as bad as my 586. My ears definitely rang a little, but I didn't have to have people repeat words to me. I couldn't tell you about muzzleflash from a 9mm, but if the noise difference is any indicator, then it probably won't be as bad either.

If you fire anything indoors or without ear protection once or twice, then it won't permanently deafen you. Your hearing might not be as great afterwards, but you'll likely still be able to hear. If you go to the range and just ignore ear protection, then you'll go deaf quickly. Since you asked about personal defense I wouldn't worry about it. How many robbers are going to give you time to throw on earplugs and unlock your weapon to fend them off?

[spacecoast]

So heavier bullets are more effective, and less damaging to hearing. So why use light bullets?

They're a bit less expensive to reload as well as having less felt recoil. I always use the 158s, however, since they are more gun-friendly.