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357. Mag hearing question.

6K views 38 replies 32 participants last post by  hogdaddy 
#1 ·
Looking to pick up a .357 for defensive carry (Currently use .45 or 9mm).. I keep reading around the internet about how the .357 will blow your ear drums out if used inside and even outside and stories about people who shot them without ear protection for the first time throwing the gun thinking it has exploded.

I have tired to find some dB measures to compare a .357 to other guns, and some places list a .45 acp louder than the .357 mag and others have the .357 mag louder, (only 5 dB louder/less seems to be the ) but most have a consensus that the .357 is about 10dB louder than a .38. If I recall right 10dB= twice the loudness based on the human ear.

So .357? is a myth that its soo freaking loud.

I guess also what makes one bullet louder than the other? I know the speed of the bullet supersonic vs subsonic, but is it the overall amount of powder?
 
#30 ·
ChuckAZ,

I have been shooting the .357mag for over 30 years and it is very loud. It seems to have a sharper "crack" than other calibers. That "crack" tends to feel like an ice pick being driven into the ear.....hmmm is Sharon Stone anywhere around??

In a defensive situation, everything I have read, pretty much tells me you won't heat the gun going off. Practice however is another situation all together. Please wear proper hearing protection or you could literaly loose your hearing in your older years. Probably not a lifestyle you would want to live.

tex
 
#34 ·
in a car?

While firing in SD inside my home is a concern, does anyone having any thoughts about firing a large-caliber handgun such as a .357 Magnum or .45 inside a car, particularly with the windows closed? That is a possible scenario.
Of course, better to lose some hearing than to be dead. I have thought of this issue before, and that is one of the reasons I normally carry a Kahr CW9 for a BUG. A few weeks ago, two guys tried to carjack me. I happened to be carrying a hi-capacity 9mm that did, and fortunately I didn't have to fire. I wonder what possible permanent hearing damage might result if a .45 or .357 Magnum were fired inside a car, particularly with the windows closed.
My normal carry is a 1911 .45.
 
#37 ·
If you have to shoot inside without protection and you save your life, a little hearing loss (most likely short term) is worth the price. Odds are you will not have to but be prepared.
 
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