357 mag louder than 44 mag?

[r3volv3r]

I recently encountered a guy who tried to sell me on this exact statement: that the 357 is louder and has more flash than a 44 mag. I found this hard to believe and it seems to defy common sense. Being a long time 357 fan i have very little experience with the 44 mag.

So to you guys who have and shoot both, which one is louder? any db figures? i can't seem to find any numbers for the 44 but my internet searching keeps finding people saying 357 is loudest handgun caliber


keep in mind this has nothing to do with stopping power or recoil. Just noise.

 

[rcmodel]

Factory load .357 runs 35,000 PSI, and the .44 Mag runs 36,000 PSI.
The .44 Mag burns aproximately 7.0 to 8.0 gains more powder with standard (158 vis 240) bullet weights.

Guess which one is louder!

On the otherhand, there are a lot more snubnose .357's anymore then there used to be, and they very well might be louder then a 4" or 6" .44 Mag.

rc

 

[Walkalong]

.357 has more of a "crack" than .44.

.32-20 might be worse than that! It has an ear splitting crack!

 

[rcmodel]

+1

32-20 WCF & .30 Carbine Blackhawk is as bad as it gets in normal calibers for a sharp piercing crack!

Jury's still out on the .327 Federal, but I don't see how it could be any different then those two.

rc

 

[BCRider]

So much more enters in this. Already mentioned is the barrel length. Then there's the powder that the rounds use, bullet weight, and on and on. If he's comparing a .357 snubbie or 4 inch to a hunting style .44 that has an 8 or more inch barrel then it truly is like comparing apples to armadillos....

 

[IMtheNRA]

In general, with average loads, and the same barrel length, the .44 is much more loud than the .357

Of course, I have made some hot .357 loads that are more loud than the mild .44 loads that I tried.

 

[Oro]

Every time a discussion comes up about a handgun cartridge and loudness, keep in mind the speed of sound in most shooting conditions: 1125 fps. Since lots of loadings hover at/around this level, it's a quantum change in perceived "loudness" for those that go over it vs. those just under it. A mild .44 with a heavy projectile will often be just under it, whereas even a moderate .357 with a mid-range bullet will be well over it.

But apples to apples, like rcmodel said in his first post, it's a no-brainer which is louder on average!

 

[sheephearder]

The 357 seams (to me) to have more of a crack to it than the 44, the 44 may be loader but the 357 hurts my ears more. A lot of my hearing was lost do to shooting 357s when I was young and Dumb (dumber) with out hearing protection.

 

[SGW42]

.22 Mag out of my 9.5" Single Six at an indoor range seems to have as much of a "crack" to it as .38 out of a snub. To me anyways.

.357 SIG on an indoor range might be the loudest I've heard personally.

Hard for me to tell at the outdoor range.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

.357 has more of a "crack" than .44.

Agreed. The higher pitch gives it the impression of being louder, but trust me, both are plenty loud.

 

[atlanticfire]

I have a 2+" .357 and a 8+" .44 and can say that they are about equal. Just as like my 4" .44 is close to my 10" .500. All relative, loads, bullet, indoor & outdoor. . . . .

 

[hardluk1]

A 44mag does have quite a BOOM but the 357 will get all on the range look'n around . It does have a crack that can kill your hearing .

 

[bakert]

sheephearder wrote

The 357 seams (to me) to have more of a crack to it than the 44, the 44 may be loader but the 357 hurts my ears more. A lot of my hearing was lost do to shooting 357s when I was young and Dumb (dumber) with out hearing protection.

I have a good friend who hunts with both quite a bit and he claims the sharper crack of the .357 bothers him more than the .44.

 

[MovedWest]

The higher pitch of the 357 bothers my hearing more than the deep, thunderous boom of the 44. I think others hit the nail on the head noting the high pitched "crack" of the 357.

My dad would always double up with plugs and muffs when firing the 357 or 22mag, but would often shoot his 44mag without hearing protection when firing outside. At 74 is hearing is still excellent.

-MW

 

[AKElroy]

This and similar threads are always interesting to me, because we do have common experiences that create these impressions. Which is more snappy, a .40 or .45? Many say .40, no doubt due to more light-weight, plastic guns made in .40. As for .357 being louder, absolutely---When fired from snubbies, which it is much more likely to be fired from vs. the .44. Barrel lengths being equal, the .44 is clearly more ear-abusive, although either will earn you a hearing aid.

 

[Svery]

The sound quality is different which leads to difference perception - hands down the report from a 44 carries more energy of course. The 357 frequency sound spectrum (Fourier transform) will contain a greater contribution from the higher frequency components that the 44 mag I expect.

 

[KevininPa]

Personal Observations

Though not very scientific. My buddy's 4 5/8" Blackhawk is louder than my 4" Smith 686. Though as stated by others, more "crack" to the .357, more "boom" to the .44 mag. Just comparing normal loads. But his hot-loaded hunting rounds are way louder in many ways over my normals. He slipped two of these in a cylinder one time to see my reaction. I don't do hotter loads. Never felt the need. Guess I'm turning into more of a wuss as I get older!

 

[Svery]

Yeah, a boom is typically comprised moreso of low frequency oscillations and sudden or 'crack' sounds have more high frequency components.

Re Recoil: Because its fun. For me anyway. I don't/can't hunt so that aspect is not a factor.

 

[m2steven]

I believe you guys have nailed it. On the range, the 44 has a sonic-boom type explosion. They 357's have a horrendous crack type sound. My .327 magnum has a very similar crack sound to the 357, but I don't think it's as loud. It's really loud though. But for sheer discomfort - the 357 seems to be the most irritating revolver to my ears.

 

[bigione]

Just for info. The old cannon crews would keep their mouths open upon firing. this allowed the pressure inside the ear to more equally balance with the outside pressure. It does reduce the pain from a loud crack.

 

[gunnie]

methinx the crack and boom theory is directly related to bore diameter. the smaller bores creating a higher frequency sound. no doctor here, just my guess.

gunnie

 

[bluetopper]

I do find also the crack of the 357 a lot more ear splitting and irritating. The thunderous boom of the the 44 Mag gets my testosterone flowing.

 

[snooperman]

decibel instrument

It is all relative to powder charge , bullet mass , length of barrel, air temperature and pressure. Only a decibel measuring instrument can settle the matter properly because there are too many variables in the equation to predict which is louder. At times, depending on the said variables, the .357 magnum may be louder, and conversely, the 44 magnum could be louder. My 2 cents as a retired Physics teacher. Snooperman

 

[jglcolosprgs]

sheephearder

The 357 seams (to me) to have more of a crack to it than the 44, the 44 may be loader but the 357 hurts my ears more. A lot of my hearing was lost do to shooting 357s when I was young and Dumb (dumber) with out hearing protection.

Stupid is as stupid does.... I'm in the same boat as sheephearder. I think the 357 has a sharper crack (certainly more painful) than my 44. I screwed up my hearing badly with 357's when I was a kid and now I can't hear my children sing at school.

:banghead:

 

[LTR shooter]

Factory load .357 runs 35,000 PSI, and the .44 Mag runs 36,000 PSI.
The .44 Mag burns aproximately 7.0 to 8.0 gains more powder with standard (158 vis 240) bullet weights.

Guess which one is louder!

To begin , anyone that does not use hearing protection when shooting either must not give a hoot about their hearing or they are already deaf to begin with. I use plugs and muffs when shooting either one.

Comparing my own magnum loads with the 158 in 357 and 240 in 44 my data agrees with the quote above. Using 16 to 17 grains of something like 296 for the 158 vs 24-25 grains with the 240 44.

When shooting my 6" 357 vs my 6 1/2" 44 at the same range session with the above loads the 44 is louder to me. Also the blast , concussion or shockwave - is far more noticeable when I shoot the top 44 mag 240 grain loads vs the top 357 158 grain loads.

Shooting the same weight bullet in each revolver - the 180 grain JHP - using top loads of 296/H110 there is absolutely no doubt that the 44 mag is noticeably louder.

When comparing something like a 125 grain 357 out of a snub vs a 300 grain 44 out of a long barrel I can see how a 357 can be louder.