What is your “Loudest” Gun?

327 Federal Magnum in a 4.62 Single Seven with AE Federal 100 grn loads. The 30 Carbine won’t top it. JMHO

The OP stated:

This is excluding muzzle devices and porting.

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Seems quite a few responders can’t read too well. Sorry, ignoring the OP’s request is a pet peeve of mine.

To me, my perceived loudest is my Contender 10” .30 Carbine barrel, although shooters beside me comment about my 10” .30 Whisper firing supersonic loads....


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Of course, I never voluntarily fire anything without hearing protection.
An unintentional discharge of a .38 left me deaf for an hour and certainly contributed to my tinnitus. You couldn't pay me to fire my Mosin Nagant without plugs in.
Which wasn't in the same game as the one my friend had with a muzzle brake installed.

Deus Machina said:

An unintentional discharge of a .38 left me deaf for an hour and certainly contributed to my tinnitus. You couldn't pay me to fire my Mosin Nagant without plugs in.

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Ouch. I know how that feels. I ruined my hearing back in the 80's by getting squashed in the front row of a Gary Moore gig without earplugs and dropping my earmuffs in the middle of an IPSC stage THE SAME WEEK, and pretty much finished it off spotting for a buddy of mine in Africa, plugging my ears ½ a second AFTER he fired a braked .375H&H two feet from my left ear. In a sense, nothing feels that loud anymore through my world class tinnitus, but loud noises just seem to hurt without being otherwise perceptibly loud.

Then again, loud guns have a certain intimidation factor that has its place in HD situations. Providing that you're wearing muffs, really.

Mine is probably the .440 CorBon Desert Eagle.
I was testing a few loads while visiting a pal at his home/range.
Firing 75 yds. away from the house with a building directly between the house and the firing line.
My buddy's wife called his cell and told to 'stop shooting that dam* cannon'.
Only time she has ever complained.

hq said:

plugging my ears ½ a second AFTER he fired a braked .375H&H two feet from my left ear.

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For me it was a .264 fired a few feet behind and to my right while two of us were clearing the brush of
diseased chickens with trench guns. The whole story is a bit more involved.

hq said:

In a sense, nothing feels that loud anymore through my world class tinnitus, but loud noises just seem to hurt without being otherwise perceptibly loud.

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Sounds like (no pun intended) we could be brothers.
And I know exactly what you are talking about, every day.
It's like there is someone in your head playing with the volume control of the ringing.

JT

460 S&W Magnum easily the loudest gun I own and have ever shot. I know it said excluding porting and muzzle brakes but it came from the factory that way so I think it counts.

Jessesky said:

Another posters discussion about self defense and lack of ear pro got me thinking.

From hunting rifles to snubbie revolvers and everything in between, What is the loudest gun you own, or have shot without ears? how does it compare? What would you never consider as an emergency or practical rifle because it’s too jarring? This is excluding muzzle devices and porting.

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Smith and Wesson model 65 with 110 hollow points pushed by a max load of h110. I have ear protection hanging with my rifle. I don't want to lose any more hearing.

460 S&W, it does have the porting and muzzle brakes but I don't know if you can get them without it.

My Glock 19C seems particularly loud to me compared to my 38's and 357's. While on duty I've been near a .40S&W and a 30-30 fired indoors, both were downright painful with lasting effects.

Trunk Monkey said:

There's absolutely no question this

View attachment 813977

Is the loudest gun I've ever fired, nothing else even comes close.

It destroyed my hearing the very first time I shot it.

As a matter of fact I'm sitting here writing this post and my ears are ringing

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I spent 8 years shooting those things. M110 8" Howitzer. 13 Echo. Definately loud. A loud you can feel through your whole body.

Besides artillery my M1A scout squad with the compensator is pretty brutal. especially if someone is on the next bench. I have had people pack up and move down a few benches.

My hearing is bad, but I've been shooting and listing to loud rock music for years. I just love to crank up some 5FDP in my Ford F150 , on the way to the range to put some rounds through my Jack build. I love the Lantac Dragon. It's my loudest AR.

DukeConnor said:

I spent 8 years shooting those things. M110 8" Howitzer. 13 Echo. Definately loud. A loud you can feel through your whole body.

Besides artillery my M1A scout squad with the compensator is pretty brutal. especially if someone is on the next bench. I have had people pack up and move down a few benches.

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13E is FDC

When I had a 300 Weatherby it was the loudest thing I had. Now my 3" Ruger Sp-101 in 357 is my loudest.

The loudest gun is have experienced was a 5”-54 gun mount firing on my ship. We were firing off the coast of Puerto Rico for quals. Some dipstick on the bridge forgot to announce that firing was about to commence. I walked out on deck just as the gun fired.
What DukeConner said is no joke. You hear it through your entire body. Shivered me timbers! Haha

I would have to say the gun that I have that is just too doggone loud is my AR-15. I don’t know if it’s louder than my other guns (45-70, 12 gauges, 30-30’s, .357 Magnum revolvers, etc) but it just has a frequency that rocks my head even with ear plugs. I wouldn’t shoot it without hearing protection.

.44s. Full house magnums or black powder.

Trunk Monkey said:

13E is FDC

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Correct

Never fired it (yet) without hearing protection but my loudest is probably the .257 Weatherby I picked up about 8 months ago. Touching off anywhere from 66 to 72 grains of powder, ( depending on what hand load is being fired) out of a 25 caliber barrel will get your attention for sure.

DukeConnor said:

Correct

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FDC doesn't shoot. They sit in the 577 playing cards

My Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver.

Trunk Monkey said:

FDC doesn't shoot. They sit in the 577 playing cards

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Correct

Loudest gun I have is a 257 Roberts. I was shooting loads for a workup. There was a guy on the bench to my left who had been shooting an AR and a couple of 22s. No big deal. I write down a velocity from the chrono and put the next round in. I squeeze the trigger and BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I thought my gun had exploded. I had plugs and muffs in and I felt like I had been kicked in the chest. I look at my gun. Everything looks fine. Pull out the brass, looks normal. I look over to my left and they guy had pulled out his "deer rifle" (his words, not mine). It was a 338 RUM with a brake. I didn't know that we had experienced an influx of armor-plated mule deer. We had fired them at the exact same time. Needless to say, I was done for the day. Even with plugs and muffs, my ears were ringing a little.

The actual loudest gun I own has to be my M44s or M38 mosins. Even if they're not really the loudest, the fireballs they produce make your brain think they are.

Matt

Magnaported .45-70 T/C Contender. Far too oppressive in an indoor range, even doubled up. Plus, the concussion blows out all the wall furnaces. Just a couple rounds and everyone is ready to throw your ass out.

I concur. Even shooting one into the test tube at the shop, the pressure coming straight back out of the grommet was something to behold, and it was still loud even with the barrel mostly inside.

My Winchester M70 Featherweight in 30-06 barks pretty good. I've been told by hunting buddies that they always know when its me shooting.
My Blackhawk in 45 Colt (In my Avatar) gets peoples attention at the indoor range.

-Jeff

Standing right beside a Barrett M82A1 before I could get my muffs on.....