.357 noise!!!!! looking for a carry load that won't blow out my eardrums.

[WonderNine]

I'm looking for a load out there that produces less noise than the typical .357 magnum. I'm looking for an even better carry load for my Cop Industries .357 derringer. It has a short barrel and is as loud as a snubby when fired. I already have a nice load that doesn't recoil too badly and doesn't deafen me when I fire it without earplugs at the outdoor range with the 125gr. Remington Golden Saber that I currently use, but I'm considering that I may have to fire it indoors someday. My ears ring firing this even outdoors, I'm really concerned that I may pop an eardrum or two having to shoot this indoors or especially in an enclosed space.

In my experience HEAVIER grain bullets produce the same energy with less noise than smaller grain bullets do per powder charge. Does anyone out there have any suggestions as to a good carry load in the heaver grain range that produces at least 400 ft/lbs. of energy? I kinda like the 165 grain Remington CoreLokt loads at 610ft/lbs, but they recoil pretty heavy and are actually slightly louder than the 125gr. Golden Sabers.....

Remember this will be for semi-close quarters so I'm not really worried about bullet drop and I don't care about expansion regardless.

 

[stans]

Any 357 load that gets the energy level you desire is going to be loud. It has been my experience that all firearms are loud, especially at close quarters or indoors. Even pellet rifles can be pretty loud indoors.

 

[WonderNine]

Hell, I'd be willing to load my .357's with 200 grain if it would achieve at least 400/ft.lbs and not destroy my hearing indoors.

 

[mtnbkr]

How about some 220gr full wadcutters at 900fps? That gets you 396ft/lbs. I tried that bullet with 4.5grs of Unique for about 750fps out of a 4" barrel. I didn't chrono it, but 5grs worked fine as far as visible pressure signs go. I have a 5.5gr load that I will be testing this week (accuracy only).

The loads aren't loud, the recoil isn't bad (better than my 180gr hunting/hiking load). Being a full wadcutter, they ought to make a nice hole.

Oh, just noticed you are shooting a derringer. Never mind.

Chris

 

[Pappy John]

Are you using earplugs or muffs? Using a .357 indoors I might use both.

 

[WonderNine]

Oh, just noticed you are shooting a derringer. Never mind.

It's not really a derringer. Think of it as a snubby.

 

[chaim]

I have a feeling that .38spl or .38+P are probably your best solutions to your concerns. I can tell that this doesn't sound like what you want to hear, sorry.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Get better hearing protection

My first question would be to ask what kind of hearing protection you are using.

Using plugs or muffs alone is good, but you can still do better. A combination of foam plugs and quality muffs is about as good as it gets. The only other option would be to totally encase your head in acoustical foam. It works great but it's not very practical and makes for lousy groups .

If you are using no hearing protection at all, well, I've got an entirely different post for that particular brand of stupidity.

Guns are loud, and there's no way to get around it other than to use as much quality hearing protection as is practical. Even a .22 is loud enough to permanently damage your hearing. Switching to light .357s or .38 Spl really doesn't gain you anything in terms of decibels. You will notice a difference in muzzle blast (which is a function of gas volume) but the sound pressure levels (how loud it is) remain about the same.

If you are already doubling up and your ears are still bothering you, you might with to see an audiologist just to make sure that everything is okay.

As far as carry loads are concerned, it's a no brainer. Get the most effective loads you can afford and to heck with how "loud" it is. Your life is worth far more than a few dB of hearing loss so DO NOT CUT CORNERS ON PERSONAL DEFENSE AMMO! As another forum member has stated on several occasions, "It's better to be a little deaf than a little dead."

Brad

 

[rock jock]

Don't worry about the report in a HD situation. I had a ND in my house last year and the ringing disapated after about 30 minutes. Worst case is you get a small amount of permanent hearing damage. Better that than lose your life. Practicing w/o as much hearing protection as possible, though, is plain stupidity.

 

[chaim]

rock jock,

I have been using .38+P out of my .357s out of worry of hearing damage from .357s indoors so I am interested in your experience. What ammo was in the gun (brand, how many grains)? What was the barrel length? Other than the temporary ringing that went away were there any other effects? Any perminant damage? Did you already have any hearing damage (I have minor tinnitus (sp?) and I'm not sure what difference having perfect hearing or minor damage already at the time may have)?

I still have worries about overpenatration in a SD situation w/ .357mag though, at least in weights above 110gr.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I wear foam plugs and ear muffs both at the range.

When it comes to packing a gun to save my life and/or property, I really don't care about recoil, muzzle flash, noise, or anything else. If I ever need it, the only three things that will matter are shot placement, shot placement, and shot placement.

 

[JohnKSa]

If you're regularly making your ears ring then you've already destroyed a good part of your hearing.

Any time your ears ring after a loud noise, some level of permanent damage has occurred.

Your brain will try to compensate for the hearing damage initially, but as you age and begin to experience the normal hearing loss that comes with getting older, yours will be much faster and profound than it would have been otherwise.

IMO, it's not wise to do any shooting practice, even outdoors, without hearing protection. In a defensive situation, you probably won't hear the sound of the shot (auditory exclusion), so there's no reason to try to make that a part of your training.

BTW, I'm not saying auditory exclusion will protect your ears, just that it usually prevents a person's brain from registering the noise.

A friend of mine who killed an attacker with a .357 indoors said that it was several minutes before someone finally told her that the smoke detector had been going off since the shot due to the smoke. Auditory exclusion prevented her from even hearing it until someone brought it to her attention. BTW, she feels that the single shot she fired and the two shots fired by the attacker left her with hearing damage--both were from full size revolvers--hers a .357, the attacker's a .38.

 

[tbeb]

One of the mildest .357 magnum loads is the Winchester USA 110 gr. JHP. I once fired 6 rds outside, without ear protection, and it hurt. Any gunshot is loud, and there is no solution. Shoot, one range session I fired .22 long rifles from a rifle, without ear protection, and it hurt.

 

[Hal]

I'm looking for an even better carry load for my Cop Industries .357......

Ahh, so YOU'RE the one that got the one that worked, huh?
Seriously, there's a ton of valid reasons why that COP should be a curio instead of something you stake your life on.