chicharrones
needs more ammo
Ok, this thread prompted me to do a little testing:
I downloaded a decibel meter app to my phone, problem is it was limited to 100db, so I couldn't use it close to the weapon. So I put the phone just inside the picture window of my living room while I went out on the front porch, about 10 feet away with the barrel at a 45% angle.
My grand daughter was watching Snow White in the next room and my wife was cooking lunch in the kitchen, so the ambient noise in the house was between 50 and 60db.
All of the 9mm were Blazer Brass 115gr RN.
I had my daughter write down the readings as I fired the following just for the fun of it:
PCC 9mm - 63db
M9A3 - 57db
STR-9 - 62db
CPX-2 - 78db
G-19 - 64db
XD-40 - 71db (165gr FN Blazer aluminum)
Taurus .357 - 66db (158gr HP Blazer Brass)
.25 acp - did not even register above ambient
.22/25 lite- 62db (winchester 36gr hp)
10/22 carbine- did not register above ambient. (Winchester 36g hp)
.32 acp - 69db
I'm not 100% convinced about the performance of my phone mic or the app because my daughter said the .357 was the loudest of them all to her and it seemed that way to me also. But it is interesting to see some data to support that there really isn't a significant difference between the carbine and the pistols.
That right there is what illustrates why smart phones and their apps can't record the super short impulse of gun fire. I had similar findings when I did this myself years ago.
I'm thinking the only way a low end decibel meter could pick up gun fire more accurately is possibly when a full auto firearm is emptying a 30 round magazine. Even then, it must have a range much higher than 100 decibels.