Quietest gun for self defense

Status
Not open for further replies.
I recall reading an article in a gun magazine about this very subject. The author apparently had a fellow hunter crank a rifle round off when the author was in front of the rifle's muzzle and pretty close. He immediately went to a doctor, who was able to mitigate the damage to his ears by putting him on some type of steroids - somehow that helps the tiny little hair follicles that make your ear work to recover from the sound impulse. Just thought I'd pass that along. He did mention you need to get to the doc in fairly short order.

I use electronic muffs a fair amount instructing on the range, and while you can hear sound okay, I find you lose a lot in terms of direction and quality. When your bacon's on the line there's no substitute for the real thing, IMHO.
 
I find you lose a lot in terms of direction and quality. When your bacon's on the line there's no substitute for the real thing, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Of course, after the first shot, there won't be much of the "real thing" left for the rest of the fight. So, better "get'er done" with that first shot, I guess!
 
By "mild" hearing loss what I really mean is 70db at 4kHz accompanied by loud ringing tinnitus.
Click to expand...

Just where a lot of sound systems have a huge peak...

I've wondered the same thing, and have thought about leaving a suppressor on for home defense. But I think that might be asking for trouble if I ever had to use it and the case went to court (unfortunately you need to think this way in this day and age). I could just see your average juror thinking "what was this guy doing with a silencer on his gun?".

Oddly enough a .45ACP seems to be a big "boom" rather than a "crack" of a 9mm or similar. And it certainly is a good home defense round. I'd go with a longer barrel rather than short. But it is all relative... they're ALL loud!

One of these days I'll do some indoor SPL and frequency spectral analysis of various guns/rounds and post it here.
 
Last edited:
First if noise is a real problem a suppressor is required, period. Second, you will need to a subsonic round. Assuming you will want to stay in a semi auto I would expect the SPL at your ears to fall as below, quiet to loud:

22 Semi Auto rifle (subsonic)
22 Semi auto pistol (subsonic)
9 MM Semi Auto Rifle (subsonic)
9 MM Semi Auto pistol (Subsonic) and a 22 Semi auto rifle (supersonic) I would expect to be fairly close. but I have no data here.

Maybe a M4 with a good suppressor (opinions vary here as to if this will cause damage or not).

After this, it won't be all that quiet. But I wouldn't toss out the Red Jacket Suppressed 12 ga. If cost didn't matter I would definitely go shoot one. If the SPL is low enough I can't imagine a better HD weapon for your usage. They say the SPL is about like a M4 with a suppressor.

Killing in self defense in your own home is not a federal crime. Castle Law (I am not sure all states recognize Castle Law, so you could violate state law regardless of the status of the weapon). Now, if the ownership of the firearm is not legal other charges could apply. So, if you shot an intruder with a suppressed firearm without the correct paperwork you could be charged with a violation of the NFA. This would be a federal crime. This is not to be construed as legal advice, I am not an attorney.
 
Hearing loss sucks and most of us that spend enough time around guns get some or significant hearing loss. When it comes to SD/HD I suppose I could see the use of hearing protection especially since most of the electronic variety amplify quieter noises might help hear if somebody is sneaking around the house.

BUT I put muffs at a much lower priority than getting to the gun. When it comes to using a silencer for HD I would not have a problem with it.
 
First if noise is a real problem a suppressor is required, period. Second, you will need to a subsonic round.
Click to expand...

I'm curious to find out if supersonic versus subsonic has a big difference indoors in a relatively small space. I've noticed it outdoors but the supersonic "crack" tends to echo from quite a distance.
 
Please let me also suggest a mouth cup as worn by boxers etc. Sound damage occurs thru your mouth also and wearing one of these in your mouth is the same as earmuffs for your ears.
 
If you are talking home defence...a suppressed .45 with ammo in the 980fps range. (assuming your state allows suppressors)

Properly suppressed, a sub-sonic .45 will do a lot of damage to the BG, and not hurt your ears. Not something you would want to carry around though.
 
What is going on here? What does mouth protection have to do with hearing protection????

Also, why are we worried about hearing protection when we are using a firearm in a self defense situation???? Believe me, if my life (or my family) is in a shoot - no/shoot situation, I don't care about hearing protection at that moment.

The Dove
 
Hearing loss can also come via bone induction-though the mouth guard is a new one by me, as well.

Get a 5" .45, or 5" 9mm with standard pressure 147s. Regardless, it's going to be loud. Given how extreme things have to be to justify a trigger press, hearing is the least of my concerns at that point, much as mentioned several times above.

I agree about staying away from full-power magnums; I had a ported (weigand) snub that was so loud with the old Federal 125 grain load of yore that I jettisoned it-even with muffs, it was painful.
 
If you have never heard of noise transmission thru the mouth that just means your ignorant of it and need to do some research if you dont believe me. I was responding to the persons concern about hearing loss and I stick by my statement. Get froggy if you want but I wont lay down on this one.
 
Easy Big Man!!! No one is calling you out, I just never heard of it. I do not want to research anything. You feel free to PM me if you wanna debate anything about the topic of hearing protection and noise exposure. I am taking the high road on this one.

The Dove
 
Yes, shotguns are slightly quieter than handguns but they're still in the 150dB range.

The only way to get it to a hearing-safe level is with a suppressor or ear protection. A well-suppressed 9mm with a heavier, slower (non +P) load will probably be around 130-140dB. While this might not be great for your hearing with extended use, it will be far better for your ears when things go bump in the night.

.22s are pretty quiet (under 140dB), but they're also marginal man-stoppers. I don't have a problem using a Ruger MkIII in a self-defense situation, but I'd only choose to do so if the alternative was a knife.

Electronic muffs are another option - just make sure to practice getting them on in a hurry, in the dark.

I actually do most of my practice shooting at an indoor range, and I will say that everything is LOUD in a confined space. Even though shotguns are quieter than handguns they certainly do boom in a rather disorienting way when they go off indoors.
 
As far as unsuppressed firearms go, a pistol, a 16" to 18" barreled intermediate caliber rifle, and an 18" to 20" shotgun are all roughly the same loudness in terms of peak dBA. This link was posted upthread but it bears repeating:

http://www.freehearingtest.com/hia_gunfirenoise.shtml

A pistol-caliber carbine with as long a barrel as possible, and shooting subsonic ammunition, would probably have a lower peak dBA than pistols/rifles/shotguns. Something like a 9mm or .45 Marlin Camp Carbine, Kel-Tec Sub-2000, semiauto Uzi carbine, etc. shooting 147gr subsonics in 9mm or 230gr JHP in .45. Be aware that you arguably give up a bit of effectiveness with the subsonics and probably get more penetration in building materials.
 
Personally, I choose my SD firearms based on what I believe to be the most effective for my capabilities. I do not choose HD/SD firearms or ammo based on how loud they may be indoors. I'm not going to try and stop BGs with a quieter, but less-effective weapon because the BGs will do more harm than some hearing damage.

It's better to be a living hearing-disadvantaged musician than a dead one. (BTW, there are plenty of partially-deaf musicians, I thought it was part of the job!)
 
Thanks for the input everyone.

To my knowledge, Tennessee does not allow suppressors unless you have a class C license.

It's better to be a living hearing-disadvantaged musician than a dead one. (BTW, there are plenty of partially-deaf musicians, I thought it was part of the job!)
Click to expand...

No, it's not "part of the job," it's an unfortunate reality. If you were a machinist, carpenter, or auto mechanic for a living and accidentally lost a hand you wouldn't consider it "part of the job."

My questions was, "Which type of legal, non-supressed firearm poses the least threat for hearing loss?" I did not ask, "Would you rather be deaf, or dead?"
 
.38 special from a 6 inch revolver? I am a musician too so i hear you (har har) on protecting the ears. We are used to opening our ears to hear more, which is bad with gunshots. I even plug my ears when a fire engine goes by.
 
My little .22 mag snubby was one of the sharpest, most ear splitting cracks I've ever heard. Maybe it was just in my head because I know nothing about noise levels, db's etc. but I know what it sounded like in an indoor range when I forgot ear protection. It was bad enough outside.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
hearing protection questions / looking 4 advice
Replies
4
Views
506
DBR
D
H
  • Locked
A note to my fellow shooters
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
mnealtx
M
M
  • Locked
Hearing protection with glasses
Replies
21
Views
1K
highlander 5
H
P
  • Locked
Soldiers and hearing protection
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
wingnutx
W
twofewscrews
  • Locked
Dogs, Guns, and Hearing Protection?
2
Replies
26
Views
993
whughett
whughett
Back
Top