Revolver night-time muzzle flash a real problem?

[wheelgunslinger]

Iggy summed it up nicely

I was in a serious social engagement while on duty as an LEO. I had to shoot my .41 mag in a dark room with a flashlight. I remember seeing his gun coming up toward me, seeing my gun appear between us and firing. I didn't hear the guns fire, I felt the recoil of my gun, I don't remember any muzzle flash. That was 42 years ago and my ears still ring today.

Tinnitus sure beats the alternative.

The sound is worse than the flash for the majority of people.

 

[Maj Dad]

Dan W 44 Flasher

I was letting some friends shoot my Dan Wesson 44 with the 8" unported bbl (and .005" bbl/cyl gap) using 240 gr JHPs and WC 820 (H110 cannister version). We were in a wooded area, and later in the afternoon it dimmed rapidly, and watching it reminded me of a howitzer... Talk about flash! I have never been bothered by it while shooting, but it is something to see from the side

 

[Balog]

I took an advanced CCW training class that started at 7pm and ended at 1am at the outdoor range where I work. I used my xd 40 and .38 Tarus snubby with the ported muzzle. The only visible light were the star, none of us could see the targets at 25 ft. There were 12 of us using different flavors of ammo and guns and during the whole class there was not one single question or comment on the muzzle flash. If anything the flash lit up the targets for a few milliseconds. At 25' we all made about 1 in 5 hits. At 10' most of us got 5 in 5 hits.
At the 10' targets we would have to draw and fire from the waist and most of use did pretty well considering we couldn't see a damn thing.
The one thing we did learn is how and when to use the flashlight. Those affected our sight much more than muzzle flash.

An "advanced class" eh? So advanced you learned the "shooting at targets you can't see" technique? Did they pair that with a hunting course where you can learn to shoot at noises?

 

[bowfita]

Speaking of flash - not at night but interesting...

The first photo is Magtech 357, fmj, 158gr and the second is Buffalo Bore Heavy 357 jhc, 158gr. Both fired from S&W J-frame Model 60, 3".

 

[pps]

I think Iggy's post is on the money. I'll take a little ringing of the ears over dead any day of the week.

 

[4v50 Gary]

What Iggy said. When you're pumped up in a life and death situation, you're not going to notice the flash.

 

[snooperman]

Night time training

When I was in Germany, in an tank cavalry unit, we did some night training in 1960-1963. I was armed with the .45 caliber pistol, and the M3A1 submachine gun and at night we were temporarily blinded by the flash from the muzzle of both guns and this was outside, not in a building. We were trained for both night and day time fighting and this was before we had night infrared equipment like they do now. We were taught to look at the periphery or slightly to the left or right of the target after our initial aim. This helped a great deal. I never fired in a building, but would imagine it would be deafening and blinding somewhat, based on those who did it.

 

[snooperman]

Wrong-

You will notice the flash and the sound very much, regardless of your state of mind. Ask anyone who has done this type of training and he will tell you the same thing. My brother worked for DEA and he had some experiences with night firing in a building. At night they would wear special glases and ear plugs before entering the building. They could hear each other but the loud report of the gun would be much less.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

I think that it would depend greatly on the ammo you are using. I haven't gotten into loading for .357 yet but just with my experience loading ammo for .45 Colt, different powders flash differently. For instance light loads of unique will give you a nice bright flash that you can capture easily with a camera in the daytime. Anything I've loaded with AA#7 on the other hand hardly flashes even in the dark.