Short barrel 500 S&W vs bear..what happen to your hearing??

[saturno_v]

You are sleeping in your tent with your trusty short barreled 500 S&W on your side...a grizzly jump in and you fire in that small close environment...what happen to your hearing?? Do you think you would suffer any permanent hearing damage??

I think one often overlooked aspect of a wildlife defense gun is the noise it generates....I can tell you that I never heard any 500 S&W going off without hearing protection (they were long barrel ones) and that was LOUD....

At one time I heard my own 44 Magnum going off in the open without earplugs...and it was almost painful....

I understand that saving your own life or a limb is more important than hearing but I wonder if the advantrage of extreme power beyond certain point is beneficial considering the drawback...I mean if a 44 mag can do the same work at close distance saving my hearing...why not??

You cannot wear earing plugs all the time while in thew wild...and I see people firing their 338 et similar with earplugs when they hunt....but in a defense situation you cannot expect to wear your ear protection right in that moment...

 

[PotatoJudge]

Yep, permanent damage with a single shot. I do think there's a point where you make a decision to trade power for hearing. I know I have in picking a SD gun and load. A hot 357 will sting in a small room. A 45 ACP will too, but not as much. I'd say a 6in 38 special would be about as ear friendly as any decent SD gun against people. For bears mid-range 45LC would be the gun for me.

 

[Art Eatman]

Anything you turn loose inside an enclosure is gonna be hard on the eardrums.

You might go with .22 CB caps, but then the issue of future hearing capability might be moot.

 

[saturno_v]

ou might go with .22 CB caps, but then the issue of future hearing capability might be moot.

Well that is a slight exaggeration on the extreme, don't you think?

However I'm not talking only about a close space..I wonder if you may get permanent damage with a short barreled 500 (or similar) even in the open without ear protection...

 

[ArmedBear]

You might go with .22 CB caps, but then the issue of future hearing capability might be moot.

Ever try it?

I shot some in a .22 revolver, in a room with laminate floor. Even THAT was surprisingly loud. My ears rang for a while.

In a bolt rifle, they're pretty quiet. Not in a revolver, though.

 

[mbt2001]

Your hearing might be gone... Better than your life.

I would advise though getting the bear pepper spray. That stuff works and you keep your hearing and you don't have fish and game guys on you like a duck on june bugs.

 

[IdahoLT1]

I dont recall any stories of bears attacking a person while they were in their tent. Bear mace would suck also because youre in a confined space. More than likely the person will get sprayed too, with the only exit being the front of a tent. Id say campers/hunters are pretty safe in their tent from wild animals as long as there is no food in it.

And revolvers are more damaging to the ears than rifles or semi auto pistols because of the gaps inbetween the cylinder and the barrel. I swear i can feel the percussion on my face when i shoot my Taurus 617 with a 2.5" ported barrel.

 

[Gryffydd]

I dont recall any stories of bears attacking a person while they were in their tent.

I'm posting from my phone or I'd post a link, but google list of fatal bear attacks. It happens quite frequently. Especially predatory attacks by black bear.

Edit: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

 

[hardluk1]

If i was in grizz or bear country i think i would have a short folding stock shotgun and wear it or keep it next to me while sleeping. Fill it with rem buck hammer slugs. That short barrel revolver might take your hearing but it might save your life ,,Maybe. Allways maybe. Hearing wise. some hunter in the heat of the hunt can shoot and NOT hear the round.Don't know about them maga mag handguns. Others hear it and pay for it no matter what. But you are talk'n life and death. I would also carry bear spray. He will shread a tent if comeing in and if he gets hit and runs even if you get it too, O well. you might be alive to bitch about it. Wasn't that dumby and his girl friend that though he was a buddy of the grizz killed in there tent and then eat'n? If you have anything food in a tent and bear are around wind the food and are hungery they more than likely will try to come in??

 

[Gryffydd]

some hunter in the heat of the hunt can shoot and NOT hear the round.

They're focused and adrenalized. They don't notice the sound of the report, but the damage to their hearing is the same. Also, I'm now crosseyed.

 

[IdahoLT1]

I'm posting from my phone or I'd post a link, but google list of fatal bear attacks. It happens quite frequently. Especially predatory attacks by black bear.

Edit: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_..._North_America

Good to know. Most bear attack i ever hear of or from what i remember are usually hikers/hunters stumbling across an unexpecting bear.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Ever shot a .22 magnum revolver with NO brake? Super loud. A .500 WITH a brake? Fuggedabout - your hearing is GONE.

 

[Gryffydd]

The above link was for mobile devices...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America
A pretty interesting read, actually. I'm sure there's a few lessons to be learned in there.

 

[BMF500]

The barrel on my .500 is 10" and not ported (currently). I have never fired a shot with it indoors with out hearing protection. However I have fired a few shots with it in the woods with out hearing protection and I wished I hadn't. It hurts, BAD!!!

 

[R.W.Dale]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=369233

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4585684&postcount=28

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=327663

remember this is the 270 for lion and 30-30 for Grizzlies fella

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=327079

Not really an accusation but more of a prediction of where this thread is going. IBTL

Do you think you would suffer any permanent hearing damage??

You fire a gun without proper PPE's and you've suffered perminate hearing damage PERIOD .22short to 470NE

I look at the original questions in terms of the two possible outcomes

A You're not too concerned about hearing loss because you've woke up to find several hundred pounds of death incarnate chewing on your feet and survived

B You're not too concerned about hearing loss because in 4 to 10 hrs you'll be a rather large smelly heap of bear scat.

 

[saturno_v]

Krochus what is your point of bringing up my previous posts??

They were honest discussion and backed by facts

My question about hearing is perfectly rational..asking opinion about hearing damage...I have noi predetermined objective in this thread

I'm glad I made an impression on you for you to spend time digging up my stuff.

You should be less agressive and aquire a bit of social skills....living in the woods too much??

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

You're not too concerned about hearing loss because in 4 to 10 hrs you'll be a rather large smelly heap of bear scat.

Now that's funny right there!

 

[scythefwd]

From every ear doctor I have ever talked to, and I have seen several due to working in high noise environments, if your ears ring... you have without a doubt done permanent damage to your hearing. My .30-30 causes a little bit of ringing if I don't get my ear plugs in... I don't want to think what a short barreled gun would do when I am on the ground next to it. It would probably hurt worse than the 5.56 nato (which was worse than my .30-30) or the 9mm (shot in an enclosed space... ears rang for two days after 2 shots).

Hell.... looking back at what I have done to my hearing, I am surprised that I can hear at all.

 

[Art Eatman]

Okay, to get serious: Any high-db noise affects one's hearing. The number and length of exposure controls the amount of degradation. One or two shots from a Casull or .50 will cause some relatively-minor loss.

Generally, the ringing and partial deafness from a high noise impact is temporary. That hearing returns to some apparent normal does not mean that there has not been some degree of loss, however. The loss might only be measurable with an audio testing apparatus.