Snubnose 357: Too much blast for unprotected hearing?
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Zaydok Allen
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No offense, but this is a terrible idea. If you have time to do this, then you have time to put in hearing protection. Also, usuing different recoiling ammo is a great way to mess up, incure a lot more recoil than you expected, and slow down your follow up shots long enough to get yourself killed.
Be quick, and be consistant, and don't fool yourself into thinking you will be anything but in a panic if a vicious animal is charging you. You'll have time to point, aim, and shoot, not consider which chamber to fire. Heck, you may only have time to point and shoot. There may not even be enough time to aim properly. I pray that would happen away from an urban environment as collateral damage is a real possibility when shooting fast.
Vern Humphrey
Member
The main reason I don't carry a .357 in the woods is the damage to unprotected ears. If I had known when I was younger how much damage .357s can cause, I wouldn't have to wear hearing aids today.
BCRider
Member
I've been exposed to the sound from our cowboy action guns that shoot soft loads out of 4 5/8 or longer barrels by accident. They went hot to test someone's gun and I walked by. From 5 feet away the loudness noticably hurt.
The report from a snub is going to be that much worse. Compound it by shooting hot +P like .38's or, even worse, .357Mag and you will most certainly do some amount of lasting damage. But it's better to lose a few dB off the low end than to bleed to death or go through a rabies series and deal with nasty scars the rest of your life.
In our modern technology with all the big toys we have it's impossible to avoid ALL incidents of sound over exposure. Hell, just going to pretty much any modern music concert is going to do that. So in the grand scheme of things the amount of damage from one or two rounds of gunfire used to save your skin is simply one more rung on the ladder that adds up to the total lifetime hearing damage. The trick is to help slow down the climb towards major damage levels by practicing good habits with hearing protection the rest of the time. That way the time or two you need to use your gun to protect yourself at least it won't be "the straw that broke the camel's back".
THis sort of outlook on the situation is obviously the way police and military approach this issue. We don't see police using hearing protection for their shifts. Yet they are more likely than us regular folks to require the use of their sidearm. We/they KNOW that if they need to use it that their ears are going to be ringing for a few hours afterward. But it's better than the alternative.
I'm sitting here at 60 years old now and due to this life time build up I can tell that I have a slight background tininitus. Luckily it's slight enough that I only notice it in nearly dead quiet settings. And my ability to make out conversations in a jumbled loud party or nightclub setting is totally gone now. It's just one wall o' noise. I go into such settings telling my friends that when I just sit there and smile/nod at what they are saying it's because I can't make out a single sylable of what they are yelling at me. For me this came from many early years running un-muffled model airplane engines and working in noisy shop environments and banging on steel and wood with hammers and similar nonsense. I've only been shooting for 4 and a bit years so I can't really blame that.
The report from a snub is going to be that much worse. Compound it by shooting hot +P like .38's or, even worse, .357Mag and you will most certainly do some amount of lasting damage. But it's better to lose a few dB off the low end than to bleed to death or go through a rabies series and deal with nasty scars the rest of your life.
In our modern technology with all the big toys we have it's impossible to avoid ALL incidents of sound over exposure. Hell, just going to pretty much any modern music concert is going to do that. So in the grand scheme of things the amount of damage from one or two rounds of gunfire used to save your skin is simply one more rung on the ladder that adds up to the total lifetime hearing damage. The trick is to help slow down the climb towards major damage levels by practicing good habits with hearing protection the rest of the time. That way the time or two you need to use your gun to protect yourself at least it won't be "the straw that broke the camel's back".
THis sort of outlook on the situation is obviously the way police and military approach this issue. We don't see police using hearing protection for their shifts. Yet they are more likely than us regular folks to require the use of their sidearm. We/they KNOW that if they need to use it that their ears are going to be ringing for a few hours afterward. But it's better than the alternative.
I'm sitting here at 60 years old now and due to this life time build up I can tell that I have a slight background tininitus. Luckily it's slight enough that I only notice it in nearly dead quiet settings. And my ability to make out conversations in a jumbled loud party or nightclub setting is totally gone now. It's just one wall o' noise. I go into such settings telling my friends that when I just sit there and smile/nod at what they are saying it's because I can't make out a single sylable of what they are yelling at me. For me this came from many early years running un-muffled model airplane engines and working in noisy shop environments and banging on steel and wood with hammers and similar nonsense. I've only been shooting for 4 and a bit years so I can't really blame that.
I shoot everything with hearing protection. Hearing damage is cumulative and I've had several inner ear reconstructive surgeries to fix severe hearing damage from ear infections when I was young.
Being deaf sucks, trust me. Take the extra time and money to protect your hearing.
Being deaf sucks, trust me. Take the extra time and money to protect your hearing.
Any gun is too much blast for unprotected hearing, ESPECIALLY a 357. I'm no expert but I'd say anything shorter than a 3" barrel makes it kinda pointless to shoot the 357 magnum. You might as well go with 38 special for a snub nose. Mainly because it'll kick like a mule when you shoot it but you're short barrel with a 357 magnum load will allow a considerable amount of gas to escape, and I am sure it would have an impact on the velocity. My GP100 is a 6" barrel.
Pointshoot
Member
I've done quite abit of research on this topic. Why ? I experienced some high frequency hearing loss when hunting and my stocking cap interferred with the seal on a pair of electroinic earmuffs I was wearing. All it takes is one time. According to the hearing doc, everyone is different in terms of their sensitivity to high intensity sound. Your ability to perform well in a self defense situation is greatly lessened if youre deaf.
To get to your question - do a websearch on the work of Dr Gary Roberts on BUGs, that is - back-up guns such as small revolvers. Dr Roberts is experienced in law enforcement and has done ballistics work with US Army Special Forces. He is a ballistics expert. Bottomline, his research & testing indicates there is no performance advantage to a 357 in a snub nosed revolver over a 38 Special. You do get a lot more muzzle blast and recoil, however.
Personally, I choose larger caliber rounds that run at lower pressures, and the good ole' 38 Special with appropriate bullets. I have a few 357 revolvers and they have their place, but in a fast developing emergency you can't always put your hearing protection in. Your hearing can be physically damaged even if the sensory tunnel experience makes the sound level seem lower to the shooter during a life & death situation. For me, the 357 is too damaging to hearing to use as a self defense sidearm.
To get to your question - do a websearch on the work of Dr Gary Roberts on BUGs, that is - back-up guns such as small revolvers. Dr Roberts is experienced in law enforcement and has done ballistics work with US Army Special Forces. He is a ballistics expert. Bottomline, his research & testing indicates there is no performance advantage to a 357 in a snub nosed revolver over a 38 Special. You do get a lot more muzzle blast and recoil, however.
Personally, I choose larger caliber rounds that run at lower pressures, and the good ole' 38 Special with appropriate bullets. I have a few 357 revolvers and they have their place, but in a fast developing emergency you can't always put your hearing protection in. Your hearing can be physically damaged even if the sensory tunnel experience makes the sound level seem lower to the shooter during a life & death situation. For me, the 357 is too damaging to hearing to use as a self defense sidearm.
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Brian Williams
Moderator Emeritus
In an emergency you will not have time to put in ear plugs. 38 vs. 357 they both go bang really loud and both will cause ringing in your ears. I had a ND in my house once with my 357 loaded with 125gr JSP over a full house load of 2400 and all our ears rang for just a few minutes. Having that happen once will not destroy my ears but will cause some damage.
hemiram
Member
I was out in the desert years ago, and some pinhead cranked off 3 shots from a .357 4", I think it was a Ruger Security-Six. I wasn't any closer than about maybe 150 feet and it was pretty bad my truck was suddenly very quiet inside. I can't say I've ever personally heard any handgun round worse than a .357 as far as hearing damage potential, that crack is something else. But in a life and death situation, who cares about your ears?
LemmyCaution
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150ft away? What did he do? Shoot you in the ears?
Archie
Member
What Drail Said!
Carry what you will and put a set of ear plugs into a convenient pocket. If the situation demands, respond and deal with the consequences. If you can insert those ear plugs, do so and then proceed.
Shooting ANY firearm, especially a handgun, is very loud and hard on one's hearing. Then again, so is driving with car windows open and other exposures to high volume sound.
Carry what you will and put a set of ear plugs into a convenient pocket. If the situation demands, respond and deal with the consequences. If you can insert those ear plugs, do so and then proceed.
Shooting ANY firearm, especially a handgun, is very loud and hard on one's hearing. Then again, so is driving with car windows open and other exposures to high volume sound.
35 Whelen
Member
Another thing to consider is the sound created when the bullet exceeds the speed of sound and breaks the sound barrier. Ever notice the sharp crack heard when firing a .22 LR? My cousin brought his suppressed .22 Lr to the house awhile back and there was quite a difference in the noise created by rounds that exceeded the speed of sound and those that didn't. So, it would help a little to use a load whose velocity stays at around 1000 fps or less.
Also, instead of a .38 or .357 one could use a larger caliber handgun loaded with heavy bullets at relatively low velocities whose bullets are far less dependent on expansion. The little Charter Arms .44 Special comes to mind. I don't own one but my father does, a 3", and it's a small, easy to carry pistol. This particular handgun/caliber is capable of pushing 240-260 gr. SWC's over 800 fps with fairly miniscule charges of powder (which also aids in reducing noise). In the handloading section "Float Pilot", an Alaska resident, has an extensive thread containing loads he's tried out of his snubby .44 Special.
When I was a kid, I fired my S&W Model 13 without hearing protection and it HURT. I cannot imagine firing a snub in that caliber.
Good luck!
35W
Also, instead of a .38 or .357 one could use a larger caliber handgun loaded with heavy bullets at relatively low velocities whose bullets are far less dependent on expansion. The little Charter Arms .44 Special comes to mind. I don't own one but my father does, a 3", and it's a small, easy to carry pistol. This particular handgun/caliber is capable of pushing 240-260 gr. SWC's over 800 fps with fairly miniscule charges of powder (which also aids in reducing noise). In the handloading section "Float Pilot", an Alaska resident, has an extensive thread containing loads he's tried out of his snubby .44 Special.
When I was a kid, I fired my S&W Model 13 without hearing protection and it HURT. I cannot imagine firing a snub in that caliber.
Good luck!
35W
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