My wife insisted on the 351PD and, as folks here warned, it is LOUD. Otherwise, great little gun. Any recommendations for ammo that might make less noise? Thanks in advance. Jim

Yep, they're all loud. The 22Magnum was designed & is loaded as a rifle cartridge, so a great deal of the powder charge burns outside the barrel of a handgun, ESPECIALLY a snubby. I believe that you get very little ballistic improvement over 22LR in a 2"-3" barrelled handgun in exchange for twice the muzzle blast (& one less cartridge in a modern J frame) and much higher ammo cost.

Originally posted by 00Buckshot62:

"I believe that you get very little ballistic improvement over 22LR in a 2"-3" barrelled handgun in exchange for twice the muzzle blast (& one less cartridge in a modern J frame)..."

S&W J frame revolvers in .22 WMR, like the Models 51, 650 and 651, are six shot guns, like the .22 L.R. guns.

Two words: Ear protection.

That means both ear plugs and headphones, if necessary.

If the time comes when you have to fire a shot in anger, you won't even hear it.

I'm 54 years old. On my 15th birthday, I received a Ruger Super Single Six with 5 1/2" barrel. Being excited, I did not take time to don ear protection before going out in Dad's front yard and launching two cylinders full of little maggies, all while standing about 4 feet from the cinder block wall of my parents' home. My ears have rung ever since. They are all loud, but I still love them!

WHAT????

Welcome to the forum!

I carry a NAA Black Widow .22 mag. as a BUG. While researching ammo I found chrono results on the internet and CCI Maxi-Mag HP+Vs are much faster than other .22 mags out of short barrels as I recall. They left the fastest .22 LRs in the dust. I can't recall any numbers, but if you look on NAA's forum you should be able to dig up the info. That's where I found it. I don't know if other magnum loads are louder, my gun shot them well so I looked no further for a carry load, thus I've never compared them to anything else. As Steve and others have mentioned, ear protection isn't an option, even with long rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by stainless snubby:
My wife insisted on the 351PD and, as folks here warned, it is LOUD. Otherwise, great little gun. Any recommendations for ammo that might make less noise? Thanks in advance. Jim

Yes, Jim they will deafen you! I have been using Winchester WRFs and they are noticeably quieter, but they are not 22 MAGs. You might compare them to 38Spl from a 357MAG. I have acquired a stash of both Federal 50gr lead HPs and Winchester Dynapoint 45gr lead FNs that I am hoping will have less muzzle blast, but havn't tried them yet. They should be quieter. I hope someone more knowlegeble will chime in here Great guns, great cartridge but,your ears are at risk!

Very loud and very expensive!

Thanks to all for your informative replies. I'm new to the forum and glad I found it! I have a Model 60 .38 and a 360PD in addition to our newest 351PD. Thanks again for the good information and comments. Jim

I also use Winchester .22 WRF or CCI .22 WRF in my 22 magnum handguns.

If my wife hasn't thrown it out (50/50 chance) I have one of those magazine/books publishers like Peterson put out every now and then--something like The .22 Rimfire Book or some-such. Has a lot of articles about various .22 rifles and pistols.

Anyhow, this particular book had an article about the little NAA mini revolvers. The chronograph difference between magnum and long-rifle was pretty impressive. Made a believer out of me. My .22 mag mini revolver makes a helluva bang and will light up the sky if it is dark. Yeah, I know about the perpetual ringing ears; mine dates back to a session with a 1911A1 when I was 14 or 15 years old. All the .22 mags I have experience with are loud in my Single-Six, and even in the short-barrel 9422M Trapper.

quote:

Originally posted by BUFF:
Originally posted by 00Buckshot62:

"I believe that you get very little ballistic improvement over 22LR in a 2"-3" barrelled handgun in exchange for twice the muzzle blast (& one less cartridge in a modern J frame)..."

S&W J frame revolvers in .22 WMR, like the Models 51, 650 and 651, are six shot guns, like the .22 L.R. guns.

I should have used the term "current" instead of "modern". The current model 351 holds 7 rounds of magnum compared to the 317 which holds 8 rounds of Long Rifle.

Are you kidding me? There's a lot of mis-guided advice in the area of muzzle blast and flash.

Yeah the gun shop folks are right, but they've done you a dis-service by making you worry about it.

The bottom line:

All handgun ammunition (fired out of a non-suppressed weapon) is LOUD (> 120 dB).

Any short-barreled handgun is LOUD (> 120 dB).

However, you won't be able to tell the difference in sound intensity (loudness) between a 3" or 1-7/8" barrel. You'll just know that they're both LOUD.

If your wife shoots a 6" or 1-7/8" .22 magnum without hearing protection she'll tell you her ears are ringing.

If she can consistently shoot it accurately with speed then its a good choice for her.

Twentyfive years ago, I blew my right ear drum out with a 4.00" .22 magnum, yes it is always that loud. I heard that the decibel rating is higher than a .357mag.