Good day, For home protection I own 686 SS 2 1/2". If going out I will place in vehicle out of sight. When outside I can see having 357 ammo, but when inside is it better to have 38special ammo so you would not go deaf if fired. Thank you
Ammo
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Full power .357 ammo fired indoors from a snubbie is very entertaining to all who happen to be nearby. Get some of the newer stuff loaded for a snubbie with low-flash powder and yes, .38 special is adequate for the job and will not go thru your house and your neighbor's house if you miss. Statistically you are more likely to miss than hit with any given shot. By the way, get yourself a decent vehicle gun safe. They are not that expensive and may save you a very expensive smash and grab of your revolver.
A standard pressure .38 Special or a 9mm pistol will register about 164 decibels. In comparison, a .357 Magnum revolver will register about 169 decibels.
That 5 decibel increase however reflects a 50% increase in sound energy and perceived loudness.
A 9mm AR carbine registers about 117 decibels. That's only about 20% of the total sound energy of a .357 Magnum revolver, and an 9mm AR is my first choice for a personal home defense weapon fired inside with no hearing protection or suppressor.
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I do carry a .357 Magnum, but I carry a .38 +P load more often than I carry a .357 Magnum load. I lean toward .357 Magnum in the winter for the improved expansion after penetrating heavy clothing, and I normally carry .38+ P in the summer when heavy clothing is less often encountered.
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If you do fire a handgun or rifle indoors, you will experience ringing in the ears for several hours. Ideally, you should see and ENT who can prescribe steroids / cortisone which will help the inner ear recover and can help prevent permanent hearing loss.
Being deaf is better than dead, but being smart is better than being deaf.
That 5 decibel increase however reflects a 50% increase in sound energy and perceived loudness.
A 9mm AR carbine registers about 117 decibels. That's only about 20% of the total sound energy of a .357 Magnum revolver, and an 9mm AR is my first choice for a personal home defense weapon fired inside with no hearing protection or suppressor.
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I do carry a .357 Magnum, but I carry a .38 +P load more often than I carry a .357 Magnum load. I lean toward .357 Magnum in the winter for the improved expansion after penetrating heavy clothing, and I normally carry .38+ P in the summer when heavy clothing is less often encountered.
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If you do fire a handgun or rifle indoors, you will experience ringing in the ears for several hours. Ideally, you should see and ENT who can prescribe steroids / cortisone which will help the inner ear recover and can help prevent permanent hearing loss.
Being deaf is better than dead, but being smart is better than being deaf.
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Mehutch
Member
Try these...
Dave T
Member
I've known a couple police firearms instructors from the old days who went def when all they heard was 38 Special Wad Cutters. An audiologist told me all it takes is one round, from the right distance and angle and you can loose 25% hearing in that ear.
Don't kid yourself about 38s not hurting your hearing.
Dave
Don't kid yourself about 38s not hurting your hearing.
Dave
In my younger days I fired a .22 Jet S&W Model 53 6.5" inside a closed 1953 Chevrolet. Now you want to talk about muzzle blast ??
Speak louder please, I can't hear you.
Speak louder please, I can't hear you.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
I'd say leadcast 38 specials. I was so into firing my colt python one ear plug came out on the second round I fired the other four rounds and it was days before my ear stopped ringing. The range had a metal roof over it. In the late seventies. The chainsaws finished my ears off. I purchased my sons hard hats with ear protection to run chain saws
Fact I'm almost hard of hearing everytime I'm in the shower I let the hot water sprinkle in my ears it kind of clears the wax out.
Fact I'm almost hard of hearing everytime I'm in the shower I let the hot water sprinkle in my ears it kind of clears the wax out.
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Huh? Did you say something?
Seriously, firing indoors is incredibly noisy. Subsonic ammo will be less noisy, but it is still loud and will damage hearing. Even outdoors, subsonic ammo is loud, but full power 357 Magnum ammo is even louder. I should know, I have fired or been near the live firing of a number of rounds in different calibers without hearing protection.
Seriously, firing indoors is incredibly noisy. Subsonic ammo will be less noisy, but it is still loud and will damage hearing. Even outdoors, subsonic ammo is loud, but full power 357 Magnum ammo is even louder. I should know, I have fired or been near the live firing of a number of rounds in different calibers without hearing protection.
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
I'm not a hearing expert but magnums from that short of a barrel are especially loud at the range, with ear protection.
If your going to switch HD rounds to .38SP, make sure to buy enough to practice with, because the accuracy will be different than with the magnums.
If your going to switch HD rounds to .38SP, make sure to buy enough to practice with, because the accuracy will be different than with the magnums.
My M&P.22LR pistol with the Surefire suppressor is very quiet and could be shot in my hallway with little fear of hearing loss. But if the bad guy is coming down the hall, I'd rather be holding your 686 with ANY ammo it will shoot.
swagmeister
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An old state trooper once told me to carry the "biggest and baddest" bullet that the gun will hold. According to him, you want to put your attacker down very quickly before he does the same to you. He was not concerned about noise at that point. Another officer told me that once while serving a warrant, the subject ran from them in the house and got to a bedroom where he reached under the bed and brought out a Ruger Single Six revolver and shot the officer in the leg. In the resulting shootout, the officer shot him five times in the torso with 125 grain jacketed hollow points .357's from an S&W L Frame. The officer told me that he never noticed the sound of the gunfire in the closed bedroom at the time. He was just happy that he survived the encounter.
cmj8591
Member
Anyone who has ever hunted big game (or anything really) will tell you that when you pull the trigger you are so focused on the moment that you don't hear the shot or feel the recoil. I have, luckily, never been the recipient of a home invasion but I am guessing that the same principal will apply in the event that I have to punch someones ticket at 3am in my bed room. Hearing loss, although a definite possibility, will not be at the top of my priority list.
HOUSTON RICK
Member
My uncle the WWII CPO said: "Shoot first, shoot enough".
Whether you notice the sound of the shot or not, the damage to your hearing will be the same.
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cmj8591
Member
Absolutely. That's why I acknowledged in my post that hearing loss is a definite possibility. The bad guy however, will definitely suffer permanent hearing loss. Mostly because he will be dead.
ABPOS
Member
Uh, I disagree. I've shot 6 deer in my life and there were a few times I would've liked to have my hearing right after the shot because I was trying to see and hear what was going on with ones that didn't go down instantly.
And to the comment, I'd rather be deaf than dead, if you could have both, wouldn't you want to? I mean be alive and still be able to hear?
I can tell you this as a guy that played in loud rock bands and shot more times without hearing protection while hunting than maybe wise, that tinnitus is a pain in the butt.
Now, will shooting .38's instead of .357's make enough of a difference to matter? I don't know. But I'm betting they're quieter and may help in less ear damage if fired indoors.
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^^^ ABPOS, I don't see where we disagree. I have done the same things as your (high power rifle and shooting deer, loud rock bands, etc). Sometimes I noticed the sound of the shot and sometimes not (adrenaline rush?). I would have temporary hearing loss or tinnitus. Other times I would not. Even those times I did not notice the sound of the shot at the time, I know the damage was the same.
Tinnitus - had it since I was 7... Oddly enough, I learned to "hear past" the five different notes I hear across my ears. Was a good (told by many pros I was "great") live soundman and recordist for 25 years despite it. A few years ago had an episode of an accidental indoor discharge by a friend, thinking he had unloaded his .45 by dropping the clip - the round in the chamber went off, destroying his TV and burying itself in his outside wall (didn't penetrate outside, thank goodness). My left ear has been down 3-5 dB ever since, and it's not my age.
