Today it was simply too loud at the indoor range

[bushmaster1313]

First, the shooter in the stall next to me was shooting round after round of .44 Magnum
Perhaps the sound was magnified because he was in the last stall and next to him was a cinder block wall.

Then he started up with .500 S&W

When he was shooting I had to step back and press both my hands against my ear muffs, and I even had urethane cones in my ears under the muffs.

I only got in about half of my range time.

IMHO, .44 Magnum is too loud for an indoor range.

 

[Whitwabit]

First, the shooter in the stall next to me was shooting round after round of .44 Magnum
Perhaps the sound was magnified because he was in the last stall and next to him was a cinder block wall.

Then he started up with .500 S&W

When he was shooting I had to step back and press both my hands against my ear muffs, and I even had urethane cones in my ears under the muffs.

I only got in about half of my range time.

IMHO, .44 Magnum is too loud for an indoor range.

Two weeks ago same thing happened .. guy shooting something big .. emptied out the range till he got done .. I had just finished shooting and was packing up and had double ear protection in as I always do .. its only a 8 lane range 75 feet long .. the sound was coming of the wall vibrating everything..

Including everyone's brain .. I just left, couldn't complain it was within the rules .. But was very loud .. Can't wait till the weather is better so I can shoot out doors ..

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

That is the sound of freedom.

 

[Bozz10mm]

I went to an indoor range once, many years ago. Never again.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Ear protection is good-but it's the shock wave in a case like that that can be harmful.

 

[bigchuck83]

I mostly stopped shooting .357 magnum at the range because of the noise and the fact the stalls seem to amplify the muzzle blast. I save 357 magnum and larger stuff for outdoors.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Not all of us have the luxury of readily accessible outdoor ranges.

The large indoor ranges here are well run and very accepting of large calibers. If the guy next to me wants to touch off his .460 then I applaud his right to do so and I would hope he would support my right to do likewise.

We are hampered enough by existing constraints. I sure as hell don't want someone following me around with an SPL-Meter.

 

[shouldazagged]

.50AE Desert Eagle isn't a joy to be around either.

 

[Fishslayer]

Short barrel AR with muzzle brake was probably the loudest I've ever heard. I didn't take a break from shooting because of the noise, but because the concussion would actually make me move.

 

[BC38]

I'm sure glad the ranges allow this kind of thing.

Not always pleasant when you aren't the guy shootin' the big iron, but I sure wouldn't want them telling me I can't shoot mine!

 

[brjr51]

One advantage to working the night shift is being able to go to the range at 10:00 AM on a weekday. Usually pretty "quiet" then.

 

[Irn-Bru]

Same thing to me a few weeks back. My insides were vibrating, time to go.

 

[Sconnie]

That is the sound of freedom.

Nah. The sound of F-18's overhead while visiting my kid in Virginia Beach when he was in the Navy...THAT is the sound of freedom!

 

[shouldazagged]

I've had pretty severe tinnitus for well over thirty years. If it's going to be aggravated by muzzle blast (which is what caused it, I'm told) I'd prefer that it be my own gun producing it. And I don't shoot .44 Magnum or .500 S&W, but if I did it wouldn't be indoors.

Guess I'm just an old fud.

 

[moralem]

Ahh, choices, we all have choices. That is the beauty of it all. Stay, shoot big caliber, don't shoot big caliber, indoor or outdoor....we all have choices.

 

[mod29]

Indoor ranges are extra noisy, no doubt.
I always double-up on ear protection, using foam plugs and then muffs.

That makes a big difference for me and allows me to handle the noise for the hour or maybe hour and a half that I'm in there.

last time I was shooting indoors, I burned through a 50-rd box of factory .44 magnum.
Not something I would typically do at an indoor range, but I wanted the brass for reloading.

Also shot a box of .357 mag, along with a box of .45 ACP.
I was making plenty of noise that day!

 

[rwsmith]

I wear good plugs and muffs.....

And still sometimes it's just too much and gets irritating after a while. When our state park range was just tables on the grass it was a great. Then they enclosed it and put the benches hardly 2' apart and it's miserable in there.

 

[Whitwabit]

Some think no big deal !! Shooting large caliber in a small indoor range even with double ear protection .. I suspect it will cause some long term hearing every time you do .. but the loss won't be heard till a later date .. and in the long term that could become quite serious if it was repeated often enough .. some think no sweat but if at the age of 60 or 70 you find yourself close to being deaf or have tinnitus so bad you can't sleep .. you'll wonder why I can't hear !!! Then it will be a BIG DEAL ..

 

[OMCHamlin]

Oh well, look at it this way, once you have enough hearing loss (like me) nothing's too loud anymore...

...except the constant, constant, constant ringing...

 

[Wise_A]

And still sometimes it's just too much and gets irritating after a while. When our state park range was just tables on the grass it was a great. Then they enclosed it and put the benches hardly 2' apart and it's miserable in there.

We used to have a nice rifle range at our club.

Then the rifle guys got the idea to cover it. Okay...fine.

Then they put up a back wall for "sound abatement", and hung some of the crappiest dampening mats on it. Grrr...

Then they wanted to shoot in the winter, and fully enclosed it, complete with roll-up garage doors for the firing positions. So now it more or less sucks.

And I still barely see any of 'em shooting there in the winter. And it reeks of mold and rot from holes in the roof letting in water .

Now they want to try enclosing the plinking range, and they're begging for a heater and air conditioning because it turns out--like we told them--that a closed-in building is cold as hell in the winter.

I mean, I knew rifle guys weren't smart, but Jeez...

Meanwhile, I happily shoot pistol outside all winter long--just gotta pick the days.