Objective Loudness of .22 Rimfire Ammo

In a recent thread, @Nonnie and others were talking about the volumes of various rounds. 140 dB is often given as the reference level for .22lr; however, I'm unable to get anywhere near that.

All measures taken using a BAFX dB meter in "peak" mode, using Federal 40 grain copper-plated ammo, and 3-4 round bursts were used to maximize the chance of getting a peak reading. Distance readings were taken firing directly at the meter (well, as directly as possible without shooting it).

Ruger MKII pistol, at muzzle: 118 dB
Ruger MKII pistol, at shooter's ear level: 115 dB
Ruger MKII pistol, at 10': 110 dB

Ruger 10/22 rifle, muzzle: 116 dB
Ruger 10/22 rifle, shooter's ear: 107 dB

At this point the batteries on my dB meter were getting flaky so I called it a day. Note that because of the greater muzzle length, for the rifle, the volume has already been halved at the shooter's ear level, compared to the muzzle.

I'll be happy to repeat this with 7.62x54r at some point in the near future, but for me the tl;dr is (as always), .22s are not that loud and with proper hearing protection I think they're fine for most people, including most people with simple tinnitus and no hyperacusis. I'm not encouraging people to take this up as a hobby, but some of us live in situations where varmints are a thing and guns are necessary. (Most recently we had a woodpecker waking us up at 4am every day; I will tolerate that for 2-3 days, then it's time to try to make pecker stew....)

I am able to get readings in nearly this same general range by clanking dishes together loudly...

 

Thanks @linearb.

This was very informative. Rugers Mark is a sweet pistol, especially with a suppressor.

 

I've been wanting to go to a range again. Do you know how loud a 556 or a 9mm could get?

 

22 LR ammo comes in all flavors. The "milk carton" practice ammo is I'm sure the lowest velocity, in the 1,200+ fps range. Then there are some Hyper Velocity varieties that hit over 1,600 fps. https://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/detail.aspx?use=1&loadNo=0050 Any of this is safe with good hearing protection.

I've probably fired a bazillion rounds of mostly practice round varieties out of both Ruger pistols and rifles. I never wore hearing protection. I know now I was doing permanent damage all that time without even knowing it. It was not loud to me or unpleasant to shoot. The same can be said for about a bazillion rounds of 12 gauge at clay pigeons.

I always wore hearing protection with larger caliber handguns. That truly hurt the ears to shoot without it.

Those were the days and we were ignorant. However now I know and do take proper precaution with any of it.

I have this crap bad, both tinnitus and hyperacusis. But.....I also know I don't have to give up my life and favorite past times for it. The one shooting sport I have cut back on quite a bit is shotgun sports. I'm not positive, but I think the recoil could be doing damage, not the noise.

My ENT is a shooter. I plan to ask him about that subject at my next visit.

 

let me tell you about CCI "22 Quiet"

https://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/detail.aspx?use=3&loadNo=960

They claim 68 db @ shooter's ear with no earpro. Somewhat louder in my tests, but not by much.

Downside is that it's not actually powerful enough to cycle most semis, so unless you're shooting a revolver, get used to working that ejector lever.

I'm done with indoor ranges, and probably done with unsuppressed centerfire rifle ammo in general.

Getting a suppressor in either .45 or .556 is on my to-do list, but given the expense it's a low priority.

I wish I had the kind of money required for one of the Navy Seal edition, that has an integral suppressor, they look super sweet

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/GMCMA/Other stuff/Ruger2Amphibian.jpg

Oh yea, they shoot underwater, too....

 

That’s awesome! One of my favourite pistols.