Bartholomew Roberts
Member
Personally, the difference between a 9mm pistols indoors with no hearing protection and 5.56mm with no hearing protection isn't that big a deal to me. Both are going to be plenty loud, both are well past hearing safe and I'd just as soon someone in my house illegally feel like I am hurling thunderbolts at them.
However, I have noticed that some shooters can be sensitive to flash and muzzle blast, even on cartridges that don't have that much recoil. To use one example, I often find new shooters handle 9mm or even .45 better than say .40S&W or .357 SIG. Since putting rounds on target is problem #1, I think it is usually best to figure out what weapons you can shoot well and then work on the other considerations.
However, I have noticed that some shooters can be sensitive to flash and muzzle blast, even on cartridges that don't have that much recoil. To use one example, I often find new shooters handle 9mm or even .45 better than say .40S&W or .357 SIG. Since putting rounds on target is problem #1, I think it is usually best to figure out what weapons you can shoot well and then work on the other considerations.