No muzzle device.

[BigBlue 94]

Trust me on this, you do in fact want to do everything that you can to mitigate the report/muzzle blast no matter the caliber of firearm. Otherwise there is a good chance you will be wearing hearing aids way before most people need them.

We weren't always given the proper hearing protection while I was in the Army and I had to get hearing aids shortly after retiring.

My original post was more of a bash on everything having a device on it these days.

I spent much of my youth shooting without any hearing protection. Was like riding my atv without a helmet because helmets werent cool. I would only muff up for the big things like that 22-250 pistol.

I still have excellent hearing but i expect it to diminish as i age more. I muff up for everything now. Its stupid not to. I really should try a KVP LC since KVP is about 20 minutes away.

I would love to own a suppressor but the hassle puts me off. If only they were not regulated like in many other places in the world.

 

[45CalPal]

I agree, the shorter the barrel, the more important the muzzle device is. I was not so much worried about the flash as I was about the muzzle rise during rapid fire. I spent three weeks and went thru 4 muzzle devices, ended up using one that was weighted and helped with my most concerning issue. the rise.

My second issue was the direction of the gasses. the one used for the weight was a suprise that it did exellent diverting of the gasses. most is sent to the sides, and partial is sent to the top, but all directions are sent out and foreward.

MO... the choke on a shotgun is of grave importance, as the muzzle brake/flash hider is on any rifle.

I would love to own a suppressor but the hassle puts me off. If only they were not regulated like in many other places in the world.

Add me to this list as well...

 

[BigBlue 94]

Add me to this list as well...

That list is as long as the ocean is deep.

I am lucky to shoot on my personal land. No other shooters to worry about, and everyone not shooting stands 45° or more behind the shooter.

 

[WestKentucky]

Since some seem miffed that everybody is jumping on the can/comp bandwagon I offer a new option… one I haven’t actually seen but I know it exists. Integrally suppressed ar pistol. If I were doing that I would do it with a big bore but small bore could also be very interesting.

 

[45CalPal]

I prefer my AR"s to be acompanied with a brake of some sort, I think of it as just another way to fine tune.

 

[halfmoonclip]

We fired our M16s on the range, without using the plugs the Army gave us. Still have tinnitus in my left ear; the BCG vents its gas and noise.
Use muffs when handgun hunting, or for range use.
I was chronoing some .44 Mag 1400'sec loads at an indoor range; in switching from shooting glasses to reading glasses, the muffs didn't get back on. I was stunned when the gun when off, but recuperated.
That doesn't make it a good idea to fire indoors without muffs, but it didn't break my eardrums either.
I know shorty carbines look bad as hell, but why not get one in a pistol caliber? Or, for the OP, use that Blackout?
Moon

 

[45CalPal]

I know shorty carbines look bad as hell, but why not get one in a pistol caliber?

I fully agree, if it's going to be a barrel under carbine length, just get a pistol caliber version.. Probably have better end result anyways. But just MO..

 

[Varminterror]

I’ve had a ringing in my left ear since 1998, caused by the first 6 shots ever fired from my 44mag Super Blackhawk. Got it home, took it out back, and forever damaged my hearing with 6 shots…

You might imagine a 10.5” 223/5.56 has a bit higher pressure report than a 7.5” 44magnum - and of course, I was shooting outside without a ceiling or walls to bring the heat back to me.

Equally, I have fired hundreds of 22LR rounds indoors from a 6” pistol, without hearing protection, and the concussion even from such a tiny 22LR is remarkable. 22LR rifles are much less aggressive, but the close reflection of sound against walls and ceilings and hard flooring brings it all back to you much moreso than shooting in free space outdoors. Again, you can intuit the difference in available energy between a 10.5” AR and a 6” 22LR - and the 22LR will leave your ears ringing for quite a while, assuredly enough to cause hearing damage.

Such, my nightstand holds an integrally suppressed 9mm SiCo Maxim 9 and beside the nightstand is a 10.5” AR in 5.56 with a SiCo Omega out front… even still, neither are quite hearing safe, but certainly reduced dramatically in potential to do further damage.

I’ll pay more than the $3000 I have into these suppressors in doctors visits and hearing aids in my life - if I haven’t spent it already, and will spend far more time driving back and forth to doctors and filing out paperwork than I spent on filling out the tax stamp applications… I find it far more of a hassle to be just south of 40yrs old with firmly south of 50% of my hearing left in my left ear.

 

[WestKentucky]

Amen, but mine was countless 357s I had loaded to a point where it had more of a rifle crack than a pistol pop. Ballistics out of a 6” revolver that very much matched my 30-30. Stupid. Now I have to sit at the far left end of the dinner table if I want to hear everybody. I sit to the right of people who annoy me though so I guess it has a silver lining.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Many have never been in a shoot house. It’s a training house that is set up to fire live ammo in. The difference in the noise you get from a 16” AR vs a 10.5 is very loud. One or two rounds aren’t so bad, but when you run a course where you have to fire 10 to 20 rounds the noise is pretty bad. And that’s wearing plugs and muffs.
Linear comps do make a difference, I know this from experience.

 

[jmorris]

I do have a 10.5” .223 AR, just because it’s about the same length as a 16” one but less concussion with the muzzle device I prefer. I still grab a pair of electronic muffs though. I haven’t and wouldn’t pick it to shoot inside my home without ear protection. Unless I really needed something that instant and would trip over it getting to something better.

 

[12Bravo20]

Many have never been in a shoot house. It’s a training house that is set up to fire live ammo in. The difference in the noise you get from a 16” AR vs a 10.5 is very loud. One or two rounds aren’t so bad, but when you run a course where you have to fire 10 to 20 rounds the noise is pretty bad. And that’s wearing plugs and muffs.
Linear comps do make a difference, I know this from experience.

And it is even worse when there are multiple people going through the shoot house as a team. Ears still ring even when doubling up on hearing protection with short barreled rifles. Oh an Bullpup rifles with a 16" barrel are no better than a 10.5" barrel. I found that out when training with the Brits.

 

[Gordon]

Muffs with good plugs under them is the way to go. I use MSR Sordin electronic muffs with Sonic valve plugs under them, that way you can hear range commands and if there is a wardrobe failure with the muffs for some reason you don't get injury. I have two(now in ear) Hearing aids for 15 years I was deafened starting in basic or advanced infantry training probably but documented in VN under bombardment and also in crazy noisy aircraft . I was further damaged along the way qualifying in Reserves for 12 years with about the last five of those also in Civilian training (with shoot houses) which to their credit always had us use good ear protection. Also was those couple hundred thousand shots along the way to 75 year of age.
Any way short barrel 5.56 are very rude and do quick and mostly lasting damage to ears. The science behind that can be seen in suppressor makers advisory on what cans are "certified" for what length barrels and calibers. 5.56 is right up there with the worst for being warned about 10" and under barrel lengths having very high muzzle pressures that can damage suppressors not designed to take it. So think about what your ears are being subjected to ! The somewhat heavy Noveske Flaming pig was designed to help with short barrels and is a ruggedized and "improved" Krinkov type brake that throw the sound/blast away from the weapon and it certainly does that. It actually makes short barreled gas operated weapons run a little better by delaying the release of the gas pressure so it acts as a muzzle booster that "smooths out " short barrel weapons. I have one on shorth barrel AKs and several short barreled ARs and indeed they do work well allowing fast fire in tight spaces OF COURSE WITH hearing protection !!! The blast is directed down range however and even inside a cargo container you get a much reduced flash bang overpressure effect, thats what they were designed, and proven to do . BUT NO substitute for alot of hearing protection.

 

[Skylerbone]

I know from previous postings that plenty of folks here have adequate experience with short barrel blasters. I count myself among them as owner of a 10.5” and 7.5” ARs both in 5.56

Last photo shows 1 of 3 targets hung from shooters on the far left at an indoor range. All 3 cleared the line when that 7.5” touched off, even with its magnum linear comp. Very soon it will sport a suppressor because indoors truly is a different world when shooting.

 

[citizenconn]

If I am not running a suppressor on my 7.5" or 10.5" in .223/5.56 uppers then I put a blast diverter on them to push that noise and fireball forward. On my .300 blk and 7.62x39 AR pistols I'm usually shooting subs so I just use a suppressor attaching brake (when not using the suppressor). They are a world of difference (less) than the .223/5.56 in terms of blast.