ML noise levels?

[Wolfbane]

The first thing I ever noticed about Black-powder muzzle loaders is that their noise levels appeared to be much lower. Now that may be because I was sighting in a centrefire cartridge rifle, with a 16.5 inch barrel, which lets you know it is there even with good hearing protection! However apart from a pop and then a pall of blue smoke, there was not much evidence of it even being fired. What is the true noise level of say ML rifles in the .45 to .54 class?

 

Could'nt give you the exact figures in decibles but I'm sure someone on this forum will. Although Black Powder rifles do not produce the noise that high powered centerfire rifles produce, it's still prudent to wear proper hearing protection while target shooting. And I'll wager a couple of Ben Franklins that no member responding to this thread would dispute.

With that being said. It's obviously impractical to wear hearing protection while hunting. And yes, you will notice a vast difference in the report of a muzzleloader versus a high powered centerfire.

 

[TN.Frank]

Part of it has to do with the barrels being longer on muzzle loaders. That puts the noise further from your ear so it doesn't sound as loud.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

First time I took my 54 cal Harper's Ferry to a public range. (I was letting a woman bench shoot it).

There were 5-6 GI Joes, and even a GI Jane there shooting all kinds of 223 cal wannbe firearms.

When my lady friend touched off the 54 I was standing directly behind her. I saw 3 or the 5 hit the ground and the others kneel. The GI Jane jumped and ran 10 feet into the parking lot.

All the while my lady friend was loading her next shot, and the rest of them stood there with thier mouths wide open.

After she loaded, she stopped and looked around because it was so quiet, she thought the range had gone cold and was affaid she was sitting there with a hot rifle.

After the range did close to check targets, we had 5 new friends wanting to know all about that big boomer she was shooting.

 

[jtmattison]

Could'nt give you the exact figures in decibles but I'm sure someone on this forum will. Although Black Powder rifles do not produce the noise that high powered centerfire rifles produce, it's still prudent to wear proper hearing protection while target shooting. And I'll wager a couple of Ben Franklins that no member responding to this thread would dispute.

With that being said. It's obviously impractical to wear hearing protection while hunting. And yes, you will notice a vast difference in the report of a muzzleloader versus a high powered centerfire.

I never wear hearing protection. I think it's silly.
Now pay up those Ben Franklins!
:rotf:
I'm joking! ALWAYS wear hearing protection.
I use electronic muffs on the range and in the woods. You can hear like normal if not better and they protect you when you fire.

HD

 

[Wolfbane]

No dispute about wearing hearing protection; I have excellent hearing and I intend to keep it that way! However the nature of the sound is quite different. I have a Ruger #1 in .270 Ackley Improved that does not sound as loud as the (7.62x39) bolt-action carbine I mentioned before, because of a much longer barrel. But both rifles have a much sharper sound than my ML.

Great story with those soldiers, they must have thought the .54 was a grenade!

 

[CrackStock]

I would think that this would be hard to say with so many variables involved:

caliber

type of powder

size of the powder charge

thickness of barrel

length of barrel

cap or flint

tightness of load

Yup, pretty hard to lock all of these down...

I just know that I will be wearing hearing protection at the range regardless of what I am shooting and I won't be wearing it if I am hunting.

CS

 

[Slake]

I'm thinkin of using my electronic muffs in the woods and I have yet to do it. I'm very careful to always wear protection at the range no matter what I'm shootin..even 22's,,and I preach it to all others {I've lost much hearin over the years}

 

[Dave K]

Funny, you talk about the noise. I dove hunt in the fall with my friends. They are shooting breech loading shotguns and I am shooting my muzzleloading shotgun. The first year we hunted the local farmers always asked what I was shooting, since it sounded so loud. It has a "boom" sound from the distance, where a breech loader sounds like a "pop".

 

[roundball]

I'm very careful to always wear protection at the range no matter what I'm shootin..even 22's,,and I preach it to all others {I've lost much hearin over the years}

I'm disappointed to find noticeable hearing loss in my left ear...this in spite of having worn ear protection constantly during the past 25 years of all forms of trap, skeet, rifle, pistol, and muzzleloader shooting.

My guess now is that it had nothing to do with shooting sports...the damage may have started in the 60's with a few years working around USAF jets on the flightline without ear protection, or it's simply a side effect of getting older, dunno...but the left one has deterioriated a great degree

 

[graybeard]

I'll go along with those who say ALWAYS wear hearing protection. :nono: I'm 73 and getting mighty deaf. When I started shooting as a boy, no one that I knew of ever used hearing protection. Later in life only sissies used it. The sissies don't say "Huh?" nearly as much as I do now. I think pistols are worse than rifles and I always loved to shoot pistols. graybeard

 

[trent/OH]

I cannot document the noise level from the front of my 50 cal, but I am absolutely CERTAIN that the cock and set trigger replicate thunder whenever a deer is within 50 yards!!!

 

[musketman]

The first thing I ever noticed about Black-powder muzzle loaders is that their noise levels appeared to be much lower.

BOGUS ANSWER: Charcoal is a filter material, so the charcoal in the black powder acts as a muffler, filtering out the noise... :grin:

REAL ANSWER: I'm thinking it has something to do with the sound barrier, for the most part, many of the black powder loads are sub-sonic, so that sharp "Crack" isn't heard along with the boom when a projectile breaks the speed of sound...

Another factor is the propellants itself, smokeless powders are nitro based and a much stronger powder than black, they yield greater pressures and thus, produce more noise...

 

[TN.Frank]

None of my loads are sub-sonic, even the light ones. My 40 cal with a 40gr charge and a round ball runs about 1500fps, well over the 1100fps for the speed of sound and my 50 shooting 80grs of 3fg and a round ball should clock in at around 1800-1900fps, so being sub-sonic has nothing to do with it. Barrel length and the burn rate of the powder play a bigger role in the sound being different. Just wait until I kick the ol' 40 up to 60grs, it should hit the 2000fps mark. :winking:

 

[jethro224]

3 old shooters were standing around the range. The first one said,
"It sure is windy!"
The second one answered, "No, it's Thursday."
To which the third one replied, "Me to. Let's pack up and go get a beer!"
:rotf:

My muzzleloaders sound quieter to me too, but ALL of my huntin' buddies said they knew it was me when I shot my deer this season 'cause "Nothin' else in the woods sounds as loud as that dang cannon yer shootin'!"
It was just a .54 GPR.

 

[musketman]

None of my loads are sub-sonic, even the light ones. My 40 cal with a 40gr charge and a round ball runs about 1500fps, well over the 1100fps for the speed of sound and my 50 shooting 80grs of 3fg and a round ball should clock in at around 1800-1900fps, so being sub-sonic has nothing to do with it.

Guess I was thinking more on the lines of musket velocity...

 

[crgabel]

:rotf: :rotf:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I recently joined the ranks of those who wear the "electronic muffs". I had previously used flexible ear plugs combined with a regular set of muffs. While that worked well, I couldn't hear range commands or conversation. These electronic ones are really nifty and they work quite well, and they can actually assist you in hearing game movements nearby, while cutting out any loud (+85dB) noises (gunshots).

As far as the muzzleloaders sounding not quite so harsh as the centerfire cartridges going off... I believe it has mostly to do with the frequency range of the noise, the burn rate of the propellant, and the barrel length. I can't explain it further, but this is what a chemical engineer had told me (he also is an avid target shooter).

Unfortunately many of the older shooters probably did not use ANY hearing protection in their younger days with their .22 rifles. A .22 is really bad as the damage effect adds up slowly and sort of takes you by surprise in later years. Wear that safety/protective equipment. Our hearing will deteriorate enough on it's own as we age, don't make the problem worse!

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[rebel727]

Unfortunately many of the older shooters probably did not use ANY hearing protection in their younger days with their .22 rifles. A .22 is really bad as the damage effect adds up slowly and sort of takes you by surprise in later years. Wear that safety/protective equipment. Our hearing will deteriorate enough on it's own as we age, don't make the problem worse!



Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

I can vouch for that.

 

[PvtC]

I'm guessin that the noise level would be a strong function of the gas pressure when the bullet exits the muzzle. Black powder pressures are lower than smokeless. The gas pressure when the bullet leaves the muzzle would also be reduced by lengthening the barrel. My ears are set to ringing when the bullet exits an 18 inch .308 barrel. The report of the .50 York with the 42 inch barrel is hardly noticed.