Suppressors 18 inch barrel
- Thread starter Aimatdeer
- Start date
No , with all centerfire ammunition that is super sonic the sonic crack is above the hearing damage threshold.
Plenty out there that make it tolerable but none are " hearing safe " especially on an AR was where there are 2 sources of sound , the muzzle and the BCG / ejection port .
Plenty out there that make it tolerable but none are " hearing safe " especially on an AR was where there are 2 sources of sound , the muzzle and the BCG / ejection port .
Ughhh false....yes there are cans that will make that hearing safe at the shooters ear...OSS , silencerco, deadair and I am sure many others all make cans that are hearing safe at the shooters ear with an 18" barrel. I have access to db reading equipment and regularly get readings in the 120's using super sonic ammo out of my ar's.
120 decibels is above what is the industry standard that is considered hearing safe .
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss
Anything above 85 decibels is considered not hearing safe .
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss
Anything above 85 decibels is considered not hearing safe .
Keep reading , impulse aound is a cumulative effect so yes damage is still being done it just isn't instant .
"The OSHA limit for impulsive or impact noise is also 140 dB peak sound pressure level. This limit is independent of the duration of the noise impulse. There is no OSHA limit for number of exposures to impulsive or impact noise. Impulsive or impact noise must be integrated into the measurement of continuous noise exposure, however.
The UL provision for peak acoustic pressure also states:
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1991-04-01
The UL provision for peak acoustic pressure also states:
"Peak hold" is defined as an acoustic response having a duration less than 50 microseconds."
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1991-04-01
Gonna have to agree to disagree because I'm going to take the word of the audiologist over OSHA .
lol you will never know the joy of sbr suppressed shooting or the riot that subsonics can be!
my sbrs are mostly in the 10-12" range ...my shortest being less than 28" long full extended 
popping ground hogs and coyotes with subs is next level hombre and I dare say 300blk out of 7" ar with 220 grain pills is more lethal at home defense than a full size ar but dead is dead either way. Dont want to argue with you its your money and up to you to decide but I cant stand the thought of shooting unsupressed anything but I do have a small collection of cans so I may be biased
popping ground hogs and coyotes with subs is next level hombre and I dare say 300blk out of 7" ar with 220 grain pills is more lethal at home defense than a full size ar but dead is dead either way. Dont want to argue with you its your money and up to you to decide but I cant stand the thought of shooting unsupressed anything but I do have a small collection of cans so I may be biased 1.) Subs from .300blk or 5.56 should never be used for home defense, they do not terminally perform well and have as much energy as .45acp from a 5in barrel. You are better off using a pistol or PPC at that point. If you want to step up to .458 Socom or similar sure, then subs have enough energy and expansion to argue over, but it still isn't great. Using standard HD loads like 62gr TBBCs will still be <140db to the shooter on a properly setup AR SBR (basically add an AGB) with any quality suppressor. That is a far superior setup.
2.) The OSHA standards are about duration of exposure. The ~140db that gets thrown around is the approximate limit for ANY level of exposure to cause instant and permanent harm. But even the QUIETEST 22lr subs from a bolt gun will cause hearing damage over time with enough duration of exposure because they are still >85db. So the trick with suppressing centerfire rifles is to get them <140db to the shooter so if you HAVE to use them without earpro for a little while (home defense, hunting, etc) you won't go deaf or loose much situational awareness instantly. BUT you should still wear earpro when you can no matter what kind of suppressed rifle or pistol you are shooting.
3.) OP, there are many options for <140db to the shooter cans on an 18in AR15 as seen here (credit NFATALK.org). I would highly recommend the Dead Air Nomad, Q Trash Panda, or SIG SRD 7.62 line of cans as they have the best balance between weight/length/suppression on semi-autos. I'd still recommend adding an AGB from SLR Rifleworks or Superlative Arms to get max reduction of noise to you the shooter.
2.) The OSHA standards are about duration of exposure. The ~140db that gets thrown around is the approximate limit for ANY level of exposure to cause instant and permanent harm. But even the QUIETEST 22lr subs from a bolt gun will cause hearing damage over time with enough duration of exposure because they are still >85db. So the trick with suppressing centerfire rifles is to get them <140db to the shooter so if you HAVE to use them without earpro for a little while (home defense, hunting, etc) you won't go deaf or loose much situational awareness instantly. BUT you should still wear earpro when you can no matter what kind of suppressed rifle or pistol you are shooting.
3.) OP, there are many options for <140db to the shooter cans on an 18in AR15 as seen here (credit NFATALK.org). I would highly recommend the Dead Air Nomad, Q Trash Panda, or SIG SRD 7.62 line of cans as they have the best balance between weight/length/suppression on semi-autos. I'd still recommend adding an AGB from SLR Rifleworks or Superlative Arms to get max reduction of noise to you the shooter.
Hornaday is making 300 BLK expanding subs now to address that concern And no dont ever shoot 5.56 subs... that is a .22 LR lol https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/300-blackout-190-gr-sub-x-subsonic#!/
I would say most cans would get you hearing safe on an 18 inch LaRue I had one of those upper and shot a few different suppressors on it.. no issues.. and i saw no need for a adjustable gas block... just used a gas buster charging handle ... but I was long range shooting slow... Start shooting faster... that is another story.
I do have a Trash Panda on my 300BLK BCM upper... and it has very little gas blow back compared to pretty much every other can I have shot... And that is on full auto lower too! I am not gassed out buy the end of the 30 rd mag..
I would say most cans would get you hearing safe on an 18 inch LaRue I had one of those upper and shot a few different suppressors on it.. no issues.. and i saw no need for a adjustable gas block... just used a gas buster charging handle ... but I was long range shooting slow... Start shooting faster... that is another story.
I do have a Trash Panda on my 300BLK BCM upper... and it has very little gas blow back compared to pretty much every other can I have shot... And that is on full auto lower too! I am not gassed out buy the end of the 30 rd mag..
Yes there are a few special bullets that do terminally perform from the .300blk subsonic, like Lehighs. But again, ask yourself why you are using a rifle platform with the same energy and wounding capability of a 5in 1911 in .45ACP? You can have 3-4x the KE (and even greater wounding) on target for a few more DB to the shooter (still well below 140db), that trade is always worth it.
