Sound Levels

[coolsound]

Just out of curiosity, I bough a sound level meter from Amazon and measured the sound level of my 3 airguns this morning. Here are the results:

L2 .25 cal 350mm 110.8 dbA
Gunnar .25 cal 88.7 dbA
Red Wolf .22 cal with no moderator 89.8 dbA
Red Wolf .22 cal with 0Db moderator 87.4 dbA (Moderator is .30 cal. Might be quieter with a .22/.25 moderator)

Obviously the L2 is the loudest. My Behemoth kit for the L2 should be here Tuesday so will see how much it would helps

 

[hameditor]

Very interesting! I have tried multiple times to measure airgun sound levels without success. I have never been able to achieve consistent, repeatable measurements. So I will be interested to see how you make out with this device!

 

[PasadenaMike]

I had an app but now I just rely on my ears .

 

[hameditor]

I had an app but now I just rely on my ears .

That's what I ended-up doing. But it seems so unscientific

 

[PasadenaMike]

That's what I ended-up doing. But it seems so unscientific

Honestly it works. Even leveling my scopes my eyes will tell me if it’s a hair canted. I tried fancy tools they didn’t work

 

[Ezana4CE]

Like Mr. Archer states, I’ve read several posts where folks say a similar thing about entry-level sound meter readings. In my experience big-bore airguns sound a lot different away from the gun. Nothing like a sonic PB crack.I like using animal reaction and people’s word on the report when heard from various distances.

 

[Danman]

Like Mr. Archer states, I’ve read several posts where folks say a similar thing about entry-level sound meter readings. In my experience big-bore airguns sound a lot different away from the gun. Nothing like a sonic PB crack.I like using animal reaction and people’s word on the report when heard from various distances.

I do the same thing. My S510 'cracks' loudly wheras my Ghost (esp on min) is a whisper. My front yard has a long wooden fence that makes it worse I swear. I will get my brother to shoot all my guns, and I will be at my neighbour's property lines to test what they actually can hear. It's (thankfully) much less than I can hear shooting em. 2 nights ago my neighbour had people over and were chatting up a storm. (probably 120ft away from my position, Zero wind) I dumped a cherry stealing bird and the gun was 'loud' and the pop was loud. It seemed the shot could be heard along way off. I waited for a break in their conversation.....there was none. Maybe @coolsound repeat the test with your meter on a different day and see (hear) if the results are the same/consistent?

 

[coolsound]

Well my amateur test is only meant for comparison between the rifles. Here is my unscientific process. Place the sound level meter in the same spot for each rifle. Activate the max feature on the sound meter. Take 4 shots. Record the max decibel. Do it a second time to rule out any anomaly in the first reading. I figure any inconsistency in the reading from the sound meter will apply to all rifles thus still gives a general idea about the sound level for each rifle relative to the comparison.

 

[coolsound]

All testing were done consecutively in the same session.

 

[Hateful McNasty]

??? I'd guess place it on a stand maybe x-amount way ahead of the muzzle . Maybe just position it like a foot ahead and 6-12" below . That should be decent . Or place it on a stand at any range like said on how down ranges that hame would be to hear it .?

Anyway looks like somthing to play with . Why not ?

 

[coolsound]

Re-measure the L2 with the Behemoth moderator. It is much quieter now. Got 89.5 and 89.7 dbA on the 2 tries. It was at 110 dbA without the Behemoth. L2 sound level is about the same as my RW and Gunnar now to my ears. This is what I was hoping for.

 

[Florida_Man]

I use my ears and if grackles and blue jays take off when I shoot. I have a duck seal junction box near my bird feeder and basically always have birds there. So it’s a silent impact. If the grackles stick around, I know it’s quiet enough for my yard any time of day. If they flee, that rifle is only shot during the day when the neighborhood is buzzing with other noises. I like to be respectful to my neighbors and not let my hobby interfere with their lives.