noise reduction

fourspear

New member
Does anyone have any experience with a set up on a bench or shooting structure that would reduce the noise level from high power rifles? Not looking for a barrel mounted silencer, is there anything along the line of baffles or shooting through a muffler of some type? I have neighbors within several hundred yards and would like to shoot without disturbing them, if that's possible. Thanks, Red
 
We have noise baffles installed at our range. They are 2' X 4' hung from over the top of the benches. The baffles are hung at two foot intervals both longitudinally and horizontally. We also have a berm all the way around range and allot of trees planted around it. The baffles are a little expensive, but not to bad. Check this web site out the ones they sell look like the ones we have. http://www.allnoisecontrol.com/products/CeilingBaffles.cfm
Its best to have something like this done so that you don't get complaints.
Ron
 
Don't some places use large tubing, several feet long with some sort of sound deadening material lining it, to shoot through? Seems like it would work.--Mike Ezell
 
Somewhere in the past I saw some pics of tires bolted together through the sidewalls, about 6 or 8 of them if I remember correctly. Then they were mounted on a separate platform in front of the bench so that the first 6" or so of the muzzle would be inside. Seems like it may help but I never tried it. Seems like the more tires, the more chambers you would have and maybe the quieter it would be to a point.
 
Somewhere in the past I saw some pics of tires bolted together through the sidewalls, about 6 or 8 of them if I remember correctly. Then they were mounted on a separate platform in front of the bench so that the first 6" or so of the muzzle would be inside. Seems like it may help but I never tried it. Seems like the more tires, the more chambers you would have and maybe the quieter it would be to a point.

Used truck tires (semi) have an I.D. of about 22 inches -- and they are free!! (They have to pay to get rid of them). I would go for about a dozen.
You will still have the supersonic "crack" from the bullet however.

Actually, I've been considering building a 50 foot range out of them.
 
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A short wall on either side of you with something to insulate works well too. All you need to do is to get the sound moving in a direction that isn't directly toward the bystanders. If you've blocked the line of sight, you've blocked the sound. You'll always have reflection, but it's nothing like the direct blast.

Its funny, I was at a friends house last night and his property and mine are visible from each other over a ravine. They are just over a mile apart, call it 1.2. He asked me about hunting season and I said I hadn't hunted. He asked, who shot up across the mountain on the first Saturday. I said I had no idea, I didn't think anyone had, and perhaps it was the neighbors. He was pretty adamant telling me how unmistakable the sound is coming from this property. He's not talking about the gun blast, he's talking about the bullet noise. I used to regularly shoot on my 400 yard range here and had people say they could clearly hear the bullets from 3 miles away. Most thought it was an awesome sound, but, I am sure it would get old after a while.
 
Get a couple of 55 gal. drums with ends in tact. Cut out about a 10" circle out of the center of both ends of both drums. Put fiberglass insulation around the inside of both drums. Line the inside of both drums (10 "dia.)with fine mesh screen so that when your done you have what looks like a couple of mufflers. Now tack weld both drums togather end to end. Use your own yankee ingenuity when attaching it to your bench. Make sure you are able to get a few inches of barrel inside your drum. I think you'll find it works pretty slick.
 
I've tried the tube thing and couldn't live with it at ground level. Too nerve-wracking. I couldn't see well enough to know that someone couldn't wander thru the field of fire. I've had great success with insulation and plywood deflectors.

al
 
No matter WHAT you use, you need..................

to leave the bottom open. You may even want baffles (2X4s) on the bottom, but you want it open so all the debris can fall out. Otherwise, one day the reason why you want the bottom OPEN will come to you, all of a sudden. Yes, in a flash !! ;):eek: And its difficult to move all those burnin' truck tires by yourself. :D

BTW, tried the drums and insulation, the concussion sucked the insulation out through the chicken-wire, and observers on the sides said they didn't hear any real difference.
 
Mufflers

At our range we use 55 gal barrels (plastic) mounted on a wooden carriage with wheels. When a shooter has a muzzle brake he places the barrel at the end of the bench with the openings (both ends removed) in line with his target. This arrangement catches the blast from the muzzle brake and is much appreciated by the shooters adjacent. It doesn't really muffle the report, but it does catch the blast and contains it.
 
I had 5 old tires tied together, with fiberglass and screening stuffed inside behind my house. Quieted it down somewhat, but I never fired more than just enough to sight in at 50 yds, so I didn't get powder residue enough to flash fire. Some nasty hornets moved in once, though..........
 
About 10 years ago, we shot IBS matches at the Oley range near Reading, PA. Then the neighbors complained about the noise and the club installed bafles - plywood hung low from left to right in front of the line, giving a clearance of about 15" over the benches. This did not satisfy the NEW neighbors, and eventually they sought a court injunction. This was issued after their expert witness testified to the sound level he recorded from the various surrounding properties. That ended matches at that range. Sad.
 
Tires' Downside

Somewhere in the past I saw some pics of tires bolted together through the sidewalls, about 6 or 8 of them if I remember correctly. Then they were mounted on a separate platform in front of the bench so that the first 6" or so of the muzzle would be inside. Seems like it may help but I never tried it. Seems like the more tires, the more chambers you would have and maybe the quieter it would be to a point.

Many years ago, American Rifleman carried an article by Jac Weller that dealt with the subject of containing the sound of a firearm's discharge. Mr. Weller used a tunnel of tires to good effect until accumulated unburned powder ignited and singed his eyebrows!
 
Explosion Proof Tires

Here's what i did. Tires are hard to drill a hole in so i took my 20 gauge shotgun with deer slugs and shot thru the tread(from one tread thru the other), then place the tires with one of the holes down on the tire rack. Hose them out every year or so and you will have no problems.

Later
Dave
 
Thanks to all

Thanks for a lot of good ideas and the safety issues of shooting with your field of view restricted. I plan on trying some of these out and will report back later on how it works out. Thanks again, Red
 
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