It's been a while since I tinkered with the technical aspects of anything shooting wise, and I am tempted to spend £10 on one of these sound meters from Lidl:
I would be interested under real world condtions, probably starting with the .22Lr to see the difference between high velocity, muzzle brake and different types of moderator.
I have been a bit cynical when people talk about their .22's being so quiet with subsonics "you can hear the firing pin" or indeed this lovely anschutz which is "silent"
Me too..........only this one's been used frequently for the past couple of years..........cost £11........
Pete
"Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum" Lucretius
You're offended? Please explain why your inability to control your emotions translates into me having to censor my opinions....
I wouldn't be expecting a lot of accuracy for that kind of money but it would be better than a smartphone app. For a tenner, it's probably worth a punt.
If accuracy IS important to you then calibrated sound level meters can be hired on a daily basis and this is a route you could go down.
Like yourself, I find that the words 'quiet' and 'silent' when used to describe firearm related noise can be very subjective
I have seen (maybe heard) one of these in action....umm,,, I found using my own ears more accurate because of the possible background sounds present that need to be filtered out, but it does work . Its similar to a toy plastic gun that fires plastic bullets that i would give to my 5yr old son and he would be well chuffed with it. comparing that to a real gun... I guess it's the old motto 'you get what you pay for'!!
Its important to be consistent with how you measure sound - distance from the source, angle, height above the ground etc etc all need to be the same from test to test.
I do like the Lidl fun stuff like the sound meter. As an aside, my father gave me a couple of Lidl digital verniers maybe 10 years ago. (They were a fiver each) They felt a bit rougher in operation than my Mitutoyo versions, however when it came to accuracy they gave exactly the same measurements when tested using a range of slips. Christel uses one to this day for measuring envelopes for posting and the other is probably in a drawer somewhere. The only downside I could see is they turn off after a set time. Otherwise they are spot on.
Would I use one myself? No, however I seldom use a vernier anyway.
/d
Du lytter aldrig til de ord jeg siger. Du ser mig kun for det tøj jeg har paa ...
LL
