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How loud is a .22 rifle?

Author

Daniel Moore

Published Jan 20, 2026

Firearms Are Loud

A small . 22-caliber rifle can produce noise around 140 dB, while big-bore rifles and pistols can produce sound over 175 dB.

How loud is a 22 gun?

22 caliber rifle with standard velocity ammo creates 140 dB of sound. That's loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage and physical pain. More powerful centerfire ammo is even louder.

Are 22 caliber bullets loud?

22 caliber bullet is not as loud as a shotgun. A shotgun can reach up to 160 decibels, while a 22 usually reaches around 130-140 decibels. The reason a shotgun is louder than a 22 is because the blast of air that comes out when the gun is fired is much greater with a shotgun.

How loud is a 22 short rifle?

Most of the target oriented and CB Shorts are very quiet, due to being subsonic. When fired from a full-length rifle barrel, most . 22 Short loadings are as quiet as if not quieter than, the average air rifle.

Is there a difference between 22 long and 22 long rifle?

While the original 22 Long loading used the same powder charge as the 22 Long Rifle, the 22 Long bullet was significantly lighter, and the combination did not result in higher velocities for the 22 Long when fired from a rifle.

34 related questions found

Can you use 22 shorts in a 22 long rifle?

22 Short is that it can be safely used in any firearm chambered for . 22 LR. And since gun makers have chambered virtually every action in .

Is 17 HMR louder than 22LR?

Depending on which study you go off, barrel length, and that kind of thing, 17hmr and 22wmr are around 4 dB louder than 22LR and 223 is about 10 dB louder than 17HMR/22WMR. Note, that because sound pressure is measured in a logarithmic scale, noise power is double for every 3 dB.

What is the quietest firearm?

The De Lisle carbine or De Lisle Commando carbine was a British firearm used during World War II that was designed with an integrated suppressor. That, combined with its use of subsonic ammunition, made it extremely quiet in action, possibly one of the quietest firearms ever made.

How loud are .22 subsonic rounds?

CCI subsonic . 22LR ammo reduces velocity to 1050 fps and therefore lowers the decibel level to around 68.

Is .22 subsonic?

The variety of . 22 LR loads are often divided into four distinct categories, based on nominal velocity: Subsonic, which also includes "target" or "match" loads, at nominal speeds below 1,100 feet per second (340 m/s). Standard-velocity: 1,120–1,135 feet per second (341–346 m/s)

What are the quietest .22 rounds?

Set your 22 to stealth mode with CCI® Quiet-22™. It is ideal for bolt-action and single-shot 22 LR rifles, and generates 75 percent less perceived noise than standard velocity 22 LR rounds.

How many decibels is a .22 subsonic suppressed?

I should point out that the unsuppressed 10/22 rifle started out at 141.3 dB with Federal ammunition and 139.6 dB with the Remington Subsonic. The story is different with the Walther P22. The pistol started out much louder at 155.7 dB with Federal ammunition and 154.45 dB with Remington Subsonic.

Is 45 louder than 9mm?

Decibel scale is exponential. 9mm comes in at 159.8 dB and 45 acp at 157 dB for a difference of 2.9 dB. Well every 3 dB is a factor of 2 in sound energy, so there really is a difference and 9mm is significantly louder.

Is a pistol louder than a rifle?

Handguns can be louder than rifles because of the amount of energy and how it is released in relation to the shorter barrel. In rifles, most of the gun powder's energy is depleted by the time the bullet reaches the muzzle (sometimes) making the report less intense compared to an identical round fired in a handgun.

What is the quietest 22 suppressor?

The Dead Air Mask was also the quietest of the suppressors tested, beating the SilencerCo Sparrow 22 by just . 60 dB. The Mask averaged a mere 121.7 dB, with one shot whispering into the mic at a fragile 118.4 dB!

What is the quietest gun with a silencer?

Obsidian45™ The Obsidian45 is the quietest 45 suppressor on the market and is rated for practically all center-fire pistol calibers, along with common lever action calibers.

What is the quietest sniper rifle?

But a more significant weapon made a much more quiet appearance: the MTs-116M suppressed sniper rifle. Designed to mask noise and muzzle flash, it's the most advanced version yet of one of the modern battlefield's deadliest weapons. The MTs-116M has been around for twenty years.

Is .17 or .22 better?

22 LR offers the most versatile array of ammunition and is the least expensive to shoot, but for hunting it's best limited to about 50 yards. The . 17 HMR shoots the flattest and is considered the most accurate, but it is expensive and ammunition options are limited.

What do you hunt with a 22?

Taking down animals and varmints — squirrels, ground hogs, prairie dogs, foxes, deer and even wild hogs — at short to medium ranges (20-50 meters) is doable with a . 22. A well-placed shot to the head or neck will almost always ensure a kill, as long as you don't attempt a longer-range shot. The .

What does HMR mean in guns?

17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, commonly known as the . 17 HMR, is a rimfire rifle cartridge developed by the ammunition company Hornady in 2002. It was developed by necking down a .

What does CB stand for in 22 ammo?

22 CB cap (conical breech cap) is a more powerful version of the . 22 BB cap (aka: 6mm Flobert) rimfire metallic cartridge, which was invented by Louis-Nicolas Flobert in 1845. The .

How far can a 22 Short travel?

"The most common and easiest round to get is the . 22 caliber. It can travel around 1.5 miles at a 12,000 foot altitude," Paskiewicz said. Many factors go into where a bullet travels like wind, obstacles, weight of bullet and trajectory.

Why is a 22 called a 22?

A 25-percent increase in powder gave the same 29-grain bullet a velocity of 1,028 fps from a rifle. Since the case was longer, this cartridge gained the moniker of . 22 Long, and the parent case's name was changed to the . 22 Short.