Range Time with the Ladder Sight and Decibel Testing
Posted: 22 May 2022 21:14
I got out today to shoot the 92 with my "refurbished" ladder sight. The slide had broken off (and spring was missing) but I got the parts I needed from Taylor and Co.
The load I have the most of now is the HSM 158 grain plated FP over 5 grains of W231 in Starline .357 brass.
It gets around 1000 fps. in the 4 inch S&W, maybe 300 more in the short Rossi.
I had loaded them on the mild side for a cheap, steady diet for the revolver.
I got the carbine later, or I'd probably have cranked out stouter loads with slower powder for it.
I first shot at 25 and 50 yards to check short range impacts, then set up the targets at 100, 125 and 150 yards.
With my ".357 Lite" ammo, I was slightly high at 25, dead on at 50, 5 inches low at 100.
That is with the ladder down, using the v notch at the back of the sight.
With the ladder up, and the slide all the way down, I shot at 125 yards and hit 6 inches high (but a nice 3 inch cloverleaf). At 150 yards it was dead on.
I'll try some loads that are more "magnum" like next, as I'd like to lessen that 5 inch drop at 100 yards.
A faster load would also make my zero range closer with the ladder up/slide at bottom, maybe 125 yards.
A different height front sight might be needed then, but I have an assortment of those to pick from.
Something else I wanted to try was checking the decibels of shots from .38 and .357 from both revolver and carbine.
No, I don't have a nice handheld meter, but I downloaded an app for my phone called Sound Meter.
Not sure of the accuracy but it seems sensitive.
My living room with a quiet fan reads at 48 decibels, and deep breaths next to the phone made it go up a couple decibels.
I tried to keep the phone in the same position under the muzzle for both handgun and long gun.
The .38 loads I tried in the S&W gave 100 decibels, and some Norma factory ,357 158 FMJs that get 1350 out of the handgun were 105 decibels.
Same loads out of the 16" Rossi were 90 for .38 Special and 95 decibels for the .357 ammo.
I would have thought that .357 ammo out of the 4 inch handgun would have been more like 130+ decibels but maybe my meter app is that far off.
At least the difference should be consistent using the same device on my guns.
Common noises chart from an I-phone app: ( mine is a different app for Android).
https://decibelpro.app/blog/decibel-cha ... d-sources/
I wish I knew someone that had a 20 inch barrel in .357 to compare, but the only guy I know close by has 2 .357 carbines, one a Marlin and one an older Amadeo Rossi, but they are both 16's as well.
Even if the same loads are just as loud when they exit the muzzle of a 20 inch barrel vs .a 16", the negative effect of the blast is lessened by getting the muzzle farther away from the ears.
The load I have the most of now is the HSM 158 grain plated FP over 5 grains of W231 in Starline .357 brass.
It gets around 1000 fps. in the 4 inch S&W, maybe 300 more in the short Rossi.
I had loaded them on the mild side for a cheap, steady diet for the revolver.
I got the carbine later, or I'd probably have cranked out stouter loads with slower powder for it.
I first shot at 25 and 50 yards to check short range impacts, then set up the targets at 100, 125 and 150 yards.
With my ".357 Lite" ammo, I was slightly high at 25, dead on at 50, 5 inches low at 100.
That is with the ladder down, using the v notch at the back of the sight.
With the ladder up, and the slide all the way down, I shot at 125 yards and hit 6 inches high (but a nice 3 inch cloverleaf). At 150 yards it was dead on.
I'll try some loads that are more "magnum" like next, as I'd like to lessen that 5 inch drop at 100 yards.
A faster load would also make my zero range closer with the ladder up/slide at bottom, maybe 125 yards.
A different height front sight might be needed then, but I have an assortment of those to pick from.
Something else I wanted to try was checking the decibels of shots from .38 and .357 from both revolver and carbine.
No, I don't have a nice handheld meter, but I downloaded an app for my phone called Sound Meter.
Not sure of the accuracy but it seems sensitive.
My living room with a quiet fan reads at 48 decibels, and deep breaths next to the phone made it go up a couple decibels.
I tried to keep the phone in the same position under the muzzle for both handgun and long gun.
The .38 loads I tried in the S&W gave 100 decibels, and some Norma factory ,357 158 FMJs that get 1350 out of the handgun were 105 decibels.
Same loads out of the 16" Rossi were 90 for .38 Special and 95 decibels for the .357 ammo.
I would have thought that .357 ammo out of the 4 inch handgun would have been more like 130+ decibels but maybe my meter app is that far off.
At least the difference should be consistent using the same device on my guns.
Common noises chart from an I-phone app: ( mine is a different app for Android).
https://decibelpro.app/blog/decibel-cha ... d-sources/
I wish I knew someone that had a 20 inch barrel in .357 to compare, but the only guy I know close by has 2 .357 carbines, one a Marlin and one an older Amadeo Rossi, but they are both 16's as well.
Even if the same loads are just as loud when they exit the muzzle of a 20 inch barrel vs .a 16", the negative effect of the blast is lessened by getting the muzzle farther away from the ears.