[masraum]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

What "size" .22? Magnum rounds can kill a person but in the house discharging it would cause the instant ear ringing and nothing will be heard again for a while. Even a LR is loud. There is benefit to maintaining your hearing.

Can a little larger bore, like the 9MM offer more knock down power and less noise vs a .22 LR? I suppose that would depend on the round used.

Just asking, not trying to advise.

I would think that the quietest round by far would be a 22 lr. A 9mm isn't 44 magnum loud, but it's still much louder than a 9mm in my experience. It's like the difference between one of those tiny firecrackers that's not quite as big around as a pencil (black cat) vs an M-80.

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I've never discharged my 9 without ear protection but I'm imagine it would be very loud indeed and certainly provide more knockdown. Further a 9 mm HP would do the target a YUGE amount of damage. I wouldn't want to do the cleanup after that.

It's pretty loud. I've experienced a 9mm in a small concrete area with no ear protection. I wouldn't want to do it for a long time, but a couple few shots won't kill you. And better to have ringing ears than have a home invasion go wrong.