Do you think the carbine is louder?

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

Guys,

Just got back from the range. It was the fourth time I’ve fired my LMT…and I need to ask you guys something that all of you might already know…

MY LMT is the only carbine length buffer system I’ve got. (Ace stubby Skeleton stock) My Colts all have A1s and rifle length buffer systems. (two NY legal 6920s)

To my ear, this LMT is noticeably louder. I’m using the same PWS FSC556 comp and the same ammo that I use with my Colts.

Is this:

a) common knowledge?

b) my imagination?

c) too stupid for consideration?

Just curious. Thanks.

2

Yes.
But, this doesn’t mean that you aren’t stupidly imagining something that is common knowledge. :smiley:

3

Excellent work.

Agreed, the correct answer is essentially A.

4

The shorter the barrel, the louder the weapon system.

The longer the barrel, the more time the gas has to expand before exiting the barrel. The shorter the barrel, the less time gas has to expand and therefore the more compact the gases will be resulting in a louder the report relative to a longer barrel.

For me this was most noticeable when I fired my 5" 1911 alongside my buddy who has a 4" and my other buddy who has a 3.5". I wouldn’t advocate using just earplugs when shooting any weapon system, but you could get away with it when firing a 5" 1911 -not so with a 3.5 inch 1911. The difference is that large.

5

Sure…but the barrel length is the same for the rifles I wrote about. The buffer system was the only difference.

6

ah, I saw A1 and assumed you were talking about a 20 inch

7

The only reason I can think of is the stock length and are you placing your cheek in ths same position each time? If the ACE stock is shorter and your placing your ears closer to the muzzle it can seem louder that the A1 stock all else being the same.

CD

8

Please send us all your weapons and ammo and we will do extensive testing and return subjective…err I mean objective data back to you… Make sure you have enough ammo for all of us.

9

I had a goofball on TOS arguing that the report was the same. It just seemed louder because a short barrel put the muzzle closer to the shooter. :rolleyes:

10

I don’t imagine there is huge change in sound. I normally (almost every time) shoot with my brother-in-law who runs a 20" barrel and I run all 16" barrels. We wear over the ear style hearing protection and I have never noticed a change in sound… that said, I never particularly looked for a change of sound. I would think that if a large difference were to be noticed, I would have picked up on it even though I was not actively paying attention to it.

My guess is that at this distance, comparing a 16 to a 20 inch, the sound change is there but not overwhelming.

11

The sound change is quite dramatic when you get to 11.5" barrels.

There was an old ALTAMA boot promo video years back where 4 guys were lined up and each guy fired a single round from a M4/M16 rifle. The barrels got progressively shorter down to the 11.5" commando.

The sound difference was most noteworthy when the commando fired.