What was the loudest muzzle blast you have ever heard, civilian only please. Describe the gun, load and event, if you can do so.
Best,
Ed

Remington Corlokt sabot 12 ga deer slug. It may have ben the tin roof shooting shack i was shooting it from but two of those was all I wanted.

Very loud great big kick too.

note the Copper Solid sabots are a lot easier on the ears, the shoulder and the wallet.

Yep, I have heard stories about that sabot load being stout.
Best,
Ed

My 7mm. mag shot out of a ground blind with the muzzle brake open..
Not a smart thing to do.

My .300 mag in a dead still day from my truck box!!!!Ears are still ringing!!
Or my Marlin Goose Gun with 36" bbl full choke with super magnum 3" shells also on a very quite day(no wind at all). Now that was loud!!

Dan

The 264 and 7mm RM both have a reputation for being pretty loud, especially with a case full of fast burning powder and a light bullet.
Best,
Ed

The loudest muzzle blast I have ever encountered was from a 5 inch black powder pistol. It was discharged about six inches from my ear.... and dropped me to the ground. It was hours before I could hear anything!
My younger brother wasn't too bright and we didn't go shooting together after that incident.

Paul,
That sounds about like the high velocity shotgun shell stuck in a gun while "teaching" someone to shoot, both are real ignorant tricks by "not so bright" people. One of the times I have been shot was by a not so bright person who thought a good trick would be to shoot a can from my hand when my back was turned, he missed the can. Needless to say, he never saw my back again.
Best,
Ed

Lyman Great Plains rifle, .54 caliber patched roundball, 100 grains Pyrodex.

I'm not sure why, but muzzleloaders just seem louder than centerfire. Maybe it's the sound spectrum -- perhaps fewer high frequencies with the BP.

My short barreled Ruger 77MKII CR in 223 REM..
The loudest in comparison to all my other guns from .22 to 45-70.

All my mates thought I am shooting magnum caliber based on the sound.
Apparently a lot of the powder finish their combustion OUTSIDE the short barrel and thus create the loud noise.

A Winchester 7mm mag with the BOSS system. I had shot it at the range with hearing protection a lot until deer season. A handload with 150 gr. Nosler BT, H4831, etc..
I was sitting in a field one afternoon during a whiteout....then the snow lightened up and out walks a nice buck approximately 125 yards away.
I remember thinking prior to the shot "should I put plugs in?" but it was cold and I had a thick knit hat on...it will be alright...wrong
To this day, my left ear will just start ringing for no reason. As for the right ear, I think it was the way my head was angled when I fired and the hat that saved it from permanent damage!
That darn BOSS system, it would shoot, but was the loudest thing!!!!

I always shoot with at least soft mold-able ear plugs with 95% percent of the time wearing the larger ear muff style with the plugs.

For that matter only ever shot once with a 12 ga without any ear protection so I am not sure I can judge any "sound" I may have heard from a gun blast properly for which seemed the loudest.

Dimitri

My .44Mag 29-2 with it's 4" barrel in our pistol blockhouse at the Club.
I swear I can see the pea rock wall bowing in when I shoot big game loads with it.

Eric

I remember clearing the firing line on either side of me while firing a Mini-14 with a flash suppressor. Nobody believed it was a .223 at first.

My AMT Action Express .50. Turned all the heads on the range the day I shot that one!! Brought the dust and dirt from the overhead!!