TargetTalk

I had tinnitus, riinging in the ears, after shooting today. I was wearing my ear muffs, shooting in my backyard.

I think the safest thing to do is to decrease the velocity and loudness of the shots.

What is the lowest velocity that would still shoot well? I don't have a vice, so I don't know what low velocity can still produce one hold grouping.

Does anyone have done some vice clamped lowest velocity testing that would still shoot one hole grouping?

I would advise against reducing the muzzle velocity of your LP10 beneath the normal 520 fps. Use foam ear plugs AND ear muffs to protect your hearing. Steyr have optimised the gun design at this velocity with respect to the performance of the pressure regulator, number of shots per fill and target 'clean punching'. I sympathize very much as I suffer from tinnitus for several years now and find the double protection works well for me. Best wishes.

I seriously doubt the tinnitus was caused by air pistol noise. High blood pressure?

Look elsewhere for the cause.

Outside, with ear protection , shooting air?

What rating is the ear protection ? With a rating of 29 , you should

barely hear the sound at all, especially outside.



.

All the above responses are correct.

Reduce the caffeine intake instead of the velocity?

I am a bit worried because I have one shooting friend who is really going deaf.

When I call him on cell phones, he has a big problem hearing.

The common description he had was that he would have tinnitus after shooting. Tinnitus will go away some time after shooting. But he does have tinnitus for a short period after each shooting session.

I know my friend is going deaf.

I guess in this shooting business only the paranoid survive.

So my question again is "Does any one know what is the lowest adjustable velocity on a Steyr LP10 that will still produce an one hole group shooting from a vice?"

cdcmia wrote: So my question again is "Does any one know what is the lowest adjustable velocity on a Steyr LP10 that will still produce an one hole group shooting from a vice?"

I believe that what "Joker" said above is incorrect. When Don Nygord was developing his Turbo-Comp, he did extensive testing for accuracy vrs. velocity. He found that every individual gun (even of the same model) is different, and that there are nodes of better accuracy that come at various points on the velocity scale. So the only way to determine the best accuracy would be to shoot the gun in a vise, while you shoot groups at different velocity settings. After determining the best setting, you would then use only that particular batch of pellets you used during testing.

That said, none of this is really necessary, except if you shoot at the very highest levels, and maybe not even then. Your LP10 will probably shoot very accurately with velocity set anywhere from 450fps to 550fps, and maybe beyond those limits as well. And, if you use decent target stock, you can can get nice holes with velocities as low as the 400fps range. In addition, the lower the velocity, the more shots per refill. If I were you and concerned about the sound level, I'd just adjust the velocity down a little and see if it helps.

FredB

Does your shooter friend shoot only with air? LP10, in the open, with earplugs will produce sound levels at a lower level than normal speech! Do periods of listening to people talking produce the same effect for you?

cdcmia wrote:So my question again is "Does any one know what is the lowest adjustable velocity on a Steyr LP10 that will still produce an one hole group shooting from a vice?"

We will be interested to see the results of your tests...

(ps. I have seen excellent groups from a (note: 'a') 10m pistol at 385fps)

Your friend may be going deaf for another reason and may need to see an ear, nose and throat doctor, if he hasn't already. Some of it could be heredity. I had ear surgery several years ago, it was called a stapendectomy (spelling?). This is where the stapes bone is replaced. This bone is responsible for transfering sound to the inner ear. Mine, both ears, was going bad and I had lost about 30% of my hearing. My hearing improved significantly after the surgery, although I still have some ringing. Good luck.

PCP pistols are loud, but I'm not prepared to accept them as a cause of tinnitus outdoors with good ear muffs or plugs, even in the presence of significant audiological disease.
OP needs a medical and audiology evaluation.

In this country we are limited to a maximum velocity of 500fps. My LP10 was tested with a broad range of pellets and velocities. I was fortunate to find a particular pellet (a heavy rifle pellet from H&N, not a High Speed light pistol pellet) which produced spectacular results at about 495fps. Standard deviation was very good, but of course small SD does not always translate into small group sizes. Luckily in my case I was able to find the right combination of pellet and velocity.

With respect to noise levels, there is only a minimal change in sound pressure level across a large range of velocity. I have a Tau-7 pistol that, like most Tau-7's, rapidly runs out of Co2 gas. It's only when the pellets are starting to strike very low on the target that I'm able to tell "by ear" that I'm running out of gas.

If you're worried about hearing protection then double-protection is definitely the way to go. I've found that muffs and plugs used in combination allow me to filter out all the background noise, as well as the noise of shots. This is an advantage at matches where noise levels can get disturbingly high.

Aren't you afraid of advertising on the net that you have a pistol easily adjustable to well over 600 fps (210mps).

Truncheon wielding RCMPs may descent upon you at any moment to flail you about the head and shoulders and drag you out by the heels, head thumping on every step, before incarcerating you for a lengthy stay.

Don't you know they're watching YOU?

Rover - I was not advertising anything. The Firearms Reference Table, the ultimate reference for classification of firearms in Canada, contains two listings for the LP10. One listing shows it as a restricted firearm, just like a .22 pistol. The other listing shows it as a deemed non-firearm. My particular LP10 would not exceed 500fps and hence was a deemed non-firearm. Luckily for me I found its "sweet spot" right below the maximum velocity, and it was indeed a 1-holer with the proper pellet. By contrast, my Canadian-spec CM162 achieves its best grouping well below the 500fps limit.

Airgun shooters in Canada need to check their facts before making any comments which, as you've suggested, may be misconstrued by the RCMP or any other police force. Would that police did as much homework on the topic as those conscientious shooters who are doing their utmost to stay on the right side of the law.

I was just joshing you a little because I like to "stir the pot" to stimulate discussion, but a change of pellet could make you a "criminal" (not to mention an easy adjustment of the power level).

Be aware that the police have their own agenda and that law serves power.