# Are there ANY movies that \*accurately\* represent the noise of a gunshot and peoples' reaction to it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2011, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296 "2011-06-13T06:34:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296/81 "2011-09-07T16:28:05Z")
> [@Philliam](#): > > Sighting in the Remington Model 600 .350 Magnum my wife and I carried as ‘Bear Repellant’ during Alaska F&G stream surveys, I neglected to use any ear plugs. > ! Did the same thing though only with a .243. I remember my ex father-in-law sighting in a .270 at a covered outdoor range. The noise bouncing off the ceiling above him was amazingly loud. He never wore ear plugs though. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296/82 "2011-09-07T16:34:38Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This thread has been interesting because I’ve somehow previously gotten the impression that movies radically beef up sounds of gunfire with things like lions’ roars, bison stampedes, rocket engines, and volcano eruptions to make them a lot bigger than they would bs in real life. That’s actually partially true for videogames. A fairly well-known example is the game Doom: the game’s pistol sound is actually a recording of a shotgun. The game’s shotgun sound is a recording of a cannon. Both are still significantly quieter than they would be in real life, though. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296/83 "2011-09-07T17:03:29Z")
I read a review of _Last of the Mohicans_, in which it was said that the movie accurately depicted the sound of 18th century musket fire, instead of just going ahead and using a contemporary sound effect of sharper rifle fire. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296/84 "2011-09-07T23:09:45Z")
A friend of mine was sitting in the passenger seat of my compact car and accidently discharged a .357 mag round through the floorboard, out of a short barrelled revolver. We were both amazed that it was nowhere near as loud as we would have thought. We theorized that the upolstry absorbed some of the sound. The windows and sunroof were closed. It was more of a _whooph_ than a sharp _crack_. My ears did not ring after. I would rate the gunfire sounds in the Kevin Costner film \*Open Range \*as among the best. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296/85 "2011-09-08T04:54:03Z")
Michael Mann movies, yeah. I think Heat is at the top in terms of realistic sounds, probably because of the location (downtown). > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Although the sound that is used for silencers by foley artists is not accurate, I have personally fired both a 9mmP submachine gun and .22 pistol (both legal and stamped) which were quiet enough to distinguish the sound of the action over the muzzle blast. Adding: Discounting the subsonic round, the sound of a silenced weapon is greater if you are in front of or to the side of the barrel where the camera’s POV is frequently positioned. I know it’s just the movies but I’d like to see Hollywood boost the sound a bit regarding silencers. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296/86 "2011-09-08T05:31:10Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I remember the first time I was behind a berm and heard the crack of a rifle round passing overhead. Yeah… what sort of reaction was the OP refering to when they said “accurate”? Here people hunt a lot. So the typical reaction, upon hearing something go bang outside is: “Was that a gun? Fireworks?” wait for it to repeat. “I think it was…well, it’s not a holiday. Is it deer season yet? Definitely a gun. God damn hunters, thinking they can hunt on private property. Or _is_ it fireworks after all? God damn kids, don’t they know there’s a ban on - nope, rifle.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-movies-that-accurately-represent-the-noise-of-a-gunshot-and-peoples-reaction-to-it/585296.md?page=4)