The first thing that the uninitiated who have only seen guns in movies might notice about guns in real life is that they are loud, even incredibly loud.

And the concussive force coming from the muzzles of firearms, especially the more powerful calibers, is also something to observe. Or rather something to feel.

But for some, the usual cracks and thuds that guns produce just aren’t enough.

They reinforce it with “loudeners,” which are basically the opposite of suppressors – commonly called silencers – which are designed to silence weapons.

“We would never stock something like this”

Loudeners can be homemade devices, usually funnel-shaped, attached to the muzzle of a firearm and intended to amplify the sound of a firearm being fired.

There are a few commercially designed speakers available. They are essentially muzzle brakes on steroids, deliberately designed to maximize the noise, concussion, and muzzle flash of a firearm.

Some Wyoming residents told Cowboy State Daily that it’s just unnecessary and stupid.

Famed Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich said he doesn’t understand why anyone would want an amplifier for a gun.

“I can’t understand why. My first thought is that it must be overcompensation for something,” he said.

Art Huckfeldt, who works at Frontier Arms in Cheyenne, is also skeptical of the need for bulking.

Customers also don’t seem eager to see them on store shelves, he said.

“We would never sell something like that,” Huckfeldt said. “It’s not something we would ever store.” Nobody would buy it.

Powered muzzle brakes

For gun enthusiasts, YouTube offers a wealth of content, from the most informative to the most downright newsworthy.

Loudener gun videos probably fall into the latter category.

Some engage in highly questionable antics, like attaching a motor oil funnel to the end of a .22 caliber in an attempt to make it look like a high-powered rifle.

A company selling a commercial magazine in a video explains that increasing the size of a muzzle brake’s port (the open spaces on the side) increases noise, flash and concussion.

Normal muzzle brakes serve a legitimate purpose, said Scott Weber, owner of The Gunrunner Auctions in Cody.

They reduce recoil, making magnum rifles easier to shoot and keep on target for subsequent shots, said Weber, who has been on many Safari hunts in Africa.

In North America, muzzle brakes are popular with people who hunt with heavier calibers, such as the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum.

The brakes work by diverting gases coming from the muzzle of the gun through the ports and out to the sides.

This reduces recoil in the shooter’s shoulder, but it comes at the cost of a noisier weapon, Weber said.

This also means the blast gas jets are pushed to either side, he explained.

With normal muzzle brakes, this is manageable, he said, although “you never want anyone standing off to the side when you’re using one,” he said.

A louder muzzle brake, deliberately designed to push noise and blast to maximum, is a bad idea, he added.

“I think it could become a liability issue, we’re talking about hearing health here,” he said.

Not to mention how the huge side concussion and muzzle gas explosion hits people on both sides of a shooting range, Weber said.

No goal

Ulrich said that while there is a purpose to making motorcycles louder — to make it easier for drivers to hear them — there is no sensible reason to make guns louder.

“On motorcycles, loud pipes save lives. With a gun, the only result I see would be continued hearing loss and annoyance of anyone within earshot,” he said.

And if hunters used sound amplifiers, it would be downright embarrassing, he added.

“I see a scenario when I hunt,” Ulrich said. “You can at least let the entire hunting area know that you missed your shot and scared every living thing in an entire mountain range.”

Weber doesn’t think loundeners will ever catch up with Wyoming’s hunters and shooters.

“The trend is the opposite,” he said. “People tend to use suppressors to make their guns quieter and preserve their hearing. There are hunters and shooters who would never shoot a firearm that is not suppressed.

Contact Mark Heinz at [email protected]

Marc Heinz can be reached at [email protected].