ISO 17201-1:2005 specifies a method to determine the acoustic source energy of the muzzle blast for calibres of less than 20 mm or explosive charges of less than 50 g TNT equivalent. It is applicable at distances where peak pressures less than 1 kPa (equivalent to a peak sound pressure level of 154 dB) are observed. The source energy, directivity of the source and their spectral structure determined by this procedure can be used as input data to sound propagation programmes, enabling prediction of shooting noise in the neighbourhood of shooting ranges. Additionally, the data can be used to compare sound emission from different types of guns or different types of ammunition used with the same gun.
ISO 17201-1:2005 is applicable to guns used in civil shooting ranges but it can also be applied to military guns. It is not applicable to the assessment of hearing damage or sound levels in the non-linear region.