I have the same experience, generally. It will definitely have a lot of room to wiggle around, depending on the particular gun's characteristics, the bullet's characteristics, and even the surrounding environment. If you read the wikipedia on it, you'll even see a section complaining about how measured dB levels are nearly useless if the distance from the source isn't measured. A lawn mower across the street isn't such a big deal, but the one pushing it should have hearing protection.