Author Topic: What type of hearing protection used (Read 3403 times)

Mr.Clean · « **on:** January 01, 2009, 04:59:29 AM »

What type of hearing protection do you all use for hunting when using a handgun..
I have a Super Redhawk and several large caliber T/C bbls..
Been using the foam ear plugs but cuts down on what a guy can hear if have them in while walking..
Thanks

yorketransport · « **Reply #1 on:** January 01, 2009, 09:56:54 AM »

I use the Peltor Tac 6 muffs. I don't have them on all the time though. I keep them on the side of my head so that all I have to do is rotate them down when I need them. You could wear them all the time, but you would go through a lot of batteries if you did.

Larry Gibson · « **Reply #2 on:** January 01, 2009, 11:34:08 AM »

Guys..take from me as one who has lost most of his hearing that ear protection is worth more than the price of a new handgun/rifle. You can always get another new handgun/rifle but once your hearing gone you can not get it back. I recommend Walker game ears (the model with the foam plug in your ear and the body of the aide over the ear) or Sport Ears. I used the Walkers in Iraq for a year and on numerous hunting trips. I recently purchased the Sport ears and since i had a mould already for my ears had the Sport ears custom fitted to my ears. Both have compression which shuts them off at the sound of a gunshot or other loud noise. I can hear when hunting now and they give the same protection as the foam plugs when shooting. Like hearing aides (which is what they actually are) they take a little getting used to but once you get used to them they are great.

I still wear both foam plugs and muffs when on a covered range though as I'm trying to save what I have left.

They are spendy ($500-$900 and even more for the top end Sport Ears) but they are worth it.

Larry Gibson

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 01, 2009, 11:43:27 AM »

I use Walkers Game Quad Muffs, and they work great. Would never handgun hunt with out them.

roger460xvr · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2009, 04:36:04 PM »

When i;m hunting i use the peltors 6 s muffs.....

FourBee · « **Reply #5 on:** January 01, 2009, 04:47:53 PM »

I picked up a pair of electronic muffs at Harbor Freight for a $20 bill. They work great for me. A friend of mine ran down there and bought himself a pair. One side didn't work, so he took them back and they replaced them. He's happy with his too. They amplify a little, but when you shoot, you don't hear the KaBOOM, it's that fast.

buck460XVR · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2009, 05:01:01 AM »

Quote from: yorketransport on January 01, 2009, 09:56:54 AM

I use the Peltor Tac 6 muffs.

same here...............a set of batteries last all of gun deer season. Most of the time at the range, I shut them off and use them like the standard non-amplified muffs.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2009, 12:44:32 PM »

I use the type of ear lugs on a rigid band. I put the band horizontally on my cap bill and the plugs on either side of my head above my ears. I place the plugs in my ears when I'm going to shoot. I knocks enough noise down for hunting.

http://findingking.net/Ear-Plugs-Jelli-Hearing-Protection-Shooting/M/B000RB391Y.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

GhosT · « **Reply #8 on:** January 03, 2009, 12:54:56 AM »

Just SOOOO glad nobody saying...I don't wear any!

Start shooting at age 17.....48 now....
At age 19 got my factory job,now just months shy from 30 years.
They taught me day one about hearing protection.

My hearing tests rate great every year at work.....
Cause wear hearing protection!

I work with a lot of half deaf guys........that chose not to......

A loud centerfire can do more damage in a second than a year of loud factory machines!

Cottonwood · « **Reply #9 on:** January 03, 2009, 03:14:21 AM »

Quote from: Larry Gibson on January 01, 2009, 11:34:08 AM

Guys..take from me as one who has lost most of his hearing that ear protection is worth more than the price of a new handgun/rifle. You can always get another new handgun/rifle but once your hearing gone you can not get it back. I recommend Walker game ears (the model with the foam plug in your ear and the body of the aide over the ear) or Sport Ears. I used the Walkers in Iraq for a year and on numerous hunting trips. I recently purchased the Sport ears and since i had a mould already for my ears had the Sport ears custom fitted to my ears. Both have compression which shuts them off at the sound of a gunshot or other loud noise. I can hear when hunting now and they give the same protection as the foam plugs when shooting. Like hearing aides (which is what they actually are) they take a little getting used to but once you get used to them they are great.

I still wear both foam plugs and muffs when on a covered range though as I'm trying to save what I have left.

They are spendy ($500-$900 and even more for the top end Sport Ears) but they are worth it.

Larry Gibson

Larry good post, and yes I now must wear hear aids as a result of permanent hearing loss, I recomend Sport Ears.

454Puma · « **Reply #10 on:** January 10, 2009, 08:09:05 PM »

I've been using Caldwell electronic muffs. I'm in the same boat hurt my ears with many years of Jet engine noise- USAF! Trying to save what is left. These electric muffs actually help me hear better! I was a mazed at how much I wasn't hearing in the woods after wearing these.

coop2564 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:35:25 AM »

Radians electronic here i've had them 3 yrs now.

Autorim · « **Reply #12 on:** January 14, 2009, 02:39:32 PM »

I have the Pro Ears Dimension One Plus electronic muffs which compress the loud noises. I am an architect and grew up in the construction business. I have a lot of hearing loss due to loud machinery and gunfire with no protection. I use hearing protection for virtually everything - weed eater, leaf blower, shop, construction site, shooting, chain saw - yes .22 rimfire SV. Once you lose it you will never get it back.

I have hearing aids which work to a degree, but the mike is on top and they do not help at all with phone conversations and they generate wind noise outdoors. An analogy might be prostate cancer. There is no good solution - only choices.

IMHO - on the range, use plugs and muffs. I like the Pro Ears, but the NR is about 26. With muffs I get about 30. Plugs and muffs both is a substantial reduction. A lot of my range time is solitary so conversation and background noise is not a consideration - just noise reduction.

Protect your hearing like your eyes. There are no transplants to the best of my knowledge. There was a time when I could hear birds and I miss that.

gstewart44 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 14, 2009, 04:15:15 PM »

I use the Walker Quad Power Muffs and love them. It truly has made a difference in my enjoyment of hunting since I long ago lost about 75% of my hearing due to loud guns and music. The important thing is that there are several very good choices in hearing protection with amplification. Find one that fits your budget and ears and use it every time. I can only hope that this thread can prevent others from the hearing problems I did to myself.

doghawg · « **Reply #14 on:** January 15, 2009, 03:23:54 AM »

I was wearing Walker power quads when I dropped the hammer on this boy in November. The bellow of a .475 was NOT a factor. It's a lot easier to concentrate on the shot wearing hearing protection.....and I don't have much hearing left.

jjvw · « **Reply #15 on:** January 18, 2009, 06:11:47 PM »

I tried amplified sets but the little noises drives me nuts. Beard or hat rubbing on collar sounds like a herd of elephants. When I walk they bounce and thump my ears. If I turn them down, I can't hear as good as without them. Even the unamplified ones thump when I walk. I tried Action Ears and Peltors. I can tolerate them sitting on a stump but their useless when I still hunt which is what I do most.
You guys don't have this problem?

gahunter29 · « **Reply #16 on:** April 30, 2009, 03:25:37 PM »

jjvw,

I use Walker Game Ears Quad muffs and it took some getting used to.
If you turn down the gain to a very low level , I can "still" hunt and not have hardly any trouble.
It just takes some time to get used to how much amplification to use and the gains dials.
I have learned that a little goes a long way, and as a still hunter with my pistol, there is no other way.
The gun blast out of any gun will cause the Muffs to compress, even a .22, and the hearing I have I want to keep.
Brent

skarke · « **Reply #17 on:** April 30, 2009, 03:28:14 PM »

+1 on the 20 dollar electronic muffs. They work great, and so cheap that I bought my wife a set too.

gahunter29 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 30, 2009, 03:39:18 PM »

I dont deny the $20.00 set works, i have a Caldwell set that works great and my wife and friends love them when we are shooting, but for serious hours in the woods deer hunting, i would never take the Caldwells unless I just forgot to pack the Walkers.
They are head and shoulders above the cheap ones.

It's kinda like a $40.00 scope vs a $400.00 scope , both work fine, but one is the preferred equipment to use if you had a choice.

FourBee · « **Reply #19 on:** April 30, 2009, 04:26:38 PM »

Quote

but for serious hours in the woods deer hunting

Hey gahunter29 :
Are you relating to comfort of wearing the muffs or their amplification or something else? I've never had anything but these inexpensive ones and to me, I can hear my friends conversations well, and actually forget I'm wearing them at all. And when the shooting begins these muffs cut the blasts immediately.

I have two good pair of shooting muffs from the olden days, and I tell ya, these little electronic muffs are just plain better.

gahunter29 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 30, 2009, 05:27:15 PM »

I am referring to the fine tuning of the amplification levels and the clarity of my Walkers vs the Caldwells.

I can only reference these 2 types as they are all I have tried.

The Walker muffs have an instant compression and return to normal, much better than the Caldwells.
When I say Instant , i mean you do not even realize they have compressed the shot.
And after fine tuning these, which takes some time getting used to, they are much closer to realistic sounds than my Caldwell set.

Not advising you must spend the money on an expensive set, but just as I buy the best optics I can afford, i buy the best muffs i can afford.

Bigeasy · « **Reply #21 on:** April 30, 2009, 07:26:19 PM »

Usually roll up foam type, some times muffs at the range. Sorry to say, usually nothing when I am big game hunting. I am paying the price, can't hear a lot of high pitched stuff, say hu? a lot....

Larry

Tom W. · « **Reply #22 on:** May 01, 2009, 12:07:17 AM »

I have a cheap pair of Remington electronic muffs that I put on shortly after I get out of the truck when hunting. They work just fine, and I can hear the crows a long way off....The will muffle the 7mm Rem mag or the .44 revolver just fine. At the range I have a pair of Peltor Ultimate 10's that I wear, and if using an exceptionally big boomer I'll also have plugs in, too. I haven't heard a cricket in over 20 years, but the constant noise in my head from being foolish in my youth isn't worth it....

FourBee · « **Reply #23 on:** May 01, 2009, 03:59:25 PM »

Well; I know when my $20 Harbor Freight electronics are on, as they have a slight amplification over normal sounds! And they don't return from muffling a shot instantaneous, but maybe 1 1/2 seconds after the shot. I feel its a good saftey precaution for one, and it also tells me they are working properly.

What I'm going to have to remember to do is ~ ask my friends that have the expensive kind to let me try theirs out when we get together for a shoot. Then I can compare.......

GradyL41 · « **Reply #24 on:** May 01, 2009, 04:39:06 PM »

Remington muffs when i hunt especially with a handgun

Mohawk · « **Reply #25 on:** May 02, 2009, 09:59:38 AM »

If you are in a pinch take some toilet paper and roll a small piece into a ball. Then place it in your ear. Works just fine.

kitchawan kid · « **Reply #26 on:** May 02, 2009, 12:04:16 PM »

I have the Walkers game ear 2,but can't use it,the foam insert is way to large and kepts coming out also the unit that fits over the ear will not work with glasses well.Right now I hunt with Dillons HP1.

rockbilly · « **Reply #27 on:** May 02, 2009, 02:30:22 PM »

I went for darn near 50 years working airplanes and shooting guns and rarekly wore any kind of ear protection, take it from...........try to provide yourself with the best you can get, but in any case wear something. You never realize how important hearing is until you loose it.

Isn't it funny, a guy can go out and buy the high dollar gun, the best scoper ot sights, all the toys to go along with, yet he buys the cheapest hearing protection he can find.

Tom W. · « **Reply #28 on:** May 02, 2009, 04:55:30 PM »

Quote from: Mohawk on May 02, 2009, 09:59:38 AM

If you are in a pinch take some toilet paper and roll a small piece into a ball. Then place it in your ear. Works just fine.

No it won't. It may deaden the noise, but won't do squat for the damaging vibrations...

FourBee · « **Reply #29 on:** May 02, 2009, 05:04:13 PM »

At Whirlpool Corp., on a daily basis, thousands of people inside one manufactureing plant are given earplugs to protect their hearing. Some are cheap, others are not, but they all save hearing loss. We all could use them on the fireing range, but if you want to hear something you have to take out the plugs .

Cheap electronic muffs do an excellent job of keeping the noise muffed. The value of the muff lies in its capabilities to amplify quality sound below a specific dB noise level. The preferred quality lies with the user. If my shooting pardner says "You Missed", I don't think the audio quality would make much diffference.