What hearing protection do you use?

[kymike]

Those plastic ear plugs are very uncomfortable during extended shooting sessions. I was wondering what you use out in the field that seems to work welland is comfortable for several hours? Has anyone used those amplified ear pieces that mute when shooting? Any good?

Thanks-

[Pittsburghunter]

I like the plain old Silenco muffs. You can take them off easy between shots, they never get ear crud on them so you don't feel bad sharing them and they only cost 15-20 dollars depending what model you want.

[cayugad]

I bought a pair of soft baffled ear plugs. Also those simple foam soft plugs work real good for me. The trouble with ear muffs is I always forget to wear them, or they get in the way of the rifle.

[charlie brown]

I got a pair of Compact ear muffs from Cablelas. They are the one under their lable. They work fine, and I don't have any problems with them getting in the way.

[Sharp Shooter]

I use ear muffs and they do not get in the way. I have some Smith and Wesson. You can keep them around your neck until you think you might get a shot coming up. I also like what I call mushroom earplugs. You don't have to roll them and you just twist them and push and theygo right in your ear. It is a real advantage for you if ear muffs do not get in the way. I like mine alot.

[sabotloader]

kymike


To be honest with you, I really did not use hearing protection when shooting outside until a year ago or so now I use just a very simple set of plugs both for trap shooting and target shooting...

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=34339&hvarDept=400&a mp;hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=5&hvarSubCode= 13&hvarTarget=browse

This is a good example of the hearing protection I use now. I can not get use to the big bulky ear muffs.

[AmericanPioneer]

In the field I never use any but I will tell you from experience when I deer hunted with my Bushmaster xm-15e2s one year I wished I had because my ears rang from using the loud .223 after about 10 shots. When muzzleloading usually one shot is the most you get so it doesnt seem to bother me although any noise above a certain level even if heard only once can damage the ear. At the range I started using a set of electronic muffs from sportsmansguide.http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=148541 They sell them under the guide gear name and it is the best set of hearing protection I have ever used. I get tired of taking regulars muffs or plugs off and on or in and out all the time so I can hear someone. With these new muffs, it blocks the sound out and then goes right back to where you can hear. Now I know why so many of the competition shooters use them. I only paid 35.00 from the guide for them and midway has some under caldwells name also cabelas has somefor about the same. There are some that are 3 times as much but this could allow you to see if you like them or not without putting out a bunch of money. I was also surprised at the level of different sounds that a frearm has such as a pistol. When I release the slide on some of the larger caliber pistols I own, the muffs will actually shut the sound off caused by it. I guess we dont actually relize just how high pitched certain noises are around us.

[kymike]

Thanks for the great links. I shot without hearing protection for years, until ahunting buddy shot arabbit that popped-up with his 221 Fireball near my head by accident. That was 25 years ago and I still hear the bells.

I've seen the banded ear inserts at Lowes and was thinking of trying those. The Sportsman Guide phones look pretty good, too. Can't complain about the price. Thanks for your comments.

[jaybe]

In the field, I don't want anything over my ears; I figure there's enough space, trees, brush, etc. to absorb enuf sound to keep me from damaging my ears. (I could be proven wrong on this, but don't want to be).
At the range where I shoot, hearing protection is required. Everything's under a roof and the sound is intense!
I wear a set of the el-cheapo foam plugs that you scrunch before inserting, then a pair of muffs over the top. Between session when people are changing targets, etc. I slip the muffs off.
Those sound-reducing jobs sound pretty good. I just got some money for Father's Day plus my $10 gift certif. from Cabela's - think I might get me a pair o' those. (One more thing to change batteries in)

[Underclocked]

WHUT?