Hello,

I've just registered on the forum; so I'll introduce myself before discussing my problem.

I am Leonardo, 21, and come from Italy. Hunting is part of our heritage and was very big among our grandparents, in times of great poverty; as a matter of fact, every old man in Italy owns a couple of rifles - inherited by their parents. You can find some very old rifles indeed.

However, none of my acquaintances about my same age like hunting or has ever experienced it. Hunting here is dying, and I'm still wondering wether to get my license or not (owning a hunting license is very expensive here - 600 € the first year and 300 € the following years). The fact is, that I, not too long ago, got into hunting and am now quite ready to take the plunge and go hunting for real. The other fact is that although having very poor eyesight, I have quite a nice hearing... maybe because of the fact that I was born and raised a musician; and although remaining in the amateur world of musicians, I am still a musician indeed (I play the organ). We all know that rifles are very noisy, especially the big calibers, and since if I get a license I will probably get a .12 caliber I was wondering if purchasing an expensive ear protection is enough to protect my hearing. I wouldn't want to lose my precious gift, which is that of a good hearing (everyone with a poor eyesight will understand). Do you think that my musical career (although not professional) will suffer from hunting or is wearing a nice pair of electronic "headphones" enough?

Sorry if I've not been clear enough.

Sincerely,
Leonardo