I do not hunt with ear plugs, though I have thought of this and wondered if this is unwise.

When I DO shoot while hunting, however, the report of the rifle is not nearly so loud as in an enclosed range. The report does not seem to bother my ears. I hunt with a .25-06 and a .243. These are probably not so loud as a .30-06. I also have a .30-06, but I have not fired it in the field on game -- figuring the .25-06 and .243 are good for the diminutive deer of the southern US which I have hunted in the past.