Yeah well that' s just the thing, he intended to use it for deer hunting. Using hearing protection while target practicing is a smart thing to do, but how many hunters put in ear plugs before shooting a deer? After shooting that gun once w/o ear protection, it would have to be an extremely huge buck for me to risk my eardrums!

Were you guys wearing hearing protection when this happened?? If not, you' re going to lose your hearing regardless of what' s hanging on the muzzle of your gun!!

No we weren' t wearing any ear protection. He had used ear plugs when he sighted it in, but this happened when we came back to the vehicle after a day of hunting and he wanted to make sure it was still on since he had bumped it against a tree. None of us make a habit of carrying ear plugs while hunting, so we were shooting without.

He sold the gun because he didn' t want to damage his hearing if he ever did happen to shoot a deer.

I' m not sure exactly how my original post regarding bullet velocity and the BOSS system got side tracked into a discussion of hearing protection. I know I contributed to it but let me say this.
My screen name Cdr4thBn represents my final assignment in the military. I was a battalion commander and had an opportunity through the years to hear some pretty damned loud bangs. In every instance where hearing protection is possible and practical it should be worn..... period. There are however times when it just isn' t practical or possible and hunting is probably one instance that fits best.
My original point was that I love the rifle and the lack of recoil which generally contributes to better shooting mechanics. The trade off is a louder muzzle blast. I' ve never fired the rifle with hearing protection while hunting and have never fired it on the range without it.
Let' s put this thing to bed and agree that we all have the right to choose to buy and sell our material goods as we see fit.
That' s why they make more than vanilla.