Lhunt

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

super_hunt54

All kinds of hearing protection nowadays that are very efficient in protecting your hearing.I use pro ears Pro Fit digital enhancement/compression plugs. They send you some stuff to put in your ear to make a mold and they make the plugs to fit perfectly into your ear. They are a bit pricey but they work exceptionally well.

Lhunt

Thank you! I was also thinking about getting a Peltor Sportac ear muff.

Oldtimr

I have a set of Peletor electronic muffs, the ones used by swat teams with the band behind the head and a pair of sport ear electronic ear plugs. They both work well untill the wind kicks up, then the wind blowing accross them drives me nuts and I can't wear them. Most of the time I use Silencio super sound baffle ear plugs. They are not electronic, the part that goes into your ear has a series of concentric baffles arounf the center and a metal canister on the outside end with some material inside. I used to be a police firearms instructer and spent a lot of time on the firing line and I have never found better.

super_hunt54

Yeah wind noise can be a problem for most of the electronic ones. It's one of the main reasons I use the ones I do now. Still have a bit of bleed through with wind but their noise suppression tech actually does lower it more than most. I hunt with my ears more than I do with my eyes so I need the electronic ones. If I just used the "plugs" then my hearing is greatly reduced. Even the baffled ones that Oldtimer suggested reduces normal hearing at distance a great bit.

CalHunter

I've seen some people wear both ear plugs and ear muffs (usually electronic ones) when they're very concerned about losing any hearing loss. What kind of hunting are you considering? If it's something involving archery or crossbows, you wouldn't have to worry about your hearing. I don't know about Italian gun laws but you may be able to legally use a silencer on a rifle which would also help protect your hearing. Avoid using a rifle with a muzzle break as most of those vent some of the gases and sound to either the side or rear, both of which make such rifles much louder to both the shooter and any acquaintances nearby. Depending on your laws, you may have more options than you think. And welcome to HuntingNet.

super_hunt54

Uhhhh, Cal, I don't think there are many, if any, places in Europe that allow suppressed firearms in civilian hands. Civilians in Italy have a hard enough time getting the licenses just to get a dang rifle. All kinds of hoops to go through for hunting rifles. And they only allow you to have 8 if I remember correctly. Lawdy I'd wither up and die if I could only have 8 rifles!

MudderChuck

I'm a firm believer in keeping traditions alive.

600 Euro sounds like a lot, here it costs around 2500 Euro for the initial school and testing, 80 Euro for the yearly license and 150 Euro for insurance (depending on coverage).

CalHunter

As I said, I don't know Italian laws so just threw out possibilities. If it's that restrictive, he may have to reconsider it carefully.

MudderChuck

In the Nordic countries you can buy a suppressor over the counter, no fuss, no special tax stamps, just cash.

But they do have all kinds of weird rules, some know nothing bureaucrat decides what is pertinent and what isn't. Used to be in Italy, as long as the shotgun had a full stock you could have any barrel length you wanted.

Here pump shotguns are forbidden, but auto loaders are OK. Some bureaucrat watches a film where a guy pumps the shotgun, the house explodes and gets some nonsense law passed.

Some countries forbid any rifle in a military caliber, the Czech Republic for one. I had a guy try and sell me a Kalashnikov in a restaurant in the Czech Republic. I guess it is one of those laws everybody ignores.

In Switzerland there was no ban on automatic weapons, but they are limiting that, used to be the same in Austria.

Sorry I went off topic.